When interacting with a new client, it’s important to remain positive and understanding; chances are, the client is not as familiar with your company and your plans as you are. Being conscious of how you present yourself and how you engage with the client will help you establish a strong, positive rapport as well as encourage sales and continued patronage.
Customer service may not be the first term that comes to mind in association with insurance, but it is integral to present a positive, considerate image when interacting with clients. You should be polite and transparent when applicable; excellent customer service encompasses things like how promptly you return phone calls and how organized you are before one-on-one meetings as well as how intuitive you are in regards to the client’s needs and hesitations. How reliable and personable you appear directly affects how clients perceive you, and if they feel you are trustworthy, they will feel more inclined to stay with your company.
Being friendly is not enough to win over customers and earn their business, however. Demonstrate that you are empathetic to their situations and any concerns they might have so that they do not get under the impression that you are solely motivated by profit. Treating clients as individuals with unique lives and worries will not only allow you to better empathize with each person but will also promote open communication on both sides.
Rather than strictly adhering to a set script to pry information from new clients, you should aim to understand and adapt to each situation. If you fail to respond to the clients in a natural, human way, they may not believe you are genuinely supporting them. Listen to their stories, concerns, and inquiries with the intention of learning; doing this will allow you to provide better service and accommodate them according to your company’s policy.
When you are in any business for some time, you pick up the specified language, or jargon, and integrate it into your speech. While this makes it easier for you to understand your field, new clients will likely not have the same knowledge. With the goals of transparency and clarity in mind, using simple, everyday language to communicate to minimize confusion and facilitate honest conversation.
Addressing all clients like they are human beings worthy of respect is key to fostering positive relationships between insurer and client. By being conscious of the disparity of knowledge, as well as the individual situations that may cause new clients to approach your company, you will be viewed as an empathetic and genuine person who is deserving of clients’ trust and business.
Robert Taurosa 