Insurance Sales: Closing Anxiety?

Why do perfectly normal people break out in a sweat when it comes time to close the deal? Normal people have closing anxiety because they haven't properly handled the earlier steps in the sales process. Closing should be nothing more than a natural conclusion to a selling conversation.

If you’re suffering from closing anxiety it’s due to one of four reasons. The prospect didn’t agree to a selling conversation in the first place. You confused the buyer by presenting too many options. You didn’t take the buyer through a thought process that helped them to buy. Or you didn’t stir up the emotional reason the prospect should act and act now.

The prospect must agree to a selling conversation, or you’re wasting your time. To have that happen they must first agree that there is a problem, challenge, or obstacle preventing them from getting what they want. They must also agree that their perceived problem is worth fixing or overcoming.

When you present a buyer with more than three options you’re dead in the water. Ideally you only want to present two options, on certain occasions you may need to present three but you never ever want to present more than three options because it’s entirely too confusing for the buyer. When you present two options it’s really easy to close by simply asking them whether they prefer A or B.

You’re the expert you’re supposed to lead the sales conversation, but the best way to do that is through the questions you ask. Those questions need to be asked in a structured manner that helps the prospect to buy. You need to help them to explore what they want, what’s keeping them from having that now, the other problems not having what they want leads to, and the financial or emotional value to them of getting what.

If you can’t trigger the emotional hot spot providing the underlying motivation for buying you won’t have a sale. One of the biggest reasons you don’t get to this hot spot is because you jump to a solution way too early in the sales conversation. It happens because you’re over eager to sell, and because you lack the sales maturity it takes to patiently probe for understanding.

When you do all these earlier steps right you’d have to be a complete wimp to struggle to close. Much to your surprise you’ll find that many of your prospects will ask you how to get started if you aren’t moving fast enough for them. But even if you’re still struggling at this point the first time you get there the right way you can enjoy insurance sales success if you’ll just take one more step.

And that step is to actively engage the prospect. By that I mean getting them to write things down, prioritize options, check preferred options, etc. When you do that you’re getting them to make small “yes” decisions or trial closes, so when it’s time for the big “yes” they’re already on board and ready to go.