You’re More Than an “Insurance Agent”
Presented by David Corwin When someone asks you what you do for a living are you at a loss other than to say you are an insurance agent? People have their own preconceived notions of what an insurance agent is and often it isn’t as flattering as we might want it to be. People know what doctors, lawyers, architects and other professions do, but what do they really know about the value a professional insurance adviser can provide? What we do for the public can be more important and at certain times far more critical to people’s lives than many other professionals. The people you talk to don’t care about what your job is until they know how it will benefit them. Here are some great responses that I’ve compiled over the years: • I specialize in giving advice to seniors to provide a predictable lifetime income. • I work with families in planning ahead for an unforeseen, untimely death to make available dollars for ongoing expenses. • I focus on designing programs for the public to provide tax-free income for retirement. • I create ways for seniors to grow their money in a way that helps avoid probate delay and expense. It is crucial to know what you want to say before someone asks what you do. At a wedding reception, dinner party or other social event, when you discuss your business, a prepared, motivating description of your value proposition is a must. It’s all about describing how you work and how it benefits the people you work with.
An Untapped Opportunity?
Presented by Donna Ries According to the September 2013 U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, with over 23 million small businesses in the United States, the market opportunity for business protection solutions is wide open. Small businesses need protection if an owner would become too sick or hurt to work. Overhead Expense insurance keeps the business running smoothly by reimbursing business expenses until the business owner can return to work during a disability. This type of policy helps pay for rent, employee salaries, utilities, loan payments, etc. to keep the doors open. Overhead Expense premiums are tax-deductible for the business and the benefits received are reportable as income. Although benefits are taxable as income, the actual business expenses are deductible. Help protect the ability to keep up with overhead expenses that may force a business to close its doors. Propose Business Overhead insurance and disability insurance on your next business insurance visit.
Have you arrived?
Presented by David Corwin In my position with working with many agents it dawns on me that many if not all insurance professionals want to arrive. Arrive defined is “to reach a place at the end of a journey or a stage in a journey.” I define it as complacency or becoming comfortable. Too comfortable is the zone that you need to stay clear of in my opinion. Here are some indicators to tell you where you are. • Do you have a business plan? Crafting a meaningful business plan takes a lot of thought and time. Set out a strategy for your business and in particular, your marketing strategy. Set targets and objectives, including sales and financial goals so that you can monitor business performance. • Are you actively looking for new prospects (referrals and warm market) or just replacing the business you wrote in the past? It really should be a 60/40 split. Sixty percent of your marketing efforts should be spent on referrals and warm marketing. Forty percent should be reviewing clients that you’ve written before, both fostering the relationship built, as well as looking for new business. • Are you running enough appointments throughout every week to get the result you want? Yes, I know – the old numbers game. It only makes sense that if you have enough lines in the water the more fish you will catch. The more successful agents run between 10-15 appointments per week. If you’re running less than that…run more. It’s as simple as that. • On your appointments do you implement a fact finder to obtain material facts that allow for cross-selling opportunities? If you don’t, well then, you’re probably an order taker, and if you don’t have what they want you’ll go back to your office without the business. Last I checked, an insurance license allows you to sell Life, Annuities, Health, Long Term Care and Disability insurance. If you don’t use a fact finder then you just have an insurance license. • Are you furthering your education through industry leading programs like CLU, ChFC or CFP? Furthering your education allows you to become better informed to assist with the variety of unique problems that your clients may have with respect to their estate planning, wealth transfer, income replacement and risk management needs. It’s been reported that holders of these designations increase their sales by up to 51%. This isn’t meant to pass judgment of any sorts, but to help you realize that you never want to arrive. If you do that means that you’ll never challenge yourself to learn new things and that’s when true growth will happen.