Your new employee is really efficient. She’s exceptional at interacting with colleagues and solves problems professionally as they arise. However, as you watch her in her interactions with your clients, sometimes you wince. If your employees are rough around the edges, how can you improve customer service skills and enhance each insurance agent’s skill development?
Emphasize Understanding Over Speed
An efficient employee can be a great employee, but sometimes it pays off to go more slowly. Your employees need to understand your clients, instead of leaping to assumptions. Waiting to understand involves patience, but it can also save you from making mistakes, and it makes clients feel like they’re getting outstanding customer service.
Tailor Your Communication
According to Inc, companies with excellent customer service “interact with customers in the way that they see fit.” For example, if your staff insist on calling people who prefer to engage with your business via text or email, they could make that client uncomfortable or lead to many missed calls. The medium is very important when you’re connecting with your clients.
Ask About Your Client’s Needs
Train your employees to notice when someone seems uncomfortable and ask questions about what is making that person uncomfortable. For example, if the client is uncertain about whether they need a specific product but doesn’t want to make a fuss, he might sign up for it and cancel soon after. By asking questions about that person’s specific needs and hesitations, you can give him the correct insurance and ensure that he is happy with his choice.
Come With In Depth Knowledge
All of your employees must have in depth knowledge of both your products and your typical customer profiles. If they are used to working with specific customer groups such as young families, they will be more easily able to anticipate their needs and explain the benefits of certain products.
Be Clear
Your employees not only need to understand their field – they need to be able to explain it to others. Make sure that your employees know the importance of being able to explain insurance products in simple language that all of your clients can understand. This helps clients turn to your business when they need reassurance that someone will explain a product to them in a way that will help them understand all of the benefits and drawbacks of that product.
Admit That You’ve Made a Mistake
Mistakes happen, and in an insurance agent’s career, these mistakes can be costly and serious. Teach your employees to own up to their mistakes. According to Survey Monkey, you should “admit your mistakes, even if you discover them before your customers do.” You also need to follow up with your clients after you’ve made a mistake to make sure that the issue is thoroughly resolved.
At American Agents Alliance, we focus on serving independent insurance agencies like yours. Whether you’re looking for insight into insurance agent careers, a place to post jobs, or training opportunities, we have the resources you need. Contact us today.
