One of the things COVID has done is it has forced everybody to tighten up their phone game. If you’re still not having success, you want to read this article because I can tell you a secret that will change the way you approach the phones forever.
One of the things that COVID has done to all of us is it’s forced us to get on the phones. Listen, I am not a big fan of the phones. Never have been, never will be more than likely. But it’s a necessary evil right now, and when it comes to my kids, having food on the table, or me talking to a stranger on the phone, I’m going to pick up that phone every single time. But here’s the thing: everybody out there is so worried about getting the appointment booked. That’s what they want to do, right? They rush in, they dive in, and they’re trying to get this person to agree to meet with them, and they’re vomiting information all over the place, and they wonder why they’re not having success. I want to give you a straightforward strategy, and it’s something that I’ve talked about before, but I’m going to provide you with a finite example that will help you take your phone game to the next level. I almost can guarantee if you execute this, it’s going to get you more booked appointments than you’ve ever had before.
Now, if you’ve been following me, then you know that I am a massive fan of Chris Voss and his book Never Split the Difference. I’ve done an article in the past about why no is what you want to hear. That’s what we’re going to talk about in this case. See, the issue is that people who are not professionals at booking appointments, setting appointments, whatever on the phones, they read things, they try and get to the answer they want as quickly as possible, and they blow it. Their biggest fear is what? It’s hearing, no. But in his book, Voss tells us that no is exactly what we want to hear, and the reason why is because the way our minds are programmed, subconsciously, when someone utters the word, no, they feel as if they’re in control.
So why not get to no first in the phone conversation, let them tell you no. Now here’s where you have to change your thought process because getting a prospect to no isn’t:  “no I’m not going to meet with you. No, I don’t want to talk to you anymore. No, no, no, no, no.” That’s not what we’re doing. We want to lob them up a softball that ends with them answering in no so that we can immediately pivot and ask them another question that ends with yes and gets us closer to getting the appointment booked.
In my book, The Extra Two Minutes, I have a whole segment on and give you the ability to go and request a download of a list of questions I use to get my prospects to no as quickly as possible. If you haven’t checked it out, shameless plug, it’s probably worth the cover price just for that chapter.
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So here’s what I’m going to tell you I do. The first thing you want to do when you get on the phones is you want to introduce yourself and make it clear who you are. The last thing you want to do is, have them get somewhere in the conversation, say, what’d you say your name once again? Or what company do you represent? Or what was the purpose of this call? So I’m going to walk you through my exact phone script.
Hi, this is David with Florida Risk Partners, and I’m calling businesses in your area today, and it’s not an accident that I’m calling you. I’ve got some information on your upcoming workers’ compensation renewal, and I just had a quick question for you. Are you happy that you’re paying 66% more than the people in your peer group for your workers’ compensation? Oh no. Well, then my question would be, wouldn’t it make sense if I have a way to help you control those costs and bring your overall cost of risk down for us to have a meeting to discuss the various solutions we can provide?
What I did was I got them to no, and then I got them backed into a corner. Anybody who is not happy that the company is paying 66% more than their peers is going to agree with you when you ask them, doesn’t it make sense for us to look at ways to reduce your costs? No, yes. Then you’re off to the races at that point. This process is not complicated, but it does require some thought. If you’re on the phones right now and you’re not having success, list out the questions you’re asking every single time and then figure out how to rephrase those questions in a way that allows the person on the other end to say no to the first question you ask. And then develop your followup around that to get them to, yes.
Listen, this is not rocket science, but it does require some thought. If you can put the thought into it and you can change the script you’re using, and you can get people to no and then slam them into yes, you’re going to absolutely kill at commercial insurance.
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