From the Desk of Pat Wedeking
Email: patw@onlyfinancial.com

How about some meat?  How about no fluff, no rah, rah and the top ten ideas I know about in this life insurance business?  Click to the entire article, mark this page as a favorite and read it 6 times to give yourself a chance at taking action on these things. Sharpen your pencil, take a note if you must and get ready for 10 learned, documented and tested ideas to make you money. You don’t have to figure this business out any more after this article, the folks at many of the top selling agencies in the world have already done that based on going down this road a few million times. Your friends here at Only Financial Group have visited those agencies, listened to them and we have now consolidated them into this list.  

Yes, we had a great time in Cancun, a trip you should make with us next year, and yes, there are some worthy announcements I could write about. But in this instant I am opting out of those in favor of offering some ideas that will boost your business and make your life more enjoyable. 

Direct response life insurance sales are on the rise significantly. Many are going to make good livings doing this and some will make fortunes…My thinking is that it may as well be you! 

Some of these ideas cannot be expanded on in this format. Feel free to ask me for any details or documents we share to help you implement winning ideas like these. 

  1. Up sell – Our business is more about up selling and cross marketing than we ever thought before. It is essential that we master the process of up selling to survive in this business.
    1. Travis’ Automatic up sell
    2. Approval Up sell
    3. Spousal insurance
    4. Return of Premium
       
  1. Finding the quick “No.” – The fact is there are a lot of eventually No’s in our business. It is not a bad lead and you are not a bad sales person; it’s just a no. Would you rather discover a weak prospect in the first phone call or would you prefer to send out the app, chase it down, work with the parameds for scheduling, chase the prospect some more and then move them over to an incomplete file 3 months down the line?    Answer:  You’d rather find the quick No and spend your time with folks that want to buy. Here are some ways to do this.
    1. Cash with Sale on the telephone. We have a document with step by step instructions on how to get the cash with sale in the form of a credit card payment or Check-by-phone. The point is you can call it an App Out or a good prospect or even a sale, but the truth of the matter is that you have little or NOTHING until you have money.
    2. Faxed Apps Back – Strike while the iron is hot…complete the app on the phone, fax or email it over and get it faxed back to you the same day.  The key is to expect this as a sales person and effectively explaining the process to the client.
    3. Set the Paramed exam – a “No-brainer” for sure, this one is “old news” by now but please never send out an application without the exam being firmly set and scheduled.
       
  1. Promote well-known carriers because the applications tend to come back more often. AIG American General, statistically speaking, applications come back more than any other. Genworth and Transamerica would also have to be considered in this group.
     
  1. Use LeadBoss to its fullest extent.
    1. Event based emails (always)
    2. Event based reminders (always)
    3. Ongoing, drip marketing
    4. Quoting, Forms, Case Management and more.
       
  1. Jefferson National – If your client can get the insurance they want in 20 minutes and you can get paid in a week, do it.  Here are some situations in which you should consider selling the Jefferson National, simplified issue product
    1. Anyone who is a standard risk
    2. Interim Coverage for unique situations
    3. Convenience / Immediacy of Protection / “No needles”
    4. Foreign Travel
    5. Bi-Polar and Depression issues
    6. Insurable interest grey areas – siblings, parents, etc.
    7. Non U.S. citizens with a Social Security number
    8. 5 years from ANYthing…If, for example, someone is 5+ years removed from a cancer, they are still insurable at standard rates.
    9. Bankruptcies not yet discharged
    10. Build charts, though unpublished, go up to what is approximately a table 2 with other carriers
       
  1. Diversification without Distraction – ah the value of remarketing and cross marketing…indeed businesses are built on this and fortunes are made when we really value each client.  It has been said that the value of a lead is multiplied by 5 times when effective remarketing programs are in place. If that is half right, how does it change the economics of your business? No matter how long you have been in this business or how much data you have. Even if you are not currently taking leads, LeadBoss, OFGezMailing.com and our staff can help you implement a comprehensive marketing program.  Sell your clients more life insurance, annuities, disability insurance, critical care insurance, and more.
     
  1. Plug In – You knew I’d say this one but, again, we are talking about statistical evidence to document for you that those that “Plug In” are the only one’s who’s light goes on. It is referenced for you below in Rob Winter’s article, and he is right. So what does this mean?
    1. Attending all the I-Forums and I-Shares and really listening with the intent to learn. That is different than attending to see if you can win some leads, to see if there is announcement you don’t want to miss and knocking through some emails while you are on mute. Really listen, let these things sharpen your saw.
    2. Having a Web site powered by InsuranceOnly
    3. Using LeadBoss
    4. Writing with the core, preferred carriers we suggest
    5. Attending the Direct Response Summit in Denver in early October
    6. Writing all of your insurance and annuity business with OFG
    7. Remarketing/Cross Marketing and use of OFGezMailing.com
    8. Reading this OFGzine each month
       
  1. ABC, 123 Impaired Risk Underwriting.

                a.  Can it go with a primary carrier at standard or better?
                b.  Can it go with US Financial at standard or better?
                c.  Simplified Issue 

  1. How to handle questions about permanent insurance – My personal belief is that permanent life insurance has its place in the market; I own permanent life insurance and a whole lot of term.  Others believe permanent insurance has little or no value. No matter what you think about permanent life insurance, the answer to prospects when they inquire about it is to get them as a client first.  The response can be something like this, “Permanent insurance is good in some situations, I can see why you are asking. The way we go about that around here is that we first get you qualified and get a good, inexpensive term policy in place with a company that has good permanent products. Then, we can take some time and figure out exactly what is best for you and we can convert that term policy into a permanent policy if that is what you would like to do.  So let’s get you qualified and then we can go from there.  Are you currently taking any medications?”
     
  1. Master the Art of direct telephone selling – If this is what you do for a living, wouldn’t it be a good idea to study up on it?   How many books on tele-selling have you read this year? How many seminars on the subject have you attended?  How much drill for skill have you been doing?

Read a book on tele-selling, I recommend Guerrilla Teleselling: New Unconventional Weapons and Tactics to Sell When You Can't Be There in Person by Jay Conrad Levinson, Smith Mark S. A., and Overl Ray Wilson, but there are many. Write down the top 3 objections you get and a powerful, compelling response to each of them. Keep that document near you when you are calling prospects. Remember that this is your business and treat it like any other business you would get into…Master the Art. 

>> 

…And that is all there is to it.    

Remember, OFG has grown up…send us all your business and put us to the test. We appreciate you and the value you bring to our OFG Family.

Pat Wedeking, President
InsuranceOnly
866-INS-ONLY ext 103
 patw@onlyfinancial.com

In this issue:

  • One of the best OnlyTalk's yet and two other important audio files
  • Brad shares some valuable tips
  • OFG Producers Job de Ojeda and Rob Winter share stories on the value of our business and the benefits of plugging in
  • InsuranceOnly's Karl Sorton shares an idea to help you collect more annual premiums
  • ...and more

 



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