April 21, 2002 at 08:00 PM
If youre selling long-term-care insurance, you must know how to market and sell it to women.
Among older couples, the man usually makes the decisions on investments. But when it comes to LTCI, the woman is usually the decision-maker.
Men more often have the “It cant happen to me” attitude. They tend to think–until you can break through their denial–that theyll live to 90 and die peacefully in their sleep.
Women are more realistic. They know they live longer than men and are more likely to go into a nursing home. Most realize its probable that they or their husband will some day need long-term care.
Married women are concerned about long-term care for both themselves and their husbands, who are often older. They know theyll probably outlive their husbands, who wont be around to take care of them. (Surprisingly, the average age of widowhood is 56.) And they know that theyll have to take care of their husband when his health declines.
Single women want to be sure theyll be taken care of. And they dont want to become a burden on their family.
Women are more motivated to buy LTCI, and wives are more often the one to force a decision.
Finding Women Prospects
While I recommend direct mail to my coaching clients as the number-one way to create a continuous stream of qualified prospects, I do not recommend mailing only to women. Your list will have fewer prospects and may not be as updated.
Instead of using gender as a filter when you order a mailing list, select by age, income and zip code. Youll get plenty of promising prospects–women, men and couples–this way.
Once you have a good list, youll need a first-rate lead piece–one that, with practice and repetition, can pull up to a 4% response rate. The copy and artwork must be appealing to overcome the first big barrier: enticing recipients to open it and look inside.
In many households, the wife goes through the mail and decides which items to open and which to toss. But your direct-mail package must appeal to both men and women equally because sometimes its the man who sorts the mail.
Networking, including public speaking, is the other effective way to get LTCI prospects, and it works especially well with women. Men make referrals for investments but rarely for insurance. When you have a happy woman client, shell gladly tell other women about you. You cant have a more effective sales force than your own clients!
Speaking before a group is like networking on steroids. Instead of meeting one potential prospect at a time, you get in front of 10 to 30 at once.
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