Master Selling Insurance Over the Phone: A Guide for Insurance Agents
An Insurance Sales Veteran
Selling insurance over the phone can be challenging for agents. As 15-year insurance sales veteran and screen-sharing expert Gilsi Sigvaldason explains, agents spend a lot of time “on the telephone, you know, trying to book meetings, you know, trying to see people.” Prospects often want agents to “visit him or schedule a meeting” to review policies. However, new technology solutions like Gilsi's company, CrankWheel, allow agents to “make it visible within seconds” by instantly screensharing for phone sales. Agents can benefit from screen-sharing policies and documents for presentations and more on sales calls.
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Gilsi and his co-founder created CrankWheel to “create a screen sharing solution where you can go as far as you can in the first call friction-free without spending that valuable time with the prospect or customer on the phone.” This enables agents to “sell faster and better” by visually walking through materials live during calls versus scheduling follow-up meetings.
5 Challenges of Phone Sales for Insurance Agents
Selling insurance policies by phone presents some unique obstacles compared to in-person sales meetings:
1. Building Trust and Rapport by Screensharing for phone sales
Gilsi explains, “Usually, you just have to visit [the prospect] or schedule a meeting.” Without meeting people face-to-face, it's harder to establish personal connections and build trust on calls. There's less opportunity for small talk and casual rapport building without the in-person interaction. Prospects have fewer cues to get a feel for agents' personalities and expertise over the phone.

2. Overcoming Objections and Hesitancy Without Body Language Cues
According to Gilsi, agents must “go to a Screen sharing session within seconds” when they “see some kind of interest” from prospects on calls. However, responding to objections, concerns, and hesitancy is more complicated without visual feedback. Prospects may feel more comfortable voicing objections without facing agents in person.
3. Explaining Complex Policies and Coverages Clearly Over the Phone
Insurance policies contain complicated legal and financial details. Gilsi notes that prospects “can't visually follow along with documents or presentations over the phone.” Agents must thoroughly explain policies, rates, deductibles, etc., without visual aids during calls. This can lead to confusion for prospects trying to understand coverage.
According to Avoma, Listening is just as important as talking. Let the prospect guide the discussion so you can understand their unique needs before presenting solutions.
4. Keeping Prospects Engaged Without Visuals
Gilsi points out it's critical for agents to “go as far as you can in the first call” when interest is shown. But without visuals to keep people's attention, it's easier for prospects' focus to drift during long phone discussions. Agents must maintain engagement solely through voice energy.
5. Appearing Professional and Credible Over the Phone
According to Gilsi, prospects have fewer cues to evaluate agents' professionalism and credibility over the phone versus in person. Agents must establish authority and expertise solely through vocal delivery, which can be challenging.
Transitioning Phone Conversations to In-Person Meetings
As Gilsi explains, for agents, the key is to “build up trust” on calls to get prospects to agree to in-person meetings. Scheduling those meetings over the phone involves more friction than face-to-face. Agents must build enough interest on calls to motivate prospects to meet.
Leveraging Technology to Enhance Phone Sales
Technology solutions like CrankWheel empower insurance agents to have more effective sales conversations over the phone. As Gilsi explains, most screen-sharing platforms require scheduling meetings in advance and sending calendar invites. But with CrankWheel, agents can instantly share screens during calls without any friction:
“Usually, you just have to visit [the prospect] or schedule a meeting. We want to make it visible within seconds, and that's where it came from – to sell faster and better.”
Check out the key "Trends on how to sell insurance over the phone" in this overview of modern tactics changing phone insurance sales.
By instantly sharing screens, agents can visually walk through policies, presentations, and materials over the phone in real time. Gilsi says this allows agents to “go as far as you can in the first call” when interest is shown. The key benefit is enabling visuals on sales calls versus scheduling follow-up meetings.
4 Big Benefits of Visuals and Screen Sharing for Phone Sales
- Allows agents to display policies, documents, presentations, etc., on calls.
- Enables agents to explain policies more clearly with visuals.
- Keeps prospects engaged by adding visual elements to calls.
- Creates a more personalized customer experience.
1. Ability to Display Policies, Documents, Presentations, Etc.
Gilsi notes that prospects “can't visually follow along with documents or presentations over the phone.” With CrankWheel screen sharing, agents can visually walk through policies, brochures, rates, and other materials. This improves comprehension for prospects trying to understand coverage details.
2. Enables Agents to Explain Policies More Clearly with Visuals
According to Gilsi, it's critical for agents to “go as far as you can in the first call” when interest is shown. Screen sharing allows agents to explain policies clearly in the moment using visuals instead of just over the phone. Visuals improve comprehension of complex insurance policies.
3. Keeps Prospects Engaged by Adding Visual Elements to Calls
Gilsi points out it's essential for agents to “go as far as you can in the first call.” But without visuals, prospects can lose focus during long phone discussions. Screen sharing keeps people's attention and makes calls more interactive.
4. Creates More Personalized Customer Experience
Sharing screens makes the experience feel more personalized than just a phone call. Gilsi says it enables agents to “build trust” through visuals instead of scheduling meetings. The human touch of live screen sharing builds connections.
Real-World Examples and Success Stories
Insurance agents leveraging CrankWheel's screen-sharing solution on sales calls have seen dramatic improvements in sales performance. The visual element enabled by the technology is a game changer for converting prospects over the phone.
See Your Sales Skyrocket With CrankWheel
Crankwheel is proven to boost sales performance. Agents using Crankwheel close 60-80% more deals by visually engaging prospects on any device.
Experience the power of visual selling for yourself. Start your free Crankwheel trial today and watch your sales take off!
No Credit Card Required
According to Gilsi, it's common for agents to see “40, 60, 70, 80% increase in sales” after implementing CrankWheel. The main change is using visuals on calls versus explaining policies over the phone. This meaningful improvement is possible because visuals enhance comprehension and personalization.
Gilsi shares that agents describe CrankWheel as allowing them to “show something humanly impossible to show, to talk over the phone.” By adding visuals on calls, agents can display materials too complex to explain over audio alone. This is the key to higher phone sales.
Gilsi provides examples of “independent agents in the States, and how they increase sales” by 60-80% with CrankWheel. The “only thing that they are changing in the sales cycle is they are showing something humanly impossible to show, to talk over the phone.” Visually sharing screens is a game changer.
Learn 5 practical tips to simplify insurance concepts for prospects in "5 Tips To Make Insurance Less Confusing for Prospects".
Gilsi says some agents use CrankWheel for “100% of mobile” calls. This means they are closing sales directly on calls instead of needing to schedule meetings. Sharing screens on the fly and avoiding friction leads to faster-closed sales.
Key Takeaways for Implementing a Phone Sales Strategy
Building trust and rapport quickly during calls is essential, as Gilsi notes agents are “always at the end of the line building up trust.” Techniques like mirroring tone, sharing stories, and using humor help humanize interactions.
Leveraging visuals whenever possible through instant screen-sharing solutions is critical. Gilsi explains agents see sales jump 60-80% by “showing something humanly impossible over the phone.” Visuals aid engagement, explanation, and personalization.
According to Thimble, Insurance can be complex, but your explanations don't have to be. Use simple, everyday language to explain policies clearly without overwhelming prospects.
Prioritizing ease of use and eliminating friction for customers is key. Gilsi created CrankWheel for frictionless screen sharing “without spending valuable time” on scheduling. Supporting all devices removes obstacles.
Using technology to progress as far as possible on initial calls helps agents sell faster. Gilsi advises going “as far as you can on the first call” when interest is shown to walk through policies visually.
Continuously experimenting and optimizing processes over time is essential. Gilsi shares CrankWheel users see 60-80% increased sales. Tracking results and iterating helps improve.
The human touch remains essential, as Gilsi notes. While AI assists, “humans want the bio of humans.” Building trust through personalized visual sharing is still core to sales success.
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Selling insurance over the phone comes with unique challenges, like building trust without in-person interaction, overcoming objections, explaining policies clearly, and keeping prospects engaged. However, optimizing the sales process and leveraging visual technology can lead to dramatic improvements.
As 15-year insurance veteran Gilsi Sigvaldason explains, “Usually, you just have to visit [the prospect] or schedule a meeting. We want to make it visible within seconds, and that's where it came from – to sell faster and better.” Solutions like CrankWheel empower agents to visually share screens during calls instead of needing follow-up meetings.
The key is combining human rapport-building skills with instant screen-sharing technology. As Gilsi notes, “Humans want the bio of humans.” The human touch remains essential, but visuals help agents explain policies thoroughly and build trust faster over the phone.
Conclusion
In summary, by focusing on personalized service and leveraging frictionless technology like CrankWheel, insurance agents can master selling over the phone. Combining human rapport-building with instant visual sharing technology helps agents sell insurance over the phone efficiently. Frictionless ease of use and continuous optimization help maximize results. They can go as far as possible on initial calls and see 60-80% sales boosts.
The time is now for agents to implement these tips and technology to optimize phone sales. As Gilsi says, “We want to make it visible within seconds, and that's where it came from – to sell faster and better.” With the right strategies, agents can connect with and convert more prospects over the phone during critical enrollment periods.
After hearing how CrankWheel has helped insurance agents boost sales by 60-80% by enabling visual selling over the phone, it's time to experience it yourself. Sign up now for a Free 14-day trial of CrankWheel (No Credit Card Required)
Listen to our Software Spotlight podcast episode featuring CrankWheel: Childhood friends Gilsi Sigvaldason and his co-founder created screen-sharing software CrankWheel to simplify sales calls and demos. Integrating email, calendar, and tools to capture interactions effortlessly, CrankWheel’s timeline visualizations help agents sell faster by sharing screens on any device without prospects downloading anything.