You could be taking the life out of Life Insurance selling. If you are, you are making the business a lot harder than it needs to be.
You could be taking the life out of Life Insurance selling. If you are, you are making the business a lot harder than it needs to be.
I sat in on a role-play of a life insurance sales presentation recently and I couldn’t help but think it would put a prospect right to sleep. It was filled with ledger sheets (on PPT mind you) and complicated technical language. It was a feature-filled presentation that would likely mean absolutely nothing to most people. It was completely “life-less”. No stories to which people could relate. No analogies. No helpful illustrations. Just dead facts.
Prospects don’t need all that technical jargon and columns of numbers to make a decision. Yes, of course, the numbers are important and necessary, just not at the beginning. Yes, your presentation has to be facts based. But prospects need interpretation, not information. They want to know what the illustration means to them. They want context, not content. They need to know how that information applies to them in their circumstances They want your wisdom, not a data-dump. They expect you to distill the facts and give them the essence that matters to them.
That’s what adds life to a life insurance presentation…Life-like stories. Tell interesting background information about the illustration. Provide real-life explanations of the benefits of the product. Show examples of how your recommendations can work for them. Share anonymous stories of similar situations that put the purchase into proper perspective. That will enliven any presentation.
Generally speaking, whether you do a written presentation or an oral one, prospects are looking for the executive summary of the situation. They don’t necessarily need to know all the intricate details. They just need to know that YOU KNOW all the intricate details. Your job is to summarize competently – to make the complicated simple so they know enough to buy. They don’t need to know enough to be a pricing actuary. Stay simple and lively in your presentations.
Add life to your life insurance presentations. Be a professional by making the complicated simple for your prospects. WEhen anyone can understand, anyone can buy. As Einstein said: “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t know it well enough.”
I sat in on a role-play of a life insurance sales presentation recently and I couldn’t help but think it would put a prospect right to sleep. It was filled with ledger sheets (on PPT mind you) and complicated technical language. It was a feature-filled presentation that would likely mean absolutely nothing to most people. It was completely “life-less”. No stories to which people could relate. No analogies. No helpful illustrations. Just dead facts.
Prospects don’t need all that technical jargon and columns of numbers to make a decision. Yes, of course, the numbers are important and necessary, just not at the beginning. Yes, your presentation has to be facts based. But prospects need interpretation, not information. They want to know what the illustration means to them. They want context, not content. They need to know how that information applies to them in their circumstances They want your wisdom, not a data-dump. They expect you to distill the facts and give them the essence that matters to them.
That’s what adds life to a life insurance presentation…Life-like stories. Tell interesting background information about the illustration. Provide real-life explanations of the benefits of the product. Show examples of how your recommendations can work for them. Share anonymous stories of similar situations that put the purchase into proper perspective. That will enliven any presentation.
Generally speaking, whether you do a written presentation or an oral one, prospects are looking for the executive summary of the situation. They don’t necessarily need to know all the intricate details. They just need to know that YOU KNOW all the intricate details. Your job is to summarize competently – to make the complicated simple so they know enough to buy. They don’t need to know enough to be a pricing actuary. Stay simple and lively in your presentations.
Add life to your life insurance presentations. Be a professional by making the complicated simple for your prospects. WEhen anyone can understand, anyone can buy. As Einstein said: “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t know it well enough.”
The RUTA Report – Real Usable Tactical Advice – is provided exclusively to the Canadian Life e-newsletter each week by veteran financial industry consultant, speaker, writer and media commentator Jim Ruta. Starting at age 22, he led one of Canada’s largest insurance agencies by age 40. Jim has been featured around the world including the MDRT Main Platform and has several best-selling books to his credit. He is Managing Partner of Boston-based InforcePRO Software, a unique automatic presentation from existing policies system.
