How to address ‘it’s too expensive’ without discounting your value

By Drew Gurley

“It’s too expensive” is one of the most common insurance sales objections agents face. It’s right up there with “I don’t need life insurance” or “Let me think about it.”

For new agents or agents new to the life insurance business, the cost of life insurance discussion can quickly go from a speedbump to a full-blown roadblock if not handled properly.

And, no surprise, it often leads agents to change coverage options for the wrong reasons, often backing off to lower-priced policies. However, doing so can undermine the perceived value of the insurance and, worse, your expertise.

Let’s focus on creating value to help you overcome common objections. You don’t have to fold to get a sale you know is right for your client.

Why ‘it's too expensive’ is often a surface-level objection

The song “The Gambler,” made famous by Kenny Rogers, carries some prophetic words for salespeople on handling objections: “You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away and know when to run.”

Life insurance on a good day is a tricky product to sell. Many clients lack even a basic understanding of the benefits. Eyes quickly glaze when underwriting is mentioned. Without a foundation, it is hard for them to see how the insurance coverage fits into their financial future.

Admittedly, some have genuine budget constraints, while others are simply skeptical. And the worst: while they are talking to you, the little voice inside them is screaming for them to avoid the mortality discussion - the “D” word.

So, from my experience, when a prospect says, “It's too expensive,” it's rarely about the actual price.

How to shift selling life insurance from cost to value

There are two components to value in this scenario: the value of the product and the value of you. Both must be present. Here’s how I do it.

Establish credibility. Your clients need to trust you are knowledgeable and have their best interests at heart. This is central to my sales process, and it happens first thing. I engage with them about life insurance in general — about life in general — and focus on their thoughts, issues and concerns to set their expectations. I don’t want them to get their guard up early in the discussion. I ask a lot of questions. I’m constantly building rapport and bringing them into the discussion. Two good things happen: They talk and I listen (and I still get to show I’m the expert).

Reframe the discussion (if necessary). The difficulty of this depends on how persuasive I was in establishing my credibility. This purchase must be explained and subsequently viewed as an investment in their loved ones, not an expense. When they clearly see the impact of their household earnings power to sustain their quality of life, the cost has to become untouchable for the client. My recent article on how to handle “I will think about it” is also a good source for insight.
Tell a great story. I don’t know about you, but I think a large percentage of comedians today aren’t funny. My problem is most aren’t good storytellers; they merely memorize jokes. Translate this to life insurance. It won’t be enough to simply recite the facts of a case study. Talk about your customers as people, not buyers. Focus your stories on “why” something happened rather simply telling “what” happened. Storytelling is an art and worth your time to practice. I lead with helping them tell me their story about their household earnings power and the lifestyle it sustains for their family. At that point, telling stories to help concepts resonate becomes much easier.
Compare, compare, compare. Think of it like a golf swing. If the story is the backswing, comparing options is the downswing. Help the client separate the options into chewable pieces, so to speak. Help get them through the ball so they start thinking about what’s next. For example, a whole life insurance policy builds cash value, which can be borrowed against in the future. An indexed universal life policy serves as a wealth-building tool with tax benefits. Or, a term life policy is basic insurance at its finest. Help them visualize where the ball should end up. Learn more in my recent article about the role of life insurance in retirement planning.
Talk like a planner. A life insurance plan has to be put into the context of their total life along with their loved ones, not just their financial planning life. Help them come to the conclusion how life insurance is part of a larger strategy to protect their ability to provide for their family.

Preventing objections vs. overcoming objections

As I said before, “it's too expensive” is an easy way for a prospect who doesn’t trust you to try and quickly retreat. Taking the steps listed above will help you prevent that scenario from coming to life.

In conclusion, all of the most successful life insurance agents I know don’t “sell” policies. Their focus is to build trust and peace of mind, which they have found to consistently translate to sales.

When you build enough trust at the front end of your sales cycle, you’ll eliminate the amount of times you hear, “It's too expensive." Instead, you’ll have deeper, lasting conversations about the best way they can use life insurance

Drew Gurley is a licensed life insurance expert with nearly 15 years of experience. During his career as both a licensed life insurance agent and industry executive he has helped thousands of clients with their life insurance needs through his work at Redbird Advisors and Senior Market Advisors.