The trick to selling insurance is in the story.
I was 26 years old and living in Northern Virginia. On one particular summer day, I was just across the Potomac on the 27th floor of an office building.
I was all alone, standing at the end of a long, bright hallway.
My heart was racing.
I was sweating.
And I was trying to calm myself through deep breaths because my hands were shaking.
I knew that three men were on the other side of the door who were more intelligent than me, wealthier than me, and much more experienced than me.
I knew I would have to shake each of their hands, and I didn’t want to be shaking and sweaty when I did so.
I also knew that if I closed this deal, it would be the largest commission of my life and could change the direction of my young family for years to come.
What I didn’t know at the time was THAT day would turn out to be the WORST day of my life…
PAUSE
BUT…as I stood there trying to compose myself, breathing deeply…I did not know that yet.
Finally, I wiped my palms on my suit pants legs, I started thinking positive thoughts, and I convinced myself that I WAS ready for this moment that I had worked so hard to prepare for.
I reached out to grab that doorknob, and just before I turned it…
I heard a female voice call out, “Mr. Grates“…
It was the receptionist who had directed me to this long, bright hallway just minutes earlier.
“Yes,” I replied with a cracked voice.
“There is something you really must know about the men in that room before you go in there and give them your pitch… I feel like I need to share something with you.”
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Now…
Are you curious as to what this lady needed to share with me at that very moment?
I hope so.
Would it be annoying if I never told you what she told me?
I hope so.
Well…
I’m not going to tell you.
BUT, what I am going to tell you is this: what you just experienced during that story was increased levels of dopamine sent by your brain via nerve cells.
During my story, did your focus increase?
Did your attention increase?
Did you picture what that hallway looked like? What I looked like standing there sweating?
Did you picture what the three men on the other side of the door looked like? And maybe it changed after you learned the receptionist had something crucial to tell me about them?
Out of the many articles you’ve read on our blog, this might be one you’ll remember the most.
Why?
Because the storytelling engaged you, and you wanted to know what happened next.
A good story is designed to build suspense and keep people interested. A good story draws in the reader, creating a picture within their imagination.
Good storytelling keeps us wanting to know what happens next.
This is because a good story induces dopamine into the brain. Dopamine plays a role in how we feel pleasure. It’s a big part of our uniquely human ability to think and plan. It helps us strive, focus, and find things interesting.1
As insurance producers, we sell a PROMISE. It’s not sexy, not exciting, and it’s not even real to many people. It is our job to prescribe just what the Doctor ordered… dopamine. Dopamine is the key to selling insurance.
We must create an emotional attachment through storytelling that boosts the level of dopamine in our prospects’ brains. This is how we help them understand the promise we are offering, how it works, why it works, and create a situation where the prospect wants to know more.
By the end of the story, it won’t be about them needing what you can offer. Instead, they will want what you have.
And that’s when the magic happens because people buy what they WANT, not what they NEED.
Just like you WANT to know what that lady told me that day.
But I’m still not going to tell you.
1 https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-is-dopamine
