Life Insurance Sales Techniques aka What Is In A Word?

Life insurance sales techniques from the old school, in your face selling days are over.

When selling life inusrance you are dealing with a number of products that may protect and serve as a savings vehicle, estate planning tool, or to simply to give peace of mind to a family.

Life Insurance Sales Techniques Part One:

When speaking of life insurance sales strategies and techniques you are addressing a broad group of agents with a large body of experience and sales points to their insurance products. So, what is the common denominator? Why the words we use to present the dreaded and final concept of death and dying.

Obviously avoiding the word 'death' in a presentation is necessary though it seems like it might be hard to do. Most life insurance salespersons have other words that mean the same thing.

Using a powerpoint presentations can be effective life insurance sales techniques. But do not use pictures that convey negativity like caskets and grave yards or devastated families. I know it may sound obvious but I've seen such things.

Life Insurance Sales Techniques Part Two:

What about words you use commonly and that have negative connotations can they be used to your advantage in life insurance sales techniques. Yes, if you are an astute observer of human nature they surely can.

In order to make this point more clear a current real life example needs to be used. In one area where a local agent sells life insurance, there are a large number of people whose beliefs forbid gambling. Because the agent is local, he knows who is who (or how to make an astute guess as to who is who). Now part of his life insurance sales technique is to use the word "gamble" in connection with uninsured status several times in his presentation. Gambling is not only risky, but it has deeper meanings to the people in this area and immediately puts them on undesirable footing. He uses this deliberately two to three times in the presentation. "Sure, we all know that going without life insurance is gambling and you are sure to lose..."

Life Insurance Sales Techniques Part Three:

If you look at that statement it is completely true, however this life insurance salesman knows his clients, he knows the area and the culture and he knows that many of these prospects view gambling not only as undesirable but reprehensible and to be avoided. This is an insurance sales technique that is designed to make the uninsured status even more undesirable by the use of a single word.

Obviously, there are more words to avoid than words to use negatively to your benefit. However, the best application will be by those agents who know the area, the culture and the client's ambitions.

Life Insurance Sales Techniques Part Four:

Responsible choices that is a good term, using assurance rather than insurance is better, "assurance for your future and that of your family" rather than "insurance against (fill in the undesirable word here)" the latter term indicates conflict, stress and undesirable outcomes. The former term assurance for your future and that of your family neatly avoids the "bad words" death and dying, funeral and final. They are bad words because face it, normally no one wants to actually consider dying or what happens afterwards.

There are times to use these words, and a good life insurance agent will know when to use these life insurance sales techniques. But it certainly depends on with whom you are speaking, what their personalities are, and life experiences. For example, if you are discussing life insurance with a couple who just experienced a loss in their family, it's probably not a good time to be talking about the burden of the financial loss of a loved one. Maybe it's better to focus on the benefits of using insurance to pay off college expenses or mortgage as well as the life benefits of the cash value and using it in ways they many not have known about.

Life Insurance Sales Strategies Part Five:

Selling life insurance that has investment components such as Variable Universal Whole Life insurance has a focus that is two pronged, assurance for the family's future and investment. Many agents prefer to focus on the investment feature (although you know you can't use that word) and avoid the insurance in their sales pitch as much as possible. It can work, however that depends upon the age and desires of the prospect. It can often be treated in a similar fashion to term life insurance sales, if the client is as concerned about what happens "If" as well as how well this assurance will pay off as an a nest egg.

Life insurance sales techniques are not only most effective when tailored to the prospect's individual stated desires but even more effective when used by a person conversant in the local culture, beliefs and values.