Centuries of Rough Notes

Rough Notes, Feb 2003 by Potter, Francis W

SELLING VACATION COVERAGES

You've Got to DISTURB 'EM'

THEN it comes to creative selling, or the ability to convince an uninsured or selfinsured motorist, the average insurance agent today lacks the necessary punch to make them buy. For proof of this statement, we need look no further than the field of private passenger automobile owners. Here we find only 20 percent of the prospects have been sold. It really seems inconceivable, with the thousands of insurance agents in the business today, that 80 percent of the passenger car owners still do not have Public Liability and Property Damage protection.

You may ask, "But how can I succeed in the future if I haven't been able to sell them in the past?" The answer is, You've got to disturb 'em. You've got to use more than ordinary salesmanship; you, yourself, must be convinced that your price tag is right and, most of all, you must be enthusiastic about the goods you are selling.

When you step into the office of a man who has gone for year after year without any form of Automobile insurance, you are going to have to show a maximum of creative selling if you break down his feeling of security. Many times, I have not been able to do this but at least I knew, when the interview was over, that I had disturbed him. I knew that, when he went to bed that night, he would be running over in his mind the things I had told him, and would be far more vulnerable the next time I called.

Fourteen Vivid Illustrations

My experience has shown that once a prospect is disturbed, obtaining his application follows in natural sequence. Every agent, therefore, should have a ready supply of vivid, dramatic illustrations that he can use to bring home to prospects just what it means to have an accident. Personally, I have fourteen illustrations clearly catalogued in my mind that I can run through in a minimum of time. Usually, however, after I am through with only three or four, the prospect is sufficiently "disturbed" to order the insurance. If he is not, however, I continue until I have given him all fourteen.

A good way to begin is to show a clipping of recent date. Here's one, for example, where the total awards amounted to $117,000-all from one accident. One of the plaintiffs got a judgment of $50,000; another, $40,000; another, $3,000 and another, $6,000. What is even more interesting, one man who was not even in the car at the time of the accident was awarded $18,000 for loss of the services of members of his family. I show this to the prospect and say, "Mr. Jones, just imagine standing up before a court and hearing sums like these assessed against you.

"Here's another case, Mr. Jones. A man drove his car down town and parked it, but left it in such position that the rear bumper was extending out into the lane of traffic. Later in the day, his telephone rang and the desk sergeant at the police station asked him to come right over. A passing car had struck his bumper, causing his car to jump the curb and seriously injure a passerby. A joint judgment of $8,000 was finally awarded against both car owners. It was shown that the position of the parked car had been a large contributing cause of the accident.

"Now, Mr. Jones, I want to tell you about a man who was involved in an accident a short distance from his home-a careful driver whose car skidded on an icy pavement and struck a pedestrian crossing the streets. A judgment was rendered against the motorist and his attorney suggested an appeal. The case ran along in the courts for almost three years and, when it was finally settled, the original verdict was confirmed. The unfortunate automobile owner not only had to pay a judgment of $10,000 but attorney's fees of $1,800, court costs of $400 and a $200 premium on the appeal bond. What surprised him most, however, was that he also had to pay interest on the judgment from the date of the original award, amounting to over $1,800!"

If my prospect hasn't weakened

FRANCIS W. POTTER

Field Supervisor and Sales Course Instructor of Aetna Casualty and Surety Co., in "The Aetna-Izer"