Increase Life Insurance Sales: A Cross-Selling Strategy for Your Agency

Do you have a goal to significantly increase your life insurance sales this year? If so, the time to get started is now. Many financial services professionals experience a cyclical approach to life insurance sales, with a heavy push often occurring in the fourth quarter to meet year-end goals. However, life insurance shouldn't be a seasonal product. It should be a cornerstone of your client interactions, seamlessly integrated with your other offerings. 

The Core of Your Promise

Every client relationship begins with a promise. While this promise varies between agencies, it often revolves around protecting clients from everyday risks and maximizing their opportunities. Home and auto insurance protect their property and assets, but life insurance is frequently an overlooked piece of this vital protection.

Integrating Life Insurance into Every Client Interaction

To effectively cross-sell life insurance, implement these strategies:

• Communicate Your Intent: Be transparent with clients about why you're discussing life insurance. Frame it as an integral part of your commitment to their overall financial well-being and risk mitigation. This builds trust and encourages open dialogue.
   
• Utilize an Agenda: Create a standardized agenda for client meetings that explicitly includes a discussion of life insurance needs. This ensures consistent coverage and minimizes the risk of overlooking this crucial aspect of client protection.
   
• Cultivate a Positive Team Mindset: Reframe "cross-selling" as "service through selling." Emphasize that it's an extension of your commitment to client service, not just a sales tactic. This shift in perspective will motivate your team to embrace life insurance discussions as a valuable part of their role.
   
• Train Your Team: Equip your entire team – even those not directly involved in life insurance sales – with the knowledge and skills to identify potential life insurance needs. Encourage them to listen for life events such as births, marriages, new jobs, and mortgage acquisitions. Train them to ask insightful questions that gather relevant information, such as "How would your family manage the mortgage if something unexpected happened to you?" And finally ensure they are clear on the act they need to take when they discover an opportunity. That action might be as simple as putting the client on a follow-up list or even setting an appointment with someone on your team to discuss life insurance. The action they take will vary depending on if they are licensed, but they won’t take any action if it’s not clear what you expect of them.

The "Listen, Ask, Act" Framework

Empower your team to: 

1. Listen: Actively listen for life events and potential life insurance needs during client interactions.
2. Ask: Ask insightful questions to gather information and understand the client's specific circumstances.
3. Act: Take appropriate action, whether it's noting the client's situation for follow-up by a licensed agent or scheduling a dedicated appointment to discuss life insurance options.

By consistently integrating these strategies into your client interactions, you can effectively cross-sell life insurance, enhance client relationships, and achieve significant growth in this vital area of your business.