Why is it that 16-year-olds can be taught to sell veritableacres of deep fried potatoes to hamburger buyers, but many salesprofessionals find it difficult to even suggest to a healthinsurance client they might want to consider, maybe, if it's nottoo costly or inconvenient, to perhaps think about dental coverageor group life or disability?

Having closed the sale for medical coverage, too many producersseem anxious to find the door before their clients change theirmind. Having heard the word “yes” they are unwilling to riskhearing that most dreaded of utterances of “no.”

Yet given the benefits of cross-selling additional products toexisting clients, this aversion to even broaching the topic ofother products seems counterproductive. It's not just that thereare commissions unearned on sales not made, although that should bea real concern. Producers invest considerable time and money toturn a prospect into a client. These are sunk costs. Maximizing thereturn on this investment by selling more products to a particularclient is good business (as discussed below, the assumption herebeing the additional products are appropriate for the clients).

Cross-selling also strengthens a broker's relationship withtheir clients. The more products in place with a client, the morecommunication and services between a salesperson and customer. Anadded benefit: Other brokers offering the needed ancillary productare locked out. Taken together both these dynamics result in betterretention.

Cross-selling need not be difficult either. The initial sale ofhealth insurance not only transforms prospects into clients, thesale transmutes producers, too, from simply being another genericsalesperson into trusted advisors and partners in problem solving.Brokers sit across the table from prospects, but on the same sideas clients. Having successfully tackled one of the clients' needs(health insurance) the team can now address additionalchallenges.

The power of this transformation from salesperson to trustedadviser is powerful and well-documented. Studies show making aninitial commitment, even a small one, changes people's self-imageand motivates them to act consistently with their new perceptions.In other words, once they've dealt with one benefit issue decisionmakers see themselves as capable and willing to address additionalproblems along with their partners, the trusted adviser (that wouldbe you).

Maximizing income and improving persistency, however, is not themost important reason to cross-sell. Because the simple fact is,cross-selling is often the right thing to do.

As described in a previous column, one of the traits high-growthproducers share, as identified by the Trailblazed Sales ProjectStudy, is sales professionalism: being worthy of the trust clientsplace in them. (The study identified the practices, processes andprocedures common among top sales people, but seen less frequentlyamong their less successful colleagues). Sales professionalismincludes demonstrating honesty and integrity, but that's just thestart. Sales professionalism also encompasses listening toprospects, gaining an understanding of their situation and theirneeds, and then bringing them the products and services they needto meet those needs—all of the products and services theyneed.

Successful sales people share a strong sense of responsibilityto do the right thing for their clients. This means giving them anopportunity to obtain the most complete solution appropriate totheir situation. Cross-selling, after all, is not about forcingpeople to buy additional policies or services they do notneed. Cross-selling is about presenting prospects with the chanceto obtain what they do need.