A niche market big enough to fuel your life insurance business

One question I hear all the time is about leads. Qualified leads. Good lead companies. Leads that work.

Whew! It’s exhausting!

So I usually respond, “Maybe you need more ‘qualified’ leads, or maybe what you need are more leads to qualify.”

It’s about your marketing plan and your activity plan — those are the things that will drive your business.

LIMRA recently released a report about what’s fueling the purchase of life insurance in a niche market. Lo and behold, right inside of this insightful report we see an outline of a marketing plan.

Let me show you how I find a marketing plan in this report.

The report informs us that this niche market has a higher level of financial concern than the overall population, and that financial concern has been exacerbated by COVID-19. Does this mean a marketing message that addresses how this financial concern can be tackled would resonate with this niche market?

What if our marketing message told a story of how consumers in this niche market can ensure their family could pay their monthly bills or their mortgage while preventing their loved ones left behind from facing a difficult situation due to a premature death?

OK, I know. Duh … that’s what life insurance does.

But this is a primary concern for 44% of this niche market, the report states.

Here’s the thing: The report tells me this niche market is more likely than the general population to own individual life insurance. So would the right message, targeted to this niche market with a strong call to action, generate activity? And didn’t we mention we need activity?

Nearly six in 10 members of this niche market (58%) own individual coverage. Compare that percentage with the 52% of the general population that owns individual life insurance, and it seems like a big market.

Another insight I found in this report is 25% of this market segment owns group life insurance, a 5% increase from 2020. We all know what happens to group life insurance when you leave your workplace or you retire. So there’s a marketing message that can be targeted to this specific niche. What do you think?

Why do they buy?

People buy on emotion and are moved to action by logic; even people who say they buy logically buy that way because of how it makes them feel.

So why do members of this niche market buy life insurance?

An interesting insight I found from this report is that this niche market has the perception that life insurance is only for final expenses, a perception the report points out could result in their family not having enough coverage for income replacement. This perception also could make them lose the opportunity to use life insurance to transfer wealth to their loved ones. Are you seeing a powerful call to action with this insight?

You have the opportunity to help dispel this perception and protect their families.

I’m seeing a marketing plan start to come together. What about you?

As I start putting my message together, I find in this report that members of this niche market also see life insurance as a solution for things such as:

» Supplementing retirement income.

» Paying off their mortgage.

» Replacing lost income.

Now, to me, I see three different marketing messages I can use in three different email marketing pieces, three different Facebook ads, or three different talking points to open a conversation.

Here’s what I advise agents and advisors who ask me about leads: Decide what problem you solve, who has this problem, where they congregate, and where they get their information from.

Then create your marketing message.

Next, look for a growing market, one whose members recognize they have a problem, are willing to spend the money to solve this problem, and see you as someone who can help them solve these problems.

A growing market

Now as I look at this report, I find some of these elements: This niche market is 44 million strong, 13% of the population. And they grew more than 20% in the past 20 years. Wow!

Their median age is 38, with 30% of them below 20. That indicates a growing market to me. Their median annual income is $45,870, with nearly one in five earning $100,000 or more a year. Maybe they can afford your solutions?

Finally, 43% of those in this niche market say they have used a professional financial advisor, with 30% telling you they are currently seeking a financial advisor, according to the report. This is six percentage points higher than the general population. There’s a lesson in that data for you!

So what is the marketing message you should start with to reach this niche market?

According to this report, of the 44% of Black Americans who are uninsured, one-third believe they need life insurance.

That’s right, this niche market is the Black American market.

And this report tells us that, uninsured or underinsured, one in four Black Americans — that’s 10 million people — self-identified as a market who say they need life insurance.

Yes, they overestimate the cost of life insurance, believing it’s too expensive. This reinforces exactly why you need an ongoing, engaging marketing message that starts with curiosity, a powerful call to action, and an easy way to do business with you.

The most important message I gleaned from this report is that 55% of Black Americans would face financial hardship within six months following the death of a primary wage earner.

That’s why they need you.

Lloyd Lofton is the founder of Power Behind the Sales. He is the author of The Saleshero’s Guide To Handling Objections, voted 1 of the 11 Best New Presentation Books To Read in 2020 by BookAuthority. Lloyd may be contacted at [email protected].