100 Best Sales & Marketing Ideas: Tips 20-11

15. Keep it simple and brief.

Clients and prospects are intelligent people, but want to fully understand what they are looking to purchase. Keeping it brief does not mean a quick, simplistic, rush-you-out-the-door overview. I ask for a predetermined commitment on my clients’ part to set a series of three meetings lasting no more than an hour. I know there will always be the quick-close, careless advisors. It bothers me because it hurts our reputation as professionals — but I am the person those advisors ultimately lose their clients to when they feel neglected.  —Jim Asteriou

14. Hold web meetings.

As more and more people become comfortable with Skype and other web conferencing options, make better use of your time by meeting via the web. This also allows prospects to “meet” with you from the comfort of their home or office.

—James Marquet

13. A complete review.

We take people through a process to help them determine the best age to begin taking their Social Security benefits. We need to understand their financial goals, objectives, current employment status, marital status, current and previous health history, family longevity and that of their spouse, if applicable. If all indicators direct that delaying the receipt of social security is to their benefit, we help them build an “income bridge” to allow maximization of their benefits. This entails a complete review and analysis of their current assets. We study unique Social Security claiming strategies that may apply to the case at hand and try to defuse much of the poorly thought-out, one-size-fits-all planning advice they may have received elsewhere. Interestingly, if we only focused on married couples age 50-70 there are no two couples with the exact fact pattern, and this is where creativity becomes so important.

—Richard C. Murphy

12. The life preserver.

 This helps explain the emotional and financial benefits of LTCI 1. Practice drawing a simple life preserver (or copy a jpg of a line drawing and print one) on a piece of paper. A. Talk about how entering retirement causes most people to fall back on their assets for support, like their cash savings, their home, their pension and their qualified money. Write the word ASSETS on the top part of the page and list out the items mentioned here. B. Write the word CHOICES on the left and ask what this means to the prospect. Prompt them gently about choices such as where they would like to receive care (home or facility), who will provide it (informal, family or professional), and the quality of that care. C. On the right side of the drawing, write the word DIGNITY, and ask them what it means to them to preserve their dignity. To some it means that LTC preserved the legacy they wanted to leave for education of their grandchildren, to others it will be as simple as not having to be bathed or dressed by family members. D. Write LTC in big block letters at the bottom of the drawing, and ask them how LTC would work best in their case to be a life preserver for the assets, choices and dignity. People sell themselves with this concept.

—Robert McClain

11. The connector.

Become a trusted advisor and source for useful information. Become the kind of person who cares more about the well-being of the client than the monetary compensation. My success in the industry was built upon clients knowing that I was there to help. If I could not assist them, then they knew I would put them in contact with someone who could.

—D. Marshall

For more sales & marketing tips, see LifeHealthPro’s 100 Best Sales & Marketing Ideas Ever.