Referrals – An Obvious Place to Look

Authored by John Schraut Are you looking for qualified referrals?  Every time you complete an application for life insurance or an annuity you get at least one possible referral. That’s right! Your next prospect could be hiding in plain sight in the beneficiary section. A smart producer can take that name, find out the relationship to the insured and use the opportunity to ask for an introduction or referral endorsement, something like, “Do you mind if I give (beneficiary name) a call to introduce myself? Many of my clients have found it helpful if their beneficiaries have my contact information.” This eliminates the standard objection from clients when asked for a referral, “I can’t think of anyone.” They provided the name to you. Producers who follow up to turn that into a referral find that it is an easy way to get at least one referral on every application they complete.

Life insurance and Children

Is purchasing life insurance really necessary for a child?   Some financial experts argue that money spent on life insurance for children could be better spent investing in college plans or other investment accounts. Here are three reasons why life insurance makes good financial sense.
  1. Final Expense: In the traumatic event of an early death of a child, a life insurance policy can provide proceeds to cover funeral and burial expenses.  For many families, the cost of paying the burial expenses out of pocket could be problematic.  The final expense costs can easily exceed $8,000.  Not all clients have access to that kind of money to pay for a funeral.
  2. Medical Expenses: The death benefit can be used to cover medical costs that may exist prior to the child’s death.  The top causes of death of children under the age of 18 are accidents and certain specific illnesses – both would incur medical costs.
  3. Insuring Coverage: Purchasing a life insurance policy for a healthy child is relatively inexpensive.  If for some reason the child would develop a serious health condition later in life they may be unable to obtain coverage.  Many carriers offer guaranteed insurability riders that allows for buying additional coverage with no underwriting.
Look at purchasing life insurance on a child as a gift for as little as $10/month for these exact reasons.

Remove the “Unemployment” Objection

Authored by John Schraut
Even if they don’t voice it, some prospects have this nagging concern, “How am I going to pay my life insurance premium if I lose my job?”  It may be more common recently due to the economic environment. If your clients have to choose to pay their life insurance premiums or the cable bill, many will pick the cable bill.  Then they lose the valuable coverage that protects their family and their own insurability. But what if there was an option that would help pay life insurance premiums in the event of unemployment? We have the answer – carriers that offer waiver of premium for unemployment.  Let your clients know about it and take this worry and objection away.

4 Reasons Sales Presentations Don’t Work

Producers sometimes feel like their sales presentations go perfectly, they hit all the right notes and new business is sure to follow. But then nothing happens, the case doesn’t close and the producer wonders what went wrong. Here are four key warning signs that a sales approach might not have the intended effect: 1.  The decision makers weren’t there. If some or all of the real decision makers weren’t present for the presentation is not a done-deal. A smart producer will find out who the deciders are and make sure that those bases have been touched. 2.  The presentation did not mention the prospect’s buying motives. To arouse a prospect’s curiosity and make it easy for them to buy, producers need to know a lot about them. Then it is critical to tie the solution to those motivations and help them see how it helps achieve them. 3.  Features weren’t linked to and described as buyer benefits. Even the slickest, multi-media presentation of the newest cutting-edge product will not result in a lasting sale if the key features do not correspond to benefits that solve the prospect’s problems. 4.  Somebody talked too much. The best producers ask a lot of questions and then shut up and listen. Given the chance prospects will map out how to close the sale and the objections they will have. A producer who allows the prospect to talk 75% of the time has a better than average chance to find out what that road map is.

5 Ways to Keep Your New Years LTC Resolution

It’s always a smart idea to raise awareness with your clients of the importance of long-term care. It’s overlooked much too often. The best way to overcome this oversight is to continue to educate people about the potential risks of not planning for long-term care through out the year. And that gives you the perfect opportunity to talk to everyone you meet about the importance of adding this essential coverage. Here are five things you can do throughout the year to boost your LTC sales: 1.  Make it your mission to talk about LTC with everyone you meet. This includes friends, family members, current clients and business contacts. 2.  Establish yourself as the go-to person in your community for LTC insurance. Offer to speak to community groups or associations. Meet with attorneys, accountants and other centers of influence to explain the service you can provide to their clients. 3.  Create a mailing to introduce yourself to people in the community and arouse their interest in talking with you about LTC. Or place a newspaper ad in your local paper or in association newsletters. 4.  Brush up on LTC insurance products so you are prepared to offer appropriate solutions for clients’ specific needs. 5.  If you haven’t already done so, consider purchasing a LTC insurance policy yourself. The old saying is true – it’s easier to sell something when you own it yourself.