(“Strictly Sales” is written by the faculty of the Dynamics of Selling program. This month's column is from David Merrick, CIC, LUTCF.)

IF YOU read this column regularly, undoubtedly you're familiar with the term “practice quoting.” Practice quoting means bidding for a prospect's insurance program when that prospect is not qualified.

Even the most professional producers sometimes practice quote. Admit it, you have. So have I! We may even get lucky once in awhile, but at what cost? Let's look at some bad reasons and lame excuses for practice quoting.

1) If I practice quote this year, I'll be on the list to quote next year too!
You had a good first meeting with the prospect, who seems to like you and your ideas. You've found pains and problems other than price to address. The prospect wants you to quote. You're assigned the insurance markets you want. Yet, you don't feel comfortable digging in and asking the qualifying questions you need to ask:
o”If I take care of the problems you say need to be fixed, where do I need to be price-wise to earn your business?”
o”Will you leave your current agent and hire me?”

These questions must be asked. But sometimes you avoid asking the hard questions. Why? You don't want to seem pushy. You might ruin the great relationship you've established, right? You hope you'll prove your value so clearly it will be obvious the time to change is now.

So you agree to play a game with unknown, unset or unfair rules. The prospect makes up rules as the game goes on. If you don't agree with them, you fear you may not be invited back next year–right?

But the prospect likes you, and you've identified four or five problems you can fix. Your underwriters are interested, and your price is competitive. Contacts with the prospect during the quoting process have been upbeat. It seems you have a great shot at closing this account.

Then you present your solutions. The prospect says, “Looks good. Let me think about it. I'll get back to you.”

You hurry back to the office to wait for the phone to ring. You wait patiently and tell everybody how well your presentation went. You've set the bar so high that the incumbent cannot possibly come close.

The phone doesn't ring.

Finally, you call your prospect. They thank you for your hard work. By the way, you're most welcome to quote again next year, but this year the incumbent came through again and keeps the account.

What just happened? Are your chances really going to be any better next year? Will you practice quote again? Plus, you've set the bar even higher for next year, haven't you? Now what? You're back to competing on price only–the game you originally said you didn't want to play.

Don't do it. Don't just remain in the quoting loop year after year. Don't practice quote just to build rapport and a relationship. Think about how much time you waste. Think about the impact on your agency's personnel. Your team doesn't like to lose. CSRs and account managers have plenty on their desks already. Don't force them to work on practice quotes for unqualified prospects. The cost is too dear!

2) I worked hard to develop this relationship. If I don't quote, I may ruin it.
You have an excellent relationship with a prospect because you spent a lot of time building rapport, researching their industry, and learning about their business and the people who run it. The prospect wants you to bid for their insurance business. If you decline to quote, you may waste all that time and possibly ruin a good relationship.

But you haven't found any material pains to fix or problems to solve. The prospect's relationship with the incumbent is sound and the protection plan seems solid. Could it be you're being used to keep the incumbent honest? How do you politely, but firmly, back away and still leave the door open if things change?

First, compliment your buyer on having a well-built protection plan. Next, deliver a logical response that sounds something like, “I don't see any material problems with your current program. If you don't need any extra practice reading insurance quotes, I don't need any extra opportunities to practice quote.” Then pause. Say nothing. Listen to your prospect's response.

Once your prospect realizes you're walking away, real reasons you were invited to quote may begin to emerge. Most prospects are accustomed to having agents beg to quote their business. Some buyers even believe quoting an account is an insurance agent's goal. Refusing to go along with this practice is where you separate yourself from other agents.

When you politely walk away, your prospects may ask why. Tell them that since you are unable to find significant problems with their insurance, you would be acting unprofessionally if you tried to persuade them to move. Tell them that a move, in your professional opinion, would not be not in their best interest.

I bet they will have never heard anything like that from an insurance agent before! Once again, you separate yourself from the competition–and build trust as well.

Expect a buyer to stop you at this point. When the prospect does, probe deeper. Find the problems your pros- pect was unwilling to discuss before. See if these problems are material enough to warrant your help, agency support, and insurance company relationships.

You may still end up walking away. Your prospect's primary interest could be price. Or worse, your buyer may not be willing to leave the incumbent agent. Until the prospect realizes it's more painful to stand pat than to move to you, you're not going to get the business. And now is when you want to know that–not after you've invested your time, and that of your support staff and companies, producing a quote the prospect won't buy.

Walk away unless your prospect is willing to disclose problems and leave the incumbent. Be prepared to move on, perhaps forever. It makes no sense to clog up your X-date pipeline with prospects who have existing relationships they are unwilling to break–relationships that are so strong they won't reveal insurance cost, coverage or service problems to you.

3) I am not that busy now, so why not give it a shot?
When you say this, immediately think of opportunity costs. How many better opportunities will you miss when you practice quote on poorly qualified prospects? Don't work on unqualified buyers simply because you have no other prospects in your pipe-line.

Use your time to prospect, network or find referrals. You could cross-sell, up-sell, or round out current clients. Get involved in a business trade association with lots of members that your agency targets. Create a top-target prospect list of those buyers you want to meet because they clearly qualify for your time and efforts.

By the way, just because you're not busy, thanks to your nearly empty pipeline, don't assume your CSRs and account managers aren't. Having them work on poorly qualified pros-pects is a great way to waste their time and ruin your working relationships with them. Remember, these are the same people who are working feverishly to service your clients. When you divert them from this task for no good reason, your clients are affected as well.

Even if you're a new producer, don't let a barren prospecting pipeline cause unnecessary work for others. There are better options for new producers than practice quoting. Take sales training. Role play with agency peers. Learn from a successful producer. Study and master a proven selling process.

Search for and find mentors, role models and others who can help you learn. Don't “wing it” or stubbornly insist on doing it “my way.” There are millions of years of insurance selling experience out there. Study what worked, and learn to avoid what didn't. The quickest route to the production fast track is to find good role models and avoid mistakes others have made.

In conclusion

Practice quoting costs lots of money, so be responsible for your actions. Don't practice quote for unqualified prospects. Don't practice quote to earn the right to quote again next year. Don't practice quote to avoid losing a relationship. And most of all, don't practice quote simply because you're a new producer or have nothing in your prospecting pipeline.

Separate yourself as an insurance professional by walking away from unqualified buyers. Your time, agency resources, insurance company relationships and current clients' satisfaction depend on your desire to avoid practice quoting.

David Merrick, CIC, LUTCF, is one of seven principal owners of AW Welt Ambrisco Insurance Group in Iowa City, Iowa. His primary focus is developing new commercial-lines business. Dave is also a faculty member for the Dynamics of Selling program. For more information on Dynamics of Selling, visit www.TheNationalAlliance.com or call (800) 633-2165.

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Strictly Sales: Bad reasons and lame excuses for practice quoting

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