Selling LTC Online: Whats Needed?

[LostDollar]

Point taken Bill..........

I think the most important issue in LTCi sales is not to focus on selling a product, but to focus on educating. And, if you can educate by prying pertinent answers, it will only help in the sale.

There are too many "salesmen" in this business and as I've stated many times, you can't "sell" this product.

In reality, most people that we meet knows at the very least what a LTC policy is and knows "roughly" what it does. They don't want to be sold anything until they have a better understanding of the product and........ the pricing.

For many, $3,000, $4,000, $5,000 or more is unaffordable. and in many cases, they will blow smoke at you and say "I want to think about it" That is usually another way of saying it's unaffordable.

If it's unaffordable, the conversation is over! "I can't afford it" is one of the very few legitimate excuses that I can live with.

In thousands of presentations, I've never had a prospect tell me that LTCi is a stupid product and makes no sense.

If they really felt that way, they wouldn't have me over for a discussion, nor would I want to be in front of them in the first place.

It's really a simple sale, just find people who have pain and along with the pain, also have the cash.

There you go, page #1 in Long Term Care for Dummies.

(please note - I am a consumer - not an agent.)

Thank you for making those points.

A question. Were partnership sharing policies available and/or a significant factor in the market at the time you wrote that. If not, how do you present newer coverage options that might make LTCi coverage more affordable than one would expect?

Thanks.

 

[Mr_Ed]

What do you mean you would have gotten price problems out of the way?

And if I give you a budget which I have, how do I know you are going to give me information about the most effective use I can make of those dollars in the marketplace?

As a consumer, maybe I should be telling the LTCi salesperson that I have twice as much money available as I really do, and then say this is the problem I need to solve. What are my options? Then when I get the answers, say oops, I have just rechecked my bank statements and social security check-I can only afford half as much as what I said I could. What of those options still hold at a lower premium?

99% of insurance agents think that price is not an issue. They think that if they are good enough at "selling" then the consumer will pay whatever the price is.

That's why insurance agents and used car salesmen are disliked equally.

Quality agents, like Jack and me and a few others, use a consultative approach to LTCi.

Using that approach means that I can sleep at night knowing I've done what was best for the client while still being able to support my family. It also means that I can be in this business and still be at peace with my Maker.

Here's a perfect example of an insurance agent being totally oblivious to price. He tried to get a 69-year old man to spend $80,000 for a "long term care policy" that had $200,000 of benefits. We got him a better (and more suitable) policy for $190 per month.

Of course that agent would have been able to take his wife to Tahiti on the commission on the $80,000 premium. I got to take my wife to the Olive Garden on my commission on the $190 premium.

Here's the link:

NEVER* Combine Long-Term Care Insurance with Life Insurance (Part 1) - LTCShop.com

 

[Mr_Ed]

(please note - I am a consumer - not an agent.)

Thank you for making those points.

A question. Were partnership sharing policies available and/or a significant factor in the market at the time you wrote that. If not, how do you present newer coverage options that might make LTCi coverage more affordable than one would expect?

Thanks.

In most states partnership policies have been around since 2006 or so.

In NY, Arthur's state, the Partnership Program started in the early 90's.

The Partnership Program can be very different from one state to the next. The worst Partnership states right now are CT, CA, NY and IN. They have minimum benefit amount requirements that make the policies too expensive for most people.

The other 40 states offering LTC Partnership Programs have more affordable Partnership policies.

 

[LostDollar]

Why & What do you prefer?

I am a technologically impaired 73 year old senior citizen on social security. What do you have to tell me or show me, that affects my buying decision for your product; that justifies, or requires, you to spend your time struggling with interfacing our computers?

 

[LostDollar]

My wife would faint if I offered to take her to Olive Garden instead of McDonalds.
I suppose I could ask, "what's the next step?" and then take her to Olive Garden on the premium savings!

 

[ltcadviser]

Quality agents, like Jack and me and a few others, use a consultative approach to LTCi.

I got to take my wife to the Olive Garden on my commission on the $190 premium.

Yes, and gotta love never ending pasta bowls too

 

[Mr_Ed]

I am a technologically impaired 73 year old senior citizen on social security. What do you have to tell me or show me, that affects my buying decision for your product; that justifies, or requires, you to spend your time struggling with interfacing our computers?

I agree.
total waste of time.
just a dog and pony show.

 

[Mr_Ed]

My wife would faint if I offered to take her to Olive Garden instead of McDonalds.
I suppose I could ask, "what's the next step?" and then take her to Olive Garden on the premium savings!

have you been to McDonald's lately.
Feeding three sons at McDonald's costs about as much as taking my wife to the Olive Garden.

 

[LostDollar]

In most states partnership policies have been around since 2006 or so.

In NY, Arthur's state, the Partnership Program started in the early 90's.

The Partnership Program can be very different from one state to the next. The worst Partnership states right now are CT, CA, NY and IN. They have minimum benefit amount requirements that make the policies too expensive for most people.

The other 40 states offering LTC Partnership Programs have more affordable Partnership policies.

I don't know enough about these to be confident of my judgement, but this was the basis of my question in another thread.

The %'s add up to 106, so precision may be a bit iffy, but the thing that struck me in Brian's article was that 9% didn't know where to get it. Now I am too naive for my own good, but that gives me visions of lost souls waving their checkbooks and shouting me, me, me! An underserved market-complex, but underserved. Opportunity for the right person.

It also seems to me that Medicare Supplements and Long Term Care Insurance are age in markets that work in lock-step with each other. So one could prospect for 55-60 people aging into a LTC need market, sell them, retain client info, and then recontact at age 65 for medicare supplements. That probably needs more than one person in an agency-but it might create a productive sales stream for 20-25 years.

 

[Mr_Ed]

I don't know enough about these to be confident of my judgement, but this was the basis of my question in another thread.

The %'s add up to 106, so precision may be a bit iffy, but the thing that struck me in Brian's article was that 9% didn't know where to get it. Now I am too naive for my own good, but that gives me visions of lost souls waving their checkbooks and shouting me, me, me! An underserved market-complex, but underserved. Opportunity for the right person.

It also seems to me that Medicare Supplements and Long Term Care Insurance are age in markets that work in lock-step with each other. So one could prospect for 55-60 people aging into a LTC need market, sell them, retain client info, and then recontact at age 65 for medicare supplements. That probably needs more than one person in an agency-but it might create a productive sales stream for 20-25 years.

very true.