Senior Market Advisor May 01, 2008
Cover Story
10 Steps to prepare prospects to say "Yes"
It's no secret that moving towards the close is the most bewildering aspect of the sales process - it's a process hard-working producers spend a career perfecting. There are, however, a series of steps along the way to getting prospects to feel
Feature
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Stay-at-home advisor
The thing about the American dream is that it is unique to each person. For some, it means rising to the top of a large, well-known corporation. For others, it means creating their own large corporation and having their name atop a tall building
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New Twists on Term Life
In a life insurance market where many of the sleek new policy designs, riders and wrinkles are associated with permanent products, it?? 1/2 s easy to overlook term insurance.After all, term life is a straightforward, highly commoditized product that has
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A Woman on a Mission
Recently, Senior Market Advisor editor Daniel D. Williams had the opportunity to talk with Angela Sloan and learn what makes her business, with annual production of nearly $10 million, a success. While that number is impressive in its own right,
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Servicing long term care clients
You may have leapt numerous hurdles on the way to selling long term care insurance policies. And, while closing the actual sale may have been a challenge, often the real work comes after the deal is made. Providing excellent service means
Up Front
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No man is an island
Last weekend, while channel surfing, I came across the Tom Hanks movie "Cast Away". If you haven't seen the film, Hanks portrays a FedEx exec who crash lands on an uninhabited island - think "Gilligan's Island" without the Professor and Mary Ann et
That's Life
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Overcoming the fear factor
"Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy only when others are fearful."-Warren BuffettStatistics show that trying to time the market by getting in at the bottom and exiting at the top is nearly impossible. For example, during the dot-com
Coach's Corner
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Visualizing your own success
Last month we finished our little series on sales. Hopefully you got some really good ideas. I've had a lot of requests regarding visualization, another specific topic I talked about early last year. Visualization, which I learned about from Dr.
Profitable Practice
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Healthy person, healthy practice
The following is based on one of Norm Trainor's clients, Greg. All of the names and telling details have been changed. When Greg walked into our first workshop, I was struck by how unhealthy he looked. At least 30 pounds overweight, he seemed tired
LTCI Insider
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The secrets of face-to-face success
Q. I want to improve my face-to-face presentation skills. Can you provide some tips on how to accomplish that? A. Your skill at providing an effective face-to-face presentation during the first sales meeting is an essential ingredient to selling
Annuity Advisor
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Throw away the spreadsheet
Here are two math problems to solve (and yes, you may use a calculator).1. How would you compute the total interest paid on this loan? (You could also answer by providing the actual total interest paid.) Home equity loan: 14.25% annual
Marketing Playbook
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Look at your brand for answers
Does your "brand" set you apart from other advisors in the eyes of your clients and prospects? Top advisors often have a strong brand that can be described very simply - your brand is what people say about you. Your brand is not your logo, your tag
Practice Management
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Protecting intellectual property: an overview
Intellectual property is often the foundation of a growing company, so owners and managers of many small and growing companies focus their energies and resources on its development and protection.In fact, the balance sheets of many emerging
Ethics in Action
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Sweat the excess ... for the sprint ahead
Last month, I floated a contrarian idea: that when the economy begins to slow, it's time to crack open the champagne. Reason? After years of easy money, speculation, and excess, our economy is now resetting itself . . . and preparing (hopefully) for
The Motivated Seller
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Would you like fries with that?
While you may not have recognized it, the last time you ordered from a fast-food restaurant or went to the post office, there is a good chance you experienced some form of cross-selling or up-selling. Cross-selling and up-selling are
Compliance Watch
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Keeping an eye on financial abuse
A difficult issue to define is how financial abuse carries over to either mental or physical abuse of an elder. A recent study published by the National Institute on Aging reveals that impaired cognition affects approximately 20 percent of people
The Close
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Building the perfect product
This is the third in a series highlighting some special "players" in the financial services industry. The focus this month is on product manufacturers, and more specifically, the insurance companies who design and manufacture insurance and annuity
Feedback
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A different take on LTCI
I read with interest "The Long View," the article in your April issue relating to long term care insurance. As an LTCI specialist and producer I have to take exception to an opinion expressed by both Debra Newman and Jesse Slome on
Seniors Speak Out
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What type of sales approach does not work for you?
Anything that's a high-pressure approach. I don't want to be told that I have to buy something today. I like to take my time and look around, compare prices, and do my own research. I think that salespeople who work on a commission basis are
Vitals
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Older voters favor Clinton
On the Democrat side of the political ledger, it appears the voter base is divided by age as much as anything else. Younger voters, especially those aged 18 to 29, are trending heavily toward Sen. Barack Obama, according to exit polls conducted
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Trust in media fades
A survey from Harris Interactive shows Americans tend to go to their local television news and newspapers for their political news, but that doesn't mean they trust the source. The survey found, in general, 54 percent of Americans say they tend not
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Retiree health costs balloon
In the seven years Fidelity Investments has issued an annual retiree health cost estimate, the number has risen by 41 percent, which is a 5.8 percent average annual increase. The latest estimate is a 4.7 percent increase over 2007, and it says a
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Adaptability to change shapes retirement confidence
Much has been written about the gap between baby boomers' personal optimism and the financial realities they face in retirement. A study from SecurePath by Transamerica reaffirms the gap exists. But the study also finds that boomers - pre-retirees,
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Spending habits changing
It is well known over the next 20 years the baby boomers are going to change the demographic landscape in the United States. We don't have to wait, however, to see how those changes may manifest themselves, at least when it comes to consumption of
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CFP Board increases disciplinary governance
New Resources and safeguards have been added by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. to its disciplinary procedures to make them more fair, objective and transparent, and enhance consumer confidence.Perhaps the biggest step
New Products
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LTC coverage option added to UL policy
The reasons people buy life insurance policies are numerous and varied. Innovative life insurance carriers recognize that and work to make their policies fit the needs of a changing world. The U.S. division of Sun Life Financial has done that with
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Annuity line gets update
Already the best-selling annuities in the Allianz Life Insurance Co. of North America's portfolio, and among the best sellers nationally, the Allianz MasterDex series has been improved. The new series, MasterDex Plus, includes more indexing options,
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Optional rider offers income without annuitization
Annuity purchasers are apprehensive about a couple of things: outliving their money and/or losing control of their assets. Old Mutual Financial Network saw the problem and has designed an optional rider to put consumers' minds at ease.OM Income
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Company offers new rider, investment options
Integrity Life Insurance Co. has introduced a guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit with a spousal option to three of its flexible premium variable annuities: AnnuiChoice, Pinnacle and AdvantEdge. Called Guaranteed Lifetime Income Advantage, the
Red Flag Reminder
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Regulators target Medicare Advantage sales practices
If you sell Medicare Advantage plans or advise clients about buying them, watch out. That's because regulators and lawmakers are zeroing in on abusive sales practices and even considering supplementing federal oversight of the market with a limited
