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Whatever type of insurance you sell, and whoever you sell it to, the most important aspect of every agent-client relationship is trust. When you show your client that you have their best interests in mind when you're offering policies, they become witness to your integrity and they begin to see you as someone they can depend on when it comes to protecting their homes, their families and their assets.
While building someone's trust seems like a daunting task, if you're an agent who is truly more interested in helping the client than making the sale, none of the following principles should be outside of your reach. Take a look at 4 of the core ways we go about earning our client's trust.
1. ONLY SELL WHAT'S NEEDED
Because insurance agents tend to get a bad rap, many clients may come to you on the defensive and with concerns about being oversold or being sold products that aren't right for them. By offering policies that truly fit the client's needs and that make sense for their situation, your client will see that you're not in the business to simply close a deal. If you're trying to make a quick sale by offering something the client doesn't need, you very likely won't be hearing from that client again.
2. KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT
Your customers are coming to you because they have specific needs and they're going to look to you as the professional problem-solver who will offer them solutions to their needs. Making sure that you're educated on a complete range of coverage options will show the clients that you aren't a one trick pony, always pitching the same product to whoever walks in your door.
3. RESPECT YOUR CLIENT'S TIME
In the client-agent relationship, no one's time is more important than the other's. Showing your clients that you respect the time they spend with you creates a level playing field. If you have a meeting and you're running late, be sure to reach out and let the client know. If the client is waiting on a return call from you, make sure you make that call when you've said you would. If you leave a client waiting for you with no explanation, they're going to feel like your time doesn't matter to them.
4. COMMUNICATE AND BE PRESENT
Staying in touch with clients even when they aren't actively in need of your help is a great way to remind them that you're there for them for MORE than just a paycheck. Check in with your clients periodically even if it's to update them on changes within your office or to ask how everything is going for them and if they have any questions you can answer for them at that time. This lets the client know that you're reliable and you're going to be there when they do need your help eventually.
When you turn your client-agent relationship into something more than just periodic and cold business transactions, your client is more likely to become a lifelong one. It's also the best way to build referrals since your clients will likely send their friends and family along to you when they ask for a trustworthy insurance agent and this will keep your business growing for years to come.
