When you effectively qualify your prospect, it allows you to spend more time on your best prospective clients. Asking the right questions is vital at the beginning of your sales process. It tells you a lot about what you need to know as their insurance agent. You’ll be able to identify their pain points, how they feel about the current provider, and ultimately if they are a valuable lead. Remember, every prospect isn’t ready to buy or worth spending time on.
The first goal is to eliminate non-opportunities as soon as possible. The sooner you do this, the sooner you will find prospects to convert to clients. One of your biggest mistakes can be continuing to work with a prospect that will likely never convert. Let’s look at four questions you should ask when qualifying ACA prospects that will help your save time, direct your efforts, and produce more.
Why are you looking for new ACA insurance options?
Something sparked their interest in shopping for new ACA health insurance. It could be the prospect had a dispute with their existing company over a claim, or their preferred doctor doesn’t accept their current ACA health plan. If you Identify why they need to make this switch, it can help you decide if the timing is right or just shopping.
Are there reasons you wouldn’t work with a new ACA insurance agent?
There’s a good chance you can offer your prospect significant savings and better coverage than their current agent. However, if your prospects agent is a friend or family member, they probably won’t switch anyway. Some people occasionally talk to other agents to check their insurance pricing and be sure they’re getting the best price. You don’t want to spend time on these prospects.
Does anyone else have a say in the decision-making process?
Sometimes the person you’re meeting with doesn’t make the final purchasing decision. They may be gathering information for their spouse, adult children, or parents. Ask the prospect what the decision-making process looks like.
Have you presented other insurance options to the decision-maker before? What was their response? Asking this will tell you how aggressively the prospect and their family is looking for new insurance options, the deal-breaker concerns of the decision-makers, and the likelihood that your pitch will be accepted.
What is your timeline for making a decision?
Insurance agents will understand the steps they must take to secure the sale. It’s good to know how soon your prospect wants to have their new ACA health plan in place. Are they currently without coverage? Or are they waiting until their current coverage ends?
Do you have a budget in mind for this?
It’s good to aim to understand the budget and help determine what products fit their needs. If a prospective client tells you they have a budget of $200 per month, if you have options – you wouldn’t want to give them options that don’t fit their needs financially. Effective qualifying is one of the most crucial parts of selling ACA insurance. A prospect may say they are interested in your services, but that doesn’t automatically make them worthy of your time or efforts. Try using these questions to help you get to the right prospects faster and convert them to clients. Don’t be afraid to try it your way, and develop what works best for you.
