One afternoon I was with my ‘Sales Leader’ working with a couple applying for health insurance, when I noticed that we were missing a document. I started to excuse myself to go out to the car and retrieve it. The ‘Sales Leader’ shot me a look, raised his hand and said in a whispered voice, ‘don’t ever leave the house’. He was not concerned for my safety, he was concerned about loosing a sale. It was at that moment that I knew I had to get away from that agency.
The ‘red flag’ for consumers is an agent that never wants to leave you alone. They don’t ever want to give you a chance to think about the decision before you. If the agent leaves the room, you might actually have a conversation with your partner or spouse about the appropriateness of the insurance plan. You might even have doubts about signing on the dotted line. The insurance agent might loose a sale!
It is all a psychological ploy to pressure you into making the purchase. Inherently, we do not want to say ‘no’ to anyone, especially if they are sitting across from us. We don’t want to seem as if we are letting the person down. When the sales person leaves the room, your brain can focus not on keeping the agent happy, but what is best for you.
Here are a few strategies for breaking the sales routine and get some breathing room:
Suggest you move to a different room to get more comfortable.
Offer to make some tea or coffee and have some snacks.
Start chatting up the salesperson about his or her family, hobbies or interests.
Ask the sales person if he or she would like to look at your pocket watch collection.Health and Life insurance decisions are rarely made in one quick meeting. If you ever feel the least bit of pressure from a sales person, call a time out and request some space to study the plans and options. It’s alright if the sales person has to leave the house, the worse thing that can happen is that you make the right decision.
