Six insurance sales techniques to spot
We all need it but are we getting the right deal
THERE are certain insurances that we cannot do without and some that are illegal to do without.
Homes, pets, cars, health, life, travel; the list goes on. The insurance industry is a worldwide money maker and those who work in it are motivated to sell. They do this through various techniques known to sales people the world over. I am not downing insurance here but be careful when purchasing it as you may be subject to certain influences. Here are some insurance sales techniques to watch out for :
“NO” IS NOT AN ANSWER
Insurance sales people never ask “do you want this?” but “which do you want?” In this scenario, no just isn’t an option. They are assuming you are going for one of the options you have been presented with. You are more likely to buy.
GIVE LESS OPTIONS
The more options that you are given, the less you will be inclined to buy. Say you are given five options on health insurance by a broker. Health insurance is confusing at the best of times, but you don’t have the bandwidth to deal with comparing five policies. The result is indecision and loss of a sale. Sellers like to keep it tight and close you down to one or two options.
PICK THE MIDDLE ONE
I recently got a dog and when looking into insurance I was presented with three options; essential, premier and premier plus. The lowest one, essential, might give the impression there is something lacking, the premier plus is way too expensive, so you are kind of channelled into the middle one, which is the most profitable and the one they are looking to sell anyway.
PRIORITISE THE FEAR OF LOSS OVER THE REWARD OF GAIN
Our brains are programmed to avert risk and insurance is sold on the fear of loss. Instead of saying, “You’re getting amazing protection”, you’re thinking “You could lose €1,600 if you have to pay for surgery for a dog without insurance” Instead of saying, “This product will pay €50,000 in the event of a serious illness”, they say “This insurance will save you from financial loss over the long term if you lose your health and independence”. They create the fear and then save you from that fear with their insurance.
Our brains are programmed to avert risk & insurance sold on fear of loss
SCARCITY
If there is a scarcity you will be more likely to buy anything. Discount periods and special offers are great tricks to motivate people to purchase insurance within a time frame, because as we hear so much “when it’s gone, it’s gone”.
ANCHORING
If you see an advertisement for “Insurance from only €32 a month!” you are anchored into that figure and that it represents great value. But by then you are in the sales funnel and have been softened up by this headline figure. When you get into the negotiation about insurance purchase, all may not be what it seems and you end up paying much more than the good value figure which was anchored in your head in the first
place.
MINIMISE THE COST
“Insurance from as little as €4 per day, the price of a cup of coffee!” screams the headline. Sounds better than “only €1,460 per year” doesn’t it? So, keep your eyes and ears open when considering insurance.