Lesson Learned

[VaDwayne]

Last week, I was enrolling employees of a business that had agreed to do business with me and Colonial insurance. After I was done I went across the street to a restaurant to get a bite to eat. I knew the owners because I had sold them cars in the past.

I asked them about their insurance, and employee benefits, and was told to come up with something and get back with them. I called and set an appointment with them for a couple of weeks ago.

The wife, Pam, called me and cancelled the meeting because she had another engagement and wouldn't be in. We agreed that we would reschedule soon.

Her husband, Harry, was killed in a motorcycle accident yesterday.

 

[somarco]

Things happen.

Stay in this business long enough and some days it will really get to you. I have stories about folks who bought health insurance literally weeks before they needed it.

I can also tell you about people who put off buying and then it was too late.

Remember what happened. The next time you are "down" on this business, think of the difference you have made in some lives, and the difference you could have made in others.

You can only create the opportunity for people to buy. You can't make their decisions for them, or force them into a timetable that is not agreeable.

 

[xrac]

Last week, I was enrolling employees of a business that had agreed to do business with me and Colonial insurance. After I was done I went across the street to a restaurant to get a bite to eat. I knew the owners because I had sold them cars in the past.

I asked them about their insurance, and employee benefits, and was told to come up with something and get back with them. I called and set an appointment with them for a couple of weeks ago.

The wife, Pam, called me and cancelled the meeting because she had another engagement and wouldn't be in. We agreed that we would reschedule soon.

Her husband, Harry, was killed in a motorcycle accident yesterday.

That was an eye opener wasn't it!

 

[VaDwayne]

That was an eye opener wasn't it!

I was just in my kitchen popping popcorn. There is a legal pad on my table with her name on my to-do list.

 

[stormtracker]

One thing's for sure-- we've all got it coming. There's definitely truth in having one's house in order.

 

[Todd King]

Man, if I only had a nickel every time that happened to me....well.....I'd have about 65 cents. It doesn't happen often, but you can bet...it does happen!

 

[insuranceexec]

The trick now is to incorporate, in a sincere way, this particular incident into your sales presentation.


With sincerity comes passion, and with passion comes success..........

I have had many of these incidents happen to me through the years; and I will share one that stands out in my mind.

I had one gentleman, with in whom I was preparing an estate model for him and his wife. He was 20 years her senior and just could not justify the cost of a 1.3 million dollar UL policy on himself, which was the amount necessary to maintain her lifestyle upon his demise.

I got the policy issued and went to deliver it, and he did not want to take the policy. Needless to say that it took some convincing, even though I had come up with some pretty creative ways for him to pay for it. Long story short; he took the policy and 6 months later developed a massive brain tumor, and died 3 weeks later.

The spouse knew how hard I worked to keep her husband from cancelling the policy, and when I delivered her check; I had a client for life.


This just made me think of another story:

I had a couple who was in perfect health. I wrote a million dollar UL policy on him and got an offer on the policy. I immediately called the couple and told them they had been approved as applied, and told them I needed a check to put the policy in force.

They lived about 2 hours away from me and told me that they would put the check in the mail. The next day they called me and told me that they would be in my town that day and would drop the check off to my office.

Now, normally when I receive premium checks I send them out regular mail; but I had a cash in hand annuity to submit that day, and I always send them up overnight. The company got the check the next day and put it in force the same day.

The client died in a motorcycle accident the very next day. Think about all the things that happened that got the check there in time to issue the policy.

Like it has been said: Stay in the business long enough and you will have many more of these stories.

I am sorry for the loss of your friend....

 

[haugman]

Well everyone knows someone that dies because its a natural part of life. Relating death to a prospect personally can open many doors for ya in the sales presentation.

 

[souldeux]

That's a powerful story to relate to future clients, and I wouldn't hesitate to do so. When my father passed away, I was devastated - but his story has helped me get several people set up with the protection they deserve. If you're doing this right, every single person you sell a policy to is someone you're helping. It's not at all heartless to take a personal experience and use it to help other people.

 

[xrac]

The GA of an office I use to work with sold an older (70 yrs) gentlemen into the need and usefulness of a large UL policy. When his wife found out about him taking it out she threw a fit and told her husband he was a fool and at his age they didn't need the insurance. The guy was going to cancel but the GA talked the guy into retaining the policy and paying the premiums out of his business so the wife wouldn't know. Less than a year later the guy died. When our office called the widow up to take care of the death claim she hung up on the administrative assistant. The GA himself called back and when she answered the phone he quickly said, "Mrs. Doe don't hang up on me because I have to figure out how to deliver a large sum of money to you." She didn't hang up and her opinion of the GA changed drastically after he delivered a $1,000,000+ check to her.