DI New Year's Resolutions

More and more producers are jumping headlong into the world of disability income marketing.  The reasons are many not the least of which is the opportunity to generate decent renewal commissions! 

Here are some resolutions for you to make to allow DI to be a solid part of your revenue stream.

• Sell "the gap".  Most successful clients have some form of DI coverage at their workplace via Group LTD.  But I'll bet the best and the brightest are left in a shortfall of proper coverage.  Why?  Well, let's say you have an Exec making $200,000 of income with a Group LTD plan at 60% to a $10,000 max.  He's still woefully short of protecting his full paycheck.  Sell an individual plan to shore up the difference. 
• Sell "side door" DI plans.  Fact is, most planners come right through the front door and sell Individual DI that's all. There are plenty of coverages that allow you to enter through the side door, even if someone's beat you to the front door - Business Loan DI, Pension Contribution DI, and the good old business owner standby, Business Overhead Expense. 
• Sell KeyMan DI to all those businesses where you've written Key Man Life Insurance. We can get coverage for up to two times income.
• Selll GUARANTEED ISSUE DI.  We can get guaranteed issue offers for as few as 5 lives.  No ratings.  No riders.  No Exclusions.  Individual coverage and definitions!
• Associations remain hot!  Get an Association Discount and have at it!

Need training?  Give me a call.  We can help at The Brokers Source.  We do DI.

Ever Meet a DI Claimant?

Quick.  Picture a DI Claimant.  I'll bet the first thing that pops into your mind is a person who's flat on their back.  Perhaps they've got tubes hanging off of them.  Maybe they're connected to a variety of monitors and contraaptions. 

Now...take a peek at this link. 
http://www.principal.com/insurance/ind/disability/videos/hentschel-testimonial.htm

Disabilities happen.  They come in all shapes and sizes and forms.  The residual definitions found in Individual DI plans are important. Don't think a claimant only looks like Christopher Reeves. 

Who's Going to do Business with You?

This blog post title has been one of my many marketing mantras for so many years.  And, so has the answer I've devised. 

Q.  Who's going to do Business with You? 
A.   Those that have done business with you! 

At first this might seem like doublespeak. But it's really not.  Think of the last time you needed a plumber.  Did you Google "Plumber" and your zip code?  Did you let your fingers do the walking through the yellow pages?  Maybe.  But my guess is you called the plumber who last did work for you. 

I remember years ago I was with a great broker of ours. He'd regularly do 75 to 100 cases with us per year (and we weren't the only place he did business!).  I asked him how he prospected for clients.  He paused, got a quizzical look on his face and said, "I don't prospect".

 He went on to explain that when he'd first gotten in the business he'd get mailing lists of doctors.  Diligently he sent 100 letters of introduction out per week.  Diligently he'd follow up those letters.  Eventually, he started making some sales.  He continued, "After a couple of years of that, I stopped doing the mailings because I got so much business from our annual insurance reviews, I didn't need to send letters anymore."

"Annual insurance review?", I asked. 

"Ray", he said, "I meet with my clients at least one time per year to review with them what they have. Invariably, I end up selling them more.  Selling them a different product. Or, securing three or four referrals to sell something to." 

It's so elementary.  But do you do it?  A quick meeting with a client might show changing needs; allow for a dialogue about Disability Income or Long Term Care insurance; or just a confirmation that all is in good order - are there any other friends or acquaintences who might benefit from your services?

So, maybe you don't need to buy leads, do seminars, or make cold calls afterall.  Maybe you just need to answer the question objectively, "Who's going to do business with you?".

Sure Protect the Paycheck...but also Protect the Lifestyle

It’s a very noble effort the LIFE Foundation puts forth, this whole DI Insurance Awareness month.   One of the taglines that you’ll see often in May is:

This is a great symbol.  But truth be told, in my humble DI opinion it really sells the dynamic short.  I had an ol’ DI warhorse tell me once that he doesn’t really protect his clients income, he protects their lifestyle.  I think that’s what you should focus on.   It’s not always materialistic gluttony that fuels a client’s lifestyle.  He wants nice stuff!

Your successful clients have worked hard, made sacrifices, maybe paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in tuition bills and school loans to achieve the standard of living they have.  Yes, DI protects their paycheck, but more abstractly, it protects that new SUV in the driveway; the beautiful house on the cul-de-sac where he lives, and the vacation home he owns on the beach. 

A client can make it to the 7-Eleven for milk just as fast in an ol’ beat up Yugo as his new BMW.  Heck, he could live in a box down by the river (if you remember the old Chris Farley Saturday night live skit); and there’s plenty of cheap motels down at the beach.

But guess what?  He doesn’t want the Yugo.  Doesn’t want the cheap motel.  And, can’t stand Chris Farley.  No he doesn’t need  an expensive car. But you are the one that can protect what he wants – which is to keep that car!

So when you approach a DI prospect – yes, tell him that it will protect that chit from his employer (or electronic transaction per my previous post) -his paycheck - but also make sure he knows it protects the lifestyle he’s sacrificed and worked so hard to attain. 

It's My Paycheck and I'll Cry if I want to.

I hate direct deposit. I'm convinced that it will lead the downfall of western civilization as we know it...well, maybe not.

But, here's what I think: direct deposit has desensitized the average person to the power of their paycheck. It magically shows up in their account, no muss, no fuss. There is less physical attachment to their hard earned money. It's taken an abstract, intangible concept - Disability Income Insurance - and made it a little tougher for the average consumer to grasp. No longer are we protecting that physical chit that a human teller magically turns into a return of cold hard cash before one's very eyes. We're protecting some etheral cyber transaction, that's much less personal, and impactual than that ol' fashioned receipt of currency.

May is right around the corner. May is Disablity Income Awareness Month. The LIFE Foundation spearheads this PR campaign and has coined the term, "Protect Your Paycheck". I really like that phrase. But I'm wondering - is it time to change it to "Protect Your Cyber Deposit"? or maybe, "Protect Your Cloud Debits and Credits"?

I have my doubts that the LIFE Foundation would rally around a new "techno-centric" DI Awareness tagline. It sure doesn't roll off the tongue like "Protect Your Paycheck". But, as an industry we really need to make sure that the consumer doesn't lose touch with the fact that this paycheck, this transaction, this cyber-shifting-of-funds is real. And it needs protected. Fact is, that exposure is not something that should be left to the "direct deposit" knowledge basin - internet research. We need to reach out and touch someone about the power of their paycheck.

Disability Income Insurance is a concept that needs to be presented face-to-face. The exposure needs to be shown in a methodical way. As the world becomes more-and-more oriented to "direct deposit' needs analysis, and commoditized selling, DI remains a need and a presentation routed in the old days. At least that's my view...

So, get out there and meet with clients and take the time to explain what their directly deposited paycheck does for their overall financial plan and why it needs protected...you might even stem the downfall of western civilization.

Ray's Rules of Communication

I remember attending a workshop by a "phone coach" years and years ago at a NAILBA Annual meeting. He was very entertaining and much of his information was spot on and useful. Some of his tips I use to this day (and will mention below). Some of the tips below were manifested in this misshapen gourd of mine. Remember, in this ever increasing de-personalized, techno-world we're in, those with the personal touch that can use communication tools to their advantage, will have an edge.

Here we go:

• Use a Signature in emails. Make sure it includes your name, address, and ESPECIALLY your phone number. Why? Today, most potential clients will save your emails even if they don't put you in contacts. It's an easy way for them to access your contact info. But more importantly in this era of "smart devices", if a Smart Phone User taps on your signature's phone number - they can call you without having to use their touch pad! With more and more clients and prospects using their cell as their communication hub, it allows for easy call back.





• End the Phone Tag Game. If you've gone more than one iteration in this oft frustrating endeavor, take the bull by the horns and specify on you voicemail when you'll be available. Do not just say "Give me a call back". Rather, say something like, "I'll be in the office from 2 to 5 this afternoon, and back in at 10 in the morning". Granted you might still get a voicemail but at least you've got a fighting chance of connecting.





• BCC on Broadcast Emails. Nothing reeks of unprofessionalism than a multiple CC to business connections. Many of the people you're sending an broadcast email do not want some or all of the others knowing their email address. YOU may not want everyone knowing who else you're emailing. Having gobs of visible email addresses is just not good. BCC is the way to go.





• It's Caller ID Stupid. Now more than ever, prospects, home office jokers and others are able to hide behind Caller ID. They see your phone number coming in, and they conveniently don't pick up. This can be frustrating. When possible, call another extension and have the other party transfer you to the person you're trying to reach. They will be more apt to pick up if available. Deceitful? Underhanded? Maybe. But sometimes marketing is not pretty. And, sometimes you need an answer - now!





• Email to Answer Voicemail. It's frustrationg to have to sit around wondering if a person got your urgent voicemail. The good communicator with be sensitive to that. When you receive a voicemail that you just can't get around to returning - flip a quick email back to the sender telling you receive the v/m and will get back to them. It's a considerate thing to do. They will appreciate and understand they've not been lost in a black hole and are on your radar screen.

Communication is key. In marketing. In Underwriting. In Policy Service. In Life. Don't be a techno-nebbish. Take control of the stuff that's floating around in your communication universe. Little adjustments here and there can pay big dividends.

(don't forget to check out this blog's archive on the right side of this column. There are some real gems there, if I do say so myself!).

One thing's for sure...Life Happens

I guess it's human nature to constantly stay in quest of the holy grail, even though it might be right under your nose.

I constantly hear of the trouble producers have with prospecting and asking for referrals. It sure isn't as hard as some seem to make it. But if you're one of those who's in a rut, I might refer you to the LIFE Foundation's website, http://www.lifehappens.org/.

This site is chock full of information that you can use to pre-approach a prospect or re-approach a client. Articles, videos, pamphlets, any number of pieces that can be used to reinforce a purchase or emphasize a need.

In conjunction with Valentine's Day, they're in the midst of their "Insure Your Love" campaign. Check it out - it might help you with a client. It might be what you should consider for yourself!

Situation Critical: Consider Critical Illness Insurance now!

Critical Illness Insurance sure seems to be the orphaned waif of the planning process. It's out there in the cold - lonely and ignored. If it were tangible, surely it would reside on the Island of Misfit Toys.

Why is that? Here is a coverage that is a wonderful complement to so many planning opportunities and yet, nary a quote is requested from this office. The sheer mention of it being available turns a seasoned professional to putty, stammering in drone-step, "but I..." "but I..." "but I..." in trying to find reasons not to make his or her clients aware of this option.

What is it? It pays a CASH benefit to a client who's been diagnosed with cancer, heart attack, stroke, etc. Do you know anyone who's been diagnosed with cancer, had a heart attack or a stroke?

Why would someone want cash upon, say, a cancer diagnosis? Well, let's count the ways:

• to pay health care coinsurances, deductilbes or holes (think health insurance covers every last nickel of care? Ask someone with a cancer or heart claim and find out).




• to offset living expenses during recovery. Especially good for those who are underinsured for DI




• to provide "waiver of premium" for a DI policy's elimination period.




• to provide coverage for those who can't get a typical DI plan because of occupation.




• to pay for mortgage or other debt payments.

Want to learn more about it? Please let me know. Don't leave CI on the outiside of the planning process - bring it inside where it's warm and where your clients can benefit from its provisions.

Linked Benefit Life Insurance

Linked benefit life policies have been niche products for a number of years now. Historically, the dominant structure has been single pay in nature. Recently, due to some regulatory changes, the accelerated death benefit design is becoming more and more a part of "regular" permanent life policies, i.e. annual pay designs.

While this has the potential to put a crimp in LTCI sales, I like this phenomenon. Is it a absolute substitute for long term care insurance? Probably not. But there are a significant amount of consumers who've defined - rightly or wrongly - that they're just not going to buy LTCI. But I'd think a linked benefit design would be a product they'd at least consider.

Think about this: if the Great God of Insurance swept in with an edict that all life policies that exist would now have an added endorsement allowing for the death benefit to be accessed to help fund a long term care stay, would it help? I think it might put a dent in the long term care funding crisis.

I suppose this is one of those issues that can be looked at in many different ways, but regardles, the genie is out of the accelerated death benefit bottle. It will be interesting to see the long term (pun intended) affect on planning.

My First Professional Blog Post Ever.

Amazing, isn't it? Where communication has gone in the last 20 years? When I started in the business, there was no internet. Faxes didn't even exist! Now I'm laying the groundwork to blog my Tweets, Tweet my blog and other things that would have sounded almost silly when I began my climb up the mountain.

In some fashion, Blogs are a bit of "back to the future". Back in '88, in my formative years the art of the business letter was still in full bloom. I look back on some of those documents and they're really quite beautiful. My late father-in-law, Mac McCalmont, the patriarch of the firm, was by no means a master of the English language. He'd tell you that himself. But the way he put a letter together was marvelous.

I have one I love to refer to - sent to a subordinate in the eastern part of the state. Basically, it was a "pre-termination" letter. The guy wasn't pulling his weight. The searing, courteous way that the gentleman was put on alert was at once concise and eloquent, yet damning and visceral.

Nowadays, we're reduced to communication via fleeting emails. Flimsy fragments of shallow prose. Our business communications are hollow shells of what once was taken for granted.

Maybe Blogs will change that a bit. Granted, they're a means to a totally different end, but, hey - you've got to put sentences together for a blog post!

This blog is my New Year's resolution. At the risk of sounding conceited I think I do have a lot to share. Hopefully, I'll be able to impart some of my experiences to you, to help you ponder, and grow your practice.