Save the client money, then have them spend the difference on insurance premium?

[PA Bill]

BTW, there is nothing even close to new about this concept..There have always been agents that advise "find the money to pay the premium"..It could result in the "savings" or from finding money that is being spent unwisely.. Some of the big hitters in the life business practiced the latter but I was always uncomfortable digging that deep into peoples money habits.

Right on. One of the obvious ways to find money is adjusting the deductibles on their car insurance. Most will agree that they avoid putting claims in on damage below $1000. Yet many of these same people are paying a significant premium for $250 and $500 deductibles. People are open to this because you are merely re-allocating dollars they are already spending on insurance.
Of course in Philly, the point is often moot as many FE prospects take the bus. (Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Willis?!?)

 

[HoosierLife]

I guess this is where we differ.

I never have asked anyone if they can afford a product. That is a bit confrontational in my opinion.

What I have done following the FF is give them a range of premiums, high to low, for solving their problem, and then ask if that is fits their budget.

But I also do 100% phone sales. Even when I did F2F I never ask to see their bank statements. One time during an annuity presentation a lady pulled out her broker statements and asked me to explain them to her.

She had over $700k in a money market earning about .5%.

She lived in a very neat, small house near RR tracks. The house was neat but I never would have guessed she had that kind of money.

I suggested rolling $50,000 to $100,000 into a deferred annuity with a 7 yr guarantee of 6% per year.

This is a whole different market with a completely different mindset compared to the vast majority of Americans.

 

[jdeasy]

The agents doing this stuff are the short timers to this business. They think they are wheel re-inventors. They will move on to next great idea and leave the inventory for the rest of us.

 

[KRobby]

I suggested rolling $50,000 to $100,000 into a deferred annuity with a 7 yr guarantee of 6% per year.

That must have been quite a while ago, unless you're talking about an income rider rollup rate.

 

[jacobtn]

I guess this is where we differ.

I never have asked anyone if they can afford a product. That is a bit confrontational in my opinion.

What I have done following the FF is give them a range of premiums, high to low, for solving their problem, and then ask if that is fits their budget.

But I also do 100% phone sales. Even when I did F2F I never ask to see their bank statements. One time during an annuity presentation a lady pulled out her broker statements and asked me to explain them to her.

She had over $700k in a money market earning about .5%.

She lived in a very neat, small house near RR tracks. The house was neat but I never would have guessed she had that kind of money.

I suggested rolling $50,000 to $100,000 into a deferred annuity with a 7 yr guarantee of 6% per year.

She She had 700000 in the money market earning practically nothing and you only recommended her roll 50,000 somewhere? I would have been encouraging her to put more into something with a better earning potential there is no reason anybody should keep 600k to 650k in a money market account.

 

[somarco]

Baby steps . . . .

How does one eat an elephant?

One bite at a time.

 

[VolAgent]

Baby steps . . . .

How does one eat an elephant?

One bite at a time.

Best lesson I ever learned in insurance. Pigs get fed and hogs get slaughtered. IE, don't get greedy. Take something now and come back for more later.

 

[bboman23]

Best lesson I ever learned in insurance. Pigs get fed and hogs get slaughtered. IE, don't get greedy. Take something now and come back for more later.

So true! Great post.

 

[somarco]

Are you selling FE by phone? Or all types of insurance and annuities?

What I sell or how I sell it doesn't matter.

Unless you are filling a NEED that is acknowledged by your prospect you are merely using that person to make your quota. That kind of sale will quickly drop off the books and you will find yourself looking for another fish.

If the NEED is great enough the pain of paying for a product that solves their problem is insignificant compared to the pain of doing nothing.

Asking someone if they can afford $XX is an insult. I never ask if they can afford the product that solves their problem.

What I will do is present a range of price points with explanations of what you get at each point and let them decide.

I don't know about you, but I have never bought a car where the salesman said "Do you think you can afford this?".

When you visit a car lot you see several choices with different price points. The CUSTOMER chooses the price point for the features they want. A good salesman will take the order rather than trying to shoehorn the customer into a higher priced car to make a bigger commission.

 

[HoosierLife]

What I sell or how I sell it doesn't matter.

Unless you are filling a NEED that is acknowledged by your prospect you are merely using that person to make your quota. That kind of sale will quickly drop off the books and you will find yourself looking for another fish.

If the NEED is great enough the pain of paying for a product that solves their problem is insignificant compared to the pain of doing nothing.

Asking someone if they can afford $XX is an insult. I never ask if they can afford the product that solves their problem.

What I will do is present a range of price points with explanations of what you get at each point and let them decide.

I don't know about you, but I have never bought a car where the salesman said "Do you think you can afford this?".

When you visit a car lot you see several choices with different price points. The CUSTOMER chooses the price point for the features they want. A good salesman will take the order rather than trying to shoehorn the customer into a higher priced car to make a bigger commission.

Well then I guess many (most) FE agents are insulting.

While this is sound sales advice for almost every vertical, if you treated the final expense prospect like any "normal" sales prospect, you would fail out of this business fast.

I know many $200k+ producers, that also have a high persistency, use the budget or "what's affordable to you" close.

I know many that use the 3 option close as well.

But I would go out on a limb that many of us have asked, "Now are you sure you can afford that?" Or "Now are you sure that's gonna fit into your budget? I don't want you losing your insurance when the light bill goes up in the winter!"

You talk about prospects with $700,000 in a money market account, we are working with folks that make $700 a month.

Many of the standard sales practices go out the window working the Final Expense demographic.