When you initially call a prospect about selling insurance, they may hesitate to purchase an insurance policy. Ultimately, it’s your responsibility to establish a connection with them, help them feel comfortable, and assure them that you are selling them the best possible plan.
But as we all know, overcoming sales objections during the Open Enrollment Period (OEP) is much easier said than done.
That’s why we’re here to help you prepare for common sales objections, learn new tactics for working through them, and still satisfy your clients.
Common Objections to Selling Health Insurance Plans Over the Phone
1. The Client Has a Lack of Interest
One common objection when selling health insurance over the phone is a general lack of interest in it.
While this could stem from many reasons, our best recommendation to overcome this objection is to offer value to your client. Show them what’s in it for them or give them a helpful resource to learn the benefits of the plan that’s best for them.
They May See No Need to Change Vendors
This objection relates to a lack of interest and may initially seem like a dead-end road, but this is quite the contrary. Think about it; your client has already identified the need for insurance and found a solution during OEP. The work to convince them to work with a vendor is already done, you just need to sway them to work with you.
This is your chance to highlight your differences from competitors and how your expertise can help them find an even better insurance plan.
2. They Don’t Have Time To Chat on the Phone
In fact, it seems like no one ever has time to chat!
In our experience, the best way to engage with a client who seems too busy to take your call is to emphasize that the call will be quick and won’t take up much of their time. The key is to get them to engage first. Once the client makes themself available to talk, it becomes much easier to deliver information to them.
So what if they never make time to chat on the phone?
Two other ways you can attempt to reach those with communication challenges during OEP are through email and online options. You can contact them with a quick, polite email asking for some initial information to get sent over so you can find them the best plan possible. You can then tell them that if they prefer to do this process online, they can. When you send an email, include those online options to maximize the chances of your client completing the next step.
Once you’ve talked on the phone or contacted them through another form of communication, ensure you send a follow-up email to confirm details and provide the next step they need to take. It’s important to highlight that it will help them first and foremost. They may not continue the process if they don’t see a personal benefit at every stage in the process.
3. They Have an Existing Relationship With a Different Vendor
One tough pill to swallow is that some of your potential clients will already have a great relationship with a competing vendor. This is always a bummer, but not unexpected, right? You may even be tempted to walk away, but here’s why you shouldn’t!
A client with a different vendor may not have an agent who truly is in their corner or even have the right policy for their needs. This presents the opportunity to highlight what you bring to the table compared to your competitors. It’s time to leverage that foundation and make it an advantage.
You can do this by asking questions about how attentive or helpful the current agent is and expressing areas where you can improve upon the service. Ask open-ended questions pertaining to their current policy, such as why the policy isn't meeting their needs. You can then ask follow-up questions about their comfort level with current and prior agents to help pinpoint what works for them and what doesn’t. This will allow you to find the best solution to meet their needs during OEP.
4. There’s a Lack of Available Budget
A very common objection when selling health insurance is a lack of money.
First and foremost, we cannot overstate how important it is to be empathetic to all financial situations. Aim to work with your clients to understand their specific financial situation and show them that you can find the right plan to fit their exact circumstances.
It’s also crucial to iterate the benefits of having health insurance. In this case, it’s to avoid the expenses of medical bills that can rack up very quickly for those in unfortunate circumstances. In fact, it’s been previously reported that adults without health insurance plans were more than twice as likely to struggle with medical debt compared to those with health insurance. Since most uninsured people earn low to moderate wages and have little to no savings, these bills can quickly become debt, spelling trouble for your clients.
Explain to them how you can alleviate this issue and that having health insurance can help them avoid crushing medical debt. Outline your process for finding the right plan for them and how it can secure them from significant financial debt.
5. The Client Needs To Research Available Options
This objection is sometimes a lack of interest just disguised, but in the cases where the prospect truly intends to do research and explore options, here’s how you can address their concerns:
- Offer to show them concrete details and benefits
- Set a follow-up plan for reconnecting at a later date
- Ask them what it would take to get them to work with you
They May Need To Discuss Health Insurance Plans With Their Doctor, Children, or Spouse
In a lot of cases, the client may want to discuss the details with their doctors, children, or spouse, which is perfectly reasonable and expected.
Express your understanding, then offer the next step, date, and time for a follow-up conversation. Establishing a concrete step with a time frame is more likely to lead to better results than simply saying, “Contact me when you feel like chatting.”
Tips for Selling Health Insurance To Consider
Use Active Listening and Lead With Empathy
There’s nothing worse than someone who doesn’t listen to your concerns or truly empathize with them. Active listening and showing empathy are great ways to cultivate trust with your clients over the phone. Here are some ways you can get started:
- Remove distractions
- Take notes, then reiterate what the client says to confirm what you heard
- Be open to feedback, including in the face of objections or rejections
- Ask open-ended questions to understand their situation further
- Give them ample opportunity to present their needs and concerns
We want to highlight that active listening isn’t about getting to your next point, it’s about truly understanding your client and keeping their best interest in mind so you bridge the gap between their needs and your business.
Explore Objections and Be Open to Situational Awareness
You can’t win everyone’s business, and that’s okay. It’s impossible to know the circumstances of each individual client, but the most important takeaway when selling health insurance plans is to not take it personally. The best way to accomplish this is to simply make yourself open to feedback, regardless if it’s positive or negative.
While you may close the sale, there will be times when you mark the lead “closed/lost”. Don’t be discouraged; instead, develop a habit of reviewing the sale right away. Try to determine what went wrong and then prepare new strategies to deal with similar objections in the future.
Improve Your Business With More Resources for Selling Health Insurance
This list for overcoming common objections when selling health insurance plans over the phone is just the tip of the iceberg for maximizing your client base. Taking a multi-dimensional approach backed by the latest tools and resources is crucial to help you expand your business.
That’s why we created the essential guide for helping you engage with clients over the phone and maximizing your selling opportunities. Download How to Sell Health Insurance Over the Phone for additional tips from Quotit.
