If you’re an insurance professional, chances are pretty good that you’ve heard the word “no” at least a few times during your career.  How do you let “no” affect you? Do you hang up the phone in anger? Delete or throw away the prospect’s file in frustration? I sure hope not.

How you respond after being told “no” will determine your success. (And the previous responses are not the proper or appropriate actions of a successful insurance agent!)

Just because someone tells you “no” on the front-end, that does not mean they are completely shutting down on you. A major component of business is building relationships. Here are a few tips for bonding with prospects and working toward a yes or a referral:

Be intentional. Go out of your way to help your prospects. Learn about their profession and what they’re passionate about. Try to refer business to them. When you refer business to someone else, typically the law of reciprocity comes into play. Invite them to networking events with you. Call them on their birthday. Set a date in your calendar to follow up with them and give an updated insurance quote.

Stay in front of them. Create a monthly email newsletter that includes money-saving tips, interesting articles, etc. and ask if it’s okay to email it to them. Get involved with your local community. Offer to write a column for your local newspaper about insurance and finance. Find ways like this to stay top-of-mind.

Remember that “the fruit is in the follow-up”. Even if you’ve been told “no”, setup follow-up calls in your calendar. Call back in a few months for a check-in to see how things are going. Are they happy with the service/coverage/price they’ve received? According to a Leads360 whitepaper, 6 calls equals success when it comes to lead conversion. Don’t give up!