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    National Underwriter Sales Essentials (Property & Casualty): Breaking the Sales Barrier
    National Underwriter Sales Essentials (Property & Casualty): Breaking the Sales Barrier
    National Underwriter Sales Essentials (Property & Casualty): Breaking the Sales Barrier
    Ebook215 pages2 hours

    National Underwriter Sales Essentials (Property & Casualty): Breaking the Sales Barrier

    By Randy Schwantz

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    About this ebook

    An excellent resource for the sales leader, Breaking the Sales Barrier captures and explains the critical elements necessary to manage producers so that they can join the elite of the sales force. This "how to" book is filled with the tools that agency owners and sales managers need to develop a winning sales culture—and what producers need to embrace it.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherThe National Underwriter Company
    Release dateFeb 20, 2014
    ISBN9781939829696
    National Underwriter Sales Essentials (Property & Casualty): Breaking the Sales Barrier

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      Book preview

      National Underwriter Sales Essentials (Property & Casualty) - Randy Schwantz

      Hear what your colleagues have to say about The Wedge® and the techniques covered in Breaking the Sales Barrier.

      Partnering with The Wedge® Group has proved to be one of the best strategic sales initiatives Lombard Canada has undertaken. The Wedge® continues to be the only sales training we provide to our brokers because it gives them the proper tools to compete effectively in today’s environment. Brokers who have completed the course continue to outperform the rest of the industry!

      Dean Morrissey

      Vice President, Sales & Custom Marketing

      Lombard Canada

      We have grown our business by 75 percent this year, and The Wedge® technique deserves a lot of the credit. The beauty of The Wedge® lies in its simplicity. It has taught our sales teams to be more strategic, prepared and confident.

      Peter M. Vukanovich

      President

      GE Capital Mortgage Insurance – Canada

      A new approach that gets the buyer thinking. Sets you apart from the other agents using the same techniques the buyer has heard before. Randy is energetic and forces you to be different...definitely recommend.

      Mike Boucher

      Welsch, Flatness & Lutz, Inc.

      Randy has a gift that few people possess—the gift to teach and coach sales professionals to develop their sales strategies through a proven plan of winning. Randy provides them a pirates’ lost treasure map that, if followed, will surely lead to the treasure of sales.

      Jim Shoppa

      Shoppa Equipment

      I started from scratch with nothing to lose. So when The Wedge® came along I decided that this was the way that I could make myself different from everyone else. Now, three years later, with a million-dollar-income book I have separated myself from everyone else.

      Ed Coker

      Higginbotham & Associates

      "Using the ‘Red Hot Intros’ technique provided me tremendous credibility with my prospects, far better than mere referrals ever did. My closing ratios increased dramatically when I was personally introduced to a prospect rather than simply calling and saying I was referred by. . .

      This business is about relationships, and these methods help me establish and maintain strong, credible relationships with my clients that last a lifetime."

      Mike Buchler

      Commerce National Insurance

      "We’ve used many forms of training, but The Wedge® was the first tool that allowed my sales people to really look at how much time was being wasted. . .and that time was their most valuable resource!  The Wedge® concepts move our sales efforts to ‘results’, not just implementing plans.

      When I have salespeople quoting from the book at our sales meeting, I know I have found a useful tool to improve their performance!

      Larry Koomler

      Marsh

      The Wedge® is a great concept, and I guarantee it works! Do what Randy & Brian suggest and preach, and you can’t help but more than double your book of business.

      Tim Brady

      Brady, Chapman, Holland & Associates

      At my previous company, The Wedge® was invaluable in aligning our company underwriters with brokers in the sales process. Together, we made more effective joint sales calls. As a team, we closed more deals successfully. Hit ratio’s improved dramatically. . . 20+ percent.

      J. Russell Smith

      Division Vice President, Groups & Associates

      Fireman’s Fund

      We have been using The Wedge® strategy at Sullivan Curtis Monroe for the past two years, and our producers have adopted these principles to increase their sales. We have written well over $3,000,000 of new business commissions by following these principles. In fact, our agency culture now has a common theme and successful strategy to write new business rather than just quoting accounts.

      Ed Shumaker

      Sullivan & Curtis Insurance Brokers

      The Wedge® is not simply the best—it is the only approach that consistently works. The Wedge® gave me the tools to win like no other sales technique available.

      Greg Acker

      Sleeper, Sewell & Company

      "Consolidations within our industry have brought about opportunities for independent companies. The Wedge® provided the tools we needed to retain and grow our customer base. Rather then selling on price, we beat competition with our competence to justify our strengths.

      At last, we can sell our company knowledge instead of just beating a price.

      Howard Skolnik

      Skolnik Industries

      The Wedge® Sales Culture is the most effective and efficient means of survival in the New Market Place.

      David McDonnell

      McDonnell Insurance, Inc.

      "Over the last year we have been working hard to dramatically change our sales culture. The introduction of The Wedge® process has helped us greatly to qualify our real opportunities and identify our true service advantages over our competitors. Culture doesn’t change easily, but the

      focus the Wedge® brings is driving change."

      Jim Mangan

      Amerisure

      The insurance business is hard enough, so do yourself a favor and cut through 90 percent of the qualifying process by utilizing The Wedge®. What more do you want in earning a new piece of business? The bottom line is more commission and less heartache. Thanks, Randy, for a proven and effective sales program.

      Scott Gregory, Vice President

      Johnson & Bryan

      The Wedge® is a unique and proven method of supercharging your sales. This is the wedge—a new, groundbreaking technique that can be used over and over again—each time with proven success!

      David Hartsell

      Account Executive

      Marsh Private Client Services

      "Prior to using The Wedge®, I had a book of business under $500,000. Now, in only three short years, my book is in excess of $2 million! I can thank Randy and The Wedge® Group for helping me achieve these results. My hit ratio is close to 100 percent. I’m definitely a believer!

      Mark Stokes

      ABD Insurance & Financial Services

      Our firm aggressively embraced a sales culture beginning in ‘95 after meeting with Randy Schwantz. We realized our vision could become a reality by leveraging The Wedge® among our production staff. Since that time, we continue to utilize The Wedge® selling strategies within Higginbotham & Associates. It has resulted in a 22.5 percent organic growth rate, far exceeding $1,000,000+ new revenue year after year. . . and, in ‘95 we had no single producer responsible for $1,000,000 in revenue. We now have seven, with more meeting that benchmark by year-end! Thanks Randy.

      J. Russell Reid

      President & CEO

      Higginbotham & Associates, Inc.

      Copyright © 2014 by Randy Schwantz

      The National Underwriter Company

      5081 Olympic Blvd., Erlanger, KY 41018

      All rights reserved.

      No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher.

      ISBN: 978-1-939829-69-6

      Printed in U. S. A.

      Table of Contents

      Table of Contents

      Foreword

      Preface

      Section 1

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      Chapter 6

      Chapter 7

      Section 2

      Chapter 8

      Chapter 9

      Chapter 10

      Chapter 11

      Section 3

      Chapter 12

      Chapter 13

      Chapter 14

      Chapter 15

      Section 4

      Chapter 16

      Chapter 17

      Chapter 18

      Chapter 19

      Section 5

      Chapter 20

      Chapter 21

      Chapter 22

      Section 6

      About the Author

      Foreword

      This book is an excellent resource for the sales leader. It captures in detail the critical elements that set Randy apart from other sales trainers.

      I first met Randy in April of 1990. I had just hung up the phone with a sales person who was trying to promote his sales training program. He was not very effective. Next call was Randy. Before the conversation was over, I had invited Randy to our office. The meeting turned into a four-hour training session each Thursday for the next two years. Sometime in those two years I told Randy he should specialize with property/casualty insurance agents. Randy has now trained more agents than any one else in the industry.

      Randy has outlined in this book the critical elements of a sales meeting where sales people are not only held accountable: they are learning how to win.

      He moves you through the process of conducting a meeting that has helped us drive revenue through the generation of introductions and the preparation for new business calls. Unlike anyone else out there, Randy will teach you how to cut through the liars club mentality that most sales meetings have become. This book contains methods and not just concepts. I’d encourage you to go to page 109 and determine what it really costs your agency to quote on a new account. You’ll then have a greater appreciation for separating the winners from the losers and eliminating practice quoting.

      The difference is that Randy provides the tactics to selling. When you come away from Randy’s class, you not only know where you’re going, but you know what to say to get you there.

      This unusual combination of strategic and tactical selling skills is unique to Randy’s style of teaching. I’ve attended his classes for years, and every single time I come away with new ideas.

      You are sure to come away from the reading of this book with some new ideas that you can put to use today. Regardless of whether you are a salesperson or a sales leader, this book will be your bible for new sales.

      – Patrick J. Bonds, President

      Hilb Rogal & Hobbs, Dallas

      Preface

      In June of 1994 I received a phone call from a woman with an agency in Chicago. Her request was a bit peculiar. I read one of your articles and liked what you had to say. We would like you to audit one of our weekly sales meetings. We want to improve them.

      We agreed to a fee and set a date. When I asked her what was wrong with the current meetings, she simply replied, You’ll see.

      I flew north to Chicago wondering what awaited me. It was Tuesday morning. The room was set up in a big horseshoe, with an overhead projector at the front and seating for thirty. The orange juice was cold, the bagels were fresh, and the coffee was hot. So far, so good.

      People strolled in, grabbed something to eat and drink, and took their seats. I leaned over and asked my contact, why so many seats? She replied, We include all our managers, department heads, producers, and owners. The meeting started promptly at 8:30 a.m. when the head of the accounting department put a transparency on the overhead and talked through last month’s results. Next an insurance company marketing representative took center stage to talk about new products. He talked about his company’s desire to partner with this agency to help each other grow profitably, right before making a plea for more new business opportunities.

      The producer beside me whispered, Some partner! He’ll be telling our number one competitor the same thing tomorrow morning. This is a huge waste of time. I just nodded.

      When the marketing rep left, the sales manager asked for success stories from the past month. Most people passed on the opportunity story until it got to Manny. Manny stood up and started talking about his heroic closing of a new account. A two-minute story stretched into twenty as he detailed the missing computer file and the last minute, down-to-the-wire proposal prepared by a virtual task force of collators. It was anything but interesting, not to mention self-serving.

      Next we went around the room to find out what was in the pipeline. Several producers mentioned an account or two, and then we got to Bob. Bob was making progress on three big accounts. He might as well have said he was working on GE, Microsoft, and GM. No one in the room believed he had a prayer now or ever to write the stuff. This time, the producer leaned over and said in a low, weary voice, Bob’s been talking about these same accounts for two years. No one even bothers questioning him. What a waste! I could be out selling.

      During the general discussion, one producer complained that she couldn’t sell because she couldn’t count on her CSR to take care of customers—which brought the customer service manager to her employee’s defense. This was followed by a discussion about insurance companies and how unpredictable they’d become.

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