When was the last time you suffered a case of buyer's remorse? Do you remember what caused it? Is it still haunting you? Maybe there was a bargain-basement sale you missed, an unsatisfying purchase, or a poor service experience. Did the size or implication of that purchase impact your buying decision? As consumers, our buying behaviors are influenced by a variety of factors before we commit to making a purchase. There are several factors that influence our buying decisions–price, product and service, for example. Buying influences are powerful marketing tools, and too many times in the insurance business "price is king." Understanding what influences the buyer is the boat many independent insurance agents seem to miss when they are in front of decision makers. Without professionalism, trust, charisma, personality and experience, you have a handful of agents that may have a better insurance program but still get left at the altar by the buyer. Shifting away from price Training buyers to focus on price is a habit that agents and brokers have perpetuated from hard pricing market to soft market. The connotation associated with insurance products carries a natural tendency for agents to market insurance as a commodity. The real challenge for agents is shifting the buyer away from price and getting them to see the broader picture. Agencies spend big bucks investing in marketing strategies designed to give clients a snapshot of what they offer. Many of these ideals are shared and reproduced. Although marketing material can be a useful tool for highlighting services and background information, and in helping buyers form a perception, in most cases it does not contribute to the sale. Think about it this way: The conventional sales approach starts with contacting a prospective customer 60 to 90 days before the policy expiration date. On average, property-casualty agencies are reporting 90 percent retention rates or better on their books of business. Most customers review annually without outside competition, but those who receive a competitive bid have an estimated 3-in-10 chance of moving from their current agency. Success, therefore, is dependent on the law of large numbers. The conventional sales approach ends up perpetuating a "buy-on-price" culture. Agents have trained buyers to overlook service and become wary of product comparisons. An effective sales process is multidimensional. Buyers may be influenced by price, but make decisions based on what they perceive as the greater return on investment. Quantifying ROI is the most difficult part of the sales process, but it is also the most important. Agencies that are successful in the performance-based approach are highly consultative and aware of the level of impact they must generate to break a business relationship. Addressing explicit needs from a consultative level will help quantify value. Performance-based or value-based selling has become a buzzword in the industry, but few agencies really operate from this platform. Ask yourself, how good is value if I can't put a value on my value? Reshaping culture Our agency recognized early the need for a performance-based approach to compete on the same level with larger agencies that typically have higher premium volumes and greater market selection. Banks, brokerage houses, direct writers and independent agencies are all competing with us for the same business. In 2000, we reshaped our sales culture by investing in risk management-driven marketing programs. Since then we've kicked our commercial lines operation into high gear, getting positive results by selling performance over price. CIS employees have attended training through Compliance Check(TM) and the Institute of Workers' Compensation Professionals, and have developed a relationship with a human resources consultant. From the beginning, the goal has been to give our clients and prospective customers a level of service they can't find anywhere else. We use the talents of our staff to conduct a series of risk management and governmental compliance training sessions throughout the year. Subjects include workers' compensation, OSHA compliance, FMLA administration, FLSA exemptions, job descriptions, human resources policies and procedures, and a host of supervisory training. Topics are generated from new and existing legislative challenges employers face within their everyday operations. Through a combination of marketing, training and branding, CIS sends a cohesive message that gets attention from businesses that value return on investment. We use our branding, which we call "Measure by Performance," to effectively differentiate ourselves from the more conventional agencies that are selling on price. Over the past 6 years we have conducted 27 training opportunities on 22 employment-related topics. The response from the business community has been positive, and while not every business turns into a customer, it has enhanced our marketing and new business hit ratio. Improving the hit ratio In 2008, CIS was successful in writing around 55 percent of the businesses on which we asked a carrier for a quote, while retaining close to 95 percent of our customer base. The account size ranged from $10,000 to $250,000, with an average premium per account of just under $53,000. Carriers also are taking notice: We've been recognized by both regional and national insurance companies as one of the top prospects in the state for growth potential. Much of our success is attributable to a performance sales approach that leverages something other than price. Our agency tries to determine upfront in our conversation with decision makers whether or not the prospect is relationship material. We try to leave insurance out of the conversation and focus on how the buyer perceives value. If the buyer is not convinced that we have delivered value throughout the sales process, then we have ultimately lost the relationship battle. Every business is unique and carries its own perceptions on insurance sales. Buyers are reluctant to come forward with their explicit needs, and this can make the discovery process difficult. Marketing to your target audience often and keeping them informed may help break any false perceptions, hopefully leading you to a warmer appointment. Agencies can take a page from our playbook and ask themselves whether their sales efforts are generating enough value to trigger change. Many agencies are quick to point out great service, carrier representation, products and experience. But is this what buyers want to hear? Studying your target customer base and developing tools to address challenges in their everyday operations will lend credibility to your sales approach. Price is always a consideration, and agents must build this into the equation. However, leveraging value through service is the most controllable and tangible part of the sales process. Driving this mentality into producers may help retrain buyers to judge by performance rather than price.