Because a majority of agents fail to ever build a substantial practice, there must be a reason for their failure. When I entered the insurance business in 1985, I was handed “The One Card System.” Many of you have seen it, used it and abandoned it long ago. So did I. It was a prospecting and business management system that required a large amount of effort with low results.Over time, it probably would have worked, but I wouldn’t work it. I have discovered that almost any prospecting method will work, if you work it. However, if the method is too slow, labor intensive and has limited potential, you would be very old before it creates a prosperous outcome.
In order for any endeavor to work, you must be “sold out” to the work. It is nearly impossible to get “sold out” if you don’t believe in the product 100% and don’t have faith in the methods used to achieve success. If you don’t believe the outcome of your efforts will be favorable or even worth the effort, the effort will be half-hearted and so will your income.
Proper marketing is the essential element of good prospecting. Since I didn’t have money to market, I had to prospect the hard way. Shoe leather. Cold calling.
I would place 30 business cards in my shirt pocket at 7:30 a.m. The rule was to not have lunch until I had given 15 of those cards to business owners personally. The last 15 would go toward “buying” my way home to dinner.
I would enter a business and introduce myself to the gatekeeper. I would say, “May I see the owner of this company?” She would respond, “Why?” I then said, “I would like to offer my services for free.” She would ask, “What do you do?” I would finally tell her, “It’s a private matter.”
Success came rapidly. Within a few weeks, I had enough cases to work that I was forced to back my prospecting down. Although I was selling a substantial amount of life insurance, disability insurance had always been underutilized and I found it an easy discussion. Business owners would at least talk about it.
On Saturdays, I would dress down to weekend casual wear and continue my quest for the business owner and his employees. Upon entering a retail store, I would strike up a casual conversation with the business owner and ask about the success of his enterprise. I would ask if he would entertain selling his business and what his price would be. Then came the big question: What would his business be worth without his presence? Usually it was substantially less. After securing his age, I was then prepared for a follow-up visit with disability income protection and life insurance. I used the value determined by our evaluation as a starting point. Because most of the business owners were young, underwriting was rarely a problem.
The most important aspect of this approach was in the numbers. Numbers have always been very important to me. I got my start in sales through the printing business. My boss didn’t know any better than to go through the front door of a business and ask them to buy. I discovered that it wasn’t difficult and was actually enjoyable after the initial shock.
You will get gatekeepers whose job it is to stop you. So I decided to make them an ally. If the business had any potential, my first visit was just a warm-up. I would simply ask for the name of the principal of the firm. On subsequent visits, with a warm, friendly attitude, the gatekeeper would get me the appointment. Seeing prospects every day is the life blood of a business. If you will start early each day with excitement and enthusiasm, the results will take you to the next level.
Kim L. Magdalein is a producer and owner of PresentYourPractice.com. He entered the industry in 1985, and went into private practice in 2001 serving the Jacksonville, Fla., retirement community. He has personally presented hundreds of seminars and created a thriving practice. He created Present Your Practice in 2004 to serve producers with seminar productions and methods for optimizing seminar attendance with qualified prospects. He can be reached at (800)909-9894.
Life insurance is a “pure” product. Sold properly, it is an excellent product, almost always needed by everyone. The key is to open with the best idea first. I use term insurance as a door-opener. A client relationship can easily be developed through term life insurance.
If you have an insurance license and have inquired about annuities from any marketing organizations, you have, no doubt, been deluged with annuity marketing methods. It is easy to get caught up by the “idea of the week” from various marketing organizations. Beware, not everything you see or hear is valid.