practice specialties
| By Kevin M. Lynch, CFP, CLU, ChFC, RHU, REBC, CASL, CAP, LUTCF
MASTERING THE FUNDAMENTALS
Ask and You Shall Receive
If you want to reach your sales goals this year, simply pose the right questions to your clients
and prospects.
Every Jan. 1, gyms and fitness facilities around the United States enjoy a sharp increase in business.
Why? The ubiquitous New Year’s resolution, made by millions of Americans every
year, to lose weight.
Those of us who work out at a fitness
facility on a semiregular basis have seen
this phenomenon. We have also seen
what happens around the beginning
of March every year. The crowds that
inundated the gyms and workout facilities
begin to taper off.
I have also noticed another phenomenon that occurs near the end of the first
quarter every year: the evaluation of the
business plans we implemented on Jan. 1.
As the numbers for March begin to solidify, advisors begin to realize their plans
are either on schedule or not.
Where do you find yourself this year,
as the first quarter draws to an end? Are
you enjoying the start of a great 2010?
Or are you behind schedule and wondering exactly how to get your numbers back
on track?
The secret to getting your numbers
back on track and the secret to continuing to have a great 2010 are one and the
same. That secret is to ask.
When I was a young man, I worked
in the automotive sales finance industry. As a new employee, I began my
finance and lending career in collections. As I developed my skills and
began to do well in my work, I was
invited to a supervisors’ conference
as a reward. While enjoying one of
the dinners at the event, I was asked
to share some insights on late charge
collections. As I reached the podium,
I was somewhat dumbstruck. After
all, didn’t everyone already know the
secret of how to be successful in the
collection of late charges?
in a conversation regarding disability
income and, a large percentage of the
time, a disability sale.”
Where do you find
yourself this year,
as the first quarter
draws to an end?
I faced the group and shared my
secret to being the late charge collections
leader for the Southern region of the U.S.
Whenever I was with a customer, collecting their delinquent payments, I asked for
the late charges owed. That’s correct—I
simply asked for them.
A few years ago, as I experienced my
first compliance annual review with
the company for which I was work-
ing, I had a similar experience. As the
auditor was going through my client
files, she looked at me and said, “Kevin,
I noticed that you sell a lot of disability
income insurance. As a matter of fact,
your numbers are three times the cor-
porate average and double the industry
average. Why is that?”
I was taken aback slightly by the
question. I said, “I ask my clients how
they plan to support their families with
a 33 percent reduction in salary or
more, should they become injured and
unable to work. That usually results
Sales secrets
As you review your business plan at the
end of your first quarter for 2010, are
you wondering how you can improve
your numbers? The answer is to ask.
If you are an advisor focused on
life insurance, ask more prospects and
clients about their life insurance needs.
If you focus on health insurance, ask
more prospects and clients about their
health insurance needs. If you are a
long-term-care-insurance specialist,
ask more prospects and clients about
their long-term-care needs. If you are a
financial planner focused on planning
and noncommissioned selling, ask more
people how you could help them reach
their lifetime financial goals.
To enhance your practice, consider
adding a product line. I would suggest
integrating disability income insurance
into your practice. If you decide to do
so, however, remember that the only real
secret to any sale is to simply ask.
If you made a New Year’s resolution to lose weight, like I did, I hope you
are still going to the gym. (I am.) If you
had a business plan that forecast higher
numbers for the first quarter, I hope you
are on track. If you have any questions
about how you can integrate disability
income insurance sales into your practice,
remember to ask.
Kevin M. Lynch, CFP, CLU, ChFC, RHU,
REBC, CASL, CAP, LUTCF, is an LUTC
author and editor and assistant professor
of insurance at The American College. He
spent more than 10 years in insurance and
financial services. Contact him at kevin.
lynch@theamericancollege.edu.
