This past weekend I had a conversation with my sister. We hadn't spoken in a few weeks and she likes to check in on me because I'm still her "little brother". As usual, my work came up and I told her about a mutual friend of ours who has been jerking me around lately on some insurance policies. At first the lady wanted policies, now she won't return my phone calls.
"I didn't know she was like that," my sister said. "She always seemed to have her act together." Then my sister asked, "Do you get that often?"
"Often enough," I said. People can be great, but there are so many that are just complete flakes.
I have never understood why people do things. For instance, I told my sister how I will meet people who ask what I do for a living. About a third of the time, when I let them know that I am an insurance agent their response is "Give me your card. I have been looking to get more insurance." I hand them a card and never hear from them again.
As I shared this with my sister I said how I first started in the business and was desperate for clients, people would do this to me and really get my hopes up. My sister said, "They think they are being nice to you."
"That's not being nice. That sucks," I said. If you aren't interested in my work, move along, but don't waste my time.
It's not just us insurance agents that get this treatment. A friend of mine who was starting out as a personal trainer years ago fell into the same predicament. People would see him in the gym helping others with their workouts. "I need a trainer too," they would say, wanting a card. For weeks after he would see them in the gym and they acted as if the conversation never took place.
This is frustrating to say the least. After a few times of this I learned a workaround. When someone would meet me and ask for a business card, my response was that I was out of them, however they could just give me their contact information. "I'll give you a call next week. What day is good for you?" I would ask. Anyone with decent eyesight could read their body language as they hemmed and hawed.
"Well, I will just call you," they would say, letting me know that they weren't as interested as they implied. How were they going to call me without my number?
In that same vein I shared another story with my sister about a family we knew growing up. The father had died with no life insurance, so the adult kids were asking friends for a "loan" to cover funeral expenses. After the funeral, they left town, having relocated a few hours from me.
One day the daughter contacted me about life insurance for her mother. "We don't want to be in the same position again," she said. I got her mother's information and ran some rates. When I called the daughter she said she was interested and I didn't hear from her again until several months later. Strike one.
When she finally got back to me the rates had increased slightly, but apparently her mother had some sort of a health setback. Now it was imperitave that I drive two hours to get the application. I did and, once again, she failed to follow up or respond to my phone calls or emails. Strike two. There wouldn't be a strike three. I learned my lesson.
Sure enough, she called again about six months later. She apologized profusely for not getting back to me and said that Mama was in desperate need of a policy. I told her to call a local agent. I had done my part and had learned that these people were just jerking my chain. Lesson learned.
Sometimes the best thing you can do with a prospective client is cut your losses. There are other people out there who do want to do business with you, so don't waste your valuable time with the flakes.
Chris Castanes is a professional speaker who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. He's also the author of "You're Going To Be Great At This!", a humorous look at sales. For booking information, click here. He's also the president of Surf Financial Brokers selling life and disability insurance in several states.
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