How to Cross-Sell Insurance to Clients
As important as it is to gain new clients for your insurance business, you shouldn’t forget about existing clients as another source of income. Existing customers are familiar with your service and have confidence in you.
It may also be beneficial to offer additional insurance services if you offer more than one type of product. By cross-selling them additional insurance, you can increase their chances of purchasing a policy.
Why life insurance?
Life insurance can make a big difference in clients’ lives. Losing a loved one is traumatic (especially the breadwinner) but doesn’t have to be as financially debilitating for your loved ones too. According to LIMRA, 36% of consumers say they plan to buy life insurance within the next 12 months.
Why cross-selling life insurance is a good idea?
There’s a large market for life insurance. Consumers would rather do a bundle or go through the same provider for multiple insurances. The value of a bundle is evident in the fact that customers are more likely to choose multiple products from the same insurer. Those insurers offering two or more products have generated more long-term customer relationships.
Why should you be the ones to sell it to clients?
Clients want to get insurance from someone they know already. Clients value established trust and would rather buy multiple insurance products from one insurer than have a new company for each insurance. There’s car insurance, home insurance, auto insurance, life insurance, health insurance, disability insurance, homeowners and renter insurance, etc.
At first, cross-selling insurance may feel awkward or uncomfortable. The last thing you want to do is sound like you are trying to nag your customers into buying services.
Let’s explore some of the most effective ways to cross-sell your insurance products and keep your clients happy in this article.
Cross-selling vs. up-selling
What is cross-selling?
When you cross-sell, you sell products that are related to or complementary to those that your current customers already own. You can cross-sell by encouraging a customer who just bought a new laptop to buy a protective case at the same time.
What is up-selling?
In upselling, you encourage your existing customers to purchase more expensive but comparable products than what they currently own or want. Upselling is, for instance, selling the whole Microsoft Suite to someone who comes to your company looking for just Excel.
What are the benefits of cross-selling insurance?
For brokers
If you can sell additional products to your existing clients, you’ll need to spend less time and money generating leads. Having some of your client’s information already will save you time by not starting from scratch every time.
If you are looking for more insurance leads it can be pricy. Selling additional products to your customer base can reduce your costs while still boosting revenue.
For clients
One of the most important benefits is that they get their insurance needs to be met. They gain peace of mind knowing their loved ones are taken care of. In addition, if they only have to deal with one insurance agent for all their insurance policies, they will save a lot of time. As a result, they won’t have to remember the contact information of multiple insurance agents or wait on multiple phone lines. If you offer a bundling discount, your client can save money by combining two or more policies.
Follow the tips below to incorporate cross-selling in your sales process.
1. Identify the clients that may need life insurance
Take an inventory of your client list to know who doesn’t have life insurance and who could use it. Identifying the clients who don’t already have life insurance before talking to them will create a more personalized experience. It will also reduce the chances of sounding like you’re trying to get more money and more like you are looking out for your client’s insurance needs and trying to help them protect their loved one. (You will sound more genuine when you’re not cross-selling to everyone blindly.)
Try one of these conversation starters to develop the habit of mentioning life insurance:
- Thank you again for letting us assist you in protecting your family! You know, we offer different insurance products and no-obligation quotes. Would you like to see if you can save on life insurance?
- When was the last time you had a comprehensive review of your life insurance coverage?
- Do you have a way to pay off your mortgage and car loan if something should happen to you or your spouse? Can I give you a quote for life insurance if there is no plan in place?
If you know the client does not have life insurance, try these conversation starters:
- When was the last time you had a comprehensive review of your life insurance coverage?
- Have you recently reviewed your life insurance needs?
2. Make cross-selling an organic part of your client conversations
In the event that the client doesn’t have life insurance, you can introduce it organically into the conversation by suggesting relevant/related products so it won’t seem like an upsell. You might find these conversation starters helpful when calling customers for quotes or contacting current clients for questions. Include them as related topics that come up in the conversation.
- What do you do for a living?
- Can you tell me a little bit about your family?
- What are some future goals and plans?
- What are your current financial plans for your family if something suddenly happens to you?
Getting a better understanding of their insurance needs will allow you to offer better insurance options. By doing so, you will have a higher chance of closing the deal.
3. Make it clear everything you sell
Prepare a one-page document that explains all the products you sell, how they complement each other, and whether or not clients receive bundle discounts. That way, you can easily include this in the conversation and walk clients through the process.
With this document, it will be easy to start the conversation about clients getting other products, and it will help you convince the client that these products will be valuable to them.
If a client is interested in possibly investing in multiple insurance products, you can be prepared to answer questions with a one-page quick view of your product offerings. Display it on your screen in a video call or send a PDF to view with clients. You’ll be able to cover each point and close the sale more easily once a client can clearly see the benefits you’ve outlined.
4. Follow up with your clients
By keeping up with your clientele, you can not only improve the customer experience but also cross-sell your products and services.
You can do a follow-up call starting with, “Thank you for using us for your insurance needs. We also offer life insurance. Would you be interested in a free quote? Remember, you are checking up with them, customizing the conversation to organically lead into this kind of conversation, “hey while I have you here, When was the last time you reviewed your life insurance needs? I offer these services and it’s a service I feel strongly about providing.”
5. Look for cross-selling opportunities.
Keep looking for opportunities to cross-sell naturally in every conversation. Think about what life insurance products you can offer that makes the most sense for your client. Listen to them and make genuine suggestions about services that better protect them.
Ask your current clientele if they have any referrals so that you can further help others. During these phone conversations with referrals, you may find cross-selling opportunities.
Bottom Line
The cross-selling of insurance products is a highly effective strategy for growing your business. It takes practice to master the skill, but it gets better with time. Use these skills to your advantage with each new client. Always consider what products you might be able to offer when you meet with a customer. Listen to what they have to say, and ask how you can help. Customers value representatives who make genuinely helpful suggestions about services that better protect them.
Finaeo offers multiple-carrier products in one marketplace, making it easy to access and quickly comparable. With 1000+ life insurance carrier products, Finaeo offers policies that meet almost any client’s need.
Making more sales through cross-selling doesn’t require spending time and money on generating new leads. Your client, on the other hand, gets to enjoy the convenience of dealing with one insurance representative while feeling better protected.
