Closing the Sale... "I Need to Think About It"

[Newby]

It may be a weak close but it's not going to starve an agent if it works.

I got in front of six people yesterday from new FE leads. Never met any of them before. None of them knew me from Adam. I sold all six. I'm pretty sure five if not six of them will be on the books 12-months from now.

I'm not buying that a "full time FE agent" would have any problem making a living doing it the way I do.

 

[jdeasy]

It may be a weak close but it's not going to starve an agent if it works.

I got in front of six people yesterday from new FE leads. Never met any of them before. None of them knew me from Adam. I sold all six. I'm pretty sure five if not six of them will be on the books 12-months from now.

I'm not buying that a "full time FE agent" would have any problem making a living doing it the way I do.

You just don't know what you don't know.

 

[Bcrane0305]

I can relate to people who want to take a little time before making a financial commitment, which is probably why I struggle with this one. What have you found to be the most effective way to close a sale when the prospect insists that they need time to think about it? Of course, the first thing that comes to my mind is that when you're eighty-something years old you never know if you'll have another chance... not sure how to say that tactfully though.... Input appreciated!

Great info from everyone. Keep in mind that when the objections start piling up the chances of a Chargeback highly increases even if you can get the application....an application is in no way money in the bank.....

 

[PA Bill]

That's the "think about it" close and it's as weak as it gets. If agents are resorting to think about it close then they are not long for this business.

It may work for you since you do this business different than the regular FE agent.

But the FE agent that's gonna make his living selling FE the think about it close will have him starving.

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No way I'm going through all that. Once I've found their why and them educated them on the solution to their why and they need to think about it, I simply lower the premium. If that doesn't get them signing up then I'm outta there.

If they ain't sold, they ain't sold. No amount of trickery will change that. It might for that day but they won't be tricked for more than a month.

All that? It doesn't take long. It's a last resort, another arrow in the quill if you will. Should a basketball player not attempt a buzzer beater from half court just because the chances of it going in are low? I agree, it's not ideal. A great presentation will often nip this in the bud. But the OP obviously ain't there yet. I don't think it's trickery. Some folks just need a little nudge off the diving board.

 

[EasternShore]

When you go the let's-just-submit-this-to-underwriting-and-start-the-process route, what happens as far as payment? Postdated bank draft?

 

[jdeasy]

When you go the let's-just-submit-this-to-underwriting-and-start-the-process route, what happens as far as payment? Postdated bank draft?

No, you are getting a voided check. The draft is not going to take place until a future date anyway.

Now, if you do the think about it close and it's with a company that does a POS interview then the odds go way up on them keeping it. But there's nothing to think about at that point anyway. They are approved.

The think about it close is a hail Mary. They aren't sold. The agent using the think about it is hoping they get sold without him being there.

I was taught to use the think about it close early in my career. And I used it quite a bit when I didn't know what I was doing. So have many. many agents.

Did I have some stick? Yes. Can you count on them? No.

I haven't used the think about it close in over 2 years. I've known it was not effective for much longer than that.

But when I was with EFES I would still use it as a last resort because you got PPL credit for written apps. So I got something out of it even when they didn't keep it.

There are some people that genuinely need to think about it. Those people will call you back to do the app once they have decided.

 

[John Galt]

That's the "think about it" close and it's as weak as it gets. If agents are resorting to think about it close then they are not long for this business.

It may work for you since you do this business different than the regular FE agent.

But the FE agent that's gonna make his living selling FE the think about it close will have him starving.

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No way I'm going through all that. Once I've found their why and them educated them on the solution to their why and they need to think about it, I simply lower the premium. If that doesn't get them signing up then I'm outta there.

If they ain't sold, they ain't sold. No amount of trickery will change that. It might for that day but they won't be tricked for more than a month.

I agree with JD on this. Selling on recession which is what the "think about it" close is, will result in chargeback hell.

 

[Birdman300]

It's about the money. Always is. But if you are correctly finding the why and then addressing objections in the presentation to that why you will rarely get the think about it.

Occasionally I still will. Had one yesterday. We had settled in on a plan of what they wanted from finding their why. They were just needing some additional coverage on the wife. He was fine and she had a nice policy to cover most of the expenses. I couldn't interest them in replacing her policy so I was just adding on. Everything was fine but then they decided they needed to think about it. I took one last stab at it by lowering the face and thus the premium by $15/mo. They no longer needed to think about it.

I did plant the seed on replacing her older policy and will bring it up again on policy delivery.

It's always the money though. If you were giving them free life insurance they wouldn't have to think about it, talk to the kids, pray on it or whatever objection they can think of to get you gone.

This^^^

Lots of FE agents use one of 2 main closes... 1) money close and 2) 3 options.

I've used both, and they both work...but the money close is what I prefer. I start by asking if they can afford a $200/mo premium. Then I slowly lower the premium to a number that fits their budget. I will not quote rates unless they commit to a premium. If they don't commit, then I leave. Sometimes I keep lowering all the way to like $20/mo. If they can't afford $20/mo...I leave. Anything lower than about $30/mo is a high potential for chargeback. I'll still write the $20/mo only if it's a husband/wife combo with a total premium of say $40/mo for that house.

Replacements might be the only significant exception to "I need to think about it". Replacing involves a whole laundry list of emotions with prospects. Mostly it's a combination of trust in the agent, and resistance to change (seniors resist change). Replacements can be big money if you do it right. Do it wrong and you get, "I need to think about it". Good luck.

 

[pcbinsurance]

It's always the money though. If you were giving them free life insurance they wouldn't have to think about it, talk to the kids, pray on it or whatever objection they can think of to get you gone.
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JD nailed it here.

 

[PA Bill]

I agree with JD on this. Selling on recession which is what the "think about it" close is, will result in chargeback hell.

What I posted was not a rescission close in any way, shape, or form.