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Playbook A Game Winning Strategy for Partnering with P&C Agencies

The Producers Firm Playbook | Introduction

The quickly changing property and casualty market presents a compelling potential

for affiliates to expand beyond the traditional life agent channel. There are several

dynamics that create the need and timely opportunity for P&C agencies to expand beyond

traditional personal and commercial lines business. However, because the offering of life

insurance is complimentary to P&Cs’ existing business, the competition is immense. For

most P&C agencies, understanding the landscape, indentifying opportunities, and making

the best choices requires a trusted partner.

This playbook is designed to help you become just that. From providing a more

comprehensive overview of current market trends and challenges, to providing strategic

solutions to truly becoming your P&C agencies’ trusted advisor, this program will help you

become even better at gaining loyalty while also growing your pipeline of agencies.

The Producers Firm Playbook | Contents

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Playbook Contents

1. Introduction

• Learning Objectives

• Maximize the Playbook

2. Building Your Business

• Market Trends & Challenges

• Market Overview

• Changing the Agent’s Paradigm

• Profile of the Ideal P&C Agency

• Building & Making Use of Your Network

3. Plan

• Why a Sales Process?

• What to Know Before You Call

• Defining a Purpose & Desired Outcome

4. Getting In

• Crafting Your Hook

• Defining the Elements of Your Story

• The Credibility Statement

5. Open

• Sharing an Agenda

• Building Rapport

The Producers Firm Playbook | Contents

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6. Identify

• Identifying Emotional & Logical Needs

• Why Ask Questions?

• Creating an Opportunity Gap

• Following the Discovery Flow

• Summarizing Your Discovery

7. Recommend

• What Makes You Different?

• Describing Benefits, Not Features

• Designing a customized solution

• Setting expectations and next steps

8. Handle

• Overcoming Objections

• Responding to Specific Objections

9. Recap

• Post Meeting Process

• Meeting Recap

• Post Meeting Template

10. Additional Resources

• Pre-Meeting/Call Checklist

• Best Practices


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“The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of

knowledge, but rather a lack of will.” – Vince Lombardi

Learning Objectives

After completing the self-guided lessons in this playbook, you should be able to:

• Execute on the vast opportunities that are involved in helping P&C agencies to

expand beyond the traditional life agent channel.

• Be able to strategically grow your business through intentional networking.

• Implement a repeatable sales process that will enable you to consistently do the

right things on purpose.

• Be even more purposeful in your client interactions by practicing more thoughtful

pre-call planning.

• Practice even more effective inquiry to identify the P&C agency’s challenges and

opportunities.

• Present your recommendations in a way that engages the P&C agency’s logical and

emotional decision-making process.

• Gain commitment from P&C agencies for desired next steps.

• Confidently overcome objections and strengthen your relationship with the P&C

agency.


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“It is what you learn after you know it all that counts.” – John Wooden

Maximizing the Playbook

There are a few things you should keep in mind that will help you maximize the playbook:

• Be open to change. To become even more effective we must be open to new

ideas that can enhance our performance.

• Take practice exercises seriously. You might feel the urge to simply “go through

the motions, “but remember, perfect practice makes perfect performance.

• Take good notes in this manual so that you can use it as a resource to prepare for

client conversations.

• Suspend judgment on the skills and techniques you are learning until you have

applied them in the field for at least 30 days. Using this playbook and practicing

the skills will be a process. Don’t make the mistake of judging a new skill when

your competency level with that skill is at its lowest.

• Remember that you get out of the playbook what you put into it.

The Producers Firm Playbook | Building Your Business

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“Enthusiasm is one of the

success. When you do a

enthusiasm.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Market Trends & Challenges

There are a variety of current challenges that are driving P&C firms to explore new revenue

sources. Some of them are outlined below:

Client acquisition costs are high.

Client acquisition costs within the P&C space are high. In order for a P&C agency to

reach a break-even point for costs, they must retain the customer for 1-2 years. This places

a significant premium on client retention. Because of this, many agencies look for ways to

retain clients past the breakeven point ensuring the customer becomes profitable.

One of the ways in which P&C firms can increase client retention is to increase the

number of products each customer purchases with the P&C firm. By adding life insurance

and increasing the number of customers that have

multiple products, the P&C agency will stand a much

better chance of creating long-term client relationships,

loyalty and in turn create a much more profitability

from each of these relationships.

P&C agencies need flexibility.

In the approach to adding life insurance, P&C

agencies need flexibility. Firms that have already begun

to add life insurance have explored the model where a

life agent comes in and reviews the book of business

with particular agents. From there, the agents are

introduced specific opportunities within that book.

Unfortunately, research and post training discovery

sessions showed that these scenarios did not yield the results they had hoped for.

Some of the reasons for the breakdown in results include agents who are resistant to

introducing an outside party to the relationship due to risk of a poor experience or

someone trying to “steal” their client. As the affiliate, it is important that you understand

this perspective, communicate your understanding to the P&C agency and let them know

there are options regarding how the relationship is formed and can evolve over time. The


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process of how to build this relationship and overcome these concerns and objections will

be discussed throughout the book.

ere areTvharious factors

that make those offering personal

and commercial lines of insurance

attractive candidates for the

addition of life insurance. The

ability to sell life insurance through

each channel, however, has some

variation and nuances that should

be understood.

Management Support

• In order for the expansion into

other insurance areas to be

successful, there must be a high

level of senior management

support. For successful

execution you, as the affiliate,

must ensure that there is a

champion in a senior leadership

position that is taking

ownership of this opportunity,

setting expectations, and

creating structures for

accountability.

Internal Life Specialist

• The size of some agencies may require an internal life specialist. Some P&C firms that

have added the life component have also added an internal life specialist. This is a

resource that agents can turn to and someone that can get involved in certain sales

situations when needed.


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Access to Group of Agents

• The ability of an internal leader to bring together groups of agents all at one time for

discussions and training with you, the affiliate, is crucial to creating momentum and

leveraging your limited time.

Celebrate Wins

• Sharing wins early and often with the agents within an organization will be critical to

adoption. You are likely to find a few receptive agents early on, while others wait and

see. Effective communication across the organization of these early wins and success

stories will be a vital factor in

building momentum and

engaging agents, who may be

skeptical, previously had a poor

experience, or are just not

excited to sell life insurance.

Market, Market, Market

• Marketing that keeps the message going will help you remain on the forefront of their

minds and help your agencies to be even more successful. You can do this through

sample letters, statement stuffers, etc. Selling life insurance may be new for your P&C

agencies and they may not know how to let their customers know they sell life

insurance. You are their resource and partner!


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Challenges with adoption at the producer level include:

Selling

• Unlike property and casualty, life insurance has to be sold. Many personal lines agents

are used to competing on price for a product the consumer is required to have. Because

of this, the personal lines agent must be trained how to discuss and sell life insurance

with existing customers. They will likely need coaching on their first few customer

conversations regarding life insurance. Having the ability as an affiliate to teach the

P&C agents what to look for to find an opportunity and how to have a simple

conversation with a current client to uncover the opportunity is a value added element

that will resonate with the senior managers and leaders of P&C agencies.

Lack of Training

• Without the proper training and guidance P&C agents can misquote health classes or

stick to only the insurance firms they are comfortable speaking to. Misquoted health

classes often lead to a mispriced policy that is identified after the mini health check.

The result is often an upset customer and an agent who has a bad experience, and

consequently stops presenting insurance policies. This issue must be understood and

quickly resolved. This challenging situation also presents the opportunity for the

affiliate to demonstrate a key insight and provide a compelling solution, such as a sales

process.

Customer Says “Yes”

• One of the things The Woodlands Financial Group (TWFG) learned from focus groups is

that the biggest fear a P&C agent has in selling the customer life insurance is what to do

if the customer actually says “yes.” You can mitigate this as an issue by properly

training the agents so they are confident in not only selling, but also in the steps

following the sale.


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P&C Market Overview

The Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America estimates that the

Property and casualty market is $461B in market size in 2009, with direct premiums

written almost equally split between commercial and personal lines ($230B commercial,

231B personal).

2009 P&C Insurance- Overall

Direct Premium

Written

% Share % Premium Growth

2008-2009

National $131.4B 28.5% -6.2%

Regional $128.5B 27.9% -5.6%

Exclusive $170.2B 36.9% -2.4%

Direct $31.0B 6.7% 7.9%

TOTAL $461.2B 100% -3.8%

2009 Commercial Lines

Direct Premium

Written


2008-2009

National $107.6B 46.8% -6.8%

Regional $74.4B 32.4% -9.4%

Exclusive $45.6B 19.9% -9.0%

Direct $2.1B 0.9% 1.6%

TOTAL $229.8B 100% -8.1%

2009 Personal Lines

Direct Premium

Written


2008-2009

National $23.9B 10.3% -3.0%

Regional $54.0B 23.3% 0%

Exclusive $124.5B 53.8% 0.3%

Direct $29.0B 12.5% 8.6%

TOTAL $231.4B 100% -0.8%


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Premiums written are concentrated with the largest P&C carriers. In 2011, the

Insurance Institute of America estimates approximately 1,300 companies, with almost 60%

of direct premiums written coming from the top 18 companies and greater than 80%

coming from the top 72 carriers.

Net New

Premiums 2011

# of Companies Sum of Direct

Premiums

Written ($000)

% Companies % Premiums

5B 18 $285,909,465 1% 59%

1B-4.9B 54 $107,387,217 4% 22%

500-999M 49 $34,469,753 4% 7%

100-499M 198 $43,180,120 15% 9%

10-99M 376 $14,371,620 29% 3%

1-9M 366 $1,616,654 28% 0%

<1M 204 $38,275 16% 0%

N/A 30 - 2% 0%

GRAND TOTAL 1295 $486,973,104 100% 100%

Source: http://www.iii.org/index.html

Personal Lines Detail

• While the potential for a bigger ticket within the commercial lines space appears to be a

logical opportunity, personal lines are in a position to have a higher number of

conversations and potentially generate a higher number of policy opportunities.

• Having a conversation about life insurance is a more natural conversation for personal

lines than commercial. However, the agents still have to be trained in how to have the

conversation.

• Policy premiums will likely range from $500-$2,000 with higher premiums sometimes

possible based on more complicated client situations.

• If you are calling on a high volume agency it is likely that the ease of use for the

consumer will be a critical factor in their decision making process. The technological

capabilities you offer is an area that creates competitive differentiation and something

you must use to your advantage. Progressive Insurance is a great example of a

technology company that happens to be in the insurance business. It is very easy to


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acquire and submit business with them because of the technology platform they have

created. Your ability to articulate similar value will resonate with many P&C leaders.

Commercial Lines Detail

• Agents with a commercial lines focus offer big case opportunity. The client profile of

many commercial lines agents includes builders, retirees and business owners.

• The potential case size may also require a greater level of POS support.

• Some of the issues commercial lines agents would benefit from understanding include

buy sell, key man and teaching them what avenues offer big case opportunity.

• Agents are used to splitting cases 50/50 when there is point of sale support provided.

Why are they receptive?

• Competitive pressures are driving premiums lower.

• Agencies are seeking new revenue sources in an environment of slow economic activity.

• Life insurance is a natural extension to offer their client base.

• Greater client retention results from an increase in additional products per client.


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Profile of the Ideal P&C Agency

The profile of the ideal P&C agency typically has at least 10 agents and a high volume of

customers. They may already have an existing life partner, but not necessarily. An

additional consideration that may play a role in the success of the P&C agency is if they

have a consumer portal that allows customers to receive quotes online. If so, this could be

indicative of a tech savvy agency that would have a great understanding and appreciation

of the value Peloton technology and adding life insurance to the consumer portal can bring

to their business. Having a digital platform is important to many P&C firms and is an area

where Peloton excels and has a competitive advantage over other firms including Hartford.

Tip: Although many P&C Agencies that have online

customer portal value a digital platform, don’t

assume this is most important to every client. We

will cover how to introduce benefits for your

clients later in this playbook.


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Changing the Agent’s Paradigm

Many agents have already have built-in ‘purpose driven’ meetings such as an Annual

Review with their clients to review their coverage. Currently, the conversation focuses

only the P&C lines of business (home and auto usually). It would be very natural for the

P&C agent to add a “Personal Risk Review” to their agenda.

Helping your Agents set up the Personal Risk Review:

• Agent call to their client:

o Mike, I hope your year has been going great. I’m looking forward to sitting

down with you and Nancy to make sure we are protecting you and the

family appropriately. Also, I’m excited this year because my firm and I have

instituted a Personal Risk Review to our meetings and it has been very

beneficial to my clients like you. The point is to make sure we take a much

more holistic approach to your coverage and take into account not just

your home and auto needs, but also your life, Long Term Care and Disability

Insurance needs too. My clients needs’ seem to change every 3 to 5 years, so

we want to make sure your and Nancy are adequately covered, and the

coverage is consistent with your goals… not too much, not too little. Does

this make sense Mike?

So if you can get your P&C agents or any of your agents that have regular ‘purpose driven’

meetings to add a Personal Risk Review to their agenda, it will drive additional revenue to

your agents and help them create the all illusive ‘sticky’ client.

The key is to adopt this in 100% of their annual reviews.


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-New York Times

Building & Making Use of Your Network

The quality of the people on the list you use to call for new appointments will have an

enormous impact on the results of your prospecting. This will require you to be intentional

about the prospects you put into your pipeline. While purchased marketing information

can yield fruitful relationships, the prospects you find on your own will most likely be your

“highest probability prospects.”

Referrals

Most successful sales people agree that the absolute best lead of all is a good referral. A

good referral is similar to a warm call because they are either already expecting your call or

their resistance softens when you mention the person

who referred you.

Additionally, the old adage, “birds of a feather flock

together” is quite true. Meaning, referrals from

current clients are likely to fit your business model

and are easier for you to work with. Subsequently,

these same referrals are much more likely to become a

loyal client with more referrals to share.

List a few of P&C agency owners that you already know:


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If you want to quickly expand your reach and ability to have focused and meaningful

conversations, call the P&C agency owners you already know.

Here’s how that conversation might sound:

“I am looking to expand the number of conversation

I am having with agency owners regarding ways to

grow revenues and customer retention by adding

life insurance. Who do you know that you would be

willing to introduce me to that may benefit from

this?”

Take an opportunity to make it your own:

Each conversation you have presents an opportunity to expand your network and

quickly reach the right quickly the right decision maker. Not doing this on a regular and

structured basis is a tremendous opportunity lost that your competitors will, at some point,

take advantage of.

When asked about how

they would go about

reaching others in the

industry, agency owners

introduce them to you”


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Expanding your network

Networking is all about making connections and building enduring, mutually

beneficial relationships. As previously discussed, a great way to start is tuning in to your

existing contacts. This is not just limited to P&C agency owners. EVERY person you know

is a contact with a contact list of potential connections.

A great place to quickly determine who you may know in your current network that can

introduce you to someone else and help you expand your network is LinkedIn.

1. Go to the “advanced search” function in LinkedIn

2. Within the “relationship” section on the left hand tool bar, check the box you would

like to search

Tip: 1st connection,

2nd connection,

Group members- 1st

and 2nd are your

highest probability


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3. Along the left side, click on the “Advanced” arrow to open a box that will allow you

to add keywords. Type in “property and casualty insurance”

4. Go down to the postal code and enter your zip code and expand the search to 100mi

5. Click the “View Results” button. This will show you all of your 1st and 2nd degree

connections that are affiliated with P&C. Look for branch managers, sales managers,

and agency owners.

Tip: When you meet someone new that you had a great conversation with, take a

moment and write a personal note and invite them to connect via LinkedIn.

Who are you connected with that you can start having conversations with?

The Producers Firm Playbook | Plan

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Why a Sales Process?

The world’s greatest athletes, musicians, and performers know that they have to

continually focus on the fundamentals in order to be successful. Rather than limiting their

performance, a repeatable process built on fundamentals provides a flexible yet supportive

framework for becoming even more creative in the moment. It is only when the

fundamentals become second nature that one is truly free to be oneself.

WJCMLLC P&C Sales Process:


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Know Before You Call

Clients don’t have time to sit and play 20 questions

anymore. (If they do, that may not be someone whose business

you want.) Clients expect their partners to have done their

homework, to know the basic facts about their business, and to

be prepared to offer insights and value before they even sit

down for a meeting. The more prepared you are, the greater

your credibility.

What should you review before your call?

1.

2.

Tip: People always

want to know, “What

are other people like

me doing that’s

working?”

3.

4.

5.


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Defining the Purpose and Desired Outcome

Defining these two simple objectives can have a tremendous impact on the results of

your calls. Clarifying the purpose and desired outcomes helps to focus your energy and set

the stage for the rest of your preparation. The challenge is that you must give yourself the

mental space to stop and think, even if only for a couple of minutes. In fact, two minutes is

usually all it takes to kick start your preparation so that the best version of yourself shows

up at the meeting.

Purpose: “Why am I calling? What is the benefit to the client?”

Desired outcomes: “What does success look like at the end of this call?”

Choose one of your key upcoming calls and think through these key questions.

Purpose

Desired Outcome

The Producers Firm Playbook | Getting In

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Hook (h

Attracting interest or

attention; an

enticement.

Crafting your Hook

The introductory call is your first opportunity, and possibly your last, to create a

case for a potential client to want to speak with you and hear more. A hook is a great way

to catch attention and frame the conversation with a benefit or compelling point of view to

share with the P&C manager/owner.

Examples of challenges include:

• Need for new revenue sources

• Increasing competitive pressures

• Competitors are adding life Insurance

• Increasing client retention

Examples of compelling points of view:

• We can help you develop new revenue sources that are a natural extension of your

current client conversations and would not require you to develop a new client

base.

• We can help your agents write more business.

What are examples of challenges you have heard?

What are some compelling points of view you can bring to the table?


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This might sound like:

Agent Hook: “Jim, I work with P&C agencies who are trying to increase client retention and grow revenues. Is this an issue your firm is

dealing with?”

Jim: Yes, this is.

Jim: No, I don't have that problem.

Agent: “Great, I would love to chat with you for 15 minutes and see if what we are doing for other P&C firms would be a fit for your business. Do you have 15 minutes right now, or should we schedule something?”

Agent: "Well, that's great to hear! I would love to hear more about what is working well for you. "

*This is an opportunity to get them talking and then ask them more discovery questions to determine the challenges they are

having.

What are some hooks you can use on your next set of calls?

What can you do to help them solve their challenge/issue?


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If the P&C manager/owner is already working with someone, follow up with

additional questions to get a better idea of where there may be opportunity for you to solve

a problem or present a compelling point of view:

• Are you getting the revenues you want?

• Are they managing the relationships you want?

• Would you be interested in greater numbers?

• What amount of revenue are you driving off of how many accounts?

Tip: Offering to pilot a group of agents and

compare results vs. existing relationships

can be a way to earn trust and credibility

with a potential client hesitant to work

with someone new.

What are some additional questions you can ask?


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Defining the Elements of Your Story

In the previous section we looked at a cold call example with Jim, a P&C agency

owner. If Jim asked you how you plan to help him increase client retention and grow

revenues, would you be prepared to answer (without info dumping)? While you may not

always get this question in the initial call, being prepared with a solid success story will

allow you to easily transition into a more in-depth

conversation.

A success story will help you to succinctly share how

you’ve helped other agencies and will be an integral part of

your credibility statement which we will discuss in the

following section.

Name a P&C agency that you were able to help solve a

problem:

What was their issue?

Tip: Collect a variety

of client success

stories. Share them

with other people at

Peloton. Write them

down and review

them from time to

time so they are

always fresh in your

mind. Every solution

How did you do to resolve the issue? What was the financial impact?


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Success Story Outline & Example

P&C agency you helped

• Example: I'm working with xxxx.

What was

their issue?

• Example: They were looking for ways to increase client retention and revenues by adding life insurance without having to be the experts.

How did you resolve their

issue?

• Example: We partnered with them to add these capabilities onto their existing platform, trained their agents how to discuss life insurance, and helped them develop and execute a marketing plan. The firm added $500,00 in premiums during the first year.

Transition

• Example: I don't know if I can do the same for you, but if I can ask you a few questions about your busineess we will be able to determine if there is a possible fit. If so, we can discuss possible next steps.

Try sharing your success story on your next call. What went well? What would make it

even better?


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The Credibility Statement

Establishing credibility in your potential client mind helps you stand out amongst

the competition. You must quickly let them know that you have experience without

sounding boastful. If you can do this at the beginning of the conversation, the impact of the

subsequent conversation will have more impact on your prospect and the more they will

open up to your questions.

The elements of a credibility statement are as follows:

1. Brief overview of Peloton (affiliate) and you

2. Describe a few of the common issues the P&C agencies you currently work with have

3. Success Story:

• Agency

• Issue

• Resolution

• Benefit

4. Transition to the Identify Step with a question (This will be covered in an upcoming

chapter about the opportunity gap.)

Write a brief overview of Peloton (affiliate) and

you:

Tip: Keep your overview of

Peloton (affiliate) and you

shorter than a minute.

Consider it similar to an

elevator speech.

The Producers Firm Playbook | Open

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Sharing the Agenda

Opening the business conversation can happen in a formal way (e.g. using a printed

agenda) or a less formal way (e.g. asking the client subtle questions to determine their

priorities). Regardless of whether you are deliberate about sharing your agenda or not,

having a clear, pre-determined agenda is a best practice. It’s also critical, as you start the

meeting, that the client is part of the agenda creation process. You must gain their input

along the way to make sure you are headed down the proper path. Doing so can also help

you lower their resistance and receptivity to the rest of the meeting and the solutions you

may recommend.

Elements of an effective agenda/agenda statement are as follows:

Purpose: State the purpose of the meeting in a client benefit-oriented manner, i.e., why is

we having the meeting and what’s in it for the client?

Objectives/topics: List the few topics that you expect to discuss with the client that will

enable the meeting’s purpose to be accomplished. Keep it short & to the point.

Input: Solicit feedback to make sure you are headed down the right path and addressing

what’s most important to the client.

Transition to your positioning statement: Once you confirm the agenda, transition to

your positioning statement.

“I have more fun and enjoy more success when I stop trying to get what I want

and start helping others get what they want.” –Spencer Johnson


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Here’s an example of how that might sound:

Purpose: The purpose of this call (or meeting) is to learn about you and your firm and give

you the opportunity to learn a little bit more about how we are helping P&C agencies

successfully increase the profitability of their current customer base.

Objectives /topics: There are a few things I would like to cover during the time we have

together:

1. A brief overview of Peloton and myself

2. Discuss your agency and some of the current opportunities and challenges you are

facing.

3. What your expectations of a partner like us may be.

4. Then we can share with you some of the strategies and ways we are working with

other P&C firms.

5. Finally, if it sounds like there would be a great fit, we can discuss some potential

next steps.

Input: Is there anything else you want to make sure we cover during this conversation?

Transition: Great, then to get us started is it okay if I give you a brief overview of Peloton

(affiliate) and myself? (Wait for a yes!)

Tip: After the transition, you will use your credibility

statement.


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Agenda Statement Worksheet

Prepare your agenda statement for an upcoming call or meeting.

Purpose

Outline

Input

Transition (to Credibility Statement)


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Building Rapport

When you meet with a client, your immediate goal is to build rapport. This is true on the

first meeting, the second meeting, or the 20th meeting. Rapport refers to a level of comfort

between two people.

• Be prepared and genuinely interested.

• Know your audience. In their limited available time, P&C owners and managers

are more interested in knowing how you will create value for their organization.

With others you are working with on a day-to-day basis, you may need to spend

(or be more open to spending) more time building personal rapport – they want

to know that you’ll be someone they can work closely with.

• Know when to bring preliminary pleasantries to an end and transition in to the

business conversation.

Tip: Have you ever heard the saying, “All things being equal, people prefer to do business with people they like”? Research shows that actually, people

prefer to do business with people whom they think like them. So the best way

to build rapport and long term relationships with clients is to demonstrate

genuine interest and curiosity about them, and their business.

Preliminary Pleasantries

Most meetings begin with some preliminary pleasantries. With new relationships, this

is especially important and a great opportunity to find some common ground with clients,

outside the scope of the typical discussions.

What research might you do beforehand to build rapport and find common ground?

The Producers Firm Playbook | Identify

31

Emotional & Logical Needs

Regardless of the situation, we all have emotional and logical needs that influence the

decisions we make. Your clients are no different, and their motivating factors will likely be

a mix of emotional and logical needs.

Top-performers know how to identify their client’s needs and then respond in a way

that satisfies them. The difference between the average agent and the extraordinary agent

usually lies in their ability to perceive, and then satisfy their client’s emotional needs.

When we properly identify and address our client’s logical and emotional needs, their level

of trust and willingness to accept our solution increases dramatically.

Take a look at some of the examples of logical and emotional needs of P&C agents. Are

there other emotional and logical needs that should be added to the list?

Logical Needs Emotional Needs

Make more money

Makes sense for my client

Viewed as a resource for clients

Need to feel confident in process & product

“We rationalize with logic what we

want emotionally” –

Anonymous


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Why Ask Questions?

What logical needs is the client attempting to address? What are the emotional needs

that will convince him or her to act? Identifying these needs is the next step of the process.

Tip: You will know you are asking enough engaging, open-ended

questions if the client is doing 80% of the talking and you are doing 20%.

Do

• Listen for what’s different

• See your client as a

unique person

• Listen to understand

• Be a “curious” listener

Don’t

• Listen for what’s familiar

• See your client as

someone filling a role

• Listen to respond

• Be a “judgmental” listener

A conversation that begins with an info dump of all the features you can offer the

potential candidate will not provide adequate context and value on the true benefits, and

they will likely end up feeling like they are being sold.

“Good questions do not merely elicit information the client already

knows; they provoke a deeper exploration and insight on the part of

the client.” - Mahan Khalsa


33

Creating an Opportunity Gap

The initial meeting with the P&C owner or manager, if done correctly, should allow

you to walk them through a process and let them come to the realization that your solution

is the logical solution that will solve their problem. Sometimes this problem may be

something they didn’t realize existed, or knew existed, but didn’t know how to solve. It is

crucial that this conversation begin around the client and their agency, as opposed to an

exposé about all of the wonderful things you and your firm can do for them.

Instead, begin by asking general current situation questions and then move to more

specific questions about the business. The goal of the discovery flow, as outlined in the

below diagram, is to create an opportunity gap by making your client aware of the “gap”

between where he is and where he wants to be. You also need to discuss goals and

priorities and why these are so important.

Discovery Flow

Tip: The majority of the time, an initial meeting should be spend in

discovery mode (asking questions) because it provides the

information needed to present a relevant solution that addresses the

client’s objectives, pain points, and goals.


34

Current Situation Questions

• Tell me a little bit about the history of your firm.

• When you first started what was your competitive advantage? How has that changed

over time?

• What are the biggest challenges to growth today?

• Tell me a little bit about your firms operating structure.

• What are the biggest challenges you face right now in competing to keep clients or

attract new ones?

• Who are the key stakeholders in the organization?

• How did you get into the business?

• Describe your typical client.

• How do your current clients find you?

• What products and services are you currently offering?

• What is the average length of time your customers are with you?

• What is the breakdown between commercial and personal lines business?

• Given your current customer acquisition costs, how long do you need to retain a

customer to break even?

• Have you considered the addition of life insurance previously?

o If so, what held you back?

• What concerns or obstacles would you have or anticipate having if you were to offer life

insurance to your existing customer base?

• What challenges have you had with your current (life insurance) relationships?

• Describe the process and any challenges with getting applications through

underwriting.

Are there other questions you think would be important to ask to determine their current

state?


35

Desired Situation Questions

• What does success look like for you for the rest of the year? In 5 years?

• What challenges do you anticipate in reaching these goals?

• What additional products or services would you like to add to your practice?

• How would they help your practice in attracting and keeping clients?

• What are some of the goals you have for yourself and the firm beyond this year?

• How would additional revenue streams help you and the firm?

• What would you look for in a partner that could help you expand your insurance

offerings?

• What revenue contribution from life insurance would be meaningful to your firm? [Back

calculate – that would mean you have to sell life insurance to [xx]% of your client base

of approximately $[yy] in premiums. Provide perspective on whether that is a realistic

target and why.

Are there other questions you think would be important to ask about their desired

situation?

Tip: Ask the client to expand on how solving a

problem or taking advantage of an opportunity

would help them:

• What would the impact be if …?


36

Expectations

• What do you expect from a partner?

• (If there’s a current partner) What does your current partner do really well?

• What is your timeline for implementation?

• Who else should be involved in these discussions?

• What concerns do you have?

Are there other questions you think would be important to ask to better understand their

expectations?

“The first step in exceeding your customer’s expectations is to know

those expectations.” – Roy Hollister Williams


37

Summarizing What the Client Shared

All too often, sales people ask questions, take a few notes and then… do nothing. People

need to know that they have been heard and understood. The best way to ensure that this

has happened is by delivering an effective summary following a structure like this.

Introduce the summary

Bridging Phrase: Let’s review what we talked about to make sure we are on

the same page.

Summarize Current Situation

Bridging Phrase: Currently…

u•mmS arize key points of the current situation

Summarize Desired Situation

Bridging Phrase: The main goals/priorities/outcomes are…

e•vieRw key goals, priorities and timelines and the

results your client wants to produce

Ask Confirming Questions

Key Questions: • Does that accurately sum up your situation?

•n yoCuathink of anything important that we

have not discussed?

Transition to Next Steps

Bridging Phrase: Great. Let’s talk about some possible next steps …

The Producers Firm Playbook | Identify 38

Summary Practice

Introduce the Recap

Transition Phrase:

Summarize Current Situation

Transition Phrase:

Summarize Desired Situation

Transition Phrase:

Ask Confirming Questions

Key Questions:

Transition to Next Steps

Transition Phrase:


39

Ideas to Practice

• Ask questions and listen. Your client should feel important and validated.

• Start easy. Start discovery with more basic/general questions and then move to the

complicated and specific areas. This approach puts the client at ease.

• Use clarifying questions. When you uncover an important priority, use clarifying

questions to go deeper. E.g., “Why is that important right now? How does that impact

you in your role?” etc.

• Focus on client outcomes, not products. Focus on what the client is trying to achieve

and show him how your products and services will help to make that happen.

• Follow a discovery flow by asking current situation questions followed by desired

situation questions (goals) which will help to create a selling gap.

• Use questions to move deeper within the organization. What challenges and

opportunities is your client being asked to address by his boss?

• Questions lead to credibility. Asking thoughtful questions about specific topics

relevant to your client is one of the best ways to gain credibility.

• Take accurate notes. You will be able to do a discovery summary and effectively

customize your recommendations.

“The essential difference between emotion and reason is that emotion

leads to action while reason leads to conclusions.”

- Neurologist Donald Calne

The Producers Firm Playbook | Recommend

40

What Makes You Different?

One of the keys to selling is being able communicate how your products and services

solve problems and create value for the clients. While mastery of product knowledge is

critical, understanding how clients leverage those products and how it impacts their

business is a story we can all get better at telling.

What value does your firm provide?

What are some key features of your firm? What are the benefits (to the client) of those

features?

Features Benefits

Drop Ticket

Use of our platform

Easy! Peloton takes care of the rest!

User friendly for you & your clients

In speaking with several P&C firms during this project we found

something consistent the agencies liked about the Peloton value

proposition. They like the fact that you make adding life insurance

as a new revenue source easy. Use this to your advantage during

the conversation and specifically position the flexibility an agency

has with regards to how they choose to engage with you, the

affiliate.


41

Speak in Terms of the Customer’s Interests

You can tell the P&C agency manager/owner a lot about you, your company, and your

products and services but if you do not connect that information to problems your client

wants to solve, it will make very little difference. Information must be communicated in a

way that immediately answers the question, “What’s in it for me, the client?”

Using the structure of Link – Feature – Bridge – Benefit (LFBB) is a simple way to

consistently communicate in a way that speaks to the customer’s interests.

A link calls back to something the customer said previously.

Ron, you mentioned before that you are really working towards taking Fridays off.

A feature is a fact about a product (that can be proven).

The great thing about adding life insurance and using our drop ticket feature is that all you

have to do is continue to be a resource for your clients, and once you submit the ticket, we

take care of the rest!

A bridge is a short phrase using the word “you” that pivots the feature to the benefit.

What this means for you…

A benefit is how the customer would use or experience the feature.

…is that you can add an additional revenue stream to your business, while working the same

amount, and add an additional 52 days off a year to spend time with your family.


42

Write out a few of your own LFBBs.

LFBB: Product: ____________________

Strategic Discovery Question

Link

Feature

Bridge

Benefits


43

LFBB: Product: ____________________


Link

Feature

Bridge

Benefits


44

LFBB: Product: ____________________


Link

Feature

Bridge

Benefits


45

Designing a Customized Solution

If you’ve done a good job in building a relationship and seeking to understand the

client through rapport building, discovery, and discovery summary process then the client

is probably in a receptive mindset to hear you talk about Peloton and what you can do for

him or her. The client will be paying close attention to what you say, how you say it and

how you support what you say. The solution presentation is your opportunity to present a

compelling reason why the client should do business with you and Peloton. It can be start

with a range of options and the ability to evolve over time or it can be very specific around

specific products and/or services that will help them reach their objectives.

Tip: The presentation should:

• Be tailored to the client’s needs we uncovered during the discovery step.

[ Show our client how our products and services can move them from their current situation to their desired situation in the goal areas that

were identified during discovery.

The Solution Presentation Agenda Statement

The following example outlines the presentation of solutions on a follow-up call or

meeting. After preliminary pleasantries on this second call or meeting we will use the

agenda statement to transition into the business conversation. It follows the same steps we

learned for the initial meeting, but uses slightly different words because the agenda is

different.

Step One – State the purpose of the meeting

Steve, I really appreciate you taking the time to meet with me today. My purpose today is

to share a comprehensive Peloton solution that can give you the life insurance capabilities

you need to help your company are seeking to improve client profitability and provide

greater value to your existing client base.


46

Step Two – Briefly outline what you will cover

In order to make this meeting as productive as possible, I suggest we discuss the following:

• First, let’s briefly review some of the key things we discussed at our last meeting.

• After that, let’s determine if anything has changed since we last got together that would

have any impact on your needs.

• Then, we can look at some specific recommendations our team has come up with that

will help you reach some of your company’s goals.

• Finally, we can talk about what the possible next steps may be.

Step Three – Gain client input on agenda

Is there anything else you’d like to add to that? (If the client says “yes,” be sure to write

down the item, ask if there is anything else, and let them know you’ll be sure to cover that

with them, but continue through to step 4).

Step Four – Transition into discovery

summary from previous call/meeting

Great, then if it’s alright with you, may I

start by giving you a quick review of what

we talked about in our last meeting? (Wait

for a yes!)

The Two Major Solution Presentation

Areas

Tip: 7% of your message is

communicated with your words,

38% with your tone, and about

55% with body language. Study

body language.

The goal of the solution presentation is to use a variety of different tools to show

your client why Peloton is a good choice for their insurance relationship. The presentation

itself will be comprised of a few different pieces:

1. Specific solution recommendations.

2. Details of a proposal.

3. Specific products that can help the client.

4. Other Peloton resources and capabilities that might be useful to the client at

some time in the future.


47

How to Communicate Specific Solution Recommendations

Now it’s time to dive into the second part of the solution presentation –

communicating specific recommendations. In most cases when you present a proposal,

you will have some type of accompanying document (proposal) that spells out in detail the

terms of your offer. Sometimes, we can fall into the habit of thinking that “the numbers

speak for themselves”

Now that you’ve communicated your solution, you’ll want to show your client that

Peloton has the resources and capabilities to truly provide the services they need. This is

the third part of the solution presentation where you get the opportunity to use the LFBBs

to build value in the Peloton products and services and how they relate to what the client

discussed as important.

Tip: Do not assume the client is familiar with Peloton and your products

and services as you are. Although the benefits of a specific feature may

sound obvious to you, it may not necessarily be obvious to your client.

The Producers Firm Playbook | Handle

48

Overcoming Objections

Objections, concerns and hesitations are a natural part of the decision making process

and can come up at any time. They are not necessarily an indication that the client does not

want to do business with you. The approach to dealing with resistance can be more

important than the actual response.


49

Listen

When you hear an objection, your initial impulse may be to respond immediately. It’s a

natural reaction and one that can take a lot of effort to stifle. The first step is to listen truly

to what the customer is saying. We spoke earlier about the difference between listening to

respond and listening to understand - the latter will serve you well here.

Before you say anything, pause.

Clarify

Ask questions to clarify what the customer’s concern is truly about. “That sounds

expensive,” can mean many different things. Make sure you know which one it is before you

develop a response.

Good things happen when you ask clarifying questions:

[ The emotion behind the objection often dissipates as the client talks about it. This can help make him or her more receptive to your response.

[ You will hear clues as to the best way to respond. Often client will talk themselves out of the objection as they explain why the objection is an important concern.

[ Questions help you to gather more information, which leads to more questions.

[ Questions help you to uncover the real issues.

• Questions keep you from contracting the most dreaded illness of sales people –

talking too much.

[ Questions help you to gain credibility in the eyes of the customer.

Some clarifying questions to try:

[ Please help me better understand your hesitation.

[ What is it specifically that you are concerned about?

[ What were you expecting? How did you arrive at that expectation?

[ Could you tell me a little more about that concern so that I can understand it better?

[ Could you please explain it to me in more detail?


50

Restate

After you’ve asked some clarifying questions, restate the objection back to the client

to ensure that you have correctly identified the issue. Are you and your client on the same

page? If the answer is yes, proceed to the next step – Cushion. If not, go back to the Listen

step and repeat the process until you’ve reached agreement on the restate.

Cushion

A cushion is an acknowledgement or statement of empathy that shows the customer

that you have heard her and that you know this issue is important. Put yourself “on the

same side of the table” as the client – you are working with your client, not against.

Respond

Finally, respond to the objection.

Tip: When you have more than one objection, ask the customer to

tell you which objection is the one causing the greatest concern and

begin there.


51

Responding to Specific Objections

Objection: We tried to sell insurance before and it was a disaster

What clarifying questions would you ask?

How did the customer respond to your clarifying question?

What would you say to respond to this objection?

What evidence can you use that will help you when responding to this objection?

Tip: Avoid the words “but, however, and actually.”

They typically connect opposing ideas.


52

Objection:

What clarifying questions would you ask?

How did the customer respond to your clarifying question?

What would you say to respond to this objection?

What evidence can you use that will help you when responding to this objection?

The Producers Firm Playbook | Recap

53

Post Meeting Process

The post meeting process is designed to help you to capture your thoughts while they

are fresh so you can efficiently share relevant information with your teammates and build

on this information as you grow your relationship with this client. There are three steps to

the post meeting process:

1. Debrief

While the meeting is still very clear in your mind, quickly capture your thoughts.

2. Clarify Goals and Next Actions

What are the main goals and next actions?

3. Meeting Recap to the Client

Follow up with a brief summary of the key points and next actions.

The Meeting Recap

After a client meeting it is important to maintain momentum and capitalize on the

enthusiasm you have generated. By following up quickly with clients you help to build trust

and keep the conversation going. A simple yet often overlooked, practice is to provide the

client with a brief summary of the meeting including next actions. An effective, timely

(within 24 hours) recap produces multiple benefits:

• The client can easily share this information with others in his organization.

• You can more easily engage your team members and get them up to speed.

• It helps you to refresh your thinking when you are preparing for the next

call/meeting with this client.

How does a timely recap help you? How does it help the client?


54

hrs

Post Meeting Template

Immediate

Discussion

Debrief

While the meeting is still clear in your mind, quickly capture your thoughts.

� Did we achieve our desired outcomes?

� What did we learn?

� Insights to share with team

� Client reaction

� What resonated & what didn’t?

Capture This

Clarify Goals and Next Actions

Confirm:

� What are the near term goals for the client?

� What ideas should we capture for future discussions?

� What do we need to share with other colleagues?

� What are the specific next actions and who is responsible for each?

� Who will write the recap?

Email within 24

Meeting Recap to the Client

Send an email recap to all meeting attendees (cc: other stakeholders)

summarizing the following:

� Attendees (client/your company)

� “Thanks for your time and the opportunity to discuss…”

� Key insights

� Next meeting/call scheduled

� Next actions


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Recap Practice

Take some time to practice writing a recap for your last meeting.

Notes

The Producers Firm Playbook | Additional Resources

56

Pre-Call& Pre-Meeting Planning and 10 Key Questions

No matter if you are going on a meeting by yourself or as part of a team, pre-call and

pre-meeting planning is a must. Pre-meeting planning is even more essential in team-

selling situations because you have to coordinate all the team members.

The key questions to ask before the call:

1. What does success look like at the end of the meeting?

2. What do I know about this person? Their agency?

3. What don’t I know that I need to know or should I know?

4. What are the roles and responsibilities for each team member?

5. What is the agenda for the meeting (POINT)?

6. What collateral you need and decide who is going to bring it?

7. What obstacles and/or objections you are likely to face?

8. What objections am I likely to face?

9. How will we/I respond to each objection? Who will respond?

10. How are we going to articulate the benefits to the client?

11. Are you going to ask the prospect to purchase new products or services?

12. What additional resources might be needed?

13. What are the next steps going to be?

Answering each of these questions is a great start to creating success on purpose.

Tip: Even if you are handling the sales call or

meeting solo, you should answer these same 10

questions as part of your pre-call planning.


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Pre-Call Planning Checklist

“Failing to plan is planning to fail.” – Alan Lakein

� Prepare call objectives.

� If team selling, conduct a Pre-Call Planning meeting with your team to discuss roles &

responsibilities.

� Have a clearly defined agenda for the meeting.

� Prepare and practice your Credibility Statement in advance.

� Plan, prepare and bring appropriate presentation tools and colleagues to support your

key points.

� Anticipate the objections your client might have and rehearse effective responses.

� Rehearse your closing strategy and next steps.

� Plan how you are going to ask for referrals.

� Always be on time.

� Google the company and client(s) you are meeting.

� Adequately address the key 10 issues.

� Iron your briefcase by preparing it the night before.

�

�

�

�


58

Purpose Client

Name

Date

Desired Outcome

Agenda Items

1

2

3

4

Credibility Statement

Discovery Areas

1

2

3

4

Potential Concern Plan to Address

Next Steps

1

2

3


59

Best Practices

• While on the surface it may seem attractive to call on captive agents due to the size and

volume potential, our research indicates it may be premature to make this a high

commitment focus. Some of the national carriers are expanding into these markets and

beginning to allow, and in some cases, adding quotas to agents to write health and life

insurance business. However, the carriers either limit who this can be written with or

require it be written internally.

• Look into smaller organizations that support P&C industry such as American Agents

Lines. There are several of these in the U.S. and if you can get them to endorse the

affiliate will have the ability to reach a significant number of people.

• Consider trade shows. There are many of these each year. If you can illustrate a couple

of messages you will likely attract interest.

oe haWve a solution, all you need to do is pass information to us and we do the

rest.

oere Tisha lot of hand holding that goes into life. If they (the P&C agency) didn’t

have to do it life insurance would be attractive.

• Drip marketing to agents. WFG does a good job of this. They have created seven

reasons why people buy life, six reasons why you should sell life and send one segment

out every other week over 26 weeks.

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