Ep #373: Persuasion Styles Create Long Term Relationships - With Brian Ahearn

This week's episode gives profound insights into how insurance advisors can drive sales and win relationships using the psychology of persuasion. Brian Ahearn, author of Persuasive Selling for Relationship Driven Insurance Agents, talks through the different methods that need to be applied at every step of the sales cycle in order to create long-lasting client relationships and close sales without coming off as a "salesy" person.What You’ll Learn From This Episode:02:24 Brian on his then career in the insurance industry and how he eventually pursued sales training03:47 Definition of Persuasion07:27 Using the Pre-suasion Approach to turn insurance prospects into clients10:21 Introducing the ‘STARS’ model: How important is it to listen to your prospect?13:15 Authentic sales rapport building on the first day17:39 The D.E.A.L technique for prospect profiling19:49 The concept of ‘Close without Closing’Quotes:04:24  “Aristotle said ‘persuasion’ was the art of getting someone to do something that they wouldn’t ordinarily do if you didn’t ask. If you think about that, it’s a great definition; they’re not doing what you want or need them to do, how can you communicate with them to get them to do what you want or need them to do?”12:42  “I was really into weightlifting, but I could never jump, I could never dunk a basketball— that’s a skill that I do not and will not ever possess. But listening starts with a choice. And the more you make the choice, the better you get at it.”13:39 “When you’re looking at the sales cycle and prospecting, it’s just hoping to get that opportunity for the first meeting. In that first meeting, one of the biggest things you need to do is build rapport.”17:29 “Get to know who you are. Leverage the things that you have that are strengths in a way that just feels so comfortable to you, that it makes the other people feel comfortable as well.”20:29 “If you’re looking to utilize what’s called the ‘upfront close’ to clearly find out what’s gonna be required for them to make a change and potentially do business with you, then everything should be flowing into just a natural conversation so that you’re not having to put some kind of hard close on somebody…”