To transition from being a good insurance salesperson to a great one, you need the right support. Mentorship in insurance sales can give you insights and guidance to help you level up your insurance sales career.
The Value of Mentorship
There are some things you can only learn from experience – but it doesn’t necessarily have to be your experience. You can also learn from the experience of your mentor.
In a mentoring relationship, an experienced professional provides guidance to someone with less experience. According to Duke University, the term “mentor” comes from a character in The Odyssey. The concept has stuck around through the ages because it works.
Research from Moving Ahead found that 87% of mentors and mentees feel empowered by their mentoring relationships and have developed greater confidence as a result. Among other benefits, mentoring develops core transferable skills, provides two-way inspiration, generates creativity and innovation, and makes people feel valued.
Perhaps this is why Fortune 500 companies have embraced mentorship programs. According to MentorcliQ, the number of U.S. Fortune 500 companies offering mentorship programs has increased from 84% in 2022 to 92% in 2023. Additionally, 100% of U.S. Fortune 50 companies have mentoring programs. Companies that offer mentoring programs see an average year-over-year profit increase of 110%.
What You Can Learn from a Mentor
Although insurance professionals need to go through some formal training and licensing requirements, they develop a lot of their skills on the job. This can lead to knowledge gaps.
This is especially true when it comes to selling challenging products like disability insurance. Some insurance agents avoid disability insurance because they don’t feel confident in their understanding of the policy options and terms. Others attempt to sell disability insurance but lose sales because they make common mistakes. In these cases, it could be beneficial for the insurance professionals to receive guidance from someone who is experienced in disability insurance sales. Such a relationship could include help with:
- Handling difficult cases. Finding coverage for certain clients can be challenging due to the clients’ medical history or their participation high-risk activities. An experienced disability insurance agent will know which carriers to target and whether it makes sense to opt for guaranteed standard issue insurance.
- Overcoming common obstacles. Price objections are common, but some insurance sales professionals make the situation worse by offering own-occupation coverage and other pricey terms that clients don’t need or by presenting the cost in a way that doesn’t highlight the value. An experienced disability insurance agent will have dealt with these obstacles before and can give you practical tips for overcoming them.
Are You Achieving Your Potential?
Even if you think you’re doing fine, you might not be living up to your full potential. This might not be hurting you now, but it could further down the road.
Investopedia says profitability and growth go hand in hand when it comes to business success. This isn’t just true for large corporations – it’s also true for independent insurance agents. To be successful and make a profit, you need to focus on growth.
You also need to grow enough to compensate for customer churn. Over time, you will lose some of your clients. If you don’t have a steady pipeline of new clients, you’ll find your book of business shrinks over the years. Investopedia warns that businesses need to ensure their growth rates are higher than their churn rates. Otherwise, they will eventually become so unprofitable that they will have to close.
However, agents sometimes hit a wall regarding the amount of growth they can accomplish on their own. To gain more clients, they need to expand into more lines or niches or take on bigger and more challenging accounts. Without outside support, this may not be possible.
Are You Receiving the Support You Need?
If you sell life insurance, you could more than double your income by cross-selling disability insurance.
Whether you’re trying to break into disability insurance or you want to become more effective at closing sales, DIS can help. In our free co-selling program, our experienced brokerage managers are with you every step of the way, until you feel confident selling on your own. We can provide answers and support or even lead presentations, letting you watch and learn. What we do to help you is up to you. Learn more.
