If you are a firm that represents itself as an organization providing client outcomes under the banner of a Value Proposition, please ask yourself these questions:
- Is it my opinion or fact?
- Can I demonstrate it on a client’s financial outcome using credible data, or is it just my opinion?
- Do my competitors share the same opinion?”
Here is what you can be sure of… each of your largest prospects is now running their business on analytics, outcomes, KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators), and financial results. Many make their business decisions based 100% around these principles (aka Decision Support).
They want and need facts, not a salesperson’s opinion.
While you offer resources and client services, and you profess to be the “Broker of Choice,” as Dr. W. Edwards Deming once said: “Without data, you are just another person with an opinion.”
While you are at it, ask yourself this question: “How would my income increase if I could call on a new account and show them what their improved results would be by appointing us the Broker or Agent?”
Would you like to sell that way?
Of course, you would. You would have done it a long time ago if you could have. The truth is that the technical ability and tools to sell based on analytics and business outcomes did not exist for insurance brokers in the past. But times have changed, and many brokers and brokerages have incorporated analytics and outcomes into their sales strategies.
Imagine the power of telling a prospect as part of your close… “When you appoint us as your broker, here is your expected cost structure reduction. In addition, here is how the reduction will impact your earnings, ownership value, and production costs.”
SELLING HAS CHANGED FOREVER. Data and analytics are not buzzwords but outcomes. Without them, your entire business model is now on a shaky platform.
If you want to get out of the opinion business and into the outcome business, here are your 5 Sales Realities:
- Financial buyers do not buy processes. They don’t have the time to investigate the potential. You need to tell them about the outcomes first; then, they will change the process.
- Prospects need to understand quickly how your proposed outcome will impact their current metrics and KPI’s. Many are making their major business decisions based upon the potential improvements to their key metrics.
- If you stay only on the insurance discussion, you will get stuck. Frankly, there is only so much you can do. Risk financing costs are just a small part of the client cost equation and don’t provide much leverage, other than moving from one mechanism to another (e.g., first dollar to deductible to captive, etc.)
- You already have impacted your clients’ outcomes and costs. You simply don’t know what your actual impact is, and you can’t prove it. If you provide clients with resources such as risk control, claims, third-party services, or even carrier loss control, you have an established financial outcome. It’s time to take credit for your hard work and expertise.
- If you plan to stay in the middle and upper/middle market brokerage business, you need to start moving now. CFO’s and C-Suite leaders now rely on dashboards and metrics. If you can attach your sales message to their metrics and KPI’s (what they really care about), you’ll quickly outpace your competition.
If you are part of a sales organization, adding analytics and outcome-based sales strategies to your approach will help you better serve your clients and prospects.
Brokerages that do this will have a place at the table. Those who do not will be peddlers of their opinion, and you know what they say about opinions… everyone has one.
Our clients are thriving despite the Hard Market as they take market share from their commodity-based competition. If you want to move upstream, increase your sales pipeline, and gain sales techniques and insights to navigate the Hard Market with your own growth strategies, you can learn more here.
All the best to Analytic Brokers,
Rob Ekern
Chairman, Analytic Brokerage™ Platform
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About the Analytic Brokerage™ Platform
Leading brokerages and producers across North America choose the Analytic Brokerage Platform to maximize their large account profits, revenues, and growth.
Utilizing the latest KPI’s, client metrics, and business intelligence, the Analytic Brokerage Platform is the only system in existence that helps brokers:
- Quantify a buyer’s financial leakage and true Total Cost of Risk
- Deliver consistent and meaningful reports
- Attract and retain larger accounts
The Analytic Brokerage Platform is currently embedded inside many of North America’s leading brokerages who control over $2,000,000,000 of annual revenues.