It’s time to put your money where your mouth is.
I’m not asking you to prove something, donate to a cause, or bet on anything. I’m asking you to literally open up your wallet, pull out a bill and heed the advice of the man whose face is looking back at you.
As insurance agents, our job is to help secure the financial future of our clients by insuring their lives, their health and, of course, their paychecks. We talk to our clients about premiums and benefits, always reminding them how hard it would be to survive on less of an income. In the disability insurance industry, the driving force behind every sales call is the topic of money. Why should we protect it? How do we protect it? How much will it cost to protect it?
Before you enter your next meeting with a new prospect, remember the advice given by the men whose faces grace the same bills we’re doing our best to protect.
In honor of President’s Day, it’s time to put your money where your mouth is by heeding the advice of our past presidents.
George Washington $1 “Happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected.”
When it comes to selling disability insurance, agents will be far more successful if they have their client’s best interest in mind. Adding bells and whistles to a policy will increase your client’s premium and your commissions, but is that what your client really needs? Some clients don’t need true own occupation definitions or a 30-day elimination period. Present your client with a quote that’s catered to what they need, not what you want. Even if you’re losing out on commissions, you’re more likely to make a sale and have a client who’s more inclined to refer you.
Thomas Jefferson $2 “Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.”
Be sure to make your glass half full before meeting with prospective clients. If you have the mindset that you’re going to lose a sale, then you probably will. But if you go into a meeting with the mindset that you’ll do whatever it takes, then you’ll be ready to find a solution to any of your client’s problems.
Abraham Lincoln $5 “Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.”
Have faith in yourself, because you might be your only advocate. There are thousands of insurance agents in the country. Wanting to succeed, and having the drive to do so, will set you apart from your competitors.
Alexander Hamilton $10 “Nobody expects to trust his body overmuch after the age of fifty.”
Your clients know they’re going to age. They know their bodies won’t be invincible. Don’t reserve your disability and long-term care insurance talks for your older clientele. Start marketing millennials and explain the importance of securing rates while your client is young and healthy.
Andrew Jackson $20 “Take time to deliberate; but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in.”
As agents, it’s our duty to provide our clients with quotes and product information. It’s important to take the time to answer your clients’ questions and educate them on all of their options. But after they’ve had time to think, make sure you’re ready to get the ball rolling. Before your second meeting, prepare yourself with applications, supplemental questionnaires and more product information. Your clients will make the first step if you’re confidently pointing them in the right direction.
Ulysses. S. Grant $50 “My failures have been errors in judgment, not of intent.”
We all make mistakes. If you lose a sale, figure out what you did wrong, learn from it, and move on.
Benjamin Franklin $100 (Though never a president, we can’t forget that it’s all about the Benjamins) “Life’s Tragedy is that we get old to soon and wise too late.”
Whether it’s disability insurance, long-term care insurance or even critical illness insurance, your client’s rates and policy provisions will always be better if obtained while your client is younger and healthier. Don’t let too much time go by before you cross-sell another product.
A penny for your thoughts?
Do you have any words of wisdom from the faces that grace our change? Write your thoughts in the comments below. We’ll add the best ideas to our next blog, and credit you with your name and website!
- Abraham Lincoln, penny
- Thomas Jefferson, nickel
- Franklin D. Roosevelt, dime
- George Washington, quarter
- Sacagawea, Golden dollar
- Susan B. Anthony, dollar
