In insurance, the buyer-seller relationship is complex. Business owners—the buyers—want to protect their business, identify newly emerging risks and seek data to make more informed decisions. Insurance producers—the sellers—want to engage in professional relationships, be a valued partner and help business owners protect their assets, employees and sustainability. Given that, it is logical to assume that buyer and seller goals and objectives are aligned.

However, getting to a place of alignment can be challenging. Meaningful dialog is often difficult to initiate, and buyers are usually overwhelmed with day-to-day business activities. Meanwhile, producers struggle to capture the attention of prospects, who often favor the status quo and incumbent relationships.

Creating and maximizing appointments with prospects and driving growth with existing clients frequently hinges on the ability to connect, pique curiosity and lead change behavior. Often, what is lacking is a set of core beliefs that can be used as an anchor to inform messaging, initiate meaningful dialog and shift perceptions.

How Core Beliefs Drive Alignment

In sales, assertions and statements should be avoided because they can perturb buyers and build walls that create additional barriers to a productive relationship. However, there is a place for statements and assertions, particularly when they are used for positioning purposeful conversations.

Three core belief statements that our consulting practice encourages producers to share with prospects and clients include:

• The vast majority of businesses are unknowingly at risk.
• The process many business owners follow to make insurance buying and risk management decisions is flawed and potentially dangerous to the business.
• A business is frequently better served when one agency manages all of its insurance and risk management programs.

These are powerful belief statements. If believed to be true by the producer, these statements can serve as a framework for creating alignment with their buyers because they are focused on the buyer, not the producer.

These statements help create alignment by providing an opportunity for the producer and buyer to explore whether:

• The business is assuming risks unknowingly.
• The buying process is preventing the business from identifying business risks and the most effective way to avoid, accept or transfer them.
• Multiple broker relationships are failing to address interrelated risks that require property-casualty, health and personal lines producers to work together.

The set of core beliefs above would also prevent a producer from:

• Assuming that the current policy is accurate or adequate.
• Engaging with a prospect who believes that the only value a producer brings is the opportunity for savings.
• Failing to discuss integrated risks.

Core beliefs work as a north star. Once embraced, it is difficult to support behaviors that would go against them.

Selling Your Core Beliefs

For core beliefs to be impactful, they must be more than just a list of statements. They must resonate and be believed deeply by the seller.

Here are some questions to consider to help create your core beliefs:

• What barriers exist that prevent my buyers from achieving their goals and objectives?
• What are the top three to five risks that could limit my buyer's competitiveness and sustainability?
• What status quo mindset or processes must be disrupted to help my buyers make informed decisions?
• How does my approach compare to my competitors and how does it reduce the likelihood of risks for my buyers?

When producers spend time considering these questions and developing a core set of beliefs and corresponding statements, they can develop their own north star—their set of values that provide context for meaningful conversations. 

Susan Toussaint is vice president, growth solutions with ReSource Pro. For more than a decade, Susan has been training, coaching and developing programs to help insurance professionals overcome barriers to organic growth.