All Producers Are Not Created Equal My10-year-old daughter was in a basketball camp last summer. Shelearned all sorts of skills that would help her game.

In the closing ceremony, the college coach said something thatstuck with me. She talked about the need to improve shooting,dribbling and passing. Indeed, they are three of the most importantfundamentals of the game.

However, she also encouraged the kids to work on their footwork.She said that lots of people have a great shot and are good atdribbling, but they just dont have the footwork that will get themopen. As a result they are rendered ineffective in a gamesituation.

In my last column on Jan. 20, we talked about cross-selling.Selling, cross-selling, prospecting–they all take certain skills tobe effective. Certainly you have to be good at relationshipbuilding, asking probing questions, overcoming obstacles andobjections.

However, just like footwork in basketball is often overlooked,so is differentiation in selling. Too often firms are looking atimproving their brochures, marketing letters and proposals. Salespeople are focused on making more calls, attending more networkmeetings, setting more appointments, and positioning themselves toquote or work on new accounts.

No one could argue with the need to improve in these areasanymore than you could argue that you must have a good shot or beable to dribble and pass in the game of basketball. But rememberthat without footwork, you cant get an open shot. The same is truewith differentiation–without it, youre liable to get slam-dunkedinstead of winning. So lets talk more about differentiation.

In last month's column, I emphasized the need to establish aclear and concise competitive advantage. I believe that knowingthese “Four Steps of Competitive Advantage,” which we refer to asKASS–our registered trademark–will help. The four steps are:

Know it–What is your competitive advantage?

Articulate it–You must be able to get what is in your heart andhead out of your mouth intelligently and effectively.

Show it–Have the differences in writing, via spreadsheets,timelines, etc.

Share it–Now youll share it with others.

In your next sales meeting, conduct this exercise with yourproducers. Give them a blank sheet of paper and have them draw aline down the middle of the paper, both horizontally andvertically. Ask them to write down in the four boxes what theybelieve makes them different and makes them better.

Give them about three or four minutes to finish the exercise.When time is up, have them tell you what they wrote down. Put thaton a flip chart or white board at the front of the room.

In preparation for this meeting, you need to slip in the roomearly and put on the second or third page of the flip chart theseanswers: a). markets, b). loss control, c). people, d). claimsdepartment, e). technology, f). risk management, g). me, h).reputation.

Compare their answers with the ones you already predicted. Youllfind an amazing similarity.

Now the problem should be clearly in focus–everyone is sayingthe same thing to their prospects. Now the real work begins. Whatdoes make us different? What do we really have tosell?

Have your producers imagine being the buyer of insurance insteadof the seller. Encourage them to start thinking about what theywould want from their insurance agent. What do buyers want thatthey are not asking for?

Do you remember the days when you could drive into a servicestation and have someone pump your gas, clean your windshield,check the air pressure in your tires? Today, that doesnt happen,and yet you are not complaining because you are conditioned to notexpect it anymore.

What are those things for an insurance buyer? What dothey want but theyre just not asking for? This little example couldget some quality brainstorming going that will influence yourability to know your areas of differentiation.

Here is another twist on finding differentiation. It is mybelief that our job as insurance sellers is to proactively controlthe buyers experience. Spend 15 minutes thinking about how you canhelp control their experiences.

What could go wrong that you could prevent from happening? Whatis it that with a little more preparation you could make easier tounderstand? What surprises could you eliminate?

As you go through this exercise, dont look for the grandioseidea that would charm a snake. Just look at the simple things that,if done on a consistent basis, would eliminate some of theconfusion, frustration and agony that an insurance buyer goesthrough.

Last November I was on a flight from Ft. Lauderdale to Dallas. Isaw a gentleman with something clipped to his belt with a smallwire leading up to earphones. It appeared to be some sort of musicdevice. It reminded me of all the times when I was traveling andwas bored to tears, wishing I had music.

As much as I wanted music, I couldnt imagine lugging a laptop,all the accessories, cell phone, a CD player and a stack of CDsthrough the airport. As I talked to this guy, he told me how thislittle gadget would hold over 2,000 songs. Wow, where can I getone?

This is another example of something most of us wish we had butdidnt know it existed, and therefore would never ask for. Thinkabout how your prospects are just like this–there are many thingsthey wish were more controllable, more available, but theyre notasking for it. You, the producer, have the solution. What is it?That is your differentiation.

I was with a young producer recently who was prospecting aheating and air conditioning company. This company was growing at arapid pace, partly because sales were up and partly because theywere acquiring other smaller companies.

As I was helping him prepare for that call, we talked aboutproactive services that he could provide that the incumbentprobably wasnt. Some examples were a mid-term payroll review toprevent a huge surprise audit and effective exposure analysis tocapture problems where coverage is needed.

Another potential was a claims review to monitor and reducereserves. In addition, you could do something as simple as puttingthis on a written timeline so the client has greater predictabilityas to how they would be served in the future.

Once you start to get some ideas of ways you are different fromyour competitors, go to my Web site (www.thewedge.net/forms)and download the worksheet “Competitive Grid.” Along the top, listyour most common and toughest competitors. Going down the leftside, list the items from your brainstorm session. Then rateyourself against your top competitors.

Once you complete these steps, youll be well on your way toknowing your differentiation, which will radically improve yourodds to be the winner!

Randy Schwantz is president of The Wedge Group in Argyle,Texas. He is the author of “The Wedge: How To Stop Selling andStart Winning” and “Breaking The Sales Barrier: How To DevelopMillion Dollar Producers,” both published by The NationalUnderwriter Company, parent of this magazine. The books can bepurchased online at www.NationalUnderwriter.com.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Edition, March 10, 2003.Copyright 2003 by The National Underwriter Company in the serialpublication. All rights reserved. Copyright in this article as anindependent work may be held by the author.