How to ask for referrals throughout the insurance sales cycle

Ask the most successful agents their main source of new business, and the resounding answer is: Referrals! There are opportunities to ask for (and get) referrals throughout the sales process. Here’s how:

Seek referrals when interviewing a new prospect
It’s easier to ask for referrals after you successfully provide a product or service, but how about asking your prospective client for a referral during the first interview? You can set the stage for referrals during your first appointment by letting your prospect know that your business is built upon referrals from happy clients. You may also explain to the prospect that you hope that he or she will be so satisfied with your services that he or she will become an advocate for your agency. Sure, it’s kind of clich?, but setting the expectation of, “If you like what you hear, tell others. If you don’t, tell me,” can be a great way to ask for referrals from the very start of a new client relationship.

Seek referrals during the insurance application process
You’ve just helped your client; now ask for your client’s help. As you prepare and submit insurance applications for your clients, let them know that you could use their help in referring other people who may benefit from similar products or services.

Seek referrals after you’ve delivered a product or service
When you’ve finished delivering a product or service, it’s usually a little easier to ask for referrals. One of the things you can do is send a thank-you letter survey. It’s likely that you send thank-you notes to your clients at the conclusion of each sale or service. But how often do you ask them to tell you how you did? In other words, how often do you survey your clients?

A well-crafted client survey can provide you with valuable feedback about you and your firm. It can also help you to increase client retention, strengthen relationships, capture testimonials and gain new referrals.

One way that you can routinely survey your clients is to include a brief survey with each thank-you note you send to clients at the conclusion of a sale or a service. It’s likely that your clients will be flattered that you value them enough to seek their opinions. Learn how to create your own “thank-you” letter survey.

Other referral opportunities: