Overcoming Objections – I Renew in 30 Days

But I renew in under 30 days. Yeah, I know, I did my research before I called you. And honestly, if this were going to be an insurance conversation, that would be a problem. Good thing it’s not. I’m going to talk to you about the other things you need to be thinking about in the next 30 days.  Otherwise,  you’re going to get hosed.

Another objection we get is, I renew in under 30 days. You know what? You’re right, you do. I was calling to see how your renewal went. Not because I wanted to come in and sell you anything. We typically don’t engage with clients 30 days before renewal. But I’ll tell you what I can do; I’d love to spend some time with you talking about what my firm might be able to do to help you and help you identify issues with your total cost of risk, not just your insurance premiums, that would aid you get through that renewal process. And if you want somebody who’s perfectly qualified to review that renewal for you and give you advice, feedback, negotiating strategies, whatever you need help with, feel free to use me. I’m willing to do it at absolutely no cost.

Is There an Opportunity?

But if you’re in a snag and you’re not able to get renewal numbers, if you’re 30 days in and you haven’t seen your numbers yet, you might want to talk to me to see if I can come in and help. There’s a problem. There’s either a problem with your loss history or a problem with the demographic of your account. Whatever it is, there’s a problem, and we can come and help you with that problem. But don’t ever let the fact that you’re 30 days away from renewal stop you from weighing all your options.

Be an Advisor, NOT a Salesperson

See, many times, when we engage with somebody in this situation, we come in and give advice. We help you look at your options. We give you some ideas that you might want to use from a negotiating standpoint for pricing and terms and conditions. But we do that on a gentleman’s agreement that once the dust settles, you’ll allow us to come in and give you a more comprehensive presentation of our capabilities. Talk to you about money that’s leaking out of your financials that you may or may not recognize. 90% of the people we sit down and talk with have never had a conversation about the indirect costs of claims. They’ve never really discussed the money that gets paid out inside deductible layers and how that’s cash leaving your business that should be added to the cost of your premiums because you’re retaining that risk and financing it internally.

Focus on Total Cost of Risk

Those are just two examples. We have dozens. If you’ve not had a total cost of risk analysis done in your organization at any time, it’s an eyeopening experience, and it’s not painful. I do all the work. You’ve already got your runs because you’re going through renewal. You already know kind of where your pricing is going to be because you’re already going through a renewal, I hope. You already know what to expect on so many fronts, and guess what? All of this stuff is right there at your fingertips. You don’t have to worry about disrupting your relationship. I get it. I’ve already had you tell me that your agent’s your friend. I’ve already had you tell me that you just renewed. I’ve already had you tell me that you’re happy with what you’re paying. These are all objections that we get, and we have to be a steamroller and go right over them and past them.

So I get it. You’re 30 days before renewal. I may not be able to help you. I am probably already fighting with one hand tied behind my back if you need any help at all with insurance. So rather than come in and do a substandard job and began our relationship with me trying to force you to buy a product with me. How about I let you take me for a test drive? Let me come in and offer you some advice. Let me help you get through this process, and then you and I will go and have a meeting once the dust settles. That’s when I know I can drive value for you.

Listen, if you can change the way you think and you can give some of your time now to delay the gratification of closing that account in the longterm, you got to understand something. The sales cycles in the middle market are much longer than quoting Ma & Pa Kettle’s country diner on a restaurant bop. Get that through your head. Fill that sales cylinder. I’m not going to say pipeline. Fill that sales cylinder up with all the right accounts, delay that gratification, and have a good strategy. Do your research. You’re going to kill it in commercial insurance.

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