What You Must Know About Selling Life Insurance!

As you are reading the following information, you might want to think about the exceptional opportunities you have to be helping people today, while earning an extraordinary living in this great insurance profession.  The opportunity for the "average" life insurance agent to earn in excess of $250,000 per year is incredible.  However, without the correct mindset and the proper approach to selling life insurance, most agents will continue to struggle with incomes that will fall far short of their potential.

The Opportunity... U.S. Families Are Drastically Underinsured!

Life Insurance Marketing Research Association

''Facts About Life 2007''

Many U.S. couples are underinsured:  The average amount of life insurance coverage on insured husbands is $235,600 and insured wives average $147,800 of life insurance.  Insured husbands in the U.S. carry enough life insurance to replace their income for 4.2 years, and wives for 4.9 years.  The typical married couple would need to double its current coverage to meet the expert recommendation of having enough life insurance to replace income for 7 to 10 years.

''Facts About Life 2008''

Many U.S. Households Continue to be Underinsured.

• One third of adults (33%) in the United States carry no life insurance at all.

• More than 1 in 4 men (25%) have no life insurance coverage at all and almost two thirds (66%) of men  age 18 to 24 have no life insurance.

• Overall, women are more likely to own life insurance today (2008) than they were in 1998, but almost 1 in 3 women (33%) have no life insurance coverage at all and about half of women (50%) age 18 to 24 have no life insurance.

• Today, insured adults are more likely to have only group life insurance obtained through the workplace. Adults with only group coverage carry the lowest amounts of life insurance.

Boomers Heading Towards Retirement.

• There are approximately 77.8 million baby boomers (1946–1964) aged 44 to 62 years old.

• On average, three-quarters of baby boomers own some sort of life insurance - half owning individual life insurance policies and the rest having group policies.

• While an average of 78.5 percent of men in this generation have life insurance, less than 70% of women have any life insurance.

• Baby boomers primarily rely on face-to-face interaction for their financial planning.

Generations X and Y Planning for the Future.

• Combined, Generations X (1965–1980) and Y (1981–1995) represent more than 126 million Americans.

• 41 percent of Generation X own individual life insurance, while only 22 percent of adult Generation Y have individual life insurance policies.

• Equal numbers of Generation X and Y men and women have some form of life insurance coverage - about 7 in 10.

• Parents are key purchasers of term life insurance, which represents 45 percent of all policies sold.  The availability of low-cost level-premium term insurance appears to be attractive to single parents and young families, who typically have less discretionary income.

American Council for Life Insurance

The size of newly purchased individual life policies grew in 2007.  The average, new individual life policy increased 12 percent since 2005 to $175,514.  The number of individual policies purchased, however, fell 1 percent in 2007.

Moody's Review

A male reaching age 65 has a 50% chance of making age 85 and a 25% chance in living beyond age 92.  Women live 2-3 years longer than men.  For a couple reaching age 65, either the husband or wife has a 50% chance of living beyond age 92 and a 25% chance of living beyond... E. F. Moody

The Problem...  Poorly Trained Agents!

In an era when many financial services companies are trying to grow their top sales lines, you might wonder:  Why are so many U.S. households (48 million) saying they "don’t have enough life insurance?"  Many of these consumers have good intentions and plan to rectify the situation - 29 million households say they are likely to buy life insurance in the next 12 months.  But will they?
 

History tells us most of them will not actively seek out life insurance coverage.  Only 12 percent of all U.S. households actually buy life insurance in any given year, far fewer than the 27 percent of U.S. households that say they expect to purchase in the next 12 months. 

What can you do to turn these potential buyers into your customers?

Today, far too many life insurance agents earn only a small fraction of the income they are capable of.  According to the American Council for Life Insurance, for every 1,000 agents recruited, only 14% survive the first four years.  Surviving agents only produce an average of $45,000 of earnings in their fourth contract year.

A 2003 "report card" published by LIMRA International indicates that life insurance agents must call an average of 15 prospects, to make 6 presentations, to close one sale.

Is it any wonder that we have an 86% agent four year failure rate, when one sale out of 15 prospects equates to a 93 percent failure rate, a figure that frustrates and discourages most agents from continuing in this business.

LIMRA’s 15-6-1 ratio speaks volumes about the poor marketing and sales training agents are receiving from the life insurance companies, marketing organizations and the entire industry.

Let's face it, if as LIMRA states over half (50%) of the 203.8 million Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y in the U.S. either have no life insurance or are drastically underinsured... and 48 million U.S. households actually recognize they "don’t have enough life insurance!"... and agents are calling on 15 prospects just to make one sale...  Then it's clear that the vast majority of the marketing and sales training being provided by our industry isn't working! 

What's missing?  Why are 95% of the agents in our industry struggling just to make a mediocre living?

The Solution... People Don't Want To Be Sold!  People Want To Buy!

Unfortunately, most of the training being offered today revolves around promoting the revolutionary newest products, the lowest prices, the highest investment returns, the latest hot sales ideas and making the quickest sale.  Very little of the training is about actually helping people to identify and fix their current financial problems.

Is it any wonder that your prospects run the other way when you tell them you are an insurance agent, financial advisor or financial planner, if all you are trying to do is get them to spend more money and make a quick sale?

When was the last time you asked probing questions, got your prospect talking about their problems and aspirations... and you actually listened to what they were telling you?

When was the last time you did a complete review of your prospect's situation, helped them to recognize and establish their financial priorities and then helped them to find the money to fund a solution that was right for them?

People don't want to be sold!  They don't want to be told what to buy!  They want your help and guidance in determining what's the best solution for their unique situation!

If you want to earn the income you are truly capable of... $250,000 or more per year... then learn how to ask more and better questions to get your prospects to talk about their problems and dreams!  Start actually helping people to solve their financial problems and help them to make their dreams come true!  Become the advisor people want to see!

Yours In Success,
Lew & Jeremy Nason
'The 9 Out Of 10 Guys'

Message to Financial Advisors…

What have you done in the last sixty days to increase your sales?  Is there any question that during the next year, you're going to spend thousands of dollars in time, money and effort bringing in new clients to your business?  Then wouldn't it make sense to do it the most cost effective, money-making way?  Why not learn the marketing, prospecting, appointment setting and sales strategies that most of the leading agents, advisors and planners on the planet use?  Jeremy and Lew Nason