At least once a month for the past two years, I've edited a prospecting story. Which means that since I became the associate editor at ASJ, I've read 24 articles on how to pull of the perfect prospecting call, or how to follow-up with a client – and that doesn't include our big feature giving 52 of the best prospecting tips, or the other excellent advice we've given over the years. All in all, I'd say I've read more than 100 pieces of prospecting wisdom, and listened to seven or eight experts share their advice in person on how to handle that thing with which many agents struggle.
So you'd think, after all that, I'd be able to identify a sales call when I got one from my insurance agent, right?
Wrong.
It was all so casual. I was just finishing up my work day when my cell phone rang. I picked up the phone and heard the friendly voice of a rep from my car insurance agent's office on the other end. She said she was just calling to verify a few details from my account, and did I have a few minutes? I said of course. She confirmed my age (I'd just had a birthday), and asked if I wanted to upgrade one of the benefits on my plan, now that a higher coverage amount was available. She also noticed that I'd recently been married, and wanted to offer to put my husband on my account as a second driver. We discussed what that would mean for my account, and I thought we were finished. Then, just as we were about to hang up, she slid something in that I totally wasn't expecting.
"Heather," she asked, "Do you have life insurance?"
