If you are struggling as a life insurance agent (especially if you are a new agent) you need to focus on these three things; referrals, planning your financial strategy, and ongoing learning to turn your business around.
1. Focus On Referrals
I write about 80% of my business off of referrals.
My philosophy is: Your purchased leads should be supplementing your referrals. This lowers your lead cost. For example, some leads may cost you $30, which isn’t bad, but some brand new leads may cost $80 depending on the vendor. So if you want to really bring your lead costs down per capita, turn that one lead into five leads through referrals and now you’re only paying $10 or $5 per lead.
Ask For Multiple Referrals
I ask for referrals throughout the entirety of my interactions with each client. I don’t use one specific process, but I’ll give you a little secret. If you don’t know where to start, talk about beneficiaries. Explain the policy to the beneficiary, and what it means to be a beneficiary. Then consistently ask for referrals at all touchpoints, from the initial pitch, to the close, to the thank you card, to the six-month review with each client, etc.. At every touchpoint, ask them, ‘Do you know somebody that’s in the same financial situation that you are in?’
People tend to hang out with friends on the same financial level as they are, maybe a little above, maybe a little below, but generally on the same level. So if you have a $500/month IUL, they probably know 10 other people who are in the same financial situation and can afford a $500/month IUL. Use that question throughout the entirety of the process. You should be averaging at least 3 to 5 referrals in every sit. Don’t be afraid to ask!
2. Planning Your Financial Strategy
Really, plan your financial strategy around this business.
You Should Be Saving 40%+
I’ve made enough money mistakes. I bought the fancy watch too soon, I bought the fancy car, I didn’t reinvest enough into my business in my early years, the list goes on.
Today, I always preached to my agents and to others that you should be saving at least 40% to 45% of your commissions. This money needs to go towards taxes and other expenses that accumulate within your business. If you’re bad at saving, take your advance and jump it down to 60% and then save your release money, or whichever way you want to do it.
3. Never Stop Learning
When I started out as a new agent I was constantly learning. I learned from being an intern, from being a captive agent, and from being an independent agent. I was never afraid to ask other people questions who were more successful than I was.
I don’t have that big of an ego, I mean, I’m pretty confident but I wasn’t going to go off on my own and wing it. We all need help. (Which is why my Sling It Playbook came to fruition). There’s just not enough good information out there for new agents. When I was new I wasn’t the best at final expense pitches, I wasn’t the best at gaining referrals, and I wasn’t the best at closing over a $250/month deal. Like most new agents I was scared to ask for those referrals.
I spent my early years trying to gain a little nugget or two from everyone that I met or talked to. Then I turned it into my own pitch and tested everything I learned. I fine-tuned my pitch and eventually developed my own process and philosophy which has been very successful. I now use that process to train my agents and offer coaching and educational tools online to everyone. If you want to learn more or have a question drop me a comment on Facebook!