Final expense insurance has been around for a long time and will continue to sell for a long time to come. Although the product itself is simplistic and easy to learn, there is definitely an art when it comes to selling final expense insurance.
Selling burial insurance is a process that requires an agent to create a need, a desire, and a desire for the product. Like any life insurance, everyone needs it, but no one really wants to buy and pay for it. As with other things in life that we should have, if it was free, everyone would definitely have it. The problem is … it’s not free, so we need to create that need that they can’t live without. So how do you do that?
First, the customer needs to see the value of having a policy and protecting the people they care about. I consider any life insurance that I have an asset and not a monthly expense every time I pay a premium. It is important that you speak in terms that the client is creating an instant asset for their family and not an expense.
The second thing that is very vital to helping your client is not telling them they need final expense insurance, but rather telling them. This is one of the biggest mistakes agents make when selling absolutely everything. A successful agent does not tell a customer that they need the product, a successful agent makes the customer tell him why he needs it and why he wants it.
It is very important to ask probing questions so that the customer will tell you. This is where most agents fail. Agents are often the ones who count in the sales process and by telling the customer instead of them telling you, in the end, the customer doesn’t take over the sale and the sale is lost.
“Mrs. Jones, do you consider planning your final expenses to be your responsibility or do you see it as the responsibility of your children?” The follow-up question after Ms. Jones responds that her responsibility would be “Why? Why do you think it is your responsibility and why wouldn’t you want to put this on your children?” Sit back and listen to her tell you why you need to buy her final spending product. These types of questions make the customer take ownership and make the sale for you.
To be successful in final expense selling, you must create a need for your product, since not many customers really want to buy what you have. The way you create that need is by asking questions that make your customer sell and take over. Don’t make the mistake 99% of all agents make – telling your client why they need final expense insurance.
