Would You Buy Your Insurance on the Phone?

[Todd King]

Frank,

I think you are mostly dead on about eduating them!

There is another problem that could be a factor though.

Getz mentioned that he was saving them $30-60 per month...many times you can scare the hell out of the clients by saving them too much money. It sounds crazy I know, but trust me, it happens!

So instead of telling them you can save them $60 a month, tell them you can give them the exact same plan and XX,XXX amount of life insurance for the same (or a little less) money. It tends to work better in their mind.

It's a crazy world after all.

 

[Mr_Ed]

I just received a lead from my website. Saved the guy $500 on his med supp and did everything by phone.

Emailed the application to him; emailed it back to me. Company will draft the initial and continuing premiums.

Couldn't have been easier.

I do the same thing all the time - including MA plans.

Rick

And the beauty of it, Rick, is that not only was it easier for you, but it was easier for the consumer.

Two thumbs up!!!

 

[Frank Stastny]

Frank,

I think you are mostly dead on about eduating them!

There is another problem that could be a factor though.

Getz mentioned that he was saving them $30-60 per month...many times you can scare the hell out of the clients by saving them too much money. It sounds crazy I know, but trust me, it happens!

So instead of telling them you can save them $60 a month, tell them you can give them the exact same plan and XX,XXX amount of life insurance for the same (or a little less) money. It tends to work better in their mind.

It's a crazy world after all.

I have not experienced any of the prospects I have ever talked to being scared because I was able to save them a substantial amount of money. On the contrary, the more I save them the more excited they get.

I very seldom try to sell them the plan they already have. In my experience I would safely say that well over 85% to over 90% of the prospects I talk to have a Plan F. In Missouri I don't either recommend a Plan F nor sell a Plan F.

Your approach is an interesting one but with your way you really aren't saving them any money over what they are currently spending. They are getting more value but not putting the money in their pocket.

If the prospect is also looking for a large amount of FE insurance your approach is perfect. However, you are making that assumption without first finding out if there is any interest in their part. I feel that could easily put them on the defensive, make them feel that the agent is more interested in seeing how much money he can get as opposed to taking the prospects best interest into consideration.

The approach I use is to complete the Med Supp app and then simply offer, as a suggestion, that the prospect may want to consider reinvesting a portion of the savings in a FE plan. I never initially suggest a premium that amounts to or is close to the amount of money I saved them.

I have found that it works a lot smoother if I suggest, assuming I saved them $60 per month, an amount of insurance where the premium would only be $30 per month now I can tell them that they have a Med Supp, a FE plan and still get to put $30 per month extra in their pocket. I may then let them know that for an additional $10 per month they can increase the benefit amount.

By starting with a low premium and suggesting another $5 or $10 per month in premium, many times they will decide to add the additional benefit and premium. This way can greatly eliminate buyers remorse and make them feel warm and fuzzy about their purchase.

 

[Todd King]

I'm sorry, but I didn't fill in all the blanks there.

I first tell them what I can do. I then let them tell me whether or not they are interested in the final expense. Most of the time their 1st reaction tells me everything and within seconds I can switch that if I detect that they have no interest in the final expense. I would then go on to say..."or you could save even more if you're not in need of the final expense."

It still softens the blow of the huge savings. Sometimes Frank, even though you've explained it, they still can't grasp how you can save them so much money and give them the same thing....it just doesn't compute to them...so they get an uneasy feeling and that can certainly be a deal breaker.

I understand this isn't your way, but it is mine and it works extremely well for me. You told me you don't sell very much FE anyway and don't really care to...I understand that.

So when I have a client that I can really help by saving a lot of money, I introduce the choices that way. Like I say, works for me and I've sold a ton of final expense with persistencies in the 90's...way above industry average.

Another thing I must point out...I'm never high pressured....as a matter of fact...if they already have 10-15K in FE....I'll make sure it's a good policy (what they think they have), make sure they are paying a decent price for it...and if those are true, then I tell them they don't really need any more, but it's up to them if they want it.

This is the very reason that I try to teach everyone that if you are doing one (med supp or FE), and not doing the other, you are leaving money on the table!

You will certainly sell more med supp policies than you will FE policies, but you can use part of the extra FE commission to buy leads of people who are more likely to be interested than sitting and cold calling 100 just to find 2.

You like cold calling...I don't...I would rather spend my time talking to prospects that I know have at least some interest.

Just goes to show you....there is more than one way to skin a cat!

(whoever came up with that phrase had to be a weirdo!)

 

[somarco]

there is more than one way to skin a cat!

(whoever came up with that phrase had to be a weirdo!)

Better to use that, than killing two birds with one stone . . .

 

[Frank Stastny]

Todd,

In the past I have sold a ton of FE and still have it on the books. Until the last few years I was selling a small FE policy to well over 60% of the people I wrote Med Supps for. I just don't sell it now. Right now I only want their Med Supp business.

A lot of the Med Supps I am selling now I am doing over the phone. Actually most of them are. It is not necessarily my preferred way, it is more of a time issue for me. Cross selling FE does not work nearly as smooth over the phone as it does when I go on an appointment.

I don't "sell them the exact same thing they currently have". I don't sell Plan F in Missouri, most have a Plan F. I don't sell Plan F, I sell Plans D or G. The savings make perfect sense to them and they are not skeptical, they are ticked to death.

You must be dealing with a different kind of prospect than I am. I have never had to "soften the blow" of saving them a large amount of money. In the last sixteen years I have saved many of my clients over $100 per month. Not one of them said they weren't interested or were skeptical.

I guess I don't understand how selling them a FE plan and using the money they are saving makes saving that amount of money more palatable for them. This would not be logical to the prospects I talk to.

I strongly encourage every agent I talk to to cross sell FE. Med Supps and FE go together like a hand and a glove, I'm not nearly as concerned about "leaving money on the table" as I am about "leaving money in their pocket". Most seniors I talk to have life insurance. It may be more convenient for them to have a small FE policy but not absolutely necessary.

I did not say that the way I do it is the "only" way. You shared your way of doing it and I am sharing mine. You appear to go for the FE sale before completing the Med Supp sale, I make the suggestion after the Med Supp sale is completed. It's that simple.

I don't necessarily "like" cold calling, it's that I find it the easiest, most efficient, cost effective way of selling Med Supps. All seniors have an interest in saving money, not just those who send in a card or fill out a form. Most of them don't realize that they are paying too much for the policy they currently have.

I tell them exactly how much I can save them within the first 47 seconds of the phone call. I get to talk to and generate leads for a lot more seniors that I would not have otherwise contacted if all I was doing is running "leads". And, I do it without having to sell FE to pay for it.

I am simply sharing with members of the board the way I do it. If your way works better for you then, if it ain't broke, don't try to fix it.