Want to inspire your clients to take action? Apply a little neuro science! Neuroeconomics is the study of human decision-making. By understanding how the brain works, you can reduce client indecision and increase your success. In fact, research shows when the “reward” part of the brain is triggered, people are more likely to take risks. When the “anxiety” part of the brain is triggered, people freeze. The takeaway? Advisors should concentrate more on the rewards of paycheck protection, and less on the scare tactics. Focus more on emotions and less on logic.
Ready to get started? Use the neuroscience-inspired insurance sales tips below:
- Visualize the need. Resist the urge to use dollars and cents with your client. Instead, help the client envision in the situation of using their disability insurance. Frame the end goal as comfortably maintaining their standard of living and paying their bills. Paint the picture of on getting well without the anxiety of worrying about income.
- Attach emotion to the vision. We all like to be considered smart, especially when it comes to finances. Attach the emotion of relief and satisfaction to the vision. When you can combine visualization and emotion, you are much more likely to make the sale. When it comes to changing habits and delaying gratification, we can be overly confident about the ability to make those changes. Making the commitment to the future is another way to attach emotion to the vision of financial security.
- Present one option. This is a good time to subscribe to the “less is more” philosophy. The more options the client has to choose from the more likely they are to avoid making a decision. It is easier for them to take the path of least resistance than to decide to buy. Presenting the client with choices between two or three proposals increases the indecision factor. Work with your DIS representative to develop a proposal that fits the client’s financial concerns, preferences, and budget.
- Overcome the bias to focus on recent events. When evaluating the risk, such as the possibility of suffering a disability, typically the client focuses on recent past experience. The reality is the past has no impact on what might happen tomorrow or five years from now. Help the client to focus on the future and being financially prepared for it.
- Introduce peer comparison. In a recent ING (now Voya) study, 20 percent of those contributing to a 401(k) increased their contributions as a result of learning they were contributing less than their peers. Introducing comparison information can be as simple as saying, “Many of my clients at a similar stage in life chose to protect their paycheck with disability income insurance.” Sharing client testimonials is another way to build client confidence in their decision.
Putting it all together
Understanding how our brains make financial decisions will increase your success rate. Focus on visualization and emotion in your next disability insurance conversations and your clients will be more likely to make a decision to protect their paycheck from the financial uncertainty of an income-interrupting disability.
Call your DIS representative to help you develop a customized disability insurance quote. Don’t have time to sell disability insurance? Provide this essential service to your clients by using our all-new DI Sales Concierge program.
Want to know more about neuroeconomics? Read: “This is Your Client’s Brain on Finance.”
