By now, most financial planners understand that one of the most important cornerstones of financial planning is income protection. However, despite this knowledge, many financial planners fail to successfully present disability insurance quotes to their clients. 

In many cases, the consultative selling stops before it even begins when the client responds to the income protection suggestion with one of these following objections: 

  • The “dual-income household” defense: Husbands and wives often say they don’t need disability insurance coverage because if one of them becomes disabled, the other could continue working and they can get by on one income. 
  • The “disability insurance through work” defense: Many resist purchasing disability insurance coverage because they think they’re adequately covered by their group policy at work. They’re likely sadly mistaken. 
  • The “it can’t happen to me” defense: Most people believe that disabilities are generally the result of an accident, and that they always happen to someone else. Statistics tell another story. 
  • The “it’s too expensive” defense: A lot of people are hesitant to spend the money on income protection, especially in this economy.

A sage sales professional once said, “The sale starts when the customer says No.”

With that advice in mind, it’s important to recognize that these income protection objections don’t necessarily mean “NO.” They are buying signals that provide valuable engagement opportunities. For example: 

  • When you receive the “dual income” objection, take out a piece of paper and a calculator and help the client do the math. If one income really can cover the family’s basic monthly expenses (which is usually NOT the case), then go one step further. Ask how they will fund college and retirement. Make it real, paint the picture and never stop listening. 
  • Likewise, when you hear the “covered by work” objection, do the math. Ask your client if he realizes that employer-provided benefits are taxable and often not payable to age 67. Once you crunch the numbers, the client will most likely be shocked at how little he would be forced to live on. 
  • The “can’t happen to me” defense can be easily overcome by presenting the DIS Stat Pack for analytical clients or the Four Stories handout for emotional decision markers. 
  • If someone says DI is too expensive before you even present a disability insurance quote, simply sidestep the price objection until you have the numbers, saying something like, “Many people think income protection is expensive, but in fact, there are a wide range of protection levels and prices. We can structure a plan to meet any budget. Would you mind if I obtain some numbers on your behalf so you can make an informed decision?  What would be a comfortable monthly budget for you?”

As you engage your client, remember these tips:

  1. Listen carefully to what the client says and what he or she doesn’t say.
  2. Summarize and empathize with the client’s stated objection. Validate the client.
  3. Ask at least three questions to dig a little deeper and gain a better understanding of the objection.
  4. After you’ve listened, validated and asked questions, then you can answer the objection using the strategies above.
  5. When you’ve given your answer, once again engage the client by asking – “Does that make sense to you?” or “Do you see how this can help you?”

If you like this DI sales strategy tip, stay tuned! We’ll be sharing many other tried and proven tips with you in 2013. Our goal is to help you help others by educating all Americans about the need for income protection!

If you haven’t already done so, make sure to download the “Wealth Preservation Plan” – our most popular income protection sales script.  Need a DI quote? Use our convenient online quote engine.

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