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If you’re a P&C agent, you’ve probably built your agency on auto or home insurance sales. There’s no harm in that! Everyone who owns a home or a car must carry insurance, so you’re practically guaranteed to bring in revenue.
But have you ever thought about adding life insurance to your repertoire?
It’s true that life insurance is known for being a little more difficult to sell. A lot of people see it as an optional expense, or they get sidelined by their own emotions when they start to think about how their spouse or kids will fare in the event of their demise. This can cause some awkwardness when you suggest a life insurance plan to a customer, even if you’ve just helped them secure a home or auto policy.
It’s also true, however, that there’s lots more money to be made in life insurance sales—in fact, it’s a specialty that can be very lucrative when done well. But that awkward transition can really start to erode your confidence.
If you’re ready to take control of the conversation and better serve your customers with a life insurance policy that fits their needs, you’re in the right place.
3 Pro Tips To Successfully Sell Life Insurance Sales
Tip #1: Set the tone of the conversation.
If you’re starting off the conversation by selling an auto or a home insurance plan, you can use this low-stress opportunity to set the mood for a discussion that segues into life insurance.
For example, if the customer mentions he is a business owner, you can say, “Oh, really? That’s great! Are your children involved in the business?”
If the customer says yes, that opens the door for you to ask if his kids will ultimately be the ones responsible for taking over after the customer passes away. If he says no, you can ask about how that loss of income might affect the future generations of his family.
Similarly, you can sprinkle other questions into the conversation to set the mood for a life insurance discussion. Something as simple as, “How would you feel about your children receiving a large inheritance?” can get the gears turning in a positive direction.
Sometimes, asking these questions is all you need to do. When faced with the possibility that a spouse, child, or loved one could be left in financial trouble if there is no backup plan in place, many people see right away why purchasing life insurance is so valuable.
Tip #2: Don’t fumble when it counts; come prepared with a script.
Asking pointed questions is great, but sometimes you’ll need to be more assertive. If your client isn’t taking the hint, it helps to have some scripts ready for you to follow whenever you get stuck. That way, you won’t have to decide in the moment what to say; you can just roll right along and guide the customer where you want them to be.
Jot down some of the most common pitfalls you run into when you try to bring up life insurance with your current techniques. That way, you’ll know what’s coming next time you give it a shot—and you’ll have the opportunity to respond with confidence.
You can prepare your own talking points based on your unique experience, or use scripts that expert life insurance agents use. (Stay tuned to see where you can get your hands on these expert-crafted scripts!)
Tip #3: Eliminate common roadblocks with prepared responses.
Few people enjoy being placed into a high-pressure sales conversation. They want to take time to think about the decision, sleep on it, discuss the details with their spouse, and perhaps even negotiate for a better deal.
These wishes are valid, and you shouldn’t get too many gray hairs over them. With a bit of finesse and some practice, you’ll be able to steer around these objections, set up meetings for a more in-depth discussion, and put your potential customers’ minds at ease as they face this big decision.
We recommend legendary retired agent Scott Foster’s “Feel-Felt-Found” strategy:
For every roadblock your customer throws down, you counter with a series of statements addressing their feelings and offering a solution. Something along the lines of. “I can appreciate that you feel that way. Other clients of mine initially felt that way too. But they found after meeting with me that…”
This method can be adapted to many different situations. For example:
“I understand that you feel the need to speak with your spouse before continuing. Most people I speak with feel the same way; it’s an important decision, and you want to make sure your husband/wife is on board! But my past clients have found that they gained a much better understanding of their options after meeting with me. What do you say we talk on Thursday at noon, and then you can bring the details to your spouse and see what he/she thinks?”
Expand on each of these points and add some personal details to show your client that they’re not alone in their hesitation—and that you have the solution to their concerns!
These tips are just an appetizer. Download our newest eBook for the main course on how to expand your business into life insurance sales as painlessly as possible.
The above tips can get you started, but there are plenty of scenarios you’ll encounter eventually that will take a little bit of extra knowledge and preparation.
For instance, what will you do if your customer says, “Sorry, I’m working with another agent,” or “Can I call you back another time?” What should you say in those awkward moments when you want to pivot to a life insurance conversation but you’re having trouble reading the room?
To learn how to handle your trickiest sales moments with confidence, download our latest eBook, Time-Tested Tips & Real-World Scripts for P&C Agents Expanding Into Life Insurance.
We picked the brains of two experienced life insurance agents (Scott Foster, a retired insurance agency owner and co-founder of the Foster Cannon Group, and Thomas Ntuk, current insurance agency owner and CEO of Ntuk Speaking), both of whom have built incredibly successful businesses and reputations for themselves on their ability to sell life insurance. They chipped in to help us bring you the most useful tips and word-for-word scripts you can use to pivot from an auto or home insurance conversation into one about life insurance. They’ll also guide you on how to close the sale once you get the ball rolling.
Download the eBook here!
