In order to sell with BORs you’re going to need to successfully jump a few hurdles.

Because most business owners don’t know what a BOR is, or don’t understand how the insurance game is played, you will run into the same 3 hurdles every time you broach the subject.

Master these 3 talk tracks and you’ll be off to the races.

Hurdle #1- Explaining Why One Broker Is Better Than Quoting

I’ll be honest, explaining why working with one broker is better than quoting with multiple brokers, is the hardest part of selling with BORs.

You’re literally retraining a buyer to handle his insurance program the exact opposite way he’s used to.

There are a few angles to do this.

I prefer storytelling.

So, I like to use the Tom Brady Analogy.

It goes like this…

You: The insurance game is a little different than what you might expect.

Once one agent approaches a market it is now blocked from other agents. Carriers will only release a quote to one agent.

What ends up happening is a mad dash to the marketplace.

Each agent gobbling up whatever they can find.

Unfortunately, this leaves you with little to no leverage against the carriers. Each agent only has their markets and they can’t leverage ALL the markets against each other. Just the few they got to first.

You’re 100% right in thinking competition will drive your price down. But you want that competition at the carrier level. Not at the agent level.

Think of it like this...

When Tom Brady is a free agent, does he hire 3 competing agents to find and negotiate the best contract?

No, of course not.

Why?

Because multiple agents negotiating on his behalf would confuse the market… And worse, each would only have a handful of teams to leverage not all 32 teams.

Your insurance is the same way.

99.99% of the time, like Tom Brady, it is in your best interest to work with one agent.

The best part?

Now, you get to choose your agent.

Whereas, when you quote, the carrier gets to decide who your agent is (based off who landed the hot market).

Make sense?

Hurdle #2- Prospects Whiting Out Their Expiring Premiums

There’s nothing more frustrating than getting policies from a prospect only to find their premiums whited out.

I get it.

Business owners think hiding their premiums will make the underwriter sharpen their pencil and give them their best number, instead of just undercutting the other carrier by a few bucks.

What they don’t realize is, most times, hiding premiums has the opposite effect.

So, I’ve found this talk track to be quite helpful…

You: Jeff, I understand that you think hiding your premiums will get you the best price.

Here’s the problem, though…

In this hard market, every underwriter has a stack of submissions a mile high.

Realistically, they can only work on a handful of them.

By hiding your premiums, the underwriter will view your submission as incomplete and they’ll just move your submission to the bottom of their pile.

In order to properly underwrite your account they will need to calculate your loss ratios, and with out your premium history, they can’t do that.

They may release a quote, but it will most certainly NOT be their best number.

The more info we give the underwriter the better quote we’ll get back.

Hurdle #3- Reluctant To Change Without Seeing A Quote

You’ve explained why one broker makes more sense, and why they need to give you all of their information…

Now, there’s usually only one hurdle left.

The prospect is reluctant to change without seeing a quote, first.

It will usually sound something like this…

Prospect: How do I know you won’t jack up my premiums? Or, how do I know you won’t get me a good deal this year and then jack up my rates next year?

Here’s what you say:

You: Jeff, I get it. Changing without seeing a quote first, seems scary.

But, there are 3 things you need to know…

1. I can’t change or add margin to your rates. Whatever the underwriter quotes is what you’ll get. If I alter the quote in any way or add a fee, by law, I have to disclose it.

2. When I present my quote to you, I will also give you a marketing report. It will show you every carrier I went to and what their response (or quote) was, so you’ll know I’m bringing you the best outcome the market has to offer.

3. If you’re not 100% satisfied with my work I will gladly work with you to move your business back to your old agent. You’ll get know interference from me.

Fair enough?

Ok, That's It For This Week

If you want to hear Micah and I discuss further, catch tomorrow’s podcast.

Remember, BORs are the fastest, most effective way to write new business.

Learn to sell with BORs and you’re always just a hop, skip, and a jump away from your next deal.

See you next Sunday.

Kick ass take names,

Maximus F. Revenue IV

P.S. We're putting the finishing touches on The Producer Playbook: The Step By Step Guide To Building a $1,000,000 Book Of Business (From Scratch). If you're struggling to write new business, or want to learn a step-by-step process for selling with BORs, you're not gonna wanna miss this (and its going to be a helluva lot cheaper than you expect).

See you next week.