Poachers

Things have been a little rocky, as of late, but you’ve had a busy, productive weekend, and it’s about time, too! The funk you’ve been in has finally subsided and it would seem you’ve turned the corner. It’s Monday morning…time to clean up after the party, if you will, and that’s okay because things are looking up. Your bruised attitude may actually survive.

Then IT happens…

You answer a phone call. It’s Mrs. Smith, whose deal you delivered Saturday, calling to cancel EVERYTHING! She has done an about-face. The rapport you established with her and Mr. Smith has apparently evaporated, and she is effectively shutting-down ALL attempts you are making at damage control. She has decided to refinance her new vehicle, with her Lender, and IS cancelling all of the products she purchased from you. You’re toast and you’ve been poached by another Lender!!! THEY are selling her all of that in which you built so much value. Gut-punched, you feel your attitude slipping into a deeper trench than before.

Enough of THAT negativity and drama…

We are all very well aware that our productivity is a direct reflection of our prevailing attitude, at any given time. As professionals, it is incumbent of us to avoid that which may compromise our confidence and, of course, our attitude.

It’s undeniable that chargebacks are going to happen. Some Business Managers may even attempt dismiss any concerns, surrounding this issue, by simply stating that “the more you produce, the higher the chargebacks are going to be.” While this may be true, to an extent, there are certainly steps to consider in order to mitigate the likelihood of going backward. Managing exposure to potential threats is not difficult if we consider the risk versus benefit.

Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of Business Managers, with whom I’ve worked, have certainly impressed upon me that they have their Guest’s needs and well-being in mind. This is the primary reason why it is not hard to transition from an attempt to communicate with our Guest’s, ineffectively, via a potentially adversarial sales approach, to one of providing the necessary perspective through education. Once we have shared with our Guests, when necessary, information that they had not previously considered, they are far more likely to make a decision, in the affirmative, to protect their investment.

In this spirit, we may want to consider from what our Guests will benefit, for money conveyed? Reserve versus product? Are we expending too much credibility capital wrestling to secure reserve? Reserve is necessary to the bottom-line, but how much is too much, versus product production, and how much exposure will we have as a result? How likely is our Guest to seek refinancing? Is there a prior trade line, on the bureau, screaming out for our attention? Don’t ignore the warning signs. Make informed decisions, as to the bias of your production, and manage your attitude and self-confidence, in the meantime! Avoid the Monday morning phone call by keeping the poachers at bay!

Think about it.

Good luck and good selling!

Erik Landrum
F&I Performance Coach at Conley Insurance Group

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