Many leadership skills are critical for agents and brokers — and negotiation tactics top the list. As an agent, your job is about advising and educating people. You have to negotiate with carriers and clients alike every day.
But insurance relationships are often long-term ones, so you can’t rush through negotiations. Taking your time to grow a relationship is often a helpful way to update your negotiation skills.
Having successful negotiation tactics in your pocket for when you need them is important. Read on to learn some more new ways to update your skills in this critical area!
Successful Negotiation Tactics for the Future
Try these ways to update your negotiation tactics this year.
Improve your listening skills to be a better negotiator.
Negotiating well is all about listening to the other person. But if you are always thinking about what you want to say next, you can’t be actively listening to the other person. Try improving your active listening skills to become a more successful negotiator.
Some ways to improve your active listening skills are:
- Look at the other person who is speaking and focus on their words.
- Avoid forming your counter rebuttal in your head while someone else is talking.
- Use non-verbal cues to show you are listening, like nodding your head.
- Ignore or limit side distractions.
- Ask clarifying questions but avoid interrupting.
- Allow the other person to finish their full thought.
When you listen well to the other person, you will not only hear their verbal message, but you will also notice their non-verbal cues. Those non-verbal cues can be enlightening during negotiations.
Pay attention to non-verbal cues.
Body language is an important part of any conversation, including a negotiation. Paying attention to the non-verbal cues the other person gives you means you will better understand the entire situation.
For example, if the other person doesn’t maintain eye contact, looks down, or constantly fidgets during parts of your conversation consider what that could be telling you. Perhaps they are nervous or are being deceptive. Maybe they are uncomfortable with their message or don’t believe in their offer.
Silence is powerful.
Silence can be a powerful and underrated tool in negotiations. Lots of people are uncomfortable with silence — and so they rush to fill it. People naturally seek approval and agreement from others, and if they don’t get it, they become uncomfortable in the lingering silence. Sometimes, if you wait quietly the other person will change their offer or give you more information than they intended.
Remember this point in negotiations yourself. If the other person is unusually quiet, they may be trying to get you to open up or share more details. Don’t rush to fill a silence — waiting it out is a way to hold some control in negotiations.
Take your time to establish relationships when negotiating.
You likely have many long-term relationships with your policyholders and carrier partners. It can take a long time to build strong relationships where you can negotiate successfully. Don’t rush this, especially considering the longer-term aspect of many insurance contracts and relationships.
It can be tempting to push too hard, especially at renewal time or with a new customer. But this can be a mistake when growing a long-term relationship. Consider both sides and find ways for a win-win resolution, especially at first. These steps may take a little longer but having an effective relationship over time will be more profitable for your agency.
Many of your sales will be repeat business so it is worth investing in a long-term relationship-building strategy. This may mean working harder in the beginning when meeting a new customer or going to bat for them with a carrier partner to get a better rate. Maximizing connections between current and future sales will help you find the right negotiation tactics.
Combine Lead Generation Programs With Negotiation Tactics
The next step is using your newfound negotiation skills with a successful lead generation program. Generating more quality sales is your goal, and a quality lead generation program can be a great way to hit your goal.
Try out our exclusive lead generation and nurturing programs along with these negotiation tactics for success. The American Agents Alliance offers various lead generation and nurturing programs — and our members can take advantage of other discounts and free trials to support their business operations.
Join the American Agents Alliance Today
Become a member of the American Agents Alliance today for access to more helpful tips like this, along with exclusive and vetted lead generation programs, valuable member discounts, and a vast network of independent agents and brokers.
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