Client Education Will Boost Your DI Sales
No matter the insurance product, the more your clients are familiar with, the more they will be comfortable with completing an application, relinquishing their precious time to an underwriting process and ultimately choosing to spend money on some sort of prescribed financial protection.
Nothing can be truer when regarding disability insurance, as there is a common precept that DI coverage does not sell itself. This is true only because of a general lack of education and communication between advisor and client. Additional guidance and tutelage will tend to increase the connection between you and your clientele, leading to a greater understanding of the value and need for the insurance products with which you make your livelihood.
As an insurance professional, you employ sales pitches to spark interest in prospective clients. I would assume you have honed your craft and skills for years, and after initially speaking with a prospect, you can recognize that person’s acceptance to your “pitch” and the likelihood of a sale.
Considering more publicly familiar lines of insurance like car insurance, health insurance and homeowner’s insurance, these products and their benefits easily sell themselves and are requisites of most Americans. Even life insurance is a common commodity and an easier sale to many with families and some level of disposable income. But disability insurance is a different animal, and your usual “pitch” may not be as effective.
The biggest roadblock to a DI sale is in fact the prejudice of the client. Most of us believe we are indestructible or at least impervious to long-term disablement. We know we will suffer injuries and illnesses throughout our lives, but we can’t imagine them standing in the way of our ability to make a living. A profound lack of acceptance and realization of our own morbidity is a commonality found along the entire age spectrum of working Americans. Many of us, not just the young Millennial generation, are delusional and clearly unaware of the unforeseen chances of becoming sick or injured, unable to make a living.
Another hurdle for the DI salesperson is the product itself. Disability insurance jargon and policy structure can be quite confusing to those outside the industry and even to those with a fair knowledge of the life and health insurance world. Additionally, the multitude of policy riders available and benefit options offer added value, yet detract from the ease of understanding and overall salability to the average consumer.
So how do you make DI coverage more attractive to your clients? You go the extra mile, you take the extra step and you spend a little more time. Set aside your usual sales pitch and educate your client. Openly communicate to them that, as an employed person, disability income insurance is the most important product available for their financial future and for the protection of their family. Relate that their greatest asset, their income, is not properly insured, and you intend to fix that problem.
Don’t let a brochure or a policy specimen do all the talking. Insurance companies don’t know your clients. Only you know your clients. Provide personal insight, and believe in what you are selling – your client will too. It is imperative to pass on your knowledge of income protection, because a little education is the key to understanding and appreciating disability income insurance.