By Jim Cecil
As ye sow, so shall ye reap says the law of nature. Whether it's the variety of tomatoes you select to cultivate or the customers you choose to grow, the laws of nature apply everywhere. Let me share with you three secrets for attracting new clients that I've learned from researching the relationship strategies and selling processes of top risk advisors. I call them the "three of the greatest rules of the harvest."
Rule No. 1: Prospects take a while to cultivate.
In this business, there rarely is any "low hanging fruit." You have to compete for every gain. As long as you can generate some sales leads, you can also work with the "Law of 39." This is the part of the "law" of averages that you must make work if you're going to compete and be a top rainmaker. Research has shown that, on average, within one year, 39% of all leads an agent receives or personally generates will turn into a sale (for either that agent or his/her competitor). Approximately one out of every four qualified leads will convert into a sale within the first six months.
Studies have confirmed these statistics over and over again for more than two decades. Yet only 10% to 15% of top producers admit (usually in whispers) that there even is such a thing as a predictable closing ratio for prospects.
Many agents instinctively know of the Law of 39 because so many of them say that more than half of the leads they get are no good from the get go. They're right--half are not any good. So accept it. Get over it! Look at the upside. Nearly half can and do turn into customers rather quickly and easily for you--or somebody. It's up to us to determine which half of the prospects are good and which half won't be buying.
Once you understand this part of the law of averages--the Law of 39--and realize that nearly half of all sales inquiries turn into a sale for someone, you will realize that the "someone" can be you. But to make the Law of 39 work for you, you have to know:
Rule No. 2. Persistence is everything.
Great producers never give up. They write letters, make contacts, open dialogues, and continue to follow up until the prospect is ready to change. They call, visit, write and follow up until the prospect either chooses another agent or is no longer in the market (having literally or figuratively died) or until he/she becomes a client. Persistence, with intelligent, useful, respectful, appropriate touches, develops awareness and differentiation and allows interest to grow naturally.
Nurturing is most easily accomplished by using modern relationship management software. It allows a process to ensure that consistent and persuasive communications are delivered to as many prospects and customers as you need to hit your goals. You must resist the temptation to believe that only 10% of leads actually turn into a sale. It's simply not true. The reason some still believe this is that they, themselves, stop following up on most leads after the first four attempts. For them, only 10% may turn into a sale. The fact is, to get your fair share of the sales that actually occur in your market, you have to act on Rule No 2.
Agents who skip Rules No. 1 and 2 will very often believe that if a prospect doesn't turn into a customer within a month or two, or within three or four contact attempts, they've wasted their time. They often dump the prospect and go on to the newer, fresher, most recent inquiries. That's where Rule #3 comes into play.
Rule No. 3: Kicking the tree has never been known to hasten ripening
Research and experience agree: People buy when they are ready and everyone has a different schedule for buying. For some, it is a comparatively short time; for others it takes months or many times a year or longer to decide to change agents and make the selection.
Some well-documented facts:
* Three out of every four people who inquire about a product or service seriously intend to seek a new agent.
* Shockingly, 40% of the time, the prospect never even gets a follow-up call.
* More than half of all internally generated referrals or leads are not followed up sufficiently. Some research indicates the number could be as high as 80%.
Cultivating the slow adopters
True, as opportunities age, some begin to fall into the sold category; but interestingly, there is less and less competition for those prospects that are taking some time to make their decisions. Following up, for many people, becomes difficult
and almost nonexistent as time goes by. Think about your own experience when you were the slow-adopting prospect. I'll bet few followed up.
To be in a more competitive position, don't give up simply because the person hasn't taken you up on your proposition when you needed the sale the most. Take courage from the fact that as time passes, the less disciplined competitors almost always stop calling on the prospect too soon, leaving a clearer field for you.
Impatient or inexperienced agents quit nurturing way too soon. They fail to use strategies as simple as postcards, personalized letters or even a well-scripted voice-mail message to leave behind. The person who is disciplined and has put into place a process to nurture those slow adopters--who has a follow-up system for prospects--invariably harvests far more often than he/
she loses.
Patience, persistence, positive contacts and professional follow-up are the best ways to reach "top-of-mind" with elusive, slow-adopting prospects. These three rules seem almost too simple, too easy to be true but winners invariably are the most professionally persistent. Whether you work for a large firm or are on your own as an independent, and regardless of where you get leads, follow these three rules and harvest an abundance of the right kind of clients. *
The author
Jim Cecil consults insurance professionals on customer nurturing. For 21 Tips to Nurture customers better, and a free electronic copy of his booklet, "A Cure for the Common Cold Call," visit www.nurturemarketing.com or call (800) 474-7951.