A new producer learns the ropes

My previous job experience provided a good foundation for my new career. I had been involved primarily in sales in the last five years of my former position, and in my final year I had sold more than $1 million in software. Still, it felt challenging as I prepared to make sales calls in a different industry.

Our agency owner and other producers provided a great deal of support to ease me into the process. I watched "home videos" the agency had made of producers and telemarketers making cold-calls to prospects. I sat and observed, taking notes, as producers made "live" calls. Before making my own calls, I wrote out a script. Our owner and some other producers read my script and suggested improvements. I recorded the first calls I made, and our producers listened to them and offered more suggestions.

I went through a similar process when I prepared for my first appointment. Our owner took me with him on some of his appointments, and I paid attention both to what he and the prospects said. He also accompanied me a few times when I started making my own appointments. At first, he would talk to the prospect a little, then I would do some of the talking. We did this several times until I was ready to handle the entire conversation with a prospect.

Stone cold

For the most part, I get my prospects from a database our agency has purchased. The database includes names and addresses of businesses in our area. Sometimes an entry includes a company phone number and a name of a contact person, and sometimes it doesn't. If I need to, I research names and phone numbers of decision-makers and other background information. But I limit the amount of time I spend doing this, and sometimes I'll just call a prospect with the information I have on hand. I don't want to wind up spending far more time researching prospects than I do talking with them.

When I cold-call prospects, what they have to say is more important than what I have to say. The more information they give me, the better able I am to figure out what problems they have and how to help. By adopting this attitude rather than trying too hard to "sell" prospects, I actually get farther and sell more.

This approach is especially important when I talk to prospects about workers comp insurance. We offer several services related to the line and often use workers comp to get a foot in the door. The workers comp market in California is tough right now. Any agency that sells workers comp represents the same small group of carriers that offer the coverage. One benefit of our services is that they may help lower premiums, but I'm not able to offer reduced premiums simply by a switch of carriers.

Our related services are thus a large part of why a prospect might decide to switch to our agency. I ask prospects whether they've had any problems with workers comp claims in the past few years. If they haven't, I know they probably won't see any reason to switch to another agency. But if there are problems, I talk about how our services can help. Prospects sometimes initially say everything is going well,. I ask a few follow-up questions and let them talk, however, many start describing problems. Sometimes I also discover problems a prospect wasn't yet aware of.

I also use that first call to get other qualifying information. For instance, I'm most interested in businesses with at least 50 employees. I want to provide attentive service to all my clients. This is much easier to do with fewer, larger accounts than with many small ones.

Sometimes prospects say they would be interested in talking to me but have just renewed their coverage. In that case, I file information about the prospect and call again a couple of months ahead of the next X-date. I've been doing this since I started cold-calling prospects eight months ago, and I'm just starting to make my first round of "call backs"-and I've already made my first sale from one of them.

Tour de force

When I make appointments with prospects, I ask them to send me their workers comp loss runs and experience modification reports before I visit. If they don't have copies of recent loss runs, I've found my first opportunity to demonstrate our level of service. I quickly write a letter asking for the loss runs, then give it to the prospect so he or she can put it on company letterhead and forward it to the insurer.

Most clients and prospects prefer a "hands-on" presentation that usually includes a discussion of products and services that can reduce the risk of claims. I also bring along before-and-after photographs that demonstrate how our services have improved safety at other businesses.

I prepare my presentation before I visit but keep it flexible. Before making it, I tour a prospect's facility. I may modify the presentation, depending on what I've seen and discussed with the client during the tour. If a client is having problems with fraudulent claims, for instance, I start with our fraud services. If they have claims that never seem to close, I begin by talking about our claims handling procedures. If they feel their ex-mod factor has been calculated incorrectly, I can discuss situations in which we've discovered errors for other clients.

I bring a digital camera and take pictures of situations that could lead to claims. For example, I saw a few hazardous situations while visiting a bookbinding operation. Employees lift and move huge amounts of paper throughout such a facility. The potential for back injuries related to improper bending and lifting is high. We suggest such operations use scissor lifts, a type of adjustable, spring-loaded platform. As workers remove items stacked on the lift, it rises so they don't have to bend down to unload it. Many of these employees also stand in the same spot on a concrete floor for their entire shift, which can lead to back and leg injuries. We suggest the purchase of thick rubber pads that employees stand on to reduce stress on their legs.

Claims management is the ticket

We provide in-house claims management to all of our workers comp clients. This is a big selling point with prospects, particularly if they've had problems in this area. We enter all our clients' claims into our system, then keep track of them. We contact adjusters every few months to learn the status of claims and how much has been spent on them. We then forward this information to our clients. Not only do clients like it when we keep them informed, but often our efforts bring claims to a swifter conclusion. Adjusters often have heavy caseloads, so sometimes a reminder about a particular claim in necessary to ensure that an adjuster acts on it within an appropriate time frame.

One member of our team has more than 30 years' experience managing claims adjusters, so we're often able to find errors in claims handling. In one situation, a business had fired an employee for sexual harassment, after conducting an investigation. The employee filed a workers comp claim for the emotional stress of being investigated, and an adjuster had set up a reserve for the claim. We sent the carrier a letter citing relevant case law indicating that a worker is not entitled to benefits as a result of investigation into a sexual harassment charge. The claim was then correctly denied.

In another case, a business owner objected when his carrier set up a workers comp claim for an employee who came to work drunk and fell off a ladder before anyone could notice he was intoxicated. Initially, the adjuster refused to reconsider. After speaking with our labor law attorney, we sent the carrier a letter citing the codes that allowed denial of a claim because of alcohol or other drugs. The carrier eventually denied the claim, and we've requested that they keep us informed of any appeals or other developments.

Catch me if you can

Investigating alleged workers comp fraud is another important service we provide. In my presentations, I point out that we have our own in-house, full-time fraud investigator. I can cite instances in which we've been able to help clients by substantiating suspected fraud. Our investigator is assigned a case only when someone has reason to believe fraud is occurring. He has videotaped instances in which employees claiming work-related injuries were out dancing, playing soccer or even working at other jobs.

Our fraud investigation service recently helped me win an account worth $250,000 in annual premium. A business owner with about 125 employees decided he needed to cut personnel expenses. Instead of laying anyone off, he reduced the number of hours some employees worked. Some employees apparently feared they would soon lose their jobs outright, and many began to file workers comp claims. Once in the low 60s, the owner's ex-mod factor skyrocketed. Some employees then came forward and stated that they knew of co-workers who had falsely claimed injuries. In some cases, they said, these workers were employed elsewhere while receiving benefits from this business. Our investigator was able to substantiate this and help close several of these claims.

With a smile

Another key service I provide to clients is simply explaining their workers comp policies to them. I think too often we incorrectly assume clients know what we're talking about when we discuss a policy. Many clients have commented that I explain things quite well, which I think is a result of my being new in the field. I try to explain coverage to them the way I would want it explained to me.

So far with most of my clients still contacts me for help, although I might refer the service request to a customer service representative. I like staying in touch with all my accounts, but I realize I could easily spend all my time doing paperwork if I were not careful. I set aside time every week both for handling service requests and for calling new prospects. I consistently work with one CSR, and I encourage my clients to ask for that person when I'm not available.

I try to visit each of my clients several times a year. When a policy comes in, I deliver it in person. At the six-month mark, I visit again and bring a copy of any loss reports, even though the client has been receiving them as well. I'm just coming up on the nine-month mark with my first group of clients, so it's time to discuss renewals with them. When visiting a client, I take a new round of pictures and ask whether any significant changes have occurred-which might have created new hazards. I also ask whether the client is receiving everything he or she needs from us. These visits keep me "in front" of my clients and make it less likely they'll consider an offer from another agent.

Thankyouverymuch

The agency continues to give me a great deal of support. We have weekly sales meetings to discuss strategy and a board that requires us to track the progress we're making on selling each prospect. This helps remind and encourage us to keep moving on accounts. It's also quite helpful to be able to draw on the collective expertise of the agency. Clients and prospects often turn to me with questions. If I don't know the answers, it's great to know that I can go to someone at the agency who does.

With all the support my agency has given me, I'm not surprised at how much I've enjoyed the start of my insurance career. I get a great feeling from knowing that I'm not just selling a policy to a client, but also connecting the client with other services that can be just as important.