One of the reasons I like insurance agents as much as I do is that the more intuitive ones make it their business to make themselves indispensable to their customers.
For them, working in the insurance industry isn't just about making the sale or always closing; they're in the business of building relationships, many for the long term. These people know their clients. They know their clients' families. They have an intrinsic understanding of their customers' needs, and they endeavor to make sure those needs are met—and in so doing, not only do they perform a much-needed service but also make a solid, reputable living doing it.
Comparatively speaking, let's just say I'm not the biggest fan of car salesmen.
In my experience, on the whole, the people employed by auto dealerships typically aren't exactly what you would call trustworthy folk. Some of them are smarter than others, but these people are interested in one thing only: the sale, by any means necessary.
One recent experience of mine, however, served as a customer-service teaching moment for those who would actually like to retain their clients.
Last month, my lease was nearing its end on my Toyota RAV-4. In the weeks before I was to return the vehicle, I heard from Toyota Financial Services, who, I have to say, were always professional, courteous and helpful. They cheerfully reminded me of my obligation to return the RAV to the dealer, which was located about an hour away from where I live; it was not close.
Meanwhile, during this time I didn't hear a sound from the dealer.
I know my strengths; selling isn't one of them. But even I know that selling requires you to use your head. Here I am, about to return a leased vehicle to your dealership; the logical progression of thought here would be that I might, just might, need a car to replace it.
That makes me a … what's the word? Ahh, yes: A prospect.
But did anyone reach out to me? Nope. So with less than a week to go, I figured I'd better take matters into my own hands and start calling the dealership to hint that, hey, fellas, perhaps you can sell to me.
Toyota Financial gave me a contact name to call, so I did. Calls one and two to this person went unreturned; on a third attempt, three days before the return was scheduled, I reached someone else. I explained my situation, and they assured me a salesperson would get right back to me. Of course, no one did.
On the day I had to take the vehicle back, I'm driving over the Bayonne Bridge and thinking to myself, "If this were my dealership, I'd want to know that my staff was completely dropping the ball on a prospect." So I wrote a well-crafted email to the owner of the dealership, to which, incredibly, I still received no response.
I drove out to the dealership and dropped off the vehicle that evening, to a grinning, well-meaning dim bulb with a Bluetooth in his ear (incidentally, if you do this, please stop; you look ridiculous).
All of this taught me a valuable lesson: Prospecting isn't about being the smartest person in the room. It's about being the one who is always thinking about how he or she can better serve clients and garner new ones in the process.
It's also about returning phone calls.
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