Problem with Life Quota (Captive)

Agent5913

Expert
61
New to the bus, Started 11/1, No req the first month but 3 paid apps due by 12/31 then 3 per month for the next 34 months. I swear, it didnt sound that hard coming in to it but I will admit, Im having problems closing or getting interest.

Most of my appointments are from cold call reviews from my book of business that the company provided me. I call up our insured, let them know its annual review time and set the appoint. Having good luck with getting the appointment.

Ill review their auto and home etc. and then Ill ask about life insurance. I may say, "ok, who do you have your life insurance with"? or maybe or "how do you handle your life insurance?"

Man!, then come the lies!! Um, "ive got it at work" uhhh, Ive got some but I cant remember where"

Most say they have it at work and they will kick the conversation to the back burner or at least try.

This sucks, I can can close people but I need an angle. I swear, they clam up and go south the minute you ask. This is not just one case, its 75% of my appointments.

Can anyone relay some insight?

Thanks
D
 
Several ways to approach this. I assume most of your appts are with couples AND both are present. If not, this is part of your problem.

Sounds like you are asking the wrong questions. Those that can be answered yes or no. You need to get beyond that.

Start by redirecting your question. Set it up like this.

"Mrs. Brown, you are probably the beneficiary on Mr Brown's policy, correct? Where do you keep his policy? Do you recall the face amount? How long will you be able to maintain your lifestyle on that amount of money?"

Men will lie to you but the wives are the ones who have to make it once he is gone.

You can also turn it around.

"Mr Brown, how much insurance does your wife have? If you were to lose her, how would you pay for child care and all the other things Mrs. Brown provides? Do you need her income (if she works outside the home) to cover your bills?"

You need to put them on the spot. Make them squirm a bit.

Nobody likes to talk about their mortality. No one really wants to buy life insurance. So you have to challenge them.

This time of year is especially challenging. People are thinking about family but not in the way you want them to.

It also helps if you have personal stories to tell. This may not be something you feel comfortable with and if so you need to get over it. Life happens.

One of my friends lost his dad when he was 12. He went in to the life insurance business because he knows how life insurance allowed his mom to stay home and maintain as much of a semblance of stability as possible under the circumstances. The life insurance proceeds paid for his college in addition to keeping his mom at home.

If you dont have a story, or know someone who has a story, then find someone who has one and use theirs.

Good luck.
 
True story, and it's mine, but you're welcome to borrow it.

I got a call one morning from a guy who was eating breakfast, obviously at a restaurant. He wanted to buy some life insurance (a very rare call). I asked him what motivated him to make this call now, it turned out his wife was very pregnant, and he wanted to have some coverage, a pretty normal time for people to think about life coverage. We were talking for a while, his breakfast showed up, and he said he would call me back in 20 minutes. Okay, not much I could do....

About 2 hours later, he actually called me back. Turned out, his wife had gotten into a car accident, which is why he didn't call back earlier. Now, she (and the baby) were okay, shook up, but okay. But this event really showed them how fragile life can be. A lot of people in their 20's and 30's don't think anything will happen to them, but, it can, and does.

Now, think about it. A couple hundred thousand in coverage is pretty inexpensive. Worse case, he has to skip eating his breakfast at Denny's a few mornings a month to pay for it. Great piece of mind for his wife (and child) though.

Dan
 
New to the bus, Started 11/1, No req the first month but 3 paid apps due by 12/31 then 3 per month for the next 34 months. I swear, it didnt sound that hard coming in to it but I will admit, Im having problems closing or getting interest.

Most of my appointments are from cold call reviews from my book of business that the company provided me. I call up our insured, let them know its annual review time and set the appoint. Having good luck with getting the appointment.

Ill review their auto and home etc. and then Ill ask about life insurance. I may say, "ok, who do you have your life insurance with"? or maybe or "how do you handle your life insurance?"

Man!, then come the lies!! Um, "ive got it at work" uhhh, Ive got some but I cant remember where"

Most say they have it at work and they will kick the conversation to the back burner or at least try.

This sucks, I can can close people but I need an angle. I swear, they clam up and go south the minute you ask. This is not just one case, its 75% of my appointments.

Can anyone relay some insight?

Thanks
D

The insight is that you are encountering sales resistance; if they bought every time a salesman tried to sell them something they'd go broke.

Your quota of three lives every single month (or else?) seems a little daunting for a P&C guy IMO; maybe you will have to resort to some high-pressure psychological tactics on your reviews each month until you make your quota (and afterward you can be nice). But here is what I worry about in a hard cross sell - by pushing your current client you might be making the relationship go cold; but then what do I know.
 
Thanks for all the replies. Ill try to incorporate these. I just need to get to see more people I guess. Its all about Numbers.
 
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I would think that with your company setting such a logty goal for a P&C Agent, they would also have some sales tips?

That is one of the best ways to learn while being a captive. Find the agents that are doing well and ask them what they are doing. (Just as you have here)
 
I would think that with your company setting such a logty goal for a P&C Agent, they would also have some sales tips?

That is one of the best ways to learn while being a captive. Find the agents that are doing well and ask them what they are doing. (Just as you have here)


I have, and most all of them say that you just have to ask. Ask, ask and ask everyone you know and see. Get the appointment. Put yourself in front of as many people as you can and ask them all for their business. All of the successful guys say "it aint no secret" Ill get it, Im sure of it. It seems that they are in a little hurry for me to get going.
 
Try selling life insurance almost exclusively (along with a couple of cancer and accident policies) with no book to work from. It's tough, and has got me starting to squirm.

This time of year sucks for life insurance IMO. Things started to get rolling for me, and then shut down a week or so ago.

What types of life insurance do you have? Is it only whole and term? It will be difficult with life insurance due to them operating on an issued age basis. If they had it written 5 or 10 years ago, it will be next to impossible to beat them on premium. Unless your policy has some special benefits, there is almost nothing you can do as far as that goes. That is unless your company gives a decent discount to a customer that has multiple policies with one company.

It sounds like you can only do a needs analysis. If you are taking care of their auto and home, you should know what kind of liability they have there. IE: If they've had the home 4 years, and they have 2 newish vehicles, you should know they have big liabilities. Before you even talk about this, try to gather info on what their life insurance is at.

I can't understand it either man. It seems like people are more than willing to talk about the cost of their health insurance, but act as if all life insurance is the same and that they have the best rate possible.
 
Ive got to make it. The wife and kids depend on it. I am confident. Plus, I see agents in the county every month write 8-15 apps. So its on me if I dont get it done. Im not at wits end yet. Im a little frustrated but I left a darn good job pay wise to do this and its gotta work. Thats just it. P&C is not going to be a problem I dont think. It comes. Life is another deal. We offer whole and term, apl, 15 and 20 pay whole etc.
 
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