Why should I let you help me?

[axeman462]

Dick Bullock . . .

An agent from the way back . . . Dick brought me along to discuss retirement plans with one of his life insurance clients.

Dick was extremely self confident with a mercurial personality and would turn on you in a heartbeat. He was there for the annual review and nonchalantly recommended an additional $500k for estate liquidity. The client looked over the proposal, paused, and said "Dick, I feel like I have enough insurance already".

Dick immediately closed his notebook, stood up and said "G-D you deserve to die without it." He then turned to me and said "Come on, Bob. We are leaving".

He was my ride so I had no choice. In the car he continued cursing the man while I said nothing. That was the first time I had seen an agent act like that in front of the client.

When we got back to the agent Dick was handed a note to call the client. Dick invited me into his office, dialed the client and put him on speakerphone. The client apologized for questioning the recommendation and said he was ready to buy.

"Well damnit Jim, you wasted my time and Bob's. You come to my office and bring your checkbook".

About an hour later the guy showed up, checkbook in hand, and bought the $500k


I had never seen the take away close work like that before . . .

 

[mickeyma]

Why not?

I am licensed, fully trained, dutifully review policies in your city to select the ones with the benefits which suit your needs.

And, my service is free. There is no charge for my service. I get paid by the insurance company and it is the same plan with the same benefits and the same cost whether you go through me or directly with the company.

 

[somarco]

a prospect may be thinking "why should I pay you when I can get help for free".

Rarely happens, but some folks ask if I charge a fee. Some charge a flat fee, one in particular asks for $699 up front before the clock starts ticking. They also claim we make NO money from the sale of insurance products. All of our revenue comes entirely from our clients.

AFAIK all carriers pay commissions so there is probably a pony in the stall somewhere.

When someone asks for rates I presume they are shopping for the lowest premium and I volunteer that all agents have the same rates and there are no discounts for going direct to the carrier, using a volunteer, or using an agent that charges a fee.

My usual caveat about going direct to a carrier is this.

If you allow me to be your agent when you call either I will answer or you get my voicemail. When you leave a message I will get back to you no later than the next business day.

But when you call a carrier you get a recording, telling you to press 1 for English. Even though your call is important to them, you will not talk to a live person but you will be routed to voicemail where you can leave a message. They will call you back while you are in the shower and you will play phone tag until someone picks up the phone.

You will NEVER talk to the same person twice . . .

 

[sman]

Rarely happens, but some folks ask if I charge a fee. Some charge a flat fee, one in particular asks for $699 up front before the clock starts ticking. They also claim we make NO money from the sale of insurance products. All of our revenue comes entirely from our clients.

AFAIK all carriers pay commissions so there is probably a pony in the stall somewhere.

When someone asks for rates I presume they are shopping for the lowest premium and I volunteer that all agents have the same rates and there are no discounts for going direct to the carrier, using a volunteer, or using an agent that charges a fee.

My usual caveat about going direct to a carrier is this.

If you allow me to be your agent when you call either I will answer or you get my voicemail. When you leave a message I will get back to you no later than the next business day.

But when you call a carrier you get a recording, telling you to press 1 for English. Even though your call is important to them, you will not talk to a live person but you will be routed to voicemail where you can leave a message. They will call you back while you are in the shower and you will play phone tag until someone picks up the phone.

You will NEVER talk to the same person twice . . .

Not only will they never talk to the same person twice, it isn't uncommon for them to get different answers from each person.

 

[Yagents]

Why pick me? Because I will be here year after year being an independent agent and biz owner. I will be the person who always answers the phone. Can't say same for ship folks.

 

[somarco]

I see a number of "me" centered posts in this thread but not enough about the benefit for the prospect.

The wife's objection was framed as WIIFM (what's in it for me). The spouse assumes she can get the information from a SHIP volunteer that will cost them less than going through an agent.

She really doesn't care about what you (the agent) has to gain or lose by using an agent. She doesn't care how many awards you have or how many reviews you have. She would not have mentioned SHIP if the agent had demonstrated an inherent value in using an agent.

The sale was lost before the wife mentioned SHIP. At that point, it is essentially too far gone to bring it back.

Chalk it up as a lesson learned and move on.

 

[bill3173]

 

[somarco]

You can have everything you want if you are willing to help others get what they want. - Zig Ziglar

 

[Life Hawk]

You can have everything you want if you are willing to help others get what they want. - Zig Ziglar

The problem with this is they want another piece of apple pie... and I want the rest.

 

[somarco]

The problem with this is they want another piece of apple pie... and I want the rest

With the money you will earn from helping others, you can buy your own damn pie