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June 01, 2012 at 08:00 PM
Our Annual 100 Best List is 100 percent reader-generated and offers insight into what’s working for working advisors today. Whether you’re looking for insight on referrals, generating leads or simply listening to your clients, this latest list has all the information you’ll need to grow your practice. In addition, this year will feature additional information and exclusive video content at LifeHealthPro.com/100SalesIdeas. There, you can get additional tips and valuable information to help you succeed. Enjoy!
1. Seniors. When working with seniors, speak slower than normal. Writing letters? Use 14-point type, and keep it simple and short. Don’t think that you can pull the wool over their eyes, and never talk down to them. Donald W. Schulz
2. The Language of Silence. With seniors sometimes the best marketing material is the language of silence. Learn to not talk, especially the talk of interruption. If you listen long enough they will tell you all you need and want to know. Jerry Manning
3. Work Ethic. My best sales and marketing idea is based on work ethic. My day does not end until I have given a life insurance presentation to at least five people. David Trusler
4. Mitigate the Risk. First, help your prospect fund the LTCI premium: What accounts can be used to provide 3 percent to 6 percent of their retirement income to pay the premium without invading their monthly budget? Explaining that 25 years of investment won’t even cover one year of care in the future should convince them to mitigate the risk by transferring the catastrophic portion to a third party. Mike Westling
5. Annuities. Show them where the market has gone in 2000 and 2008 and where they would be if they were in a fixed index annuity. Jim Cadle
6. Find the Underinsured. I ask my prospect (client) how much life insurance do you have? If he answers $1 million (for example), I would ask why did you buy it? If he answers income protection, I would ask how did you get to $1 million? That takes me always to a pitch that he is under-insured. David Simkowitz
7. Follow Up! Sometimes the client is not always ready to buy or it is not the right time. What I have found is that less successful agents that did not get the sale the first visit do not follow up, and there is low-hanging fruit with a follow up call and/or visit even two, three or six months later. Kevin Cornell
8. Social Media. Don’t pitch your wares! People want to do business with people they like and trust. Connect with friends, colleagues and people you’ve done business with. Set up the app “Job Change Notifier” (www.jobchangenotifier.com). The app sends you an email whenever your connections change their employer. Great for those working with 401(k) rollovers or simply a great way to congratulate them and keep your network engaged. Todd Greider
9. Workshops. We contact local churches and go speak to the retired groups that meet for lunch once a month. We do educational workshops to educate retirees of the challenges ahead, give solutions to solve the issues and educate about other areas of financial planning and estate planning. They always feed us lunch; most bring a dish to share so there’s lots of good home-cooked food for all—and many times clients contact us afterward to set up an appointment. Mark Romine
10. Direct mailer for annual reviews and referrals, referrals, referrals. Paul Helland
11. Outside the Box. I had a client that was going to add funds to a non-qualified annuity that was earning about 3 percent. She had no intention of using this money and ultimately would pass it on to her daughter. I explained to her how we could use life insurance to create a tax-free death benefit that would go to her daughter upon her death. We took $50,000 and created in excess of $88,000 of death benefit overnight. My client never thought she could get life insurance at age 84. We have to think outside the box and ask questions in order to provide the best service for clients. Eric Van Shore
12. A Family Thing. Treat every client as if they were your mother, father, aunt, uncle, grandmother and grandfather. Ronald C. Todd II
13. Something Shiny and New. Always be looking for something new to offer your client—like a new product or strategy. If you don’t have anything new to show them, there’s no reason for them to see you. They’ll be seeing someone else instead. Steve Brock
14. Walking and Talking. The old style of prospecting that is walking and talking, handing out business cards, asking for referrals. It is an excellent social event with great results! John T. Corbin
15. I Am One of You. My best sales idea is passing my 65th birthday. I am in the same boat as my clients and prospects. They know that my years of experience will benefit them. Jim Johnson
16. Social Security Planning. As opposed to calling a list of pre-65 prospects to sell Medicare Supplements, which everyone is doing, call a list of pre-62 prospects to offer services on Social Security planning. Help them determine when they should start receiving benefits. Roger Fishel
17. The Medicare market. I send a follow up letter to all of my clients quarterly thanking them for their business and also reminding them that if they know of anyone who needs help sorting through all of the Medicare choices available that I am willing to help. S. Kangas
18. The 19th Hole. Being in Florida, we invite our top clients and their friends who play golf or tennis to come out for a free lesson. We get to know their friends and they get to know us. It’s been very successful. No selling, just networking and having fun. Gene Herscher
19. Bailout for Boomers. Several guaranteed UL (GUL) permanent insurance policies offer a “bailout” option in the form of a contractually guaranteed return of premium after 15 or 20 years. Boomer clients often see the value of permanent coverage but are hesitant to sock away premium dollars in case they ever change their mind. This rider can make or break a deal for a prospect that is on the fence. J.T. Bell
20. Watch the Wife. During an appointment you always want to talk to both spouses. Most of the time you will get the buy sign from the wife. Joseph P Howard
21. The Trusted Adviser. Become a source for useful information. Become the kind of person who cares more about the well-being of the client than you do the monetary compensation. D. Marshall
22. Selling LTCI Insurance to Affluent Clients. It’s not about money with these clients, it’s about health-care planning. That’s what the personal care advocate in these policies does—he or she can assist in finding the right care, negotiating discounts on the client’s behalf and periodically ensuring the plan of care is being met. Steve Cain
23. Send Out Cards. After I meet a prospect, whether I make a sale or not, I send them a personalized card either thanking them for their valuable time, or I send them a “welcome to the family” type of card if they become a client at the first meeting. I then send them at least four cards a year. I retain 99.9 percent of my clients, and I get a ton of work off referrals. Marc A. Figlar
24. Be an Advocate! Partner with the Business Alliance for Seniors or the American Alliance of Elder Advocates. Steve Lanning
25. Keep It Simple. Just ask. Ask the question and listen to the response and offer to help. Arlo Clemens
26. Continuing Education. Earn a Chartered Advisor for Senior Living (CASL) designation. Eric B. Gordon
27. Campus Call. Go to your nearest university and inquire if they have a Senior Academy or other Senior Club or group that meets on the campus. Offer to do an educational seminar designed to address their financial concerns. James Howarth
28. Take the Time to Get to Know Each Client. Do not be presumptuous, or use a cookie-cutter approach. Just because a person has reached a certain age does mean that they are old, or that what’s important to them is the same as what society says it should be for a person of that age. Robert Collins
29. Couple Care. When one of a couple is likely to be declined for LTCI, I address the unhealthy one first. I explain how a medically underwritten immediate annuity can provide lifetime income much less expensively when life expectancy is less than “average.” The healthy one then easily agrees to buy LTCI, leaving the nest egg for the unhealthy one to use. Romeo Raabe
30. Talk Radio. I have a 30-minute radio call-in show once each week and run three or four 30-second ads daily Monday through Friday. My sales have doubled (and then some!) in the three years that I have been on the air. Dee Carter
31. Love Thy Senior. I tell all my senior clients to pick a plan that will take them through their golden years. As they get older the medical expense will rise and they need a plan that will take care of those expenses so they won’t have to worry they do not have the appropriate coverage. I love my seniors and I want to protect them. Laurie Lacey
32. Triple P. Prospect where you pay, where you play, and where you pray. Lloyd Lofton
33. Send Internet Auto Responders. Send them to your website, keeping your prospects and clients connected and up to date through a company newsletter. Freddie Natal Jr.
34. Centers of Influence. I get referrals from COIs (Centers of Influence). I try to identify those people in my community that have a lot of influence on my boomer target market. I build a relationship with those people. Paula Q. Wallace
35. The Golden Rule. Take excellent care to service your clients because you never know who they will refer to you. Believe that what goes around comes around. Glenn Miller
36. Free Prize. Invite clients to bring friends to a fun function such as an outing at a driving range or putting contest at a local golf club. Offer a free prize or two, such as gift cards or iPod shuffle. Make a short informative presentation on principal protection and income-tax-advantaged products and you’re sure to make a few new friends and clients. Michael Ham
37. Consistent and Diversified Marketing. Make sure you are tapping into multiple types of media to attract prospects. Mike Gattorna
38. The Old-Fashioned Way. My best sales idea is to conduct my appointments the old-fashioned way. No computers, no cell phones—just paperwork and personal interaction. Keith Hanson
39. Attract Traffic and New Leads. We use the following advertising methods to generate interest: radio, events/seminars, word of mouth, sponsorships of local organizations (local softball teams, bowling teams, charity events), direct mail, email, referrals, print advertising, webinars, etc. to capture leads. Janette Gleason
40. The More the Merrier. When presenting to seniors, I always ask that another member of the family be there. Carson Ervin
41. The Senior Pact. As a senior I tell my clients what I have is the best plan I can find. Then I compare plans if necessary. Bruce Judd
42. Profit with Non-Profits. I do many not-for-profit meetings, helping seniors with their drug costs. I offer this service for free and find assistance programs and co-pay cards. Christina Finkle
43. Listen. God gave you one mouth and two ears. Let that dictate how much you use both. Differentiate yourself: Why should someone buy from you? What makes you different from everyone else? John Shields
44. Medicare 101. Our office provides a series of Medicare 101 “mini” seminars that strictly focus on mechanics of who, what, when and where with regards to Medicare. Frank Guerrettaz
45. Proper Planning. Start working the planning market for the boomers with college-age children and grandchildren. Once you show them how proper planning can guarantee the bestcollege experience at the best cost for their family, the financial products we sell are perfectly designed to execute the plans. Gregory Durette
46. Work Orphans if Available to You. Most agents get them, but don’t work them effectively. Work them as you would any other lead, but with a head start. Gerald Shavers
47. Don’t Give Up on a Client. Harvest your existing client base. If you were able to help them out, then it’s quite likely that your existing clients know of others who could use your services! Ron L. Stahl
48. Facebook. Once you have a Facebook page, if you don’t have an adequate amount of “friends” your posts won’t be seen by many potential clients. I began posting and liking other pages and adding friends on a daily basis starting in 2012. I’ve accumulated 300 friends. Jane Rowley-Bowen
49. The Death Plan? Ask the clients that you are working with, “Have you made any death plans?” When you get the dubious glance, explain, “Many of my clients will have plans in place for when they are living, but very few discuss what the other spouse will do at the time of death.” This opens up opportunities for life insurance as well as annuity sales. Wendy Swanson
50. When I’m 65. When prospects turn 65, I use this as a way to discuss Medicare Supplements and final expense life insurance. John E. White
51. Each Client is Unique. And so their plan should reflect their goals and objectives. Tim Fitzgerald
