Getting Started? Make a Names List... And Call Everyone!!!

AtlantaLife&Health · 06-28-2009, 07:42 PM

Hey guys, I thought making a names list and calling everyone on it was a joke. I thought that certain folks wouldn't have any interest in buying what we have to offer.

I think us newer agents shouldn't prejudge who we know. We should give them a chance to turn us down.

I just found out that a buddy of mine here in Georgia just got diagnosed with Lupus. He's 35, single, but has a 10 year old son. I don't think he has any insurance in place and I feel bad because I didn't call him to talk to him about life insurance. Now I will make sure that I contact everyone I know and try to meet with them. I have a story to share. If they don't want to meet with me, it's on them. But in reality, we are all one doctor's appointment away from being uninsurable.

Tell me why I can hear Mark Rosenthal's voice as I am writing this? I guess those audios are pasted to my brain. I think I'm going to have to create a marketing piece on this. Any ideas??

Markingriffin · 06-28-2009, 08:30 PM

Originally Posted by AtlantaLife&Health

Hey guys, I thought making a names list and calling everyone on it was a joke. I thought that certain folks wouldn't have any interest in buying what we have to offer.

I think us newer agents shouldn't prejudge who we know. We should give them a chance to turn us down.

I just found out that a buddy of mine here in Georgia just got diagnosed with Lupus. He's 35, single, but has a 10 year old son. I don't think he has any insurance in place and I feel bad because I didn't call him to talk to him about life insurance. Now I will make sure that I contact everyone I know and try to meet with them. I have a story to share. If they don't want to meet with me, it's on them. But in reality, we are all one doctor's appointment away from being uninsurable.

Tell me why I can hear Mark Rosenthal's voice as I am writing this? I guess those audios are pasted to my brain. I think I'm going to have to create a marketing piece on this. Any ideas??

Step 1 is always to start with your friends and family members. Your odds are a lot better with them. Most of them respect what you think and trust you.

My friends sister died this morning. I tried my best to sell him some insurance a long time ago. Never thought about his sister. He knew what I did for a living and if he thought someone else could use my services, he would just tell them right? WRONG!!! It never hurts to ask them to recommend your services to someone or for them to give you some people to contact. In about 1 week, I'm going to really hit him hard about buying some life insurance.

My wife's uncle died last month in an accident. I offered him and everyone in Leslie's family my services. Of course most of them didn't want to spend the money to get protected. Guess What?? They all want the insurance now. Things like this really open up their eyes.

A lot of people have died in the last week and everyone is talking about death. Billy Blane just died today. The guy that tries to sell you everything on tv. He was 50 years old. Just like someone else you know that just died. 50 years old is too young right? I think any age that you die is too young.

I want you to at least offer your services to everyone you know and everyone that you can talk to. My last sell was while in the doctor office, joking with a lady about me having 5 kids and she has 4 herself. I went straight for the kill. She didnt have any insurance but knew she needed some. I added the C.I. rider, ROP and child rider, and came up with a price of 1/3 what she guess it would cost. I didn't stop there. I told her that I knew she knows other women her age that has kids and needs insurance also. Now I have about 4 more leads just from that.

One of my best tools, is my big mouth. I talk to everyone that I see and always bring up life insurance. It's a numbers game. More people don't have life insurance then do. Most of the people that do have insurance, don't have enough.

By the way, your friend can still get insurance. He needs it more then ever now. Also be sure to ask all of his family members that know what has happend to him, if they want to buy some insurance.

I'm glad my audio tape came to mind.

SalemInsuranceGuy · 06-28-2009, 08:59 PM

Originally Posted by AtlantaLife&Health

I just found out that a buddy of mine here in Georgia just got diagnosed with Lupus. He's 35, single, but has a 10 year old son. I don't think he has any insurance in place and I feel bad because I didn't call him to talk to him about life insurance. Now I will make sure that I contact everyone I know and try to meet with them. I have a story to share. If they don't want to meet with me, it's on them. But in reality, we are all one doctor's appointment away from being uninsurable.

Although it's sad he has lupus I wouldn't beat myself up over it too bad. Odds are that your friend probably would have put off buying life insurance from you when he thought he was healthy. Odds are he's been bombarded in the past with telephone calls, mailers, tv ads, radio ads, magazine ads, insurance at work, and even some face to face insurance agents and he put it off for whatever reason.

Technically he's not uninsurable now. You can still write a graded death benefit policy on him. Approach him with that. Odds are he'll say it's too expensive for the amount, but at least you can put your mind at ease. Who knows maybe he will buy it.
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Originally Posted by Markingriffin

Step 1 is always to start with your friends and family members. Your odds are a lot better with them. Most of them respect what you think and trust you.

This may have worked in your case Mark but my friends all thought I was an idiot. At least when I first got into life insurance. I think it was harder to sell them than anyone else. My parents were the hardest because they knew what a screw up I was growing up. It wasn't until after I finally became successful in the insurance industry that they became my clients. Honestly, I'd rather cold call than do a project 100 or 200 list.

A lot of people have died in the last week and everyone is talking about death. Billy Blane just died today. The guy that tries to sell you everything on tv. He was 50 years old. Just like someone else you know that just died. 50 years old is too young right? I think any age that you die is too young.

You mean Billy Mays right? The pitchman?

One of my best tools, is my big mouth. I talk to everyone that I see and always bring up life insurance. It's a numbers game. More people don't have life insurance then do. Most of the people that do have insurance, don't have enough.

I've been doing this for years and I have yet to run into any client who is over insured. Very few really have enough. If they do they're at the low end of what I think they really need. The other thing I hate to see is how people think their employer is so great and covers them for everything. While group term is great and I recommend people take advantage of the low rates they really need to get their own coverage. So many I run into have nothing but group term from work. Or how many times do you run into a client who is all smug telling you if he dies he has $1 million in coverage that he pays $10 a month for. Immediately you know it's only accidental death and he has to be on a commercial plane to collect the $1 mill, 100k for auto accidents and then maybe only 10k to 50k for other accidents. If they die of natural causes they get zero. We all know this but it's amazing the people who think they are covered for something they don't have. I guess that's why we get paid the big bucks.

JustinUpright · 06-28-2009, 09:52 PM

I just heard a story about group term the other day. A man developed cancer was so sick that he couldn't return to work. When his job ended his group life did as well. He died with out life insurance and he thought he had plenty since his boss provided his life insurance.

Most people don't know that their group life may end when their employment is up and when you reach retirement age premiums are higher and the possibility of being rated higher as we get older as well.

SalemInsuranceGuy · 06-28-2009, 10:21 PM

Originally Posted by JustinUpright

I just heard a story about group term the other day. A man developed cancer was so sick that he couldn't return to work. When his job ended his group life did as well. He died with out life insurance and he thought he had plenty since his boss provided his life insurance.

Most people don't know that their group life may end when their employment is up and when you reach retirement age premiums are higher and the possibility of being rated higher as we get older as well.

When my wife quit her job she had 100k group term there. We planned on looking into keeping it since it was portable. Well it took months before they sent anything and when they did they only offered to covert to 2k of whole life at a high rate. What a joke. I think what they did was take the same premium amount she was paying and then seeing how much whole life it would buy. Luckily she was healthy and I wrote her up myself on a 300k policy.

AtlantaLife&Health · 06-28-2009, 10:58 PM

Thanks for sharing the great stories guys. I will speak to my friend about a graded benefit policy. I will also ask to speak to his family about sharing what I do.

SalemInsuranceGuy · 06-28-2009, 11:10 PM

Originally Posted by AtlantaLife&Health

Thanks for sharing the great stories guys. I will speak to my friend about a graded benefit policy. I will also ask to speak to his family about sharing what I do.

That's all you can do is put it out there. Do your best and ultimately it's up to them to decide. But at least you can walk away knowing you did all you could for your friends one way or the other.

Before my mom had passed away we knew she had cancer. I wrote a Graded Death Benefit Policy on her and paid over $300 a month for a 50k policy myself. She passed away the day I got to Iraq. So at my own expense I had to turn around and book a commercial round trip flight back to the US and then return back to Iraq. Now I didn't have this policy long enough to collect the full $50k amount but I did get back everything I paid in plus 5% compounded, which came to about $5500. Which covered my flight of around $2000. The way I looked at it, it was a no lose situation. I got all my money back, the only way I could lose financially is if my mom lived on for years, which would have been an ideal situation for me. I'm a huge believer in graded death benefit policies.