By: Mark D. Milbrod, CLU
Partner, Agent Support Group
Let’s face it; Life Insurance is not an easy sale to make. Aside from the emotional aspect of the sale, the reality is that when you get past that point, most people look at life insurance as nothing more than an expense. That is what makes it so difficult to sell.
You will encounter objection after objection. You may hear…
- It’s too expensive
- If I die, they’ll live off savings and be fine
- If I don’t die, there’s nothing in it for me
- It’s a waste of money
- I have insurance at work
- I hate insurance
And the list goes on and on. We know that most of these, although valid in a prospect’s mind, are nothing more than excuses which often leave them underserved and underinsured. In today’s world, we have to impress upon individuals the importance of taking care of themselves and their families. After all, they can’t rely on The Go Fund Me approach after its too late.
We have so many tools at our disposal that if you present it properly, you can get past most , if not all, of the most common objections that arise during the life insurance sales cycle. With one product, you can accomplish most solutions to a host of threats that will face any family. The three most likely outcomes that will affect a family’s financial plans are a premature death, a catastrophic health event or a temporary disability.
You can provide the needed life insurance benefit with the ability to grow potentially tax free supplemental retirement assets, In addition, you can create a tax free pool of money to protect against a long term health event or waive premiums during a short or longer term temporary disability. And if they want, we can also include a Guaranteed Refund Option to get their money back at pre-designated points in the future, regardless of the cash accumulation performance of the contract.
So, let’s take a look at those earlier listed objections and the solutions/responses that we can offer:
| OBJECTIONS | SOLUTIONS/RESPONSES |
| It’s too expensive
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The costs are all relative. The growth of cash value will overtake the amount of premiums paid, so essentially the net cost will be zero and then some. Couple that with tax deferred build-up of cash and the potential of accessing those funds tax free and you have a significant positive impact on that client’s bottom line at some point in the future.
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| If I die, they’ll live off savings and be fine
|
We all know that this never works out. Even if they had “so much” cash on hand, which they usually don’t, it is just not a wise use of funds. By leveraging small dollars today into a properly designed life insurance program, there will be a large tax free death benefit and little or no invasion of other assets that may not have advantaged tax treatment when needed.
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| If I don’t die, there’s nothing in it for me
|
Today, via living benefits, we can show significant cash value growth that can be used to supplement retirement income. In addition, in the event of a Chronic Illness or other Long Term Health event, a policy can provide a pool of money, usually equal to the death benefit face amount. This pool can be utilized to assist with the expenses associated with those types of situations while shielding other assets at the same time. Also, if there was a temporary disability, riders can be added that assure premiums are being paid during those periods.
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| I have insurance at work
|
In past generations, it wasn’t uncommon for people to stay employed with the same company for a lifetime. This is simply not the norm today and most benefits provided by employers are temporary, limited and usually not portable. Having an established external plan is far better and will provide more robust benefits.
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| It’s a waste of money
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Seeing all of the benefits listed above will hopefully show how the benefits outweigh the cost. We can even include a Return of Premium guaranteeing the return all of their premiums paid.
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| I hate insurance | Life Insurance is a necessary planning tool. Granted, it’s not a fun topic to talk about but with the additional of all of the living benefits, the conversation can be a little less intense.
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Whether it’s the cash value potential, the provided death benefit or the ability to provide a large pool of funds in the event of a catastrophic health event , the most common objections can be set aside much easier. And if all else fails, you can offer them an option to have all of their premiums returned to them on a guaranteed basis. All of this can be accomplished with one product, and you can truly MAKE THEM AN OFFER THEY CAN’T REFUSE.