How to get the most out of Life Insurance Awareness Month

In a few short weeks, the life insurance industry will be participating in Life Insurance Awareness Month.

LIAM, the public awareness campaign conducted by Life Happens to educate consumers about the critical role insurance plays in a family’s financial plan, starts Sept. 1.

Preparing for LIAM

In the weeks leading to LIAM, financial professionals should familiarize themselves with the content available on Life Happens Pro and consider how and when they want to share these resources with their networks, advised Devin Pascoe, marketing director at Life Happens.

As they prepare for LIAM, they should consider the following, Pascoe added:

• Life Happens’ most used resources are its social posts. “To make the most of this content, optimize your social profiles and make sure your information is accurate and up-to-date,” she advised.
• Take time to build their network on social media so that their network is following them across their channels. “Consider sending an email where you link to your profiles or adding them to your email signature,” she said.
• Review all the materials on Life Happens Pro and understand what content will resonate most with their network and how they want to layer in their own perspective, experience, or insights when promoting the resources.
• Submit their client success stories to Life Happens’ Real Life Stories program by Aug. 31.

Apart from using Life Happens Pro, agents should review the blog content and tools Life Happens has on its website, such as its free Life Insurance Needs Calculator, and add them to their marketing plans for September.

Pascoe added that while LIAM takes place in September, it’s important for agents to always be active with their network through sharing resources and tools. Life Happens has evergreen content that can be shared in August in the weeks leading to LIAM.

“When sharing, agents should use the #GetLifeInsurance (or #ObtenUnSeguroDeVida in Spanish) and #LIAM22 hashtags on all campaign content on social media to participate in the greater life insurance conversation, as we ramp up to LIAM,” she said.

These hashtags are still great to use ahead of September as agents start announcing their participation in LIAM and building awareness.

Also, in this way, Pascoe added, come September, life insurance will already be top-of-mind, with LIAM serving as another reminder for consumers to review their existing policies, consider buying more coverage, or even purchasing life insurance for the first time.

More steps to success

In our search for additional methods advisors can use to prepare for LIAM, we asked two industry experts to offer some suggestions: Bill Cates, president of Referral Coach International, and John Pojeta, vice president of marketing at The PT Services Group.

According to Cates, right now, advisors should make a list of the clients with whom they have great relationships and who truly believe in the value of life insurance.

Then as Sept. 1 approaches, they should schedule calls with these clients. On these calls, they should tell them about LIAM and praise them for making the right financial decisions. “Then,” he added, “segue into a conversation about people they care about who should at least know about you and how you help your clients make educated decisions related to their financial planning.”

The power of open-ended questions

Pojeta said that one of the best methods advisors can use as they prepare to make the most of LIAM is to spend some time thinking about their approach to first appointments.

Many salespeople were trained to approach sales from the perspective that their service or product is the solution that holds all the answers, and they immediately go into “telling mode,” Pojeta said. However, he added, “we've been noticing a distinct shift in the approach of successful insurance professionals. They ask insightful questions of their prospects, which allow them to gain a better understanding of the potential client’s goals.”

Smart, open-ended questions create a natural opportunity to educate consumers about how life insurance can help them to plan for, and meet their needs, he said. “This can also help to shift the approach so that you become a trusted advisor, not just a salesperson,” he added.

According to Pojeta, the following are a few good examples of astute questions:

• Can you share an example of when something like that happened? This is a great question that will allow you to gain a better understanding about a time when your prospect was frustrated or dissatisfied.
• Tell me more. This is not a question, Pojeta pointed out, but a great opportunity to gain a better understanding of your prospect's situation.
• Based on our conversation, what do you see happening next? This question is an excellent way to close a meeting. It gives the prospect the power to dictate what they feel is the next step.

“Hopefully, Pojeta added, “it’s another opportunity to share how your product can best meet the prospect’s needs.”

Ayo Mseka has more than 30 years of experience reporting on the financial-services industry. She formerly served as Editor-In-Chief of NAIFA’s Advisor Today magazine. Contact her at amseka@INNfeedback.com.

Ayo Mseka has more than 30 years of experience reporting on the financial services industry. She formerly served as editor-in-chief of NAIFA’s Advisor Today magazine. Contact her at amseka@INNfeedback.com.