Warm up BUILD RAPPORT
Warm Up – BUILD RAPPORT
Nothing happens until someone gets excited! So Get Excited! And let’s get started!
•SET THE TONE – No sitting across from your prospect on the couch!
–Get to the kitchen table.
–Turn the TV off.
–Turn the lights on.
–Have the lead piece in front of you.
–Always position prospects directly in front of you, never one on each side of you.
•SET YOUR BINDER on the side, CLOSED!!
•BUILD RAPPORT – Get to know your prospect.
•5-10-minute warm-up, NO LONGER. Make sure to warm up with them enough so that if there is any resistance or objections they will feel comfortable enough with you to tell you their reasons. (Remember there are only two real objections--timing and affordability. They can never have enough coverage.)
•Ask Questions!! Get them to smile or laugh. Be personal and be yourself!
•How long have you lived in (city)?
•Are those pictures of your grandkids on the wall?
•How many children do you have?
•Do you have family in the area? (Critical for when you get referrals so write them down as you ask!)
•Find something to relate to your prospect with, like hobbies, sports, and family!
•Give a story back.
•Compliment their home, or garden, or something!
•Use their first names! OFTEN!
•Use the C.A.R.E. system Community, Activities, Relationships, and Experiences!
Community – Are you involved with the community? What do you do? Great!
Activities – Are you doing any activities currently? Who do you do that with? (Example: outdoor stuff or group involvements. Write this all down. It shows you are listening!)
Relationships – You said your brother, sister, or children live nearby. When was the last time you all got together? Are you guys close? Awesome!
Experiences – Did you get to know your grandparents (do you know your great-grandparents?) What do you remember most about them? What was the biggest lesson they taught you? I ask everyone this because sometimes I learn something as well. How have you used this in your life? (Only ask this one if they are receptive.)
Important Questions
Page 1– Copy of the mail piece they received/filled out… Show them the letter they received and ask:
•Now we got to know each other a little bit better, and I appreciate the sharing, by the way,
•Let me ask you, why did you fill this card out in the first place?What information were you hoping to get?
Do not let them get away with, “I just wanted information,” or, “I do not know.” Get them to tell you, and once they do you’ll have them hooked: QUALIFY THEIR NEED – Read exactly as it says on the presentation right here.
•There are 3 reasons why people request the information.
1)They do not have any protection, and they are concerned about leaving loved ones with the burden of their final expenses.
2)They have some protection or life insurance, but they feel like they could use more.
OR
3)They have one of these mail order term policies that terminate at a certain age. Which one best describes you?
•CONGRATULATIONS! I can tell you are a caring person and want toget this huge burden lifted from your loved ones.
•Now you do have some coverage or a funeral plan currently in place?
If they say NO,say: “Huh? (NO) Oh my gosh, good thing I am here.
If they say YES, say: “Go ahead and grab your policy. I’ll wait. Because I’m licensed, and part of my job is to make sure you have adequate coverage.”(Look at the schedule of benefits. This will tell you if it is term to a certain age or if the premiums are scheduled to go up. Also remember other expenses. Just because they have a policy does not mean that they have enough!)
If they can’t find it, ask them: How much coverage do you think you have? How much do you pay? How long have you had it? Is that Term or Accidental only? Who did you get it through?
< Tips >
Pay attention to their coverage, premium they pay, and how long they have had it. You can guess if their coverage is very high and premiums are low they might have Term Life or an Accidental-only policy.
Even though they don’t remember the name of the company, as long as they say “Someone came over to enroll me to this insurance,” it is most likely Whole Life. However, if they enroll by mail or phone then they may have Term Life or Accidental only. When the coverage is with their credit union or credit card, it is almost always Accidental-only plan. The premiums are usually very small and that will be an indication that it is.
Term Life serves a different need. There is still room for a final expense plan with us. Or it could be a Term to age 80. They have these policies because they know they need coverage. They did not realize it is going to expire or the premiums are going to increase. Help them so this doesn’t happen.
Even if they have a Whole Life plan, they still can use more. Mention “inflation and family expenses.” Remember, you are the professional. You know what’s best for them.
•(If they haven’t already told you.)Have you ever had to plan a funeral before?
•(If they said they have had to plan a funeral before.) You said you had to plan a funeral before.
This is a big one. We want to know all the details, who, when where, who paid, etc... This will help set you up regarding their expectations! Very important!!
WHEN they say YES, ask: “Did that person have a plan?” LET THEM TALK and TAKE MENTAL NOTES!!
They say NO or YES, say: “The reason I ask is that this has become a VERYstressful issue. The concern is not that we are going to die, but WHEN we die someone in our immediate familyWILL have to go down and face that funeral director. The funeral director WILL ask for all of the money upfront on the spot! (Snap Fingers)Before they start doing anything. Did you realize that? Not a lot of people do… And it can take a while for other funds to come in like savings and life insurance. Let me ask you WHO will be responsible WHEN something happens to you(Clients Name)?” (Write it down and remember to say this name as you go through the presentation.)(When you have a married couple, lean over and ask the spouse, “And when something happens to you,(say SPOUSE’S NAME)WHO will be the one responsible to take care of things? Forbid that something happens to both of you at the sametime. WHO will be responsible THEN?” (Contingent beneficiaries are just as important so that you are painting the picture of reality plus you can collect more referrals. They need someone to explain how this works. It is also important to say the WHEN, WILL, and WHO with maximum emotion!) (Write down the contingent beneficiaries and ask how the correct spelling is even if their name is Bob! Make sure they spell it out.)
Page 2– 2 Major Challenges when someone passes away.
Read word for word!Emphasize the bolded words!
Here are the major challenges that our family WILL faceWHEN something does happen.
#1 “What did Mom or Dad want?”
Even though they have some idea that you want cremation or earth burial, do they know in detail? Who to notify? Where you keep important documents? Do they know your basic vital statistics to fill out your death certificate?
#2 “How are we going to pay for this funeral?”
Will your family (Beneficiary) be able to come up with this BIG LUMP SUMon the SPOTfor your final expenses?And if they (Beneficiary) had to borrow it, what do you think will go through their minds every time they have to write that check? Exactly! Do you feel this is your responsibility or is it your family’s (Beneficiary)? Use the name of their beneficiary when you have it. And you SHOULD have it by now!
“They say planning a funeral is a lot like planning a wedding. The only difference is for a wedding you have 6-12 months to plan and a funeral you only have 24-48 hours.”
Page 3– GIFT
Give FREE stuff away here. If you are working for captive agencies, your company most likely have free drug discount cards, Accidental-only certificates or funeral-planningservices for you to give away. Make sure to explain with high VALUE! Give them BIG-VALUE ITEMS here and collect referrals using information they just gave you during warm-up. You should know their friends and family or any organizations they belong to by now. Remember to use the CARE system! (Community, Activities, Relationships, and Experiences = CARE)
Referrals –
This is where you want to start filling out the free gift cards. Make sure not to do this at the end of your presentation. People will forget the value of the free stuff and you will forget to fill them out. The higher the perceived value, the more referrals people will want to give you. This is the only time that you will want to tell someone what to do. (Telling is not selling; telling is referral collecting.) Remember to tell them that you can only give out a limited number of these cards per home. And they do expire in 30 days. (Birds of a feather flock together, and like-minded people know like-minded people. The rule of critical mass says that when you are thinking about something, oftentimes those you are connected to are thinking the samething.) So capitalize on this. When you have a new client, you should also be their friends’ and family’s trusted advisor. And when you are referred to someone, the uphill climb is no longer an uphill. You are already at the top of the mountain.
List out three benefits of the free gifts quickly and then say: Pretty nice gifts, wouldn’t you say? I know because everyone I see happens to rave about this, telling me that they were glad I came out. Our company realizes that not enough people are educated about this stuff, and to help our community get more literacy in the area they have allowed us to give out a limited number of these free gifts to your closefamily and friends. Pretty neat, huh?
Now the only rules to this are that they must live within the area, and the gifts have a 30-day expiration date. However, I would appreciate it if we could get ahold of them sooner.That way I can move on to the next area. Fair enough? Fantastic!
Now I do have 10 cards here.Let’s give your first card to (Beneficiary’s Name).What is (Beneficiary’s Name) phone number? What is (Beneficiary’s Name) address?( Remember the CARE SYSTEM example:) You said you are involved with the church.What is your pastor’s name?orYou said you’re in a bowling league.Who is in charge of that? What is their name? What is their phone number? (If they give you a resistance that is okay. People do not want to bother their friends and family. Just say: That okay. I promise not to bother them. I really only have time for the people that filled out these cards, and as you can see I’m a little behind on that (smelling and laughing). And I will ask you call them before I do so.That way I’m not aggravating them or anything like that. I will only give them one chance to take advantage of this. Fair enough?) Okay, great. Go ahead and grab your cell phone or your Rolodex. I’ll wait. (Look down at the card and hold your pen, waiting for them to give you the people. Assume and expect people to give you the referrals. Never say ”Who do you what to refer to me?” This technique does not work and will get you nowhere. Turn this into a game or a personal contest. Add this to your number tracking system so that you stay focused on this. The top FE agents know this and they know referrals have more value than a paid lead. They have higher closing ratios and they are free! Where can you go wrong? Give a man a fish, he lives for a day. Teach a man to fish and he lives a lifetime. Some say leads are your lifeline in any business. If you change that concept to “Referrals are your lifelines,” your approach will change. If you struggle here, tell yourself you are here to collect referrals first, then enroll. People will do what you tell them to do. Just make sure this is the only time you are telling them what to do!)
Page 4– In a Recent Study
Read word for word!
A Recent Study Shows:
- Most people believe in planning their own funeral, rather than leaving the burden to their grieving loved ones. Do you agree with this?
- 90% of Americans believe pre-planning is a good idea. You agree with that, RIGHT?
- Funeral cost is often the third largest purchase in one’s life, behind a house and a car.
- Loved Ones: Suffer from great emotional turmoil, “It’s hard enough just losing you!”
- Families feel rushed and overwhelmed,especially when there is no plan to guide them.
- Most people have no practical funeral shopping experience.
- Families tend to overspend on the funeral, under pressure to go over and above what the deceased would have wanted.
Grieving loved ones can be talked into just about anything!
“Funeral directors are masters at what they do.Sure, they are compassionate. However, they are in business to make money, and without a final expense plan in place, your loved ones are perfect prey! Am I right?” Exactly! (Get a yes!)
Page 5– Solutions
Read word for word!
Final expense coverage to fund the cost of your funeral or cremation
- Immediate funds available for the loved one to cover the cost of funeral expenses!
- Tax-Free benefit usually paid within 24 to 48 Hours of receiving the death certificate!*Providing you’ve own the policy for two years and have satisfied the state and federal law.If your clients ask, “What does that mean?” say “All life insurance plans have a two-year contestability period required by law to protect from fraud. However, as long as you have answer your questions to the best of your knowledge and provided you qualify, you’ll have Day 1 coverage. Most people won’t tell you this; however, I’m transparent, and I wantto make sure you know how it works. Does that make sense?”
- Final expense coverage is portable toANY funeral home. “What this means is the funeral director will accept this plan as immediate payment. Sound good? Great!”“Typically regular life insurance can take anywhere from three to six months to pay out since regular life insurance is NOT specifically designed to pay for final expenses. Make sense?”
- Peace of mind knowing your loved ones will not have to beg, borrow, or sell personal belongingsto cover this huge expense!
Congratulations for getting this taken care of!Look at them in their eyes and smile!
Page 6– Urgency for Planning
Read word for word!Emphasize the bolded words!
Since death is one thing we cannotPredict, Prevent, Evade, or Avoid, you need to be prepared.
According to the National Funeral Directors Association, today’s funeral costs range between $7,000 to $12,000.
This amount does not includecemetery property, grave marker, family expenses, and even inflation which will add another $5,000 to $10,000!
Let’s breakdown the cost! Look at the guide presentation and quickly run through it.
Page 7– Other Expenses
Read word for word!Emphasize the bolded words!
Losing a loved one means more than an emotional burden. It will also create a HUGE financial burden to your family. In addition to your funeral expenses, your loved ones may be faced with other final expenses, such as a mortgage/rent, a car loan, credit card payments, utility bills, hospital or doctor bills, and even legal fees… If married: And loss of Social Security payments. (The way this works as a side note is the living member will get the higher of the two checks.)
On top of that, there arefamily expenses, which include traveling (air fares, hotels, renting a car, etc.) plus time off work.
And when you are married, the loss of income and Social Security.
Other expenses can add up to $10,000 to 50,000.
Do you feel you have enough coverage? Pretty eye-opening, isn’t it? Make sure they say YES!
Page 8– Advantages of Owning Our Final Expense Program