How to Move Your Life Insurance Prospects Past Procrastination

Price is what you pay; value is what you get. More than one sage has dispensed this wisdom. And why is that? Because people buy goods and services for many reasons, but at the end of the day, when they part with their hard-earned money, they want to feel as if they were treated fairly in the transaction. They want to feel as if they received something of value for their purchase.

Life insurance may be one of the most valuable assets a person can own. Still, most Americans are grossly underinsured — or, sadly, not insured at all. In addition to the age-old challenge of your basic, run-of-the-mill procrastinator, we all have clients who have been affected by the economy. Some are out of work and have substantially fewer assets. With proper empathy to their current, albeit temporary, situation, it should be noted that life insurance coverage does come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and with varying price tags.

So if you have a qualified prospect for life insurance but they’re just not moving past the consideration stage, how can you help them see the value in the product and dispel their excuses for not buying right now?

Creating motivation out of situation
Why do people buy life insurance? If we look at two of the main markets for life insurance — individuals and business owners — both have unique needs to fulfill. The question is, how great is that need? How deep does their motivation run? Is the fear of loss (value of insurance) greater than the price of coverage? If the answer is no, then price outweighs value for these prospects. That can pose an interesting conundrum. In every survey, study, and story that you read or hear about today’s investors, the fear of loss on investments is far greater than any gain they may see.

So what do you do when this is the case? You may want to uncover potential issues caused by a prospect’s death, helping the prospect understand how a lack of proper life insurance can add much stress to the lives of those they leave behind.

We recently met a dentist (we’ll call him “Joe”) who, as a business owner, did not have any buy-sell, key-man, or other non-negotiable coverage. Joe has three junior-partner dentists, two hygienists, and four staff members. He co-owns the practice with his wife, who is not a dentist. I asked him, “What would happen if you were hit by a bus on the way home tonight?” He answered, “My wife would own the practice.”