Unsolicited Life Quotes When Marketing

[traceyemoon]

I got the impression she is targeting the P&C's side of the book. If that is the case I doubt she will have enough trust built up to have people send all those personal details to a "stranger" cold and by mail.

I am targeting mostly the P&C side. Works alright if the P&C agents help out and they occasionally get the call-backs to give info then get transferred to me. It's nearly like cold-calling, I just have much more info. I can't really do reviews for them as only licensed in Life/Health (accident/annuities too). That's why I am sending some quotes for simple issue term/whole in a letter.

Thinking that it just might get them to thinking about life.

BTW-I appreciate the advice and time that you all give to us new folks. Keep it coming please!

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I don't doubt it.

However, one of the best ways to sell is to determine what problems your clients have and can be solved with life insurance or other financial services.

I think this may help. I'd even send this via mail and ask for it to be sent back and then you can create custom proposals based on each individual client.

http://fsonline.com/Simpler_Way.pdf

I can see using some of it in an email. Kind of non-threatening. No help from CSRs, it's all just me. And a senior (figuratively and literally) agent that focuses on Medicare and annuities. We are working different crowds, and our personalities don't really match to use some of his previous methods.

 

[Robert Barney]

There appears to be confusion over the difference between "prospecting" and "selling".

If you don't have a prospect, there can be no discussion of need or recommendation of product or strategy. Therefore, job one is to qualify a prospect, which I think our thread starter was asking about.

YES - most people don't really know how little money a lot of life insurance can cost. No harm in telling them. Those who hear from someone that they have a connection to (ie. their P&C agency) that $500,000 of term life insurance only costs..., are likely to become interested. But I would followup on the mail or email, with a personal phone call to ask if they got the mail or email.

 

[traceyemoon]

There appears to be confusion over the difference between "prospecting" and "selling".

If you don't have a prospect, there can be no discussion of need or recommendation of product or strategy. Therefore, job one is to qualify a prospect, which I think our thread starter was asking about.

YES - most people don't really know how little money a lot of life insurance can cost. No harm in telling them. Those who hear from someone that they have a connection to (ie. their P&C agency) that $500,000 of term life insurance only costs..., are likely to become interested. But I would followup on the mail or email, with a personal phone call to ask if they got the mail or email.

Owner of the agency that I work in believes that all of our existing customers are prospects, so I work those first. I also prospect outside of our existing book of business, where I am just going with the general marketing info-life calculator, cost-compare sheets from the carrier-20-year guaranteed level term for M/F broken up into monthly payments.

I like the phone calls. People are a bit more open to the discussion than I thought that they would be. Of course, there are a 1,001 objections as to why they can't do it now, but I expected that.

 

[Robert Barney]

I like the phone calls. People are a bit more open to the discussion than I thought that they would be. Of course, there are a 1,001 objections as to why they can't do it now, but I expected that.

Objections against buying life insurance are always plentiful, it's why the companies pay nice big commissions to sell life insurance.

That being said, I think phone prospecting is easier today because people don't get the volume of phone calls they once got from life insurance agents. Most agents are looking for some way to make business "walk in the door" and are not as inclined to do their own prospecting as they once were. As a result consumers are not being contacted directly the way they used to be, and that means they are less unhappy to hear from an actual live life insurance agent.

 

[wfs]

I would market a "Financial Needs Analysis" rather than life insurance. I find people are more open to that than trying to "convince" someone that they need to purchase life insurance. Besides, the results of a needs analysis will likely state the case for life insurance and other financial services, including increased liability limits on existing and new P&C policies.

 

[traceyemoon]

I would market a "Financial Needs Analysis" rather than life insurance. I find people are more open to that than trying to "convince" someone that they need to purchase life insurance. Besides, the results of a needs analysis will likely state the case for life insurance and other financial services, including increased liability limits on existing and new P&C policies.

I like that approach. Only catch is coordinating with the agents who do the P&C to do an analysis at the same time. Any thoughts on how to approach them for that? They don't want the imposition on their time and one is and one is not of the we all share customers for different lob.

 

[wfs]

I like that approach. Only catch is coordinating with the agents who do the P&C to do an analysis at the same time. Any thoughts on how to approach them for that? They don't want the imposition on their time and one is and one is not of the we all share customers for different lob.

2 appointment approach:
1) Present basic overview of how you can help them (KEEP IT SIMPLE), then gather data.
2) Analysis results & recommendations.

Give them a bonus for each "qualified" appointment they set up for you. But you better define "qualified". For me, qualified is:

a) They know WHY they are meeting... (They are not meeting to try to save money on their auto insurance)
b) They are not "problem customers" that are constantly late on their auto bill and always trying to reduce premiums.

I am no longer in the P&C business, but I understand it well enough to know that P&C doesn't usually mix well with financial planning. When I was in the P&C business, there became a point where I drew a line in the sand. I did not do P&C at all. My P&C agents set up financial services appointments for me. All I did was life, annuities, investments, etc...

Even as a result of a needs analysis, if P&C amounts needed to be increased, I had one of my staff do it. I was known as the "financial guy" not the P&C guy.

Since P&C is a very price-conscious product, I wanted a clear separation between the two.

Now I do not do P&C at all... Best decision for me... Life is much better and way more profitable.

 

[somarco]

Years ago, one of the most effective mailers for term insurance included rates for every age and the guys would simply take an application for the amount specified by the PI

OMG. The Randy Murray school of marketing term life