Best Way to Start Selling Annuities?

[Gulfman]

Hi Friends,

I've been licensed a short period of time---and cut my teeth selling Health Ins.

Now, i want to get into selling Annuities.

Can anyone recommend a route they think is best for someone who's just starting out in Annuities?

Is it learning how to close a

• -Mortgage Insurance Policy (life insurance)
• -Final Expense plans
• -or another product?

Thanks

 

[AlTheGud1sRtakn]

If I understand correctly you're asking which line of life insurance will lead to the most annuity sales?

Assuming that's what you're asking:
FE is generally very low income and annuities will rarely come up.
MP is generally new homeowners which is also rarely a big annuity crowd. You'll find some rollovers and you could put them in a VA, but I do more mutual fund business for this type of crowd as it generally makes more sense for the client.

Most of the people I come across that are potential annuity customers are buying med sups because they're retiring. The second biggest pool I've seen is grandparents buying children's whole life for their grandkids.

There's really not an easy way into selling tons of annuities. If there was everyone would just do that as the commissions are so big. In my experience it's more about getting in front of lots of people who have at least a little bit of money saved up.

 

[Gulfman]

No....i was actually asking about "Selling experience."

I don't really have any selling experience with higher ticket "intangible items" like Annuities.

 

[AlTheGud1sRtakn]

Oh, well in that case I'd say other financial products. Talking about people's income and investments is a little different from their insurance. Annuities are nice because it's a way that they can insure their income.

 

[Stephen]

No....i was actually asking about "Selling experience."

I don't really have any selling experience with higher ticket "intangible items" like Annuities.

LTC insurance is the closest bridge as far as insurance products go , because it is typically purchased by people with assets that they are trying to protect, so that quickly becomes part of the discussion.

What part of Florida are you in?

 

[Gulfman]

Actually,...i take that back.

*Jesus...i can't believe i forgot about my previous career (bout 10 yrs ago, i sold mortgages for 5 yrs----big ticket---YES). So, i don't have a problem sitting and talking with people and numbers. Guess, i haven't done it in so long, that I'm thinking I'm inexperienced. I Need to Learn the product and go out there and pitch it....----THAT'S IT!

 

[Cash]

Actually,...i take that back.

*Jesus...i can't believe i forgot about my previous career (bout 10 yrs ago, i sold mortgages for 5 yrs----big ticket---YES). So, i don't have a problem sitting and talking with people and numbers. Guess, i haven't done it in so long, that I'm thinking I'm inexperienced. I Need to Learn the product and go out there and pitch it....----THAT'S IT!

This is a bizarre thread.

No offense but my avatar could have sold mortgages 10 years ago and made a bunch of money. That's not to say that you can't sell annuities just that you need to adjust your expectations.

You are rarely going to be able to pitch an annuity. If pitches worked then the carriers would be selling annuities over the tv. The tried and true method of selling annuities is with seminars. You are going to want $10,000 to put into seminars.

I rarely sell annuities unless I stumble into them and currently have no plans to expand in that direction but my dad sells a whole lot of these things so I have some idea of how this market works. That being said, I would check out The Insurance Pro Shop and sign up for the $25 dollar a month program. It will give you a great starting point for marketing. I would also check out Wade Pfau.

 

[Gulfman]

NO OFFENSE "Back At Cha!"

...Anyone can sell a mortgage---Oh Really?

LOL...yeah buddy---SURE. How many times have i heard that line (100's).
The trick "Youngster"...is to "Close them!"
(your "pet monkey" and Daddy would have a hard time underwriting a mortgage...i'm sure).

Thanks for the info on Insurance Pro Shop...

This is a bizarre thread.

No offense but my avatar could have sold mortgages 10 years ago and made a bunch of money. That's not to say that you can't sell annuities just that you need to adjust your expectations.

You are rarely going to be able to pitch an annuity. If pitches worked then the carriers would be selling annuities over the tv. The tried and true method of selling annuities is with seminars. You are going to want $10,000 to put into seminars.

I rarely sell annuities unless I stumble into them and currently have no plans to expand in that direction but my dad sells a whole lot of these things so I have some idea of how this market works. That being said, I would check out The Insurance Pro Shop and sign up for the $25 dollar a month program. It will give you a great starting point for marketing. I would also check out Wade Pfau.

 

[DHK]

Actually,...i take that back.

*Jesus...i can't believe i forgot about my previous career (bout 10 yrs ago, i sold mortgages for 5 yrs----big ticket---YES). So, i don't have a problem sitting and talking with people and numbers. Guess, i haven't done it in so long, that I'm thinking I'm inexperienced. I Need to Learn the product and go out there and pitch it....----THAT'S IT!

That's a start... but far from the "be all and end all".

If you're going to be serious about selling annuities, you need to know what annuities compete against: mutual funds and managed money portfolios.

You'll also need to become well versed in qualified plans, IRAs, Roth IRAs, and non-qualified annuities... and how they all work and when they are appropriate.

You'll need to understand preconceived notions and expectations of both investments and annuities.

Then you'll need to learn how to properly position the annuity as the superior choice (yes, SELL the choice).

I would recommend checking out Retirement Advisor magazine Insurance news & sales ideas for life & health insurance professionals - LifeHealthPro and getting a free subscription to it. Search for any of Van Mueller's articles. There will be some good questions you can ask in order to prospect for good possibilities.

(Oh, I'll guarantee you that Van Mueller doesn't do seminars for his prospecting either. He just asks people questions and sets somewhere between 30 to 50 appointments per week.)

Here are some bullet points that I use on a "Talking Points" flyer that I use when door-to-door canvassing:

- Never run out of income, even if you run out of money!

- Protect your retirement nest-egg with safety, security, and guarantees!

- Earn stock-market growth without stock market risks!

- Avoid "Reverse Dollar Cost Averaging" if withdrawing from a volatile investment account when it is down! (Remember, just because there’s a long-standing history of market increases, doesn't mean that your retirement portfolio accounts will do that – especially while taking income over a sustained period of time.)

- Never pay an asset management fee! (An Average 1.5% Fee Per Year on $100k For 10 Years Is 15% ($15k) Regardless Of Performance And With No Guarantees.)

- Establish a "Personal Pension" Account that grows a guaranteed retirement income by 7% per year for 10 years before taking income guaranteed for life!

Notice how that last point is phrased, because way too many people selling living benefit riders on fixed annuities talk about the "step ups in income bases" as though it's a walk-away cash return on investment... and it's not. Pensions are a source of lifetime income, and that's what the vast majority of these living benefits do.


Check out the Insurance Pro Shop and watch the online videos to learn how to properly and SIMPLY present an "Alternative to mutual funds".


But here's the deal... these are NOT "simple sales" like mortgage protection or FE. If you're not working with a firm to teach and train you... then you need to get some training yourself. I'd recommend enrolling in the FSCP or ChFC program and taking the annuities &/or retirement planning course.

Otherwise, you could do some serious damage for lack of knowledge in this area.

 

[Charpress]

To my mind, if you are seriously going after the annuity market without prior direct experience, then you definitely need an FMO.

An FMO (or IMO) is going to give you some training, but more importantly they will know all the major products and you only at first need to give them the stats on a potential client and they come up with suggested carriers and products.

You don't have a prayer of getting that knowledge anywhere short of a couple of years. That is where an FMO earns their money -by helping you and making sure you are on the right track.

I'm off Sunday to check out a potential new FMO for me. If you can find an FMO that you think you like (search here for choices) then try to get them to take you through their dog and pony show. You will lean more in two days about the business than you can imagine. You will also find out real fast whether you like what you see and the people you will meet.