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We're all familiar with the formula for success in a new year.
We've heard the same words every year. They go something like this: Make more calls, talk to more prospects, prepare better proposals, and work harder than ever.
While every advisor can benefit from such advice, it may not be enough. Even though advisors may know how to sell life products, they can be more successful if they ask themselves five questions.
Here they are:
1. "Do my prospects know how much life insurance has changed?"
What are my prospects thinking when I talk to them about life insurance? Some are bored, confused, and want to get it over with, while others say they have enough now, or feel they'll be pressured into buying a policy. For the most part, they know little or nothing at all about it, other than you must die to use it.
(Related: How to Make Term Life Insurance Do More)
With rare exceptions, it's an uphill battle.
Yet, as advisors know, everything (not just some things) about life insurance has changed in the last 10 years—and it continues to pick up speed. All of it driven by a combination of three factors: technology, underwriting, and sales support. Taken together, their impact is immense. Here are a few of the far-reaching implications that prospects deserve to know about:
- It's easier to do business. It seems as if the big hurdles are all knocked down. No more piles of apps left sitting on someone's desk; no more delays caused by going back and forth; and no more long and tedious application forms.
- Underwriting can be close to instantaneous. Thanks to the harnessing of an insurance carrier's vast amount of data and the use of algorithms, decisions and offers can be available at the press of a button, including even difficult cases. With insurance companies becoming more comfortable with the technology, its use will continue to broaden.
- Outcomes are more favorable. Some people stay away from the doctor, fearing that a medical problem will be found. They have the same worry about applying for life insurance. With immense medical and technology advances, just the opposite is true. What was once a decline may now be preferred.
The best opportunities for sales come from educating prospects as to the advances that make life insurance a far more favorable investment.
2. "What should I do when prospects say they have life insurance?"
It's unfortunate, but rarely does anyone take the time to help people understand the life insurance they own. Some are confused as to their coverage, while others are surprised because they don't have the coverage they think they do.
This is the perfect opportunity to establish yourself as their advisor, the one who serves their best interests, by conducting a no obligation policy review. You know what you may find: one or more old policies that are under-performing, no longer needed, that aren't cost-effective, or don't fit the policyholder's current financial goals and lifestyle goals.
Kenneth A. Shapiro is the president of First American Insurance Underwriters Inc., a Needham, Mass.-based national life brokerage firm specializing in serving high-end producers and working on complex cases. He may be contacted at 
