Agent’s Sales Journal September 01, 2008
Front Page Stories
-
Insurance Cost Too Much? Industry Offers Solutions to Cash-Conscious Clients
Cost objection has long been one of the major challenges agents face when selling insurance. Today, as the economy tightens and consumers become more selective in what they spend money on, that challenge will continue to become larger. Research by
-
SEC's 151A: The Rule That Could Change Your Index Annuity Business
In 2005, it was 05-50. Now, get ready for 151A. If the National Association of Securities Dealers' Notice to Members 05-50 three years ago was any hint that regulatory agencies were beginning to scrutinize index annuities, there can be no
Short Takes
-
How to Select a Public Relations Firm
Utilizing the services of a public relations agency can help an insurance agent create, build, and protect their good name. Because a business' reputation and image are vital to its survival and success, the selection of that agency can be one
-
How to Prospect With Your Professional Designations
There are many kinds of planners in the world, all looking for clients. Your professional designations, however, can be your way of differentiating yourself from others -- and differentiation is the key to prospecting. You know that, or you
-
8 Tips to Running a Great Blog
When the word "blog" was created from "Web" and "log" back in 1999, no one had any idea that these online journals would be as powerful as they have become. There are now millions upon millions of blogs on every
-
How to Use Strategic Partnerships to Boost Your Prospecting
Hollywood movie studios, fast food restaurants, and soft drink bottlers do it. Often, all three do it in concert. It is possibly the most powerful marketing strategy ever created -- joint venture/strategic alliance partnerships. Almost every
-
How to Generate Leads Like a Pro
Given the similarity of high-quality insurance products now available through multiple channels, an agent's success depends largely upon two disciplines: marketing (reaching qualified prospects and enticing them to respond) and selling
-
An Insurance Agent's Guide to the Prospecting Cold Call
In order to facilitate and ensure success in insurance cold calling, one need not reinvent the wheel. Effective agents rely on basic principles that have historically yielded consistent success. Such a process begins, of course, with the
-
What to Do With Uninterested Prospects
Most salespeople would rather stand in a cold shower and rip up $100 bills than prospect for clients. Your mantra, almost your plea, is, "More referrals." Yet, from bitter experience, you know that whenever you start a prospecting
-
Using Executive Carve-Out Plans to Provide LTCI Worksite Benefits
While companies look to their benefits advisors for their executive benefits package options, many companies might still be missing a critical piece of their executive benefits package -- long term care insurance (LTCI). While 76 percent of
-
How to Understand and Build Credibility in the Growing Home Care Market
Industry surveys and nursing home data are proof of what many people know in their hearts or by listening to their own elderly loved ones. Upwards of 90 percent of seniors typically say they plan to age in place, in the comfort of their own homes,
-
3 Paths to 30 LTCI Prospects in 30 Days
What if you could obtain 30 qualified long term care insurance prospects over a 30-day period? What would that be worth to you? Well, let's assume you can close one out of three of these prospects -- that would yield 10 sales. At a
-
Underwriting: The Bane of the LTCI Agent's Existence?
How many times have you heard from your prospective client, "I am in perfect health," "I just saw my doctor," or, "I just had a physical for my life insurance and I was accepted with excellent health"? Or try
-
What if You Don't Offer LTCI to Your Clients?
Long term care insurance (LTCI) can be valuable in helping protect suitable clients, both financially and emotionally, when they need care. It can also be a great way to establish a strong book of business and livelihood. I recently conducted a
-
How to Find the Right LTCI Solutions for Your Clients
There's no such thing as a typical baby boomer. The only thing this group shares is a history of doing things their own way. Boomers -- and their wants and needs -- have definitively shaped our society. Advances in technology and
-
THE 2008 LTCI CARRIER REPORT CARD
As a companion to our annual Long Term Care Insurance survey, we polled agents nationwide on which carriers best meet their needs in a variety of categories ranging from who is best at keeping premiums stable to which company has the most reasonably
-
LTCI Agents See Steady Sales, Some Growth
Third annual Agent Media, AALTCI study offers glimpse into business of industry's producers
-
FINRA Warns Investors about Compromising Important Assets in Uncertain Economic Times
Mary Schapiro, CEO of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), recently expressed deep concern that some investors may be trying to cope with rocky economic conditions by putting their most valuable assets at risk in an effort to raise
-
Senate Looks to Toughen Up on Securities Violations
A bill was recently introduced in the U.S. Senate that would increase penalties for those who commit securities violations against seniors. The Senior Investor Protections Enhancement Act defines seniors as those 62 and older and includes among
-
Nonprofit Group Examines State Retiree Health Benefits
The Center for State and Local Government Excellence has issued its first brief on retiree health benefits, "The Crisis in State and Local Government Retiree Health Benefit Plans: Myths and Realities." The brief, written by Robert L.
-
AARP Proposes Long Term Care Service Reforms
A recent AARP Public Policy Institute research paper examines the extent to which states have balanced the delivery of Medicaid-funded long term care (LTC) services and support to people in their homes (or in more home-like settings in their
-
What Are You Selling?
We asked LTCI producers nationwide a series of questions designed to find out what products and features are most popular in today's LTCI market. From elimination periods to cost-reduction measures, here's what we found:
Sales Review
-
Some Like it Hot: How to Find and Sell to Hot Prospects
Ah, prospecting: the bane of every sales professional's existence. As a financial advisor or insurance agent, you probably spend incalculable hours looking for potential clients. Of course, you'd rather spend your time selling --
Perspectives
-
Did the GAO Get it Right?
How well do individual state laws protect consumers from premium rate increases on long term care insurance policies? Not very well at all, according to a 41-page report recently released by the federal Government Accountability Office. The report
-
Open the Escape Hatch on 401(k) Plans of Small Businesses
Do you think income taxes will go up or down in the next couple of years? Judging from the current presidential campaign rhetoric and the 2010 expiration of the tax reductions that were enacted between 2001 and 2006, taxes are undoubtedly headed
Sales From The Darkside
-
Danny's Wild Ways Cost Him a Client
We're working a big trade show. On this occasion, I had put in a 14-hour day. Because of a cocktail reception at the end of the day's programs, the 13th hour was spent drinking wine with a client. Exhausted and moderately buzzed, I was
Marketing
-
Getting Your Foot in the Door: The Art of Permission Marketing
When you mention insurance to a pro-spective client, do you often feel as though they'd rather have a root canal than talk about this topic? Or maybe you find yourself driving home from the office at night, fingers bruised and bleeding from
Prospecting Corner
-
What Makes a Good Prospector?
When someone asks me why my agency is successful, there are a lot of reasons I can give. We exercise sound business practices. We have an excellent sales approach and staff. We pay careful attention to each client, even the small ones. We treat
Objection of the Month
-
Objection Of The Month - September 2008
How would you respond to a prospect who says... Long term care insurance is too expensive. Usually, this objection comes out during the fact-finding stage of the appointment. You can respond by saying, "Mrs. Jones, I can understand why
