What to Sell?

[Success]

I am going to be selling Med Supps soon (6 months). With this whole health insurance mess, I want to avoid everything I can that is, or will be, affiliated with the government. Obviously med supps are affiliated (well, not directly)... I think I will also move into FE, because it's an easy cross-sell.

Besides the two types I will be selling, what are some recommendations as far as what to sell in the future? I am 20 years old, so I want to start selling things that will give me renewals for years to come...

Auto insurance really sparks my interest. I know there is a lot of maintenance with auto, but does that seem like a good avenue to pursue? Now that people know I am licensed, many of them want to buy auto insurance from me. I am not even licensed in P&C yet...

The whole property and casualty area interests me, but I decided to start out with med supps because it requires very little capital to start-up.

I would just like some thoughts on what I should consider to sell now, or in the near future. Also, please let me know what you guys think about auto insurance and the whole P&C market.

Thanks,

Craig

 

[Frank Stastny]

Obviously I think Med Supps are a good starting point for you. They are fast and easy to get started with and there is very little expense associated with selling them. Cross selling FE to new Med Supp clients is also relatively easy and can come close to doubling your commission on the Med Supp sale.

This will get you into the business, provide you with a solid income base and give you some breathing room to explore auto and other areas of insurance you may have more of a passion for. Don't get in a hurry and try to do too many things at one time.

Concentrate on one area, become an expert in it before beginning to branch out. I can afford the time to devote to the other things I do because Med Supps are much easier for me to sell than when I first started. I also don't have to prospect as aggressively as I use to.

Your career path will undoubtedly change many times, most peoples do. Having a solid background in the senior market will serve you well regardless of what kind of insurance you ultimately choose.

If auto insurance becomes your passion, people 65 and older still drive cars and will need insurance. Those under 65 will eventually get there, well most of them anyway.

The insurance business will be in constant flux. I have seen dramatic changes just in the senior market since I first started. Don't labor over trying to decide what to do five years from now, devote most of your time and energy to the here and now.

Someone, I don't remember who, on the board has a tag line that says something like, it isn't just the smartest or hardest working person who is successful, it's often the one who most easily adapts to change. That is so true.

Be that person and you will always be successful regardless of the path you choose.

 

[Justin Bilyj]

Hey Frank, I have a question.
About how many people per hour do you talk to you, cold calling, that are interested in learning more about their medicare supp/saving on their supplement in an hour?
How many hours do you call a day?

 

[Frank Stastny]

Hey Frank, I have a question.
About how many people per hour do you talk to you, cold calling, that are interested in learning more about their medicare supp/saving on their supplement in an hour?
How many hours do you call a day?

Everyone asks me that. My response it typically, how good are you on the phone? Do you really give good phone? Do you have a learned, well practiced telephone presentation? Do you know how to maintain control of the conversation or are you permitting the prospect to gain control?

There are so many variables on a daily basis that I would not even attempt to make a guess. I have never kept track of that kind of information because I don't know how it would be of value to me if I spent the time doing so.

In the last sixteen years I have tried just about every way conceivable to sell Med Supps. I know that the way I do it now is the easiest, most effective, most cost effective way of anything I have ever tried. I don't have an "alternate plan" because I have already tried them all.

I also know that I'm going to have really crappy days and weeks and I also know that there are going to be days and weeks that as soon as I tell them why I'm calling they are going to ask how soon I can come and see them. Well almost. It is the nature of "prospecting".

I don't get paid on the number of phone calls I make, I get paid on the quality of the phone calls I make. I may be on the phone with one person for ten minutes and get an appointment. I might talk to another one for an hour before I get the appointment. Or, I may call all day and get nothing.

There are days when I make only a very few calls and get an appointment and other days it doesn't seem like I could give one away even if I included a new car.

I market differently than most. When I set an appointment the prospect knows that I am coming there to fill out an app, get a signature and pick up a check. In other words, it is already sold. My goal is to sell one policy a day, to achieve that goal I really only need one appointment a day. Some appointments are with a husband and wife and I get two sales.

I decide whether or not to go on an appointment. For me to go see a prospect there have to be four elements in place. I want to know the name of the company they currently have their insurance with, how much they are paying, I tell them exactly what a policy will cost if they take it with me and I ask general health questions to help me determine if I think they will qualify.

I stopped, years ago, setting "appointments" to "drop off valuable information" or to do a "Medicare Review". For the most part they are a waste of time and money. Yes, I spend a lot of time on the phone but better to do that than drive all over the state and sell nothing on a given day.

Or, I could spout statistics and percentages like most do and say for every 100 calls I get ten appointments. For every ten appointments I make five sales. For some reason agents will believe that quicker than they will accept prospecting for what it really is.

It is a well practiced, learned and perfected art. It is the single most important part of the sales process. Those who don't believe that are not nearly as successful as those who do.

 

[Success]

Dang Frank, you are like an insurance gold-mine...

Glad you will be training me! Thanks for the advice too...

I am so anxious to start, it's hard for me to just sit here until school is done to start selling. Reason being, I am the type of person who would start selling during school and quit school to sell full time (bad idea). That is why I am deciding to wait until I finish school in May.

Would you mind if I just set-up the phone training now, then come May, I can give you another call to have a quick review on things I may have forgot?

Let me know...

Have A Merry Christmas!

-Craig

 

[Frank Stastny]

Dang Frank, you are like an insurance gold-mine...

Glad you will be training me! Thanks for the advice too...

I am so anxious to start, it's hard for me to just sit here until school is done to start selling. Reason being, I am the type of person who would start selling during school and quit school to sell full time (bad idea). That is why I am deciding to wait until I finish school in May.

Would you mind if I just set-up the phone training now, then come May, I can give you another call to have a quick review on things I may have forgot?

Let me know...

Have A Merry Christmas!

-Craig

Craig,

You pretty much have unlimited access to me. We can do the training now just in case one falls in your lap and then go over it all again when you graduate. It really doesn't matter to me.

Just like all of the agents I have worked with, I want to do everything I can to help you be successful. I know what you mean about sitting around.

Merry Christmas to both of you. She looks like a "keeper", ya done good. hahahaha