Selling Final Expense Via Telephone

[theinsuranceman]

I think your opinion is based on speculation rather than facts. But, of course we have people in high places that are setting that example.

The key word in the statement to which you retorted is "can". We have agents that are, in fact, making more money selling FE over the phone than they did face to face and others are not. With enough lead budget an agent can write 3-4 apps per day on the phone. Thats almost impossible four days a week, face to face.

If you think about it, if the persistancy was so low, why are carriers adding phone signature?

Couldn't have said it better myself.
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I agree with you. An agent may be able to write more apps over the phone but it isn't always about how many one writes as it is how many of those are still on the books in the thirteenth month.

The FE that I write stays on the books for a very long time, I still have a lot on the books that I sold in 1993. I only cross sell it to Med Supp clients.

Personally I think FE is much easier to cross sell than to prospect for.

For me, trying to prospect for and sell FE on the phone would rank up there with walking to the junk yard barefooted kicking broken bottles and bricks.

I have all the admiration in the world for agents who do that successfully. With their phone skills I can only imagine how successful they would be selling Med Supps and cross selling FE.

Frank, you're right. If I was PROSPECTING on the phone for FE I would quit! However, I work 20-25 Direct Mail leads (sometimes a few TV leads) each week. I pay the leads to prospect for me. Saves enough time to make working leads much more profitable than running down a list of people to call.

I'm speaking of FE leads, not Med Supp leads as I've never worked Med Supp leads. Even the legendary JDEASY agrees that for FE leads (and referrals) are the way to go.

 

[Newby]

I can't even order a Pizza over the phone without screwing it up.

My hat's off to you telemarker guys. That's a rough way to make a living.

 

[theinsuranceman]

I can't even order a Pizza over the phone without screwing it up.

My hat's off to you telemarker guys. That's a rough way to make a living.

LOL. Just order a cheese pizza..keep it simple.

Even face 2 face is kinda tough, just like tele-sales. None of it is easy. That's one of the reasons agents fail in this biz.

 

[matilda654]

So any suggestions for me. I talked to a mgr that wants me to sell FE for Baltimore Life over the phone. I will pay $370 for 1000 mail drop leads and they will pay 100% commission, but the renewals will only pay me 7% for the first couple of years and then 2% for the next 2-3 years and then no renewal commission after that. Any advice on this?

Internet FE leads are HORRIBLE.

Direct Mail and TV FE leads work well....if the agent knows what he/she is doing.

Free leads with a high contract means the leads are worthless.

Free leads with a lower contract MIGHT mean the leads are OK.

Your best bet for tele-sales for FE is to be trained for about 3 days, get a fair contract, and PAY/BUY leads that will be exclusively yours.

Selling FE over the phone is not as easy as it sounds, but can be more profitable than face 2 face. I know. I did face 2 face for 7 years and have sold over the phone almost 5 years now.

 

[Daytona_Guy]

I have an opinion on selling final expense by phone. I speak with agents every single week that have been ripped off by "final expense telesales" organizations where they require $1,200 up front to sell through them with a "Vice President's level contract at a whopping 85%!!!", or some such non-sense. My website brings in lots of folks that have tried and failed at doing final expense over the phone as their sole course of business.

Last year, I very wise person on the forums told me that cross-selling final expense AFTER solidifying a relationship based on a Medicare supplement transaction is MUCH better than doing final expense as your mainstay. Now, a year later, I wholeheartedly agree. My persistency with final expense policies went from the 80% range over the telephone to now in the high 90's. Why? Because the final expense sale is now an additional sale to a Med. supp sale first.

I know, most agents are scared to get involved in med supps and see that the first year commission on them is lower than the typical final expense policy. What these agents fail to realize is that all of the Med Supp plans are standardized - the same with each company - so they're easy, and the clients are raving fans when you SAVE them money, a.k.a. put money back into their household instead of calling them to take more from them.

A relationship with a typical final expense client means you're having a conversation with a lower income person over the telephone. You rely on this single conversation to entice them to purchase a final expense policy. They don't know you and you don't know them. They tell you they have the money for it today. Many will cancel because of a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that in your one and only telephone call, they made an emotional decision that is not supported over the long term with justifiable facts to support them seeing that $50 deduction from their bank account, which is usually skimming the bottom from the very beginning.

Contrast that with the Med Supp client that you saved $100 per month in their household, they are in the $30,000 - $100,000 retirement income range and they're online with a computer and everything! They have seen you on their computer screen, watched as you walked them through a quick and easy enrollment, and they now have solid faith and trust because you have delivered to them the same thing they had before, but at a much better price. You have proposed using some of that SAVINGS toward a whole life policy that can also, easily be doing through the phone - even using the screen share they have become accustomed to and enjoy.

There is no hesitation when you uncover a need with an add-on sale with this client. Also, when properly nurtured through follow-up, THIS type of client will refer LOTS of people to you - because you have first provided value to them before asking for any "sale".

This is why the persistency on these cases is nearly perfect. It's why you will be trust like you never could do with the single-conversation with the ultra-low income person you call on the telephone to sell life insurance to.

Oh, and if you're selling one of the high priced plans as a regular course of business, via phone (LH, SL, BL), etc. you must add another factor to your struggling persistency. That is, your rates are much higher than the most popular plans out there today (Foresters, RNA, Oxford, Settlers) and you are likely to get the policy replaced when someone shows up at their door or they return another card asking for information on comparison shopping. If you had a solid relationship with this person over multiple lines of business, you would likely be safe, but absent that additional line relationship, it's all about a single transaction that's up for scrutiny at the next possible opportunity.

Either through the lack of a value-added relationship in addition to the single transaction, or because you sold her one of the mainstays in the over-the-phone market, you're more likely to be replaced than had you provided value FIRST.

Incidentally, Medicare supplement commission is not that shabby - six (or 7) full years of commission adds up. So take that first year commission that usually doesn't look very attractive compared to a final expense commission, then multiply it by six years and you'll see the true value of that new relationship. The referrals from Med Supp clients are 100 times better than those ever obtained by a life insurance-only relationship. I made a little video on this at www.myunlimitedleads.com

This is one man's opinion, based on the wisdom given to me by others (on here) and my experience. I'd be glad to help you with selling final expense by phone, but it's best if you get started on the right footing instead of thinking you'll make $100,000 per year strictly calling low income seniors and strictly selling final expense.

So any suggestions for me. I talked to a mgr that wants me to sell FE for Baltimore Life over the phone. I will pay $370 for 1000 mail drop leads and they will pay 100% commission, but the renewals will only pay me 7% for the first couple of years and then 2% for the next 2-3 years and then no renewal commission after that. Any advice on this?

 

[WinoBlues]

DG,

Very good post.

 

[Tom Highway]

I agree with you. An agent may be able to write more apps over the phone but it isn't always about how many one writes as it is how many of those are still on the books in the thirteenth month.

The FE that I write stays on the books for a very long time, I still have a lot on the books that I sold in 1993. I only cross sell it to Med Supp clients.

Personally I think FE is much easier to cross sell than to prospect for.

[b[For me, trying to prospect for and sell FE on the phone would rank up there with walking to the junk yard barefooted kicking broken bottles and bricks.[/b]

I have all the admiration in the world for agents who do that successfully. With their phone skills I can only imagine how successful they would be selling Med Supps and cross selling FE.

Mr Frank, you are and always will be the man, but you've GOT to think of some new things to compare selling FE over the phone to - mix it up a little, man!

 

[Frank Stastny]

So any suggestions for me. I talked to a mgr that wants me to sell FE for Baltimore Life over the phone. I will pay $370 for 1000 mail drop leads and they will pay 100% commission, but the renewals will only pay me 7% for the first couple of years and then 2% for the next 2-3 years and then no renewal commission after that. Any advice on this?

I would seriously consider selling Med Supps and cross selling FE. It is much easier and a lot more profitable.

I have helped many agents on this board learn to sell Med Supps.

Once that is mastered cross selling FE becomes nothing more than suggesting to "Mrs Smith" that she consider reinvesting a portion of the money you just saved her on her Med Supp policy in a small FE plan.

When I first went independent the company I contracted with required the majority of Med Supp apps I turned in to have a FE plan with them. They had a combo app.

I didn't keep track but I'll bet I added a FE plan to over 70% of them. All I did is "make the suggestion". The key to that is that I wasn't using any "new money". I was using money she already had budgeted and was spending on her old Med Supp policy.

When it works it is like having a license to steal.

 

[Newby]

I stumbled across another LH policy today that was sold over the phone.

He was paying $49 monthly for $10,000 plus he has "identity theft protection" and the "Funeral Consumer Deal"

He already knew the Funeral Consumer deal was worthless from when his father died.

I quoted him $20,000 for $47 monthly and he couldn't get his checkbook out fast enough.

Will you agents that are pissed off at LH please go back and fix the wrongs you did to your clients. I can't get to ALL of them fast enough and time's a wastin'

 

[theinsuranceman]

I would seriously consider selling Med Supps and cross selling FE. It is much easier and a lot more profitable.

I have helped many agents on this board learn to sell Med Supps.

Once that is mastered cross selling FE becomes nothing more than suggesting to "Mrs Smith" that she consider reinvesting a portion of the money you just saved her on her Med Supp policy in a small FE plan.

When I first went independent the company I contracted with required the majority of Med Supp apps I turned in to have a FE plan with them. They had a combo app.

I didn't keep track but I'll bet I added a FE plan to over 70% of them. All I did is "make the suggestion". The key to that is that I wasn't using any "new money". I was using money she already had budgeted and was spending on her old Med Supp policy.

When it works it is like having a license to steal.

Frank, interesting info.

What % of your Med Supp replacements take out a FE plan?

Do they usually take out the FE plan on that Med Supp sale or a later date?

What is the ave. savings on their Med Supp after you help them?

What is the ave. FE premium that you cross sell?

When you replace a Med Supp policy, don't you have to keep up with when their premiums increase so you can re-replace them again? When/if you re-replace the Med Supp policy doesn't this delete the future comm. from the 1st sale, but start 1st year comm. again on this second sale? Seems like 1st year comm. would be the bulk of the revenue unless their premiums did not increase for a few years or they were just happy paying their higher premium.

Do you always see the Med Supp client face 2 face to pick up the check and fill in the app or do you ever sell it over the phone...never visiting the prospect?

Using your prospecting method about how many contacts do you talk with before you have a sale (how many phone numbers were dialed where you talked with the prospect/suspect)?

Thanks in advance!