Working the Phones, Shoptalk Series – Episode #7

In this episode of The Power Producers Podcast, David Carothers and co-host Kyle Houck discuss the value of working the phones, proper phone etiquette, and how to build trust and establish credibility.

Episode Highlights:

• David starts by explaining that they are going to talk about one thing that salespeople hate with a passion. (1:34)
• Is there anybody who loves working on the phone? (1:48)
• David mentions that open enrollment is ending soon. (2:08)
• David thinks that robo calling and open enrollment made it worse. (2:26)
• David shares why getting a random call from a local number makes him very mad. (2:29)
• What has Kyle done to modify given this COVID-19 phenomenon? (3:43)
• Kyle shares that phone interaction gives you less chance of grabbing your prospect’s attention than face-to-face interaction. (4:00)
• Kyle thinks that telling your customer this line, “I know you’re not expecting my call, so I promise to be brief.” is significant. (4:29)
• Kyle says that he doesn’t like to put a time constraint when talking to the customer on the phone. (5:06)
• David says that it’s relevant for the listeners to know that Kyle is not only focused on compensations, but also on meeting needs. (5:45)
• David shares that he wants to guarantee his customers that he did not accidentally call or make them think that they’re just part of some random list of people who are calling to quote insurance. (7:44)
• Kyle says that his favorite part is when the customer says that they already have insurance. (8:05)
• David mentions that reading the book, Never Split The Difference has completely changed his approach to many things. (8:35)
• David explains why everybody on the phone is trying to get a “yes” from their prospects. (8:45)
• David shares that he would prefer to say he hates the phones, but he thinks the quality of his appointment is better. (9:35)
• Kyle shares that the people who are setting the appointments don’t care about the quality, instead they just try to get it done. (9:42)
• David shares a story about the best appointment person he ever had. (10:17)
• David explains the significance of the follow-up piece. (14:48)
• David talks about the psychology behind knowing when people say “no”. (19:40)
• Kyle says that you can also apply these same principles to different lines of coverage. (26:20)

Tweetable Quotes:

• “I always try to take a pretty general approach. I want to keep things simple with them, you’ve only got a few seconds to grab their attention.” – Kyle Houck
• “I think that’s where a lot of people miss the boat, they don’t prepare the prospect for the appointment correctly.” – David Carothers
• “I want to make sure they also know early in the conversation that it’s not an accident that I’m calling…I don’t want them thinking that they’re just part of some random list of people who are calling to quote insurance.” David Carothers

Resources Mentioned:

• David Carothers LinkedIn
• Kyle Houck LinkedIn
• Florida Risk Partners
• The Extra 2 Minutes