Bright ideas from advisers

Transcription

1 Next > For advisers only. Not for use with customers. Bright ideas from advisers

2 Bright ideas from advisers Techniques to increase your sales The economic climate has posed a challenge for many businesses. Even in the face of such adversity many advisers have found new ways and revisited old ways to highlight the need for protection to their clients. We asked advisers to share their ideas with their peers on how to be successful in this current climate. And they didn t disappoint! Here is a selection of some of the entries we received from advisers.

3 Understanding the facts People are very focused on protecting their loved ones rather than themselves. When trying to recommend Critical Illness Cover (CIC) or Income Protection the price makes it very difficult for people to quantify how important it is. I have been using claims stats and NHS stats to show people how much more important CIC is to life cover. Putting in even 10k of CIC and letting them know fully about Guaranteed Increasable Option s (GIO) for the future has improved my CIC sales by 200% over the last month. By using hard hitting statistics from trustworthy sources this adviser has been able to really hit home about how important protection is. Using hard hitting statistics can really hit home about how important protection is.

4 Adding on Clients see the benefits of having their income protected for their whole working lives One of the main objections in selling Income Protection is the deferred period. I give my clients the choice of day one protection, by offering 52 week deferred Income Protection and an Accident, Sickness and Unemployment (ASU) policy with back to day one cover. The ASU pays for 52 weeks then the Income Protection kicks in. It has vastly increased my sales of Income Protection and the monthly cost to the client is not much more than the monthly cost of a 13 week deferred policy for Income Protection. Clients see the benefits of having their income protected for their whole working lives from the day they take sick until their retirement date. Advisers are often asked about Accident, Sickness and Unemployment cover. This provides the perfect opportunity for you to start discussions with your clients around Income Protection as this adviser has shown. Clients will often understand the need to protect their income but they will often be unsure of what products are best for them. This gives you the opportunity to make sure your clients have the correct, long-term cover in place.

5 Insuring machines and not themselves Clients tend to place insurance as one of their minor concerns. I always go and see my clients and discuss case studies and experiences and tell them about clients of mine who have claimed on their insurances and how without insurance these clients wouldn t of coped emotionally or financially. I say to them that you are prepared to insure your car fully comp, a piece of metal! I say you are more precious to your family than a piece of metal so insure you and your family in case the worst happens. One of my favourite things that I ask my clients who don t seem interested, would they insure a machine that prints out money every month? The client always answers yes, so I say to them well, you are that cash machine and if you can t work, you won t be making any money. This really makes the client think twice about insuring themselves. Another adviser had this to say Once I asked a couple if they saw the importance of cover. The husband was against even basic life cover. So I said imagine I m here to see Mrs after Mr had been killed in a car crash. I asked the wife what she would like to happen to the mortgage now the main bread winner had gone. She started to say pay the mortgage off, but at this point the husband started talking and to get the point across to the husband I had to say I m sorry we can t hear you because you are no longer with us. Eventually the wife said she would like the mortgage paid and a lump sum. Due to this realisation they both decided to take out a joint life policy and extra protection! Although these are quite dramatic ways of selling the need for protection, they worked. They demonstrate that many of us never think it will happen to us so can t put ourselves in those shoes. These advisers helped their clients to see how they might feel if the worst did happen to them. you are that cash machine and if you can t work, you won t be making any money.

6 Sell yourself Sell yourself in the same way you yourself would like to hear the same story being told to you. People buy from people they like so put yourself in the customer s shoes and by all means smile, be friendly, speak from the heart with sincerity, make a friend and make sure your shoes are polished with no holes in the socks. Be passionate, be enthusiastic but not over the top, and always remember ask plenty of questions and thank the customer for their membership(s). Simple advice always stands the test of time. It might seem obvious that being smart, approachable and passionate about what you are talking about will help you sell protection but a lot of the time it is the basics that are forgotten. Simple advice always stands the test of time.

7 Reviewing I contacted all my first time buyers who are now in negative equity situations and cannot remortgage. However, I spoke to them about increasing their protection because most of them opted for the cheapest life cover available without critical illness cover at the time of purchasing their mortgage. The majority of them have now realised that critical illness cover is important in these times and I have written better premiums for 75% of them. So it s worth getting back in touch. This adviser is right. Just because you have already sold a client a product, it doesn t mean that you can just move onto the next client. It is worth setting up reviews with all your clients. What might have been right for them once may not be right for them now. It is worth setting up reviews with all your clients. What might have been right for them once may not be right for them now.

8 Understanding the benefits Clients are often looking for the best deal. If you have a client wanting to shop around even though you are an independent adviser, really work on explaining to the client the importance of advice and a professional service. Trust advice and indexation are a couple of very important benefits that may make you stand out. Has the broker you re up against mentioned the Terminal Illness Benefit? We all know it s often a free benefit but mentioning it may make the difference. Critical illness plans have improved significantly over the last few years. Try and get hold of the Key Facts of insurer s policies from the last few years. You may be up against an insurer with the same premium but you may be able to offer a product that covers 10 more illnesses with 4 more ABI definitions and a guaranteed premium. Will the client want to pay the same for less cover? I doubt it! Understanding the benefits of the products you are recommending is important and as this adviser explains can be the difference between selling protection and not. Understanding the benefits of the products you are recommending is important

9 Protecting savings and more if they don t have adequate cover then other important payments may not be made if the worst were to happen. Clients need to be reminded in straight forward talking that unless their income(s) is protected, their other premiums are in serious jeopardy of not being paid. I recently had a client who wanted advice on school fees planning. They had limited existing capital and planned to accrue the funds for school fees via regular saving from their income. I carried out a full review of their existing plans and identified that they had no critical illness, no long-term income replacement and insufficient life cover to meet their current needs less protect future savings which are to be directed for school fees. The clients quickly understood that unless their income was protected, none of their long-term plans would materialise if the unthinkable happened. The clients now have a very comprehensive protection portfolio and have the security of knowing that funds will be available to provide the right money at the right time to the right person. A very happy ending. People may not come to you to buy protection in the first place but if they don t have adequate cover then other important payments may not be made if the worst were to happen. This adviser reviewed the clients existing plans and discovered gaps. Gaps the client probably didn t even realise they had.

10 Professional connections The old adage protection is always sold and never bought is largely true, so the easiest way to increase protection business is to find people who need life cover. Solicitors meet people every day who are going through life changing events setting up a business, getting divorced, making a will, etc. It is at these crossroads in life that individuals need life cover. So, to increase protection sales, visit solicitors and explain that their work often creates the need for life assurance. Some examples include: This adviser has demonstrated how by building connections with other professions that is closely related; there may be benefits for all parties. The solicitor will gain a good reputation for recommending an all round service and the adviser ensures the client has adequate protection cover for their current situation....it is at these crossroads in life that individuals need life cover. In divorce cases suggest that the person receiving maintenance payments should insure the person making the payments. For those signing partnership agreements, they should protect their families in case a partner dies.

11 Success often comes from perseverance In these challenging times it can often be hard to demonstrate the need for protection to your clients when you are asking them to part with their cash. They, too, are struggling. However, this is a market in which if advisers are patient and put in that extra bit of effort in the early stages they will soon be reaping the benefits. Success often comes from perseverance. These ideas show that clients do need protection, but they may not always come to you initially to discuss protection. It is your role to help them to see the gaps they have and find the solutions. By pulling together these tried and tested ideas we have provided you something that will be truly helpful when interacting with your clients. And hopefully has made you think of how you could gain further success in the protection market place. Why not try some of these ideas out for yourself!

12 < Previous Friends Life is a business name of Friends Provident Life Assurance Limited Friends Provident Life Assurance Limited Registered Office: Pixham End, Dorking, Surrey RH4 1QA Incorporated company limited by shares and registered in England number Telephone PNM