Agents Marketers | The Free Agent Marketing Guide

Don't discriminate against the rich. They're people, too.

Before we talk about qualifying them financially you need to get all the information required to qualify them medically. I have had several wealthy clients that could have afforded just about any premium imaginable but were uninsurable even at astronomical rates. You need to know what you're dealing with and structure a policy that may be a fit. It may not be conventional major medical insurance but there are alternatives.

Just the current hospitalizations, please. Your tonsils in eighth grade they're not so worried about.

People love to talk about themselves and their aches and pains. It's human nature. They'll tell you pretty much more than you need or care to know about some of the situations surrounding their last trip to the hospital. Be patient and let them talk but try to keep them on task in a nice way. Most people are forthcoming and up front about their recent hospitalizations and they want to make sure that it's documented because they realize that the claims won't be paid if they told a fib. Generally, people are pretty honest.

I just dropped in; To see what Condition my Condition was in.

However, there are a few people that know that they have pre-existing conditions and are trying to slip one past the goalie. They have been quoted rated up condition premiums and have been declined by half a dozen companies. They are looking for Michael Phelps super healthy human being rates and they're on a mission to get those fabulous rates from you. These folks have a way of avoiding specific health questions when you ask about their medical history. If they falter on the question of pre-existing condition then you are probably about to get less than factual information.

I have 78 conditions in the manual ending with 'itus. Can you be more specific?

Underwriting guides are lengthy to read so it's best to get an honest answer from your client in order to preempt a huge waste of valuable time on your part. It's not necessarily a waste of the prospects time because he is trying to manipulate healthy rates from you. He's wasted five other agent's time trying to do the same thing. Make sure they are specific on their medical information. Some conditions are a little offbeat and you may not have dealt with them before. It's impossible to be familiar with every medical anomaly known to civilized man unless you're an underwriter. They're scary in their knowledge of weird medical abnormalities. Don't guess and don't be an underwriter. Look up the condition and explain the company's position to the client on the phone.

Patient: Doctor, it hurts when I do this.

Doctor: Then don't do that.

Previously in this series.

We talked about developing rapport with the prospect on the telephone and we stressed how important it is to speak in a tone that matches the voice of the prospect on the other end of the phone. Less than 10% of the sales process is responsible for making the sale and that's the information given to the prospect. That means you had better close ranks with the larger percentage that says how you talk to them is the reason they buy from you. You have to talk to the prospect in a fashion acceptable to them.

The initial interview is crucial. The very first interview with the client should go something like this.

My name is George, I'm with Brand X Agency, I have a message here that you called regarding health insurance and I'll see if I can help you.

This is a technique that sales gurus Robert Ringer and Tom Hopkins employ and it is extremely effective. Say the next few words and do not talk again until they respond. Remember to stop talking. Critical.

What are your circumstances and how can I help? Now. Just listen. Critical.

If ya start talkin', then you won't lurn nuthin'

Let the first conversation go on until it runs out of steam. Why? They're about to tell you all the information you need to put them into the right policy. They are going to tell you how to sell them. You are about to find out that:

• I'm currently insured by Blue Cross and Blue Shaft Insurance Company and my rates have gone up through the ozone layer.
• I was downsized four months ago, I looked at my premium and now I know why they call it COBRA.
• I bought one of those limited indemnity plans a while back and they haven't paid for anything.
• We don't have any insurance and we at least want something to pay for the catastrophic medical bills. We don't need a lot of doctor office visits.
• I have a pre-existing condition. I have tried everyone. Maybe you'll have something for me.
• I just got married and we need coverage for both of us. Oh yeah, she's pregnant. Is that a problem?

The More You Know, The Better You'll be.

Get as much information as you possibly can because it will help you decide which plan you will start them off with in the quote segment. Find out whether it's the benefits or the premium they are most concerned with. What pre-existing conditions they have. Armed with this information you will be able to customize a policy specifically for them and avoid quoting them something that they can't either afford or can't qualify for.

There are different views as to whether a sales person requires a sales coach.

They are people who have doubts if a coach can be of much help to improve performance of an insurance agent. Yes, there are many agents who are self starters and self motivators. They are fuelled by their burning desire to go extra miles in order to succeed in their business. Many insurance agents succeed through their hard work. They put a lot of efforts in their business. They reach out to as many people as they can.

However, if you are looking for a breakthrough in your performance, you need someone to challenge your thoughts so that you can form a new belief system that will change your performance . You need someone to tell you your blind spots so that you can see more clearly what is preventing from going beyond your perceived limitation. You need someone to hold up the mirror and give you an honest reflection so that you can see your whole new self.

These jobs are best performed by a coach. You need a coach to systematically guide you to overcome road blocks and conquer obstacles on your journey to greater success. A good coach will be able to use his practical experience to help you discover your performance gap and achieve breakthrough.

Yes, you have the choice to buy a book to learn how to enhance your performance. However, what you learn from the book, though may be helpful, is meant for the majority of the readers. The book will not be able to provide you with advice that is unique to your situations. Everybody has different levels of strengths, weaknesses and potentials. You need a personal coach to design an improvement system specifically for you.

A coach is another pair of eyes that tell you things you don't see yourself. A coach provides you with insight, objective critique and actionable feedback from an outside vantage point. You need a coach to combat your greatest enemy i.e. complacency. We are creatures of habit. We tend not to look for alternatives and we choose to do things that we can do without giving much thought. We need a coach to shake us off from the chair, take us out of our comfort zone.

If you are already in your peak performance, do you still need a coach?

The answer is "Yes" if you are not contented with what you have achieved and always looking for ways to perfect your skills. Even tip-top athletes like Tiger Woods and Michael Phelps use coaches. They need coaches for one simple reason. They need a breakthrough to bring themselves to the next level. In order to do so, they need experienced coaches to tell them what else they can do to push the limits.

A good coach places his interest before yours. His success is dependent on yours for both of you share the same goals. He can be your good friend who listens to your joy or sorrow. He motivates you when you get discouraged and alerts you to get ready for the next challenge every time you triumph. He shares both your heartbreaking and record breaking moments.

Your coach and you form a powerful partnership where both of you take each other seriously. Both strive to give the best in order to achieve your common goals. A coach to you is like the wind beneath your wings helping you soar higher ground and see things in broader perspective.

Right Place, Right Time, Wrong Carrier.

Knowing who the good guys are is just as important as anything else in insurance. Just because one carrier has the best rates hands down doesn't mean that you're doing the best thing for your client or yourself for that matter. You may be celebrating a good production week on a Friday afternoon only to find that Monday morning everything went south.

Submitting twenty-five applications is not a bad week's effort. Finding out that your favorite carrier declined 17 of them says you need to find another favorite carrier. Some carriers are more reasonable than others. If your carrier is not accepting at least 85% of your good clean business then you need to switch in a hurry.

Declinations for your client look bad and are bad. No commissions in your EFT are just as bad. Do the right thing for your client first. Get them through a company that wants their business.

That's The Highest Commission Rate I Ever Lost Money On.

Comparing each of the carriers on commissions is like comparing pickles, tomatoes and Fig Newtons. Just because they offer you a higher commission doesn't mean it's all going into your pocket. Many of the major medical plans will have an association part of the policy that is included in the premium when you design the policy.

Guilty By Association.

The association allocation of the monthly premium can represent sometimes 30 to 50%. Just because the monthly premium is $350 doesn't necessarily mean that it's all commissionable. You may only be paid on $200 of that. Some companies pay on the association part and some don't. Keep this in mind when you are looking at your commission statements and tracking down your EFT deposits. It's good to know that in advance. If you find that it's the same company turning down most of your cases then the decision to switch just got a little easier, didn't it?

No Reservations.

The fact that that a few clients cancel their policies after just a few short months is purely that. A fact. Sometimes after they purchase a policy a friend of a friend that knows somebody that has a friend in the business will intervene. They may put them into a real horror of a policy to save them $14 and 32 cents per month and is tragic on paying claims. Realize that this will happen to you and keep some money in reserve for this.

What do motor insurance brokers do? They take on the role of an intermediary between the client looking for motor insurance and the insurance company that provides it. From the client's point of view, it can be an especially useful and rewarding relationship since the broker's experience and knowledge of the motor insurance market ensures not only that the most appropriate type of insurance is found, but that it also represents the best value for money.

One of the most reassuring features of the insurance broker's role is that it is an entirely independent one. The independent insurance broker is not tied to a particular insurer or even a selected panel of insurers, but can genuinely - and independently - recommend to his or her clients. Because they are not agents tied in to any vested interest, such brokers can establish precisely the insurance needs of a particular client and trawl through a huge range of potential providers to find the perfect match - both in terms of the insurance cover provided and the price.

But finding the most appropriate insurer is just the beginning of the broker's job. There is an ongoing relationship between client and broker that enables the latter to:

- Anticipate future insurance needs, such as scheduling renewals of the policy;

- Offering specialist advice if the insurance needs are more complex - whether the complexities arise because of the driver's personal circumstances or because of the particular type of vehicle involved;

- Advising on ways of mitigating some of the risks involved in motor insurance - for example, by installing security devices to protect the car from theft or by advising on the most appropriate level of excess for the client to take on, and so reduce the amount paid in insurance premiums;

- Amending the current insurance policy - if you change your car or want a further vehicle added to the existing insurance, for example;

- Providing advice in the event of an accident, or other loss or damage to the car, that gives rise for the need to make a claim under the policy;

- Collecting the premiums due on the insurance policy.

In other words, there is a whole lot more to the insurance broker's role than simply selling the customer the motor insurance policy in the first place. With so many different providers of motor insurance, a broker can play an indispensable role in ensuring that his or her clients buy an essential product not only at a competitive price, but also in the comfort and knowledge that the insurance will perform exactly as intended if and when the time comes to make a claim.

The time for making a claim is often the moment when a particular insurance policy is really put to the test - when you can truly measure the value of what your premiums have been paying towards. Far better, then, to have had the motor insurance broker's input from the very outset, rather than discovering an unpleasant surprise when the cover you thought you had actually fails to live up to its promise.