That certainly will happen in some cases but I think it is a very small percentage.
Why is $50mp and $10,000 the average in FE?
- Thread starter WinoBlues
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I have never seen my job as being to "squeeze" the maximum premium out of a client. I have always thought of it as helping the client determine what they need or possibly what they want and then providing that amount of coverage. And, along the way get paid very well for that doing that.
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- #23
- 25,688
Not a FE guy.
On my FE claims I think that most go over $10,000 on burials. Stuff adds up. Really an emotional time for people and easily swayed into buying more than planned.
On my FE claims I think that most go over $10,000 on burials. Stuff adds up. Really an emotional time for people and easily swayed into buying more than planned.
- 7,012
Well our folks desperately need what we sell, but if you show too low a number off the start, they will go for it and be underinsured or keep sending in cards/filling out requests online to get more coverage and we risk replacement.
I need to get them the max death benefit they can afford without going too high and causing a lapse.
Maybe squeeze was not the right word, but it’s still the right concept.
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I repeat my earlier question: how do you know the max premium your prospect can pay without encouraging a lapse? This would be a great learning lesson for me.
- 7,012
Well, I'm of the opinion that almost anyone in America can afford $50 a month for something that's important to them.
I've seen killer salespeople get drowned in chargebacks because they could sell much higher premiums because people liked them and wouldn't say no AND I've seen timid agents offer $20 monthly premiums because they think these folks can't afford more than that.
So if we know the average is somewhere around $700 Annual Premium, let's make that our starting point and leave room in there for folks with higher budgets.
"These are the 3 most common options, seniors like yourself tend to pick. The $59 ballpark, $79 ballpark and the $99(or higher if you get that feeling) ballpark. Which one of those works for you?"
You're still leaving the decision in their hands to pick based on their budget. If they balk at price, you can easily drop down to the $45 ballpark and still get right around $50 every time.
My first district manager used to tell us when a case was lapsing to write them additional coverage with the reasoning "They are not paying enough to be proud of what they have". You would be amazed how often it worked. The same can apply to new sales. BTW, I wasn't being critical of you with my previous comment. I was simply stating that I have always concentrated on need rather than premium. To each his own. However, there is no doubt that you sell a lot more than I..
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- 5,879
Perhaps you might want to substitute the word "finesse" for "squeeze" it implies more of a massage approach as apposed to a strong arm approach. (no peanut gallery comments)
Any body here ever loose a sale because mom or grandma had to come up with bail?
How about family or payee dipping into the till?
Yep, the thing I try to understand with clients is how much wiggle room is in the budget and that's more than impossible to do because of the unexpected. You do your best and move on. And when it falls off... you go back an resale if you can't save.
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Wowie Kazowie!!! Hugs, squeezes, massages, dipping, wiggling...you really do go that "extra mile" !!! Hopefully it's just the little old ladies that get that "extra attention".Perhaps you might want to substitute the word "finesse" for "squeeze" it implies more of a massage approach as apposed to a strong arm approach. (no peanut gallery comments)
dipping into the till?
- 5,879
Wowie Kazowie!!! Hugs, squeezes, massages, dipping, wiggling...you really do go that "extra mile" !!! Hopefully it's just the little old ladies that get that "extra attention".
Your mind goes places I refuse to follow...
I'll go the extra mile for premium payers... I'll be delivering a crust recipe this week to a widower who when I met was making a apple pie. He now is a client for life, cancer and soon to be med sup.
By the way, he is one of those premium types that runs north of $170 a month.
Key with clients that can afford these amounts, you need to bottle them up in as many policies as you can, multi policies are more likely to stay on the books... 1 you may finally lose, 2 you might keep for life, 3 you can't get rid of unless you act real stupid. Learned that from a female manager at an FMO I once worked with.
