remembering something or being embarrassed to discuss a certain medical issue or weight . Firms are moving towards enabling customers to complete medical questions privately , which can alleviate most of these issues . In terms of customers not remembering a certain situation , the key here is to ensure you do not rush through the questions too quickly , allowing the customer to understand exactly what you are asking . Never open with leading questions such as ‘ You ’ ve not had a heart attack have you ?’ and always ensure the questions are asked as written , and with time for a considered response . Welcome calls can have a real impact here too . Not only does it continue to build rapport with the customer , but you can schedule this for after they have received their policy documents , and you can then confirm with them that everything is accurate .

We all know that sales calls for life insurance , when done correctly , can take some time and it is highly likely that you may not have the customer ’ s full attention for the entire duration . One of the best practices I have seen in terms of ensuring a customer has fully understood what policy they have and the reasons for this was a mini quiz at the end of the call . This quiz does not have to be lengthy or formal , just simple questions of ‘ who is insurance with ?’ and ‘ what is the sum assured ?’, ‘ does the amount decrease over time ?’ and ‘ where I am calling from ?’. It ensures customers have taken in the key elements of the cover and this will have a significant impact on customer buy-in to their policies and , again , you guessed it , helps build rapport .

When quality is discussed , it is often in relation to persistency . To have great persistency , you need to have accurate initial advice , great customer commitment and a great retentions process . This is where I truly believe customer rapport comes into its own . There will always be another protection firm , so it is vital to ensure that your retentions process is better than someone else ’ s sales process . The way to do this is to have a dedicated retentions process . If you have a team for retentions , ensure they are included in training sessions with providers . Having a sound knowledge of the products and value-added benefits can help to save customers who are on the fence . The reason rapport is so important is because it takes you from ‘ just a sales company ’ to ‘ Kelly at SimplyBiz ’, it means if a customer gets a call from Joe Bloggs at X firm , they know that is not who they have a relationship with and they are less likely to progress .

I hope you can see , quality does not need to be a daunting area and it is something you are likely all doing already , it just may need a couple of tweaks to take you from good to great !

Build those relationships with providers and your customers , it will only have a positive impact on the value you add and your business quality .

Need help with quality of advice ? Email us at protection @ simplybiz . co . uk .