Why Life Insurance

We recently found this old matchbook advertising Life Insurance, which is ironic on its own. But it got us thinking about selling life insurance. It’s a product that has been on the market a long time. And yet we still see advisors making similar mistakes when it comes to how they sell life insurance. On this cover a few things immediately jumped out to us.

• The focus was on the “cost” of life insurance - Back then it was “only 25 cents.” While it would be a dream to pay only 25 cents for a policy, your clients need to know that life insurance is affordable and using price to sell it isn’t the best option.

Although we like to think we buy based on logic, as humans we tend to let our emotions influence our purchases. Instead of focusing on price, focus on why life insurance. You need to expose the emotion and your client’s why to get them to say yes.

We suggest relying on “asking” and not just “telling” when it comes to their why. A few open-ended questions will go a long way in making the sale for you. Have a set of powerful questions that are standard for you to ask clients when discussing their need for life insurance. Don’t forget that while the death benefits are most known to clients, if the policy has living benefits those might be even more powerful to ask your client about.

• “No Agent Will Call” - We like to think that technology has changed sales, but this just proves that people have been trying to avoid talking to what they see as “salespeople” for a very long time. However, this is a great reminder that people want to do business with someone that they know and trust, but they still want convenience. There’s a myth in this industry that to sell life insurance you must be face-to-face and truly that myth needs to be busted. You can, and should, build strong relationships with your clients, but face-to-face is not the only way. You can text, hold video meetings, use email and a wide variety of other options to communicate with your clients. If you’re insisting on face-to-face it’s a great time to take a step back and ask if you’re doing it because that is your preference or your client's.

There’s a reason that online companies are popular. It’s not because it is better for your clients. It’s certainly not because they have great relationships. It is because those companies make it easy to do business. If you’re trying to write a policy for a married couple and are insisting on face-to-face then you’re asking two clients to either use their break time or to take time off from work to come meet with you. They have travel time and the time spent with you. If it is outside of work hours then that same couple must work around kids, hobbies and chores. It’s a lot to ask for a product/service that they may not even be motivated to buy. Now, if your client base doesn’t use technology then it’s smart to offer face-to-face meetings, but don’t assume. Try giving options and you're likely to see your leads grow.

It’s important to remember that life insurance is indeed a commodity. What you sell will be remarkably similar to what others attempt to sell to your clients. Life insurance has been around for a long time, and the number one thing to remember in the sales process is that your client needs to be motivated to purchase. That goes right back to uncovering their why.

September is Life Insurance Month. It’s a great time to talk to your team and your Optimal Outcome Coach on ways to improve your life insurance sales!