Insurance Family Style
By Susan Thomas
 

Audio Interview (6:23 min)

Audio MMCC w/Susan Thomas  (30:08)

Monday Conference Call 8/1/2005 – Susan Thomas 

HOW I CAME TO OFG 

Three years ago, with the intention of supporting my husband’s new insurance agency, I acquired licensing in all lines of insurance – life, health, property and casualty. However, since his business was in the “start-up” phase, I was able to contribute more to the household income by working outside of our new insurance business.  Yet it was through my husband that I came to Only Financial Group (OFG). He was researching options for buying life leads and stumbled onto OFG. He was so intrigued by their business model that he convinced me to sign on.  I was approaching burnout with my work and travel schedule along with the demands of running my household with five children and an AWOL husband putting in long hours with a new business. The idea of eliminating my commute and business travel and the flexibility to set my own hours sold me. 

In the 10 years prior to joining the OFG group, I worked in sales and customer service for the third largest printer in the U.S. While there I was trained to use client centered selling, also referred to as the Xerox selling model.  Basically, this approach focuses on uncovering the client’s need and then tailoring your presentation to fulfill those needs, thereby allowing the client sell them self on using your services.  

I have worked with OFG for just over a year now and as expected I had to deal with the learning curve.  I’ve made mistakes like pairing a person with health issues with a carrier that is best suited to a person with a squeaky clean medical history. I have also experienced some great successes like ROP polices for a husband and wife with good premiums issued just 3 days after they were submitted. (I love AIG!)  I have learned that the life insurance business can be unpredictable. I never count a case until it is “placed/paid”. There are too many pitfalls along the way. The key to success is weeding out those cases that will never issue, before you invest too much time and effort. 

MY ADVICE – USE THE PHONE SCRIPT 

Using the phone script is essential in uncovering the info needed to determine the appropriate carrier for your prospect. Unfortunately until you have some experience with each of the carriers, there can be a bit of trial and error. If only there was a “Life Insurance for Dummies” agent guide, that told you if your client is heavy, then West Coast Life has the most generous build chart. But if your client is heavy and takes medication for hypertension then they will get the most favorable rating/pricing at Prudential. Now if your client is heavy, takes meds for hypertension and is a type II diabetic than Empire General is your best bet. With the 2,000+ life insurance companies in the U.S. the options are endless. So as you have all heard before, yet it bears repeating – stick with a core group of carriers so you can quickly learn their niches, then you’ll be able to recommend with confidence a best fit for every prospect you quote.   

The phone script is also essential in getting the up sell – either a policy for the spouse and/or the child term rider. And don’t forget that you can add the child term rider to both parent’s policies. It is very easy to get wrapped up in discussing options with the client, which without the prompting of the script, would have you hanging up the phone without knowing if the spouse even has any life insurance! I know, because this has happened to me on more than one occasion. Oh, and it might also happen that the spouse policy will be the only sale you get. This too has happened to me on more than one occasion. Wouldn’t you rather walk away with a commission on one policy instead of nothing? 

THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION 

The most important question that should be near the top of everyone’s phone script is “Why are you buying life insurance?” It sounds so simple, yet I think this is the key to whether you will ever be paid on the case or whether you will just end up on a wild goose chase. Prospects that don’t hesitate, that have a specific purpose in mind and that literally sold themselves on their need for the coverage are the cases with the highest probability of placing and being paid (remember the Xerox selling model?). I’m not suggesting that you hang up the phone on prospects that don’t have a good answer to the question, but I would suggest that you should work hard on helping them see their need for life insurance; otherwise, chances are very good the case will fall out at some stage of the process. And don’t you just hate the “Not Taken” cases? We’ve all had those where we’ve spent time, effort and expense in processing and getting a case issued, only to be turned away at delivery.  

Success begins by building a quick rapport with your prospect. The more comfortable they are, the sooner they let their guard down and the easier it is for you to determine what they need and what product will best fit that need. Remember to listen. I know it’s tough since as salespeople we all like to talk. But the more you listen, the more you’ll learn and the easier it is to do the right thing—simply because you have all the information you need to do so. Prospects tend to tell you only those things they think are related to life insurance. Then all you can do is play Monday morning quarterback. That is when you find out your prospect had some health issue which would have effected your carrier selection after the case has already been submitted. So listen, ask good follow-up questions (we call it drilling down) and you’ll come away with a feel of the carrier best suited for their situation. 

HOW I RUN MY BUSINESS 

I am a bit unique within the OGF group. I am a part-timer. I put in roughly half the time of what most agents work in this business. I am at a point in life where my family commitments take precedent over my work commitments. Three of my five children are age 3 and under, so I am a busy mom first and an insurance agent second. But with my twins starting preschool in fall, I can see that in just a few more years when everyone is in school full time, the insurance agent is going to have more time to work. 

For now, I have to be content with growing my business slowly. I have weekly goals that I have been able to consistently meet. And with a bit of luck, I may reach my yearly goal. I maintain a set schedule with my “sacred” calling hours from 9- noon and 4-7p.m. I am very disciplined with my work routine. Selling and non-selling activities are all done by me and because of that I need to maximize my efficiency. I do wish naptime was prime selling time but since it’s not I fill this with non-selling activities. It’s not all work-work-work however. I did fall a bit short in my sales last week because I took time off for the children’s dental appointments and back to school shopping.  AHHH, the flexibility of working for yourself!  Oh, the week in Cancun with OFG was pretty fun too!