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May 26, 2016 at 08:41 AM
This is a dangerous and uncertain time for the global economy. Our industry — insurance agents and financial advisors in particular — will play a pivotal role in the financial and retirement well-being of the American people now and in the future.
This is because you can solve financial problems political leaders of our country cannot. You can ensure prospects and clients don’t have to rely on government benefits to enjoy a quality retirement. You can also ensure they don’t need to worry about changes to their Social Security, Medicare or pension. You can give them the financial independence they need.
Not only do you provide the tools for your clients to succeed financially, but you also provide something more valuable: peace of mind. You are the only people who can do that; attorneys, accountants, bankers and trust officers cannot.
See also: The power of asking the right questions (21 of them)
That is partly because your prospects and clients probably do not share their hopes, dreams and fears with their attorney, accountant, banker or trust officer. But if you ask your prospects and clients the right questions, they will share them with you.
With the right questions, you can open discussions about family, income, college education, business transfer, retirement, disability, critical illness, longevity, nursing homes and more. In fact, in many cases, your prospects and clients have never really thought about the answers to these questions before because no one has ever asked them. As a result, many prospects and clients do not even realize all the challenges they face.
Your contributions are so valuable because you are the only people who can help Americans make the necessary transitions that will be required to survive and thrive in the 21st century. You are the only people who can spur them to take action.
This is the greatest time ever to be an insurance and financial professional because we play a vital role in the financial success of the American people. If you do not do what you do to the best of your ability, many Americans will see their financial and retirement dreams ripped away from them in the next economic downturn. That downturn will be one of the most serious economic disasters in the history of our country.
This is where many agents and advisors miss the point. They ask, “If everything is going to be so bad, why should our clients do anything?” They forget there is no good news or bad news; there is only news.
