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Training: Module Iii-C
  TRAINING: MODULE III-C   INTRODUCTION The following section covers both producer and CSR training. By going through this section, you will be able to take an inexperienced producer or CSR and turn him or her into a capable Life department staff member. It is very important that you have every newly hired Life employee read this section, no matter what his or her experience level. This section gives the new employee a good overview of what is expected of the position. THE SEVEN ACTION STEPS TO THE SALE We have developed a sales procedure for you to use that comprises the entire 'Sales and Marketing' section of this Guide. This process is used to turn a prospect into a satisfied client and requires seven totally independent action steps, performed step by step. Both producers and CSRs will need to know what these steps are and how to perform those expected of them. The seven action steps are: Action Step 1: Prospecting building a reservoir of prospects Action Step 2: Pre-Approach sending letters to prospects to prepare them for appointment setting Action Step 3: Setting the Appointment making contact to sell the agency's concept and set the time and date of the initial appointment Action Step 4: Qualifying Interview face-to-face meeting where you probe to find out needs, desires, and buying motives, and where you conduct an extensive fact-find to gather necessary information Action Step 5: Presentation/Close the buying interview during which you present your insurance proposal and sell the prospect on the program Action Step 6: Policy Delivery/Client Building the process of turning the new customer into a loyal and long-time client, beginning with a personal delivery of the policy Action Step 7: Obtaining Referred Leads getting qualified leads from clients that you can feed back into your prospect reservoir to begin the process over again Action Step 7 generates referred lead introductions, which go into the prospecting (Action Step 1) reservoir, and the process starts over again. It is possible for a producer to handle all the action steps. It is also possible for a CSR, if properly licensed, to handle them all. However, from our research we have determined an effective mix for people, which we'd like to share. CSR Responsibilities The CSR can be responsible for handling the preapproach, getting the profile sheet completed (see the 'Lead Form' and 'Life Prospect Profile Sheet' at the end of this section), and setting the appointment. Action Step 3--Setting the Appointment, can generally be done over the phone by the CSR. In an ideal setting, the CSR would handle the preapproach by sending out customized copies of boilerplate letters, then would follow up by calling to set the appointment for the producer. Copies of pre-approach letters can be found in the 'Sales and Marketing' section, as can the language recommended for use when attempting to set an appointment. The CSR can also be responsible for part of Action Step 6-Client Building-by sending letters and/or making follow-up calls. Producer Responsibilities The producer should come in on Action Step 4-Qualifying Interview. Action Step 5 is handled during a second interview, although in certain dominant-need situations, Action Steps 4 and 5 can be handled effectively in one interview. (Such dominant-needs sales are discussed in more depth in the 'Sales and Marketing' section, but they are generally simple package plans, such as Mortgage Cancellation, Term conversions, pension maximization, and so on.) Action Steps 6 and 7 take place when the producer delivers the contract to the insured and asks for referrals. (Note that the producer can also ask for referrals-Action Step 7-as soon as he or she has secured the application for insurance.) The producer is responsible for what occurs at the interviews, writing the case, delivering the policy, and getting referrals. He or she is also partly responsible for the client-building process, making sure that regular contact with the client is maintained and that policy reviews are conducted. See the 'Sales and Marketing' section for complete information and language for these action steps. PRODUCER TRAINING In starting up your Life department, you may be hiring experienced Life insurance producers who do not require a lot of training. Or, you may be hiring people who don't know much about selling Life insurance. This section will allow you to train everyone-from the most experienced to the least. Even if the producer has been selling Life insurance for many years, it's a good idea to have him or her review this section as a refresher course. Background Years ago, people believed that salespeople were born, not made. However, research conducted by the Million Dollar Round Table, an organization of the most successful Life insurance salespeople in the world, shows that its members don't fit any pattern. In almost every case, a good salesperson is created through training and a willingness to do what's required to be successful. Life insurance selling is unique. Life insurance is the only way people can create an estate instantly and guarantee money for their family if they die prematurely. But people seldom buy Life insurance on their own initiative. Most people don't think about their death, old age, or disability. The Life insurance salesperson must help them recognize that death and old age are inevitable, and show them how to plan for it. Clearly this is not a simple task. The Life producer plays a vital role in marketing Life insurance. The Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association (LIMRA) conducted a survey to determine the value and use of Life insurance proceeds. After the study was done, LIMRA asked the 28 interviewers their opinion on what married couples should do to prepare for the possibility of premature death. All 28 agreed insurance was important, yet when asked if they had bought Life insurance as a result of what they learned in the study, only one said yes. This illustrates that people will buy Life insurance, but generally only when convinced by an agent to act immediately. The Basics The first step in training is licensing. If the person does not have a license, then he or she must prepare for and pass the state licensing exam. If the producer will be selling in several states, make sure licensing is adequate for all states in which the producer will be working. Other parts of the training process may be completed concurrently with the licensing process. Trainees must know the basic sales presentation, develop their own sales skills, and practice these presentations through role-playing with a supervisor until ready to enter the field. The trainee must learn: how to allocate time between sales calls and office procedures how to develop new markets how to use rate manuals and other basic tools of the insurance agency how to keep records how to use those records to improve effectiveness In addition to the above, the trainee must have a working knowledge of the products. Have the person study Life and Health manuals and any company materials available to thoroughly understand the important competitive advantages of the companies represented. The trainee should be able to translate this knowledge into benefits that the prospect will buy. Attitude is important. The trainee must believe in the concept of Life insurance before he or she can convince others to buy it. This confidence must be so strong as to be able to withstand even the most negative and skeptical attitudes. With this type of selling, the producer will encounter a lot of negatives. This means he or she must be equipped to handle any situation. A Life producer's success is directly proportionate to fact-finding and presentation interview skills. The producer must uncover the prospect's problems and present readily accepted solutions. A good sales presentation will help the producer take the prospect through a chain of ideas and thoughts that will impact the prospect's thinking and attitude toward Life insurance. Sales Activity System A sales activity system is designed to generate a pool of prospects and also systematically provide sales and service activity. For the most part, this system will be initiated by the CSR. Every month a list of names should be maintained that have been obtained through the normal prospecting activities of the agency. (See the 'Sales and Marketing' section under 'Action Step 1: Prospecting' for information on prospecting sources and methods.) This list is of those prospects to be called on this month. Referrals will be added later on, as the sales process begins. The objective is to have as many leads as necessary flow to the producer (see the information on the Rule of Fifty in the 'Marketing Plan' section to know how many leads your producer will need.) After these leads have been contacted and appointments have been set, the CSR should record the date either on a sheet or on a computerized diary slip. You'll read more about this under 'Supervision' in this 'Life Personnel' section. Cold Calls and Prospecting Producers have a number of fears, probably the greatest of which is cold-call reluctance. Some producers always have it, others overcome it to a certain degree. Whatever the case, you have the answer. Bring it to the producer's attention that this is not going to be a problem in your agency. You have the ability to generate qualified leads on a consistent basis. However, even with qualified leads, the Life producer is not guaranteed success. To maximize potential, have producers try the following: Never stop studying. Selling insurance is similar to practicing law or medicine in that it's a constantly changing field. In order to keep current, producers need to study constantly. This knowledge improves confidence and helps overcome call reluctance. Know the prospect. The producer becomes prepared by getting all the facts and learning as much as possible about the prospect. By doing this before the interview, producers can help overcome call reluctance. Find a comfortable style. Have producers develop their own style in working with prospects. Also, preparing an outline for the presentation makes the call easier. Producers can use the selling processes found in the 'Sales and Marketing' section. It was created and field tested to give producers a track on which to run. Warm up the prospect ahead of time. Entering a sales situation without rapport is very hard. If the producer has never met the prospect before, have him or her start off the interview by exchanging pleasantries and thanking the prospect for agreeing to meet. The producer should send the prospect a confirmation note before the appointment to show professionalism. Anything that can be done to show interest in the prospect will help the meeting. Look and sound good. The first impression is the most important. The producer should be on time, neat, and concise. Don't try a spur-of-the-moment presentation. Plan ahead. Have the producer put him or herself in the prospect's place. Empathy is helpful in dealing with prospects. Understand how the prospect feels and what he or she wants to do to solve financial responsibilities. Sincerely believe in the product being sold, and that feeling will come across to the prospect. In addition, when you're working with P/C leads, there will be a certain amount of recognition of the agency name. Build on the connection by having the CSR use agency letterhead on the preapproach letters (sample pre-approach letters are found in the 'Sales and Marketing' section). When practical, have a CSR or P/C producer introduce the Life producer to prospects. Lead Disposition It's essential that you train your Life producer to account for every lead received. The 'lead Disposition' form found under 'Supervision' in this 'Life Personnel' section lends itself to quick and easy tabulation. The lead originator may number each lead or use the origination date together with the client's initial. Note that since it's easy for the Life producer to check the appropriate date for each lead while the activity is current, keeping track of lead disposition only takes a few seconds for each lead. The form was created for a two-call sales presentation, but it can be used for a one-call (dominant-needs) sale. More information about the functions and uses of this form can be found under 'Supervision.' Producer Training Summary To complete producers' training, have them read through the 'Sales and Marketing' section. In addition, they should read through the individual 'Sales Campaigns' for more information on specific products. To further enhance producers' training, spend some time role-playing sales situations with them. Start off with a simple sale, such as a Term conversion, and gradually build up to needs selling and the two-call approach we've suggested in this 'Training' section, and which we've outlined in the 'Sales and Marketing' section. CSR TRAINING Your CSRs will play a vital role in your Life operation, whether or not they are in a separate Life department. The CSR will probably be the first person to contact Life prospects (especially among your client base) and will be responsible for servicing their business. Depending on your situation, you may wish to use your CSRs to produce Life business. Make sure they are licensed before letting them sell. The following are some responsibilities you may set for your CSRs: Generating Leads: You should set the Rule of Fifty (50 qualified Life leads in the first week and 25 qualified leads a week after that for each Life producer-see your 'Marketing Plan' section for more information) as your standard. For more information on where to obtain these leads, see the information on lead generation under 'Action Step 1: Prospecting' in the 'Sales and Marketing' section of this Agent's Guide. Making Appointments: We suggest that you use the materials under 'Action Step 2: Pre-Approach' and 'Action Step 3: Setting the Appointment' in your 'Sales and Marketing' section to train CSRs. Learning the Products: General information on a variety of basic Life products can be found at the beginning of each 'Sales Campaign' in this Agent's Guide. This knowledge will help the CSR in obtaining appointments-and in selling, if he or she is acting as a producer. Of course, CSRs should also be familiar with your Life carrier's products. Make literature available for them. Making the Sale: If CSRs will actually be selling, they can learn the techniques necessary by reviewing materials in your 'Sales and Marketing' section. We recommend that CSRs make only the more simple types of dominant needs sales, such as Term conversions. A combination of sales skills and product knowledge will help the CSR sell. For example, with knowledge of your agency's policies and the knowledge of proper language to use, the CSR can conduct a Term conversion sale to an existing policyholder in the office. Starting with this product allows CSRs to approach someone they already know. Show them how to 'sell the appointment' by stressing the benefit to the policyholder of long-term savings on his or her Life insurance program. Begin by making the first few sales yourself (or having your Life producer make them) in the CSRs' presence. Gradually get them more involved in the sale until they have built up their skill and confidence level. If you want CSRs to make more complicated sales, it may be necessary for them to observe sales calls and expand their repertoire to more advanced products, such as Universal Life, Interest-Sensitive Whole Life, Disability Income, and Group insurance. Obtaining Referred Leads: The CSR/producer can be trained to get referrals using the material under 'Action Step 7: Obtaining Referred Leads' in the 'Sales and Marketing' section. More information on training CSRs on some of these functions follows. Service Service is making sure clients are properly protected. This is as much a job for CSRs as for producers. If you have a P/C CSR handle your Life business, he or she will need training in Life insurance products, fact-finding interviews, and what the needs of Life clients are. You should have the CSR review the 'Producer Training' section, in addition to this section, for a complete Life insurance picture. Also, if you secure general agent contracts, most companies will train your clerical and support people in handling computer illustrations, applications processing, procedures, and so on. Sales The CSR is generally in contact with the policyholder several times a year and knows that client better than anyone in the agency. CSRs develop good working relationships with their clients, which makes CSRs ideal for selling some types of Life insurance. Make sure the CSR sees a sale made from beginning to end. The CSR should join the producer on calls both in the field and in the office. It's a good idea to start the CSR off with a simple sale-Term insurance-and then move up to the more complicated products, such as Single-Premium Whole Life and Group sales. If the CSRs are selling, they will require much of the same monitoring and motivating as producers. (See the 'Supervision' and 'Motivation' sections that follow.) Prospecting CSRs should be responsible for a certain amount of prospecting within the Life department. Calls should be turned into a total account selling situation. The objective is to get the client to come into the agency to review the P/C coverage that is not written by your agency. The CSR can then make a transition into the completion of a Life insurance profile sheet (you can use the 'Life Prospect Profile Sheet' at the end of this section). Before the interview, have the CSR review the client's file. Have the CSR look for: Special notations regarding the client and his or her coverages: See if other lines of coverage were proposed and what happened. Complete information on the client: If there's information missing, fill in the blanks before the interview. Coverages with the agency that were cancelled. During the interview, the CSR needs to do four things: Attempt to sell the P/C product the client is coming in to discuss. Fill in any missing pieces in the information base. Explain to the policyholder that your agency also offers Life and Health insurance. You would like the opportunity to quote on it. At that time, the CSR should complete a fact-find or at least a profile sheet with the client. If time runs short, make another appointment to complete the fact-find. The CSR can also inquire about a policyholder's Life insurance needs after some service has been performed. After the service has been completed, the CSR should say: 'By the way, [PROSPECT NAME], I noticed we don't write your Life or Health insurance. We have excellent products that I think would appeal to you.' To get the appointment, the CSR could say: 'We have been able to show many of our clients how to better organize their insurance and financial affairs by having all of their policies with one agency. When would be a convenient time for you to stop by our agency so that we may review these coverages? Are mornings or afternoons better for you?' Term Conversions Term insurance conversions are the simplest sale a CSR can make. Industry statistics say only 1% of Term insurance policies result in a death claim. The other 99% are either dropped or converted to permanent Life insurance. The CSR's objective is to convert the Term insurance to a permanent Life policy. In order to do this, CSRs must be licensed, trained in the basics of Term and permanent Life insurance. Hand-held computers help CSRs in making conversions. These can be purchased at a discount by many companies with which you will write Life insurance. You should create several hypothetical cases for Term insurance and, using the instruction manual accompanying the computer, work with the CSR on inputting the data and producing the printout. Have the CSR produce both level Term and reducing Term illustrations on the computer. Also, make sure the CSR understands the inputting and generation of the printout before you continue. Have the CSR focus on the computer's ability to generate many different types of proposals for these types of policies. Now work with the CSR on inputting data and producing printouts for basic Whole Life and Universal Life proposals. In the next phase, use the various options available with Universal and ordinary Life policies. You may create such hypothetical situations as: initial lump-sum deposits, varying deposits throughout the policy year, use of dividend options, and so on. By going slowly and moving from easiest to hardest, the CSR should be able to follow the training. The last phase of training on the hand-held computer should be in the field. Personal Lines Many times, situations that a CSR encounters in dealing with Personal Lines clients will lead to a Life sale. Here are some examples: Auto Change: A client calls to add a second auto to his or her policy, or to report a change of auto. The CSR would check the appropriate box on the lead form (see the 'Life Prospect Profile Sheet' at the end of this section), then say: 'While we're making this change, there are several other items we ought to check for you. Our specialist, [PRODUCER NAME], will be happy to review all policies not written through the agency here, including Medical and Life insurance, to make sure there aren't any coverage gaps or overlapping policies. Then we'd like to see how we can save you money on your insurance premiums. No obligation, of course. Would that be all right with you?' Th

Sales & Marketing: Module Iv
  SALES & MARKETING: MODULE IV   INTRODUCTION The material in this module gives you suggested step-by-step approaches to selling Life insurance, explaining in depth each of the seven 'Action Steps to the Sale' that were originally outlined in the 'Life Personnel' section of your Agent's Guide under 'Training.' Here's a quick overview of those steps: Prospecting Pre-Approach Setting the Appointment Qualifying Interview a. Establish trust, needs recognition, premium commitment b. Gain agreement to take a closer look c. Conduct comprehensive fact-find Presentation/Close Policy Delivery/Client Building Obtaining referred leads These steps all work together to form the sales process. At the end of this introduction, you'll find illustrations that show how these steps work together to put you on an 'Action Track' for selling. This 'Sales and Marketing' section goes into each of these steps in great detail, outlining how to accomplish each one and how they work together, and providing you with proven selling language to use at each step along the way. The steps can be used for selling both Personal and Business Life insurance. However, note that we have centered this discussion around the selling of Personal Life insurance. The different aspects of selling Business Life insurance can be found under 'The Business Life Sale' in this section. The material in this section was developed by Nordhaus Marketing in conjunction with Kinder Brothers & Associates, Life insurance managing and marketing consultants. The language and techniques presented here have all been field-tested by major multi-line carriers, and they work. Use this material to develop a Life insurance selling process within your agency-you can train yourself to sell Life or train a new Life producer to sell it the way you want it sold. PROCESSES APPLY TO ALL LIFE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES SALES The processes described in this section for each of the seven action steps will apply in general to just about any Life sale you are going to make, no matter whether you bring in a Life insurance salesperson, train your own people to sell, or opt for another choice in setting up your Life Department (these choices and their implications are outlined in the 'Life Operation Options' section of this Agent's Guide). In other words, the language and techniques we present are universal to the general Life/Health/Disability sale. However, if you have P/C producers and/or CSRs who are also going to sell Life, they will have to know how to make the transition from the P/C sale into the Life sale and its language. So, we have included, after our explanation of the seven action steps, a section on making the transition from the P/C sale. You'll notice that we have approached all this material by addressing 'you'-'you should say this,' or 'you should do that' to make an effective Life sale. The 'you' we are addressing is anyone who is going to be performing that actual step in the sales process. Your CSRs may be performing part of the steps by sending letters and making appointments; your P/C producers, as noted, may be selling some Life insurance; you, the agency principal, may be doing some selling; or you may have full-time Life producers making the entire sale. In any case, we are addressing whoever it is in your agency who will perform that part of the sales process. More information on distributing the responsibilities for Life insurance in your agency can be found in the 'Life Personnel' section of this Agent's Guide. TWO-CALL SALES PROCESS You'll also notice as you read through this 'Sales and Marketing' section that the emphasis is placed on making a two-call sale. The qualifying interview is your first call, where you qualify the prospect and gather necessary information. You then take that information back to the office to prepare for the second call-the presentation/close-where you actually make the sale and collect the premium. There is a specific reason for encouraging this two-call sales process. Our research and experience has shown that many P/C agents are reluctant to bring a Life insurance person into the agency. Why? Because P/C agents are often unfamiliar with the Life sales process and are afraid of turning over all their P/C accounts, which they worked so hard to obtain, service, and retain, to a Life person, who might just 'barrel through' them and lose the P/C business. The two-call process eliminates this fear by mandating that the Life insurance salesperson bring all the information gathered in the first interview back to the office for assessment and review. This enables the P/C agent to know what has been said and what's being done with his or her accounts. The two-call sales process will help foster the trust relationship that is so necessary to the success of a Life insurance department in a P/C agency. Of course, there will be times when a one-call sale is necessary or more cost effective-when the need is so dominant that it's obvious what should be sold. That's why we've included information in this 'Sales and Marketing' section on the dominant-needs sale, when it's appropriate, and how to go about making it. But until a trust relationship has been established between your Life and P/C departments, and until you, the P/C agent, feel comfortable with the Life insurance sales process, we encourage use of the two-sale concept. The seven Action Steps can be used and adopted for all types of Life insurance sales, from the simplest Term sale to the most complicated total financial planning sale. In the 'Sales Campaigns' section, you'll find more detailed information and marketing ideas for specific types of Life insurance. ACTION STEPS ACTION TRACK Seven Action Steps EXPLANATION OF THE PROCESS Action Step 1: Prospecting building a reservoir of prospects Action Step 2: Pre-Approach sending letters to prospects to prepare them for appointment setting Action Step 3: Setting the making contact to sell the agency's concept and set Appointment the time and date of the initial appointment Action Step 4: Qualifying face-to-face meeting where you probe to find out Interview needs, desires, and buying motives, and where you conduct an extensive fact-find to gather necessary information Action Step 5: Presentation/ the buying interview during which you present your Close insurance proposal and sell the prospect on the program Action Step 6: Policy Delivery/ the process of turning the new customer into a Client. Building loyal and long-time client, beginning with a personal delivery of the policy Action Step 7: Obtaining, getting qualified leads from clients that you can. Referred Leads feed back into your prospect reservoir to begin the process over again ACTION STEP 1: PROSPECTING A sale must begin with a prospect; in fact, with many of them. Recall the 'Rule of Fifty' explained earlier in the 'Marketing Plan' section of this Agent's Guide. We discussed the fact that, if you want to support a Life department in your P/C agency, you need to be able to generate at least 50 leads the first week and at least 25 leads per week thereafter that feed into a pool of leads for your Life producer to follow up. These leads are generated by various people in the agency-CSRs play a role through their daily connection with insureds, as do your Life producers, who should be going after referrals and other lead sources such as centers of influence (more about these later). The P/C agency principal can also play a role in lead generation by sitting down with a Life producer and deciding which P/C accounts make good Life prospects. If 25 or 50 leads a week sounds like a lot to you, consider the following facts: According to the Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association (LIMRA), only one household out of three has been contacted recently by a Life insurance agent. The others either haven't bought Life insurance or have purchased it through the mail. According to LIMRA, in 19% of all households, not one member of the family has any Life coverage (including Group Life). In 38% of households, not one member carries individual Life. In 23% of households surveyed, the head of the household does not have Group Life coverage. In 45%, the head of the household does not carry individual Life. In 49% of households, at least one member of the family has no Life or Group Life coverage. In 64% of households surveyed, at least one member has no individual Life coverage. In 38% of households, not one member of the family has individual Life. What these statistics mean is that there are many households out there that have a genuine need for Life insurance who have not been contacted or sold! In other words, chances are you won't have problems maintaining 50 leads a week for your Life department. Read on for methods of generating these leads. LEAD GENERATION Your leads have to come from somewhere. Following are some ideas for lead-generation sources. The P/C Database The P/C agency has a decided advantage over a Life agency or single Life insurance salesperson-built-in leads. The Life producer's biggest problem isn't selling, it's generating leads. A P/C agency's Life department has that problem solved. Your agency is in a unique position to provide quality leads to the Life producer. Your P/C files can be mined for Life sales on a regular basis, and this can lead to additional 'total-account' P/C sales also. Consider the fact that, as an insurance agent, you are often one of the first people to hear about important events that affect your clients, such as: purchase of a new home, car, or boat a new job or expansion of business an addition to a house a new baby or grandchild You'll also learn about the accidents, fires, thefts, and so on that take place. All these events have one common thread: They indicate a change in financial condition that could trigger a review or a need for Life insurance. Your CSRs can be trained to watch for these types of changes and feed the leads to your Life department. More information on training CSRs to do this can be found under 'Training' in the 'Life Personnel' section of this Agent's Guide. You'll also find forms that can help CSRs and producers generate and track these leads. Your P/C database is an ideal source for Life insurance leads. You should be able to come up with at least 50 initial leads, and probably quite a few more, by looking no further than your own P/C files. In fact, we encourage you to use your P/C database as your major source for Life leads because: there's a plentiful supply the prospects will be familiar with your name and service it's more profitable for the agency because you can make the total account sale total account selling increases your chances of retention Although we encourage using your P/C database for prospects, we would be remiss in not mentioning other prospect sources, especially referrals, which are a valuable source. Information about other lead-generation sources follows. Referrals Just as they do in your P/C operation, referrals can play a large and important role in your Life insurance prospecting. In fact, they are so important that an entire Action Step is devoted to developing referrals. You'll find more information on this subject under 'Action Step 7: Obtaining Referred Leads' later in this section of your Agent's Guide. Purchased Lists Many times, a good way to get your prospect list started, or to augment it, is to purchase a list from a mailing house or other source. Dun & Bradstreet is probably the most well-known list source, and can yield prospects for your Group and Business Life. Dun & Bradstreet usually provides the names of executives or officers of the companies on its lists, therefore providing you with names to target for individual Life and financial planning services, too. Other lists target individuals by ZIP code, income, and a number of other variables. Your Life insurance companies may be able to help you buy lists at a preferred rate. Miscellaneous List Sources Centers of influence: Many influential people who you meet on an everyday or professional basis in your community can become sources of prospects for you. These people include: Certified Public Accountants, who often review their clients' Life insurance coverage Attorneys, who often have advance notice of situations that may involve Life insurance (business reorganizations, revision of wills, and so on) Bankers and officers of financial institutions, who have information on new businesses and new homeowners in town Real estate agents, who are in touch with new business and home buyers Editors of business publications, who often know in advance about changes in business (promotions, new partners) that may trigger a Life insurance need You're bound to meet and socialize with some of these people in your community, particularly if you belong to such organizations as the Rotary or Kiwanis Clubs. Public records: Your county's files and records can provide a source of prospects for you. If real estate transactions in your county are computerized, you should be able to obtain a list of property transfers, letting you know who has recently bought and sold homes in the area. Computerized lists of property taxes can also let you know who owns expensive property and may be affluent enough for your higher-line Life products. Yellow Pages: An advertisement in the Yellow Pages can bring you in business, but advertising is not the only way to use the Yellow Pages. Doctors, attorneys, accountants, architects, and other upscale professionals who need Life insurance to protect their assets and employee benefits for their businesses will be listed in the Yellow Pages. 'Let your fingers do the walking' for prospects. Prospecting Tools You can use a variety of tools to gather or augment your prospect list, including multi-media advertising, direct mail, brochures, and more. A brief word about each of these should suffice: Advertising: The advertising for your Life insurance operation should be part of your agency's overall advertising campaign. Advertising can generate leads by familiarizing the general public with your name and location. When a need comes up, they'll think of you. Your ads can also ask directly for a telephone contact, helping to generate leads. You can choose from a variety of advertising media and methods, based on your needs and situation, including print ads in newspapers and magazines and electronic ads on radio and television. There is a lot to be said about types of ads and methods, and this is really not the place for it. Your library should have volumes of information on advertising, and an advertising agency can be a great deal of help, for a price. Direct mail: Direct mail can be effective for generating leads, particularly if you have a product whose advantages stand out clearly on paper. Advertising low Term insurance rates, for example, can get people's attention. Make up fliers and blanket your area, asking for phone calls. Or, send letters to all the addresses possible in your area. These kinds of blanket, high-volume mailings differ from the pre-approach mailings that we will discuss under 'Action Step 2--Pre Approach' in that you will most likely not follow up on these direct mailers with a phone call asking for the appointment. You wait for return cards or phone calls. Brochures: A well-designed agency brochure can convey the message that your agency provides professional total insurance protection-including Life and related coverages. You can use a brochure in many ways to help generate leads. Bring it along when you review a client's coverages, to gently remind him or her of all the services you offer. Use the brochure in mailings to selected prospects, or as a direct mail piece with a cover letter. As to the design of your brochure, look to advertising materials or a professional agency to help you get your message across effectively in your community. And you can turn to the 'Idea Center' section of this Agent's Guide to see some samples of agency brochures. Newsletters: Newsletters can be used as a prospecting tool, although they are primarily sent to customers to keep your name in front of them and to provide a backup for E & O claims. Using newsletters for lead generation involves placing them throughout the community-in doctors' and other professional offices, and so on-so that your name appears before the community. If you have a prospect list already generated through other sources, you can use the newsletter to acquaint prospects with your agency and get them interested in Life insurance coverages. The newsletter content could center on Life and Group Benefits only, or could be a combination of P/C and Life. Some agencies write and produce these newsletters in-house; others use an outside service, such as that provided by Insurance Marketing Services, Inc. WHO ARE MY PROSPECTS? Prospect Categories In the most general sense, you can define a prospect as any person or business that has a need your agency can meet through your Life department. When you're trying to get together a list, however, it helps to have a few more details. A joint survey by LIMRA and the American Council of Life Insurance (ACLI) provides some facts that may help you define who your prospects are. The survey placed household groups into the six categories that follow. Keep in mind that the numbers quoted from the survey are averages: If you live in a busy metropolitan area or any area where jobs are plentiful and salaries high, the figures will be higher. Even so, the profiles provide some useful information about what types of prospects are out there and what types of coverages they have and need. 1. Strugglers: Mostly single Make up 25% of all households High School educations, hold blue collar or clerical jobs Average age of head of household is 33 Average income of $10,000 Average net worth of $1,000 More than half of these households have no Life insurance and only 3% are covered under pension plans. The chief financial objective in this group is liquidity, followed by safety. These people will be prospects for lower-priced policies, because they can't afford much else. If they move up the line, you sell them more. 2. Traditional Savers: Married, with children under six living at home Make up 20% of all households Better educated than strugglers, but hold blue collar, clerical, and service positions Average age is 36 Average income of $25,000 Average net worth of $19,000 This group values Life insurance coverage: 59% have individual coverage and 95% carry Group coverage at work. While 77% are covered by pension plans, only 17% have individual Disability insurance. Their chief financial objective is security, followed by liquidity. These people realize the need for protection, but low discretionary income makes them a more difficult sale-low-priced products that provide protection are likely to get their attention. 3. Payroll Deducters: Married, two-income households Make up approximately 13% of all households Hold unskilled jobs Average age is 42 Average income of $25,000 Average net worth of $26,000 Two-thirds of this group have individual Life insurance and 88% are also covered under Group plans. Their primary financial objective is growth. These people will be targets for payroll deduction Group coverages and lowercost individual Life that has some savings features. 4. Climbers: Married or single, upwardly mobile Make up approximately 14% of all households Have college degrees and work in sales, lower-level management, and professional capacities