Our sales system is built around a three-step process. Each meeting has a distinct purpose, each step tees up the next and builds on the last, and each step will likely take an hour to an hour and a half.

Defiant declarations always ensue: “There is NO WAY I can get a prospect to take three meetings. And there is NO WAY I can get more than 10 to 15 minutes at a time.”

We call BS, because we use the same sales process ourselves. Nobody would be sitting in that room with us if someone on their leadership team hadn't given us three meetings and adequate time for each meeting.

When we explain this to the room, the response is interesting. Most are curious as to why it would be different for us, and there is usually the lone holdout who explains, “You just don't understand; our prospects are different.”

The problem isn't that their prospects are different. The problem is that the meetings they have with prospects aren't different. The typical series of conversations a producer has with a prospect usually include:

• Let me explain to you who “ABC Agency” is and our 112-year history

• We have achieved Gold/Platinum status with all the top A-rated carriers

• If you give us a chance to quote, I'm sure we can beat your price

• Let me show you our capabilities binder of products we offer

• The real difference between ABC and everyone else is our service. You will come to see us as an extension of your HR department

And, no, I wasn't listening in on your last pitch.

Your prospects have heard this same message over and over and over and probably check out when you launch into it. They are not interested in hearing your version of the same story. They aren't interested in your past; they are concerned about their future. They aren't interested in discussing your products, they are interested in discussing the problems your products can help fix.

Do yourself a favor. For your next prospect meeting, leave the agency history lesson and your capabilities binder at the office. Instead, show up prepared to discuss the future they desire and the problems that may get in their way (addressed by the products in your capabilities binder). If you do that, you may very well have to cut the conversation short so that you can get to your next meeting on time.

Game on!