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An Interview With Sales Trainer Rob Liano

An experienced agent and trainer shares strategies that help him convert up to 40% of his Internet leads.

Rob Liano runs a one-person insurance business serving 30 states from his seaside home in Long Beach, NY. In addition to putting his proven strategies and tactics to work with his own pipeline, he trains other agents and call centers in effective insurance sales.

What's the biggest challenge and benefits of being a one-man shop?

Rob: The challenge is multitasking. I sell over 12 companies in 30 states. I have a book of business that needs to be maintained. I also train other agents and call centers over the phone, web and on location. Can I do it all? Of course. But it comes down to time management and using the right tools.

The benefits? I'm able to live on the beach, play in a band and travel - while I'm building a sweet residual business.

What's your philosophy regarding customer service?

Rob: It should be your entire focus! My dad was a strong influence on my sales point of view, and he taught me "take care of the customer and the money takes care of itself." If my sole purpose is to please the consumer and keep their best interest in mind, I'll be successful.

Now that's much more involved than it sounds. But I've found from personal experience that this philosophy, combined with effective sales techniques, will explode any agent's business, increase retention and generate more referrals.

What have you found to be the most common sales call issue among agents?

Rob: Learning how to sell. Too many new agents and some veterans never received much in the way of sales training. Yes, they learned the basics about their insurance products and the application process. But they never really learned how to sell.

To illustrate this point, look at it from the most important perspective - the clients. How many times do health insurance shoppers run into agents who haven't taken the time to thoroughly master their product line? Too often, those agents don't offer the right product to the right person.

To make it worse, agents don't bother to spend enough time educating the consumer. Instead, they just put more pressure on people to buy. Buying is emotional and psychological. If you or your sales team can't close someone who's actively looking for insurance, you really need to take another look at your overall sales training.

What has been the biggest weakness of agents you've trained?

Rob: Number 1 is adapting to phone sales. Number 2 is a disregard or ignorance in regards to a professional sales process.

From their intro to their post-sale process, including how to overcome stalls, objections and rebuttals, so many of the agents I've trained were just never taught properly about sales. You wouldn't work on a car if you weren't a mechanic right? Consider this: over 60% of sales people don't even close. That says a lot. The problem with many agents and the offices that hire and train them is that they never took the time to ramp up their sales skills. They hand them a pitch and off they go to sink or swim.

What are the most common objections you think agents need to learn how to overcome?

Rob: There are 6 common objections that I stress in training:

• Can you send me information?
• I'd like to speak to my spouse.
• I'd like to think it over.
• I'm just shopping around.
• I already found insurance.
• I can't afford it.

But before I go into effective scripts, I always urge agents to understand why objections come up in the first place. It's always been my experience that a professional sales presentation will eliminate all or most objections!

How do you handle a new lead that hits your inbox?

Rob: I immediately call and email. Actually, I use a LeadMiner email autoresponder to send them an immediate welcome email and keep in constant touch with leads afterwards. If I don't get them on the phone, I fine-tune the content of the email I send and the voice message I leave to ellicit a response from the buyer. And that content changes on the second and subsequent emails and voicemails. But it also must be on a regimented schedule.

Should a "belly to belly" agent consider moving towards selling over the phone?

Rob: 150% YES!! How much time in a day does an agent spend selling? How much of that is wasted generating leads and then arranging meetings? Would you write more if you could spend 90% of your day actually selling? Of course! Not only that, quality statewide leads like ProspectZone's Select leads, allow you to cover everyone in your state AND region - not just what's within driving distance.

How about new agents? Where do you think they should invest their time and money?

Rob: This is easy. Leads, leads and more leads - plus proper training. I can't stress enough how important it is to start out effectively. I've seen countless agents spend their money, spin their wheels, get discouraged and go nowhere! Quality training and quality leads will help any new agent launch a successful career.

What are the most important lessons you try to teach to your sales trainees?

Rob: You can't grow beyond what you know. In other words, what you currently know, will keep you where you're currently at - so exceed to succeed! Keep trying to learn more and keep improving your skills.

Rob Liano was also a recent participant in a Norvax University webinar on customer service and sales. He can be contacted at robliano@optonline.com or 888-379-8315.

Jeremiah Desmarais is vice president of marketing at ProspectZone. He is the recipient of 9 awards for his marketing and design initiatives online. He is also editor of the ProspectZone Newsletter, which delivers helpful sales articles, tips and marketing strategies to 15,000+ insurance agents monthly. Author of several white papers, Jeremiah is a contributor to the Agent’s Sales Journal, Health Insurance Underwriter and Broker World, as well as a guest speaker at various carrier events and workshops. He is a member of the Society of Industry Leaders.

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Would you like your agents to learn about the latest insurance lead generation tactics and insider news in your own publication? So would we! Please contact jdesmarais@prospectzone.com to inquire about reproducing our content.

Quick Tip

Your Internet leads came to you through the web. They used a search engine to find a consumer health insurance website, completed an online request and received an email confirmation that an agent will soon be contacting them.

But are YOU meeting your prospects where they really are?

The phone call is only one tool in your chest. To really meet your Internet-generated leads where they operate, make sure you have a strong Internet presence.

Using emails, preferably an email autoresponder, to communicate with online shoppers is now the norm. But you also need to strengthen your online presence with a professionally designed website. After your prospect has received your email and phone call, they'll often want to investigate your company. And your website is your calling card, storefront window and marketing brochures all rolled into one.

Your website needs to help you guide each lead toward an app, by providing them with the educational material and information they need - and showing them that you're on top of your industry.