Consultative Broker Briefing

The Consultative Broker™ Briefing
Volume VIII, Number 9
A Free Publication of C.R. Ekern & Company
888.670.1177
www.crekern.com
Copyright, C. R. Ekern & Company, 2006

Find the Beef

Some of you may remember that famous television commercial from many years ago. It featured an old woman who had just visited a hamburger franchise. “Where’s the beef?” she exclaimed in her toughest tone of voice. Whenever I think of that, I am reminded of why a Consultative Broker must ask the same question when making a new business proposal.

Finding the beef is the hardest part of Consultative Brokerage. Why? Because it requires that you truly understand your prospect’s business. That is not the same as understanding the insurance coverages or insurance companies who will underwrite the account. It is the first step in actually being of value to a client.

Understanding a prospect’s business requires that you be able to ask yourself this question before making a new business presentation. If you can’t answer this question, you are not ready to make the presentation. If you can’t answer it, you will find yourself in a commodity sale that involves merely price and coverage. Here is the question: “What are three reasons why this prospect should do business with us?”

I call this the Rule of Three. Why three? Well, if you can only come up with one, you don’t know the account or the buyer. If it is only two, the perception can be created by your competition that you were just lucky. Ah, but when you demonstrate three, it might as well be a dozen!

Using the rule of three in all your sales analysis is the best exercise I know to improve your hit ratio. It forces you to get out of your own head and into the buyer’s. It is a difficult thing to do because sometimes it provides us with answers we don’t want to hear. (i.e. We don’t have anything other than the commodity.)

Here are some reasons why the Rule of Three is so effective:

It demonstrates a deeper understanding of the business issues. The Rule of Three requires that you consider a 360 degree analysis of your prospects business model. This will lead you into areas that other agents/brokers have not even considered.
It forces you not to get lazy. Let’s face it, sometimes we take things for granted and assume outcomes. The Rule of Three requires that your level of observation be continually sharp.
It helps find holes in your sales approach. By practicing the Rule of Three, you must think strategically. This strategic thinking will help you better anticipate why a prospect should do business with your firm.
It creates a strong link to prospect qualification. The Rule of Three will require that you go beyond price and commodity. In order to do so, in most cases, you will require a much deeper cooperation with a prospect.

Consultative Brokers know the importance of answering the Rule of Three prospect questions. Failure to do so means that they either have a weak prospect or they haven’t done their jobs effectively. They use this as a yardstick to determine when or if they make a presentation. Also, the Rule of Three becomes a major part of their prospect value proposition. They understand that practicing this Rule of Three exercise allows them to assist prospects to differentiate their value. When it is completed, they have found the beef!

Best regards to all Consultative Brokers,

Rob Ekern
President
C.R. Ekern & Company

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Consultative Brokerage® Techniques are utilized by agents and brokers across North America in the development and retention of upper middle market revenues. The Consultative Broker Briefing is delivered electronically free of charge to selected agents, brokers, and other insurance professionals across North America. To subscribe to The Consultative Broker Briefing, please click here.