How to Become a Successful Insurance Broker?

Insurance broking is amazing for those who think it is. That’s the beauty of it.

Insurer brokers are always concerned about selling. They create their revenue by selling policies to their potential group of customers. But the process is not as simple as it speaks. In order to sell policies in this competitive business arena, you have to be sharp and efficient in your own ways.

Who are insurance brokers?

An insurance broker is an insurance sales professional who acts as the bridge between insurers and their customers and sells, solicits, and negotiates different insurance policies on behalf of the customer.

In simpler terms, they represent their consumers, not insurance companies.

About insurance broking?

The insurance broking profession stands one among the few promising careers that have huge earning potential. The percentage of commission and the flexibility of work hours stands out as the all-time highlight for this insurance profession.

So, becoming an insurance broker is quite a good career choice in life. But to turn out to be a successful broker, you have to acquire certain skills in the insurance broking business.

Believe it or not, the old ways won’t work anymore.

Things have changed dramatically, as we all know. Now we need new-fangled thoughts and execution plans. We need to take a different pathway to become triumphant. That’s what this article is all about!

Dealing with a vast clientele that shows varied sets of humane characters, dealing with them lucratively on a daily basis; clearly, needs some expertise and talent?

Of course YES!!

That’s what we are going to talk about. This article will walk you through the most important and promising tips and strategies that you can practice to win new insurance brokerage businesses, sell more insurance policies and thus earn your commission lot.

You may have gone through this a 100 times – if you are an aggressive broker who knows how to explore the internet possibilities. Then you may have got thousands of tips and advice for becoming a successful insurance broker.

SO WHAT MAKES THESE DIFFERENT?

Let me give you a brief. What you are going to explore is not something that each and every broker may follow even if he/she wants to follow. But if you do these, success is 100% guaranteed, it’s as simple as that. I promise this is worth your time. So, let’s get started.

#1: Make sure you get the basics right

If you want to become a professional insurance broker or an agent, you have to take care of some basic kinds of stuff initially. Those includes:

• Dress like you are the best insurance broker in the market right now
• ·You have to have your own visiting card to produce when you meet with a client
• Own a website to show your business/company details, which is the latest trend
• Carry brochures or other hardcopies detailing about the policy details and share them with your clients when required
• Present them a compliment if you can afford it
• Talk with them in a friendly manner
• Never sit until they invite you to
• Always keep a positive energy on your face as well as your body posture

#2: Always do enough groundwork before you meet a customer

This is pure basics. Whoever the client is, never approach them with a blind eye. You have to make sure that you know enough about your prospects before your first meeting itself. Do a self-analysis about the prospects even before meeting him/her. This will help you to prioritize your product catalog and explanations accordingly.

#3: Set practical goals that you can conquer

“Practical” in the sense, priorities that can help you in achieving both your personal as well as professional goals. The reason is, if you are not aware of your target objective, you might be distracted from the success pathway and may end up with something different. For that, first, you have to differentiate your short-term and long-term goals. If possible take a few minutes to write down your aims and review them on a periodic basis.

#4: Sharpen your niche constantly

Customers always look for insurance specialists to help them in making their choices. They prioritize the brokers based on the added values an expert can offer. So the point is, if you are someone who is acting as a generalist, consider diversifying into exact market needs, and acquire more practical knowledge about the products and services that you offer, practice the selling knack, make your customers convinced by your professional approach, and then start winning customers.

#5: Practice product explanatory skill

You may have heard a lot about “Product knowledge”. But I promise you this is different. YES, it is noticeable if you have enough product knowledge. But what really matters is your product explanatory skill. It’s the way you express your knowledge to someone.

THIS IS ONE MAJOR IMPORTANT ASPECT THAT MAKES YOU STAND ALONE FROM OTHER BROKERS.

Being a broker, your success mainly relies upon the way you present your products and services to your customer. You can easily impress your clients with outstanding product presentations even when you have only a little knowledge about them. So if you are weak in communicating with what you have, then you must definitely polish this major skill for becoming a successful insurance broker in the future.

#6: Nurture a “willingness to learn” attitude

Willingness to learn from the surroundings on a continuous basis is the ultimate key. Every customer is a learning chapter. While talking business with your client, you have to analyze him/her in multiple ways; as a customer, the way he behaves to your questions, the way he responds to your product explanations, his/her attitude towards the entire insurance broking industry, and how he values your services, etc.

You have to nurture your mindset to the way you want to play your insurance sales game. The valuable experience you gain after meeting a certain number of clients is way much bigger than what you could have got from the training or from other experienced professionals.

There is also a second part for this.

Be very alert about the insurance market changes. Polices can change, its premium split-ups, and new attractive products can also change all of a sudden. So you have to be more keen and proactive on the market changes. These attributes will make you an insurance broker that you have never dreamt about it.

#7: Invest in yourself to progress

Never stop learning. One of the big mistakes that even successful professionals make is that they rest on their glory after a short-term achievement. You have to understand that customers and their mindsets will always be on the changing side, so being an insurance professional you have to stay ahead of the curve. Consider which part you would like to focus on improving, start reading some blogs, search for more detailed information, and make yourself understand. When you devote yourself, you empower the future of your business and every person who works with you

#8: Make yourself different from others

You might have heard this so many times before. But what does this exactly mean?

It is nothing but marketing yourself. Make them understand that you are different from the existing players through your approach and product presentation. Let them have the idea of getting served by one of the top quality insurance professionals available in the industry right now.

#9: Market the policies’ features as the necessity of your client’s day-to-day life

You have to present the policies features in such a way that they feel like they are the necessities in their daily life. You can nurture that ability with experience. Understanding your clients and offering them what exactly needs is the first step. If you can succeed in developing this skill, then selling will no longer be a tedious task for you.

#10: Own an insurance broking software for the perfect pitch

There are some attributes that money can’t buy. Also, there are some others where you can actually BUY. One of the most reliable and effective business armor that you can buy is nothing but proper insurance broking software. Having quality well-built insurance brokering software will definitely ease all your difficulties in managing your broking business. In fact, all those above aspects will fall in their place automatically when you start exploring your insurance broking software.

The amazing features these software provide exclusively for brokers will make sure your entire business flow is on its track and success is on its exact path. Some of the promising features these insurance broking software offers are:-

• Increase your business employee productivity on a continuous basis
• Effortlessly track all your policies and claims
• Instantaneously draft your professional RFQs 10x faster
• Easily reconcile your commission statements
• Get IRDAI Reports with a click of a button

#11: Create the right cuisine for your targeted audience

Finding your target audience and serving them with quality products and services is the key to success. Doing the proper groundwork will definitely improve the likelihood of creating more business prospects and converting those leads to potential businesses.

#12: Set up a contact and follow-up strategy

Shaking hands and signing deals within the initial conversation is the dream of every insurance broker. But in a practical sense, every successful broker knew that seldom happens. That’s why the idea of a structured contact and follow-up strategy comes in demand. This helps the broker to deal with their prospects in a professional as well as a timely manner.

#13: Practice taking short notes

This is something very important. You may feel that you have everything in your mind even after the meeting. But on a given day, if you have to visit multiple clients who follow the same response pattern, sometimes you may feel confused about their requirements and comments. This will make your follow-up plan difficult. So always try to take notes on what he/she wants. It will also help you to pick up on your conversation easily where you left off.

#14: Practice instant follow up and reply

Make them feel that you always give enough priority to taking care of your prospects’ queries and solving them as soon as you can. Even if you need something to escalate, make sure you have the rope and your prospects get what he wants. So always try to be an instantaneous professional.

#15: Prioritize your tasks, do it today

Time is the key. It doesn’t wait for anybody. You may lose a prospective customer just because of a fraction of a second. The sooner you approach; the chances of business conversions are high. So you have to prioritize your appointments, discussions, claims, policy renewals, and everything in such a way that things are processed smoothly in an orderly manner.

#16: Practice writing compact emails for better readability

The most ideal length of a readable email is between 50 to 125 words. When you exceed that limit, the chances of reading that email by your prospects become less and less. Always try to point out the features and focus on what they need exactly. Highlight them so that they catch them in a single view. They will definitely come for you.

Also read: How to Choose an Insurance Broker Software: 10 Top Tips to Guide Your Purchase Decision

#17: Own a professional website for showcasing your policies

The website reflects who you are and what you do. Considering the modern business scenario, the website acts as the shop front for your business. Owning a professional website will definitely boost your value and trust in the eyes of customers. Possibly the most vital question is, “does your website make it easy for guests to find your contact info and reach you?” If this isn’t easily found on your website, you’re likely losing possible leads to your competitors. So invest in your website, the results will be self-driven and astonishing.

If you aren’t giving considerable importance to your shop front, then you are missing the big picture. As smartphones are evolving as the priority search tool, you need to make sure that your website is looking good in the mobile view also. You have to offer them quite a professional mobile experience while using your website.

#18: Analyze your competitors on a continuous basis

Everything is fair in love and war. Similar, being an aggressive insurance broker, you have to be conscious of your business environment. You should practice analyzing your competitors’ business strategies and open business practices.

It doesn’t mean that you have to put your eyes on your competitors’ doorstep 24X7. But you must have a good understanding of how your surroundings are behaving on the radical changes in your market segment behavior.

#19: Prioritize your availability to your customers

You may find this rude at first. But the truth is YOU HAVE TO. Managing your clients has never been easy and it won’t be in the future also. Your client base will definitely increase on a periodic basis. Unless you don’t have proper insurance prospects management software, you have to make sure you manually manage them systematically. The most IMPORTANT PART in managing your insurance broking is – making yourself available when they need you. In simpler terms, prioritize your availability according to your customer needs.

If you are in a situation that demands your presence in two different locations or situations at the same time, make sure your self-assess both the clients, their nature, the probability of becoming a healthy future client, the importance of the situation, and the rate of impact of your presence in terms of helping the client. Analyze all these attributes as fast as you can and make your own decision. This is one thing that is going to help you to build a client base that will exclusively help you in successfully running your insurance broking business

#20: Manage your personal and professional life equally

Work is an integral part of your life so are your family and loved ones. You have to make sure you spend enough time with your family. This has an energizing capacity that will motivate you to work with fresh minds, and fresh minds more often lead to greater productivity.

#21: Use Covid19 case scenarios to explain the importance of insurance in life

Working out positives from the negatives is a MUST trait that you must possess during these Covid days. People are fed up with this virus-led crisis and they are not at all in a mood to offer a seat for direct marketing. But if you can use the same Covid related scenarios to understand your client the necessity of having an insurance, this will help you to grab a sale instantly.

#22: Building potential connections is the major key

If you are successful in all the above actionable items, then building connections will become as simple as that. People will start approaching you without having a second thought. The connections will not only bring you more and more businesses but also new prospective clients that you can make of them in the future. Also, you have to make sure you partner with the best quality insurers and make your target audience reliable.

#23: Experience consistent social media presence to advertise your policies offered

Well, this doesn’t have to be emphasized. Even a little kid knows how to post a picture on his/her Instagram profile. Maybe you too know most of the features of the latest social media platforms.

But there is something you may be missing. Take advantage of your social media platforms to promote your business and build your own brand awareness. Taking care of your social media profiles is as important as managing your website. Considering the latest business model, a LinkedIn profile is a must if you are having a B2B business. Facebook is another unavoidable platform where you will have an ocean of customers provided if you have that consistency and professionalism in managing your social media accounts and posts. Try creating quality content that matches your industry/business as well as interests the potential customers. You might be surprised by the results these options can bring you.

#24: Always ask for policy references before your leave

Reference is the sole element that builds your client base. You have to practice requesting references from the clients you engage with. It should be asked in a polite way. They should feel like helping other people they show via sharing their references with you. Never leave your seat without asking for references. Sometimes one small random reference will end you in a prospective business conversion. Be optimistic whenever you ask for references. Never judge people based on their appearances. References is such an important tool in having a consistent client base. Make sure you have enough of them before shaking your handing with your clients.

#25: Offer professional post-policy purchase support

A customer becomes your advertiser when you provide them with quality post-purchase support and assistance. You must nurture the ability to dive deep into the necessity of the client on any given occasion after the purchase is made.

A successful broker will quietly hear all the complaints and reply back from the weakest link that he/she quotes from the entire conversation. The most common issue customers raise is their trust issues with the newly-wed virtual meetings and the availability of the broker when a need arises. So if you can make yourself available whenever a problem occurs and help them on a deeper level to distinguish what they actually want, then you could be the most successful insurance broker this entire industry has ever witnessed.

YES. Now it’s time. Challenge yourself and become a successful insurance broker on your own terms

. Good luck!!