Kerzner: Help make life insurance a social imperative again

[rousemark]

Yes, my response was more general, but even some people try to look down on insurance agents.

Oh.. they can look down all they want... But I am not ashamed of what I do.. Nor am I ashamed to tell be I am an insurance agent or salesman... I have never tried to make my self out to be anything else by using some type of "advisory or consultant" title. I am proyd to say "I sell insurance".. At least until recently when I seemed to slow down to a dead stop on activity.

 

[VolAgent]

Oh.. they can look down all they want... But I am not ashamed of what I do.. Nor am I ashamed to tell be I am an insurance agent or salesman... I have never tried to make my self out to be anything else by using some type of "advisory or consultant" title. I am proyd to say "I sell insurance".. At least until recently when I seemed to slow down to a dead stop on activity.

So you're saying your a liar? Telling people you sell insurance when you do no such thing?

 

[rousemark]

So you're saying your a liar? Telling people you sell insurance when you do no such thing?

I did say until recently.... If you don't get out and see people, you can't tell them anything.. Perhaps when I get back from vacation???

 

[VolAgent]

I did say until recently.... If you don't get out and see people, you can't tell them anything.. Perhaps when I get back from vacation???

Only working 40 hours a week too?

 

[rousemark]

Only working 40 hours a week too?

At insurance? Why would anyone work that many?

 

[Todd King]

At insurance? Why would anyone work that many?

Because you're young! You should be working 70 to 80 hours a week! Age is not just a number...it's a feeling. God, I feel old!

 

[DHK]

I don't call myself an insurance agent. I use my designation as my title - Chartered Financial Consultant and I do Insurance, Financial, and Retirement Planning.

Insurance is a solution to a problem, and most people are not qualified, nor do they understand the value of insurance to understand how I can help them. When I have called myself an insurance agent, they assign THEIR value of what THEY think I do. I'm the consultant, not them.

If I introduce myself saying "My name is DHK and I'm with New York Life" - They will ascertain what THEY think New York Life is and their impression of what they think a NYL agent does (no, I'm not with NYL - just an example). Same thing when you say "I sell insurance" or "I sell annuities" or even "I'm a CFP". Not only does nobody care, but they don't even understand what you're saying, until they understand WIIFM - "What's in it for me?" (The way you get around that at a captive agency is by saying something like "I'm DHK and I'm with NYL. What most people don't know is how NYL specializes in helping people to ...")

In prospecting - "A no, is not a no, until you know that they know what they are saying 'no' to." Until they understand my true value proposition, collecting a bunch of no's is futile because you are not speaking in THEIR language! They want solutions to their problems, not another product pitch - unless they happen to be actively looking for that product. And if someone is looking for a product... WHO is the planner in that relationship? Who is evaluating who?

Until the problem is defined (a job function of a financial consultant), and the desire to solve it is ascertained, there is no reason to bring up my product & solutions to solve those problems.

The exception is if you are doing a variation of a features / benefits / price / "Do you want to buy" consultation. To me, that's what an FE agent does. They understand their menu of products and look to make the right fit of coverage for a given price and/or death benefit. There's nothing wrong with that... but it's not how I market myself or how I go about doing my job.

 

[Joe libby]

The one thing many of the 45-55 year olds are concerned about is running out of money and going on Medicaid. As the Medicaid rolls continue to swell, nursing home care will drop in quality. People are scared of being left in wet and messy diapers as the facility did not have the necessary staff to take care of them. The new linked life policies are a triple option product. Three benefits, immediate death benefits, LTCbenefits and cash value accumulation. I can absolutely guarantee one statement, you will use the LTC benefits or your heirs will receive the death benefit.