Becoming a Farm Bureau insurance agent is about more than just working. It’s about building strong relationships and understanding your members’ needs, so you’re able to deliver effective solutions that protect your fellow community members. These seven tips will help you have meaningful discussions with your clients.
1. Start with the Relationship
The first step in understanding client needs is to establish a trusting relationship. Our agents don’t just sell insurance products; they deliver peace of mind to entire communities, which are often their own. By striving to build long-term relationships with clients, our agents learn what’s most important to them, as well as the community at large, and how to better protect the things that matter most.
2. Use Conversation to Build Rapport
Do you have the qualities needed to grow your business within your community? If you do and you genuinely want to leverage these skills to better understand your members and safeguard their futures, you are already building the rapport and trust necessary to have effective conversations about significant life topics.
3. Focus on Listening
It’s important for agents to balance a willingness to share information with a desire to listen—and learn. Remember to ask open-ended questions that leave space for your clients to share, and always keep the focus on them. Establishing common ground is important, but your clients come to you to feel heard. We can’t listen if we’re dominating the conversation.
4. Dig Deeper into Their Needs and Aspirations
Our agents are local leaders who are involved in their communities. Not only do Farm Bureau agents know their members’ current needs and can therefore recommend products to fulfill them, they also serve as a resource to help people achieve their dreams and aspirations. Where do they hope to be in 5 years? Fifteen? What are their concerns along the way? These questions establish that you’re here to help them reach their goals, both short- and long-term.
5. Be Honest and Vulnerable
As a Farm Bureau agent, you’re knowledgeable—but you’re also human. If your client asks you a question and you aren’t sure of the answer, it’s best to be honest. A simple “I don’t know, but let me find out,” will help you earn trust. Plus, it gives you another touchpoint to call or email your client to keep the conversation going.
6. Keep the Conversation Going
Because we offer training and turnkey marketing tools, including a personalized website and access to a marketing toolkit with hundreds of materials, it’s easy for our agents to stay in touch with members—and better understand what clients need to feel safe and secure. It is just one more way we ensure that our agents are equipped with all the tools and resources needed to serve their clients over the course of a lifetime.
7. Seek a Mentor
Even the most skilled agents can benefit from the support and guidance of a mentor. That’s why Farm Bureau equips each insurance agent with a mentor and, by extension, a solid foundation for success in the insurance and financial services industry. Our mentoring programs serve as a blueprint for understanding client needs. You can expect
one-on-one coaching and support during client appointments, peer agents who are ready and willing to help with client meetings and needs assessments and a District Manager dedicated to ensuring the success of you and your client/members.
Get the Tools You Need
Farm Bureau agents have access to a full suite of tools, resources and mentor support to start effective conversations that turn your neighbors into client/members. Contact us to learn more about becoming a Farm Bureau insurance agent.