What I wish I knew when I started out in life insurance

As I reflect over the past 43 years, I wanted to share some key elements that I hope will help newer agents succeed in our amazing business. An agent’s career path can and will change over time, and mine certainly did.

My career began as a 23-year-old agent with Northwestern Mutual. I had no clients, I had just graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and I also had no salary! In 2003, I decided to retire from Northwestern Mutual and join the largest locally owned CPA and advisory services firm in southeastern Wisconsin., Kolb & Co. We then merged with Sikich, which was a top 25 CPA firm in the country. This is where I ended my career, as the partner-in-charge of the insurance services division. 

What I had in February 1981 were some attributes that I now know would become huge assets down the road. These attributes were:

1) A very strong belief that life insurance was the most important coverage a person could possibly buy. What other asset could create cash at a discount when a person needs it the most? What was more important to a family or business than to insure a human life?

2) An extremely positive attitude. Attitude, not aptitude, determines altitude. When a new agent begins their career, they need to know that this business is a marathon, not a sprint. We are in a name-processing business, and you never want to run out of names. Becoming a trusted advisor is not something you do, it is something you earn. It is up to you, as the agent, to invest in the relationship and become that trusted advisor. 

3) After examining how I could build my business, I decided to make it happen. I chose to design it using Al Granum’s 100 lives approach. I knew that if I could make the prospect into a client, I would develop a long-term relationship and trust, which would enable me to work with them for many years to come.

As a new agent grows their career, they will become familiar with the ins and outs of the business. We all develop our own style of selling. We incorporate our personalities into our own techniques. We each evolve into a unique way of doing things, which we simply call “my way.”

100 lives annually

Focusing on writing at least 100 lives annually would guarantee me success. I learned this from Al Granum and used his system religiously. It clearly works. So, in my first year, I sold 120 lives. 

Young agents need to call on prospects through referrals only. I have never made one cold call. It may take a bit longer using the referral-only method, but it is far more effective than cold-calling. Earn your referrals from your clients and centers of influence by showing them that you do quality work. People will refer you if you ask!

You must do these things every day:

1) Stay focused on being organized in your scheduling. Set up a breakfast and a lunch meeting daily. Try and see (or meet on Zoom) with between five and seven people every day. In my opinion, there is nothing better than a face-to-face meeting with new prospects. It is much harder to initiate a solid relationship with someone new over the computer. 

2) When you receive referrals, call them promptly. Do not delay, because if you do, someone else will contact them first.

3) Cross-sell multiple policies. These cases are opened up by doing thorough fact-finding interviews. So, insure dad, mom and the children for life insurance, and always discuss the importance of disability insurance for the breadwinner. In the business setting, insure the owner and key people for both life and disability coverage. 

4) Hire an assistant. They can handle your daily administrative duties such as scheduling appointments, conducting insurance company contacts and following up with clients. This will allow you to focus on seeing clients and prospects. 

By writing 120 lives in my first year, and doing what I suggest above, my production skyrocketed. I was fortunate to write between 400 and 500 lives for 20 straight years at Northwestern Mutual and led the entire field force in lives sold in 2003. 

You must add new clients to your system each year, without exception! I added 80 to 100 new clients into my system every year. When you add new clients, you will have your existing clients and the new ones to contact each year going forward.

What I didn’t know then

Here’s what I know now that I didn’t know when I was starting out.

People buy life and disability insurance for emotional reasons, not logical ones. New agents must spend a lot of time perfecting their fact-finding techniques. This is where the sales are made! The agent must politely disturb the prospect so they feel uncomfortable. You need to look for and pinpoint the problem by asking questions such as “Would your family be financially secure if you died last night?”

If we can identify a problem that is going to cost the prospect or their family money, they need insurance. Make sure you have found the problem, that you recognize it, that you understand it so well that you know the price of doing nothing about it. You will need to show your prospect that by doing nothing, it will cost them dollars, but by doing something, it will cost them pennies!

Some people think that they are invincible. We know that nobody is. The art of questioning when it comes to protecting an income is very important. Questions such as “If you get sick or hurt, there are four sources of income for your family: relatives, friends, charity or insurance. Which do you prefer?

“When you land in the hospital, what do you want me to send you — a get-well card or a check?

“If you become disabled and cannot work, do you have enough money coming in each month to pay your bills without tapping your invested assets?”

As you see, these questions create an uncomfortable feeling, but they must be asked to show the importance of protecting one’s income and to motivate your prospect to act in their best interest.

My belief has been that if I could not earn a referral from a client, prospect or friend, I did not deserve to work with that person. If you can acquire 20 to 30 new referred leads per week, that will set you up for building your network. It made me feel good to know that people were willing to refer me to their contacts, and when these referrals became clients, they then referred me to new people. I called this the “snowball effect.”

Overcoming objections 

In all forms of sales, there are objections. I loved hearing objections, because I knew right then that the prospect was going to buy something from me, as there was a dialogue taking place. How did I overcome objections, and how can any new agent?

» Use tact. Do not give the impression of being overly aggressive, impatient or angry.

» Maintain a real interest in the prospect’s needs. There should be a feeling that the two of you are working together to solve their financial needs.

» Tell a story to prove your point. People love hearing stories. Develop a book of illustrative stories that you can draw on readily and can tell with enthusiasm.

When I was starting out, I also didn’t know about consumers’ perception of term insurance. Some people said that instead of spending a lot of money on permanent insurance, they would prefer to buy a term policy and “invest the difference between the two.”  

Assume the person purchased a 20-year term plan. Now, I know that if they are still alive at the end of the term, the term plan will jump in price, and if they still need coverage, they will need to buy a new policy at an older age at higher cost and hope that they are still insurable. Further, it’s likely they did not invest the difference but used the money for various life items. 

I sold millions of dollars of term insurance over the years, and happily so. We then converted the majority of these policies to permanent coverage over time. Whatever the need was, I made sure that it was met!

A few other things I learned along the life insurance journey:

» I never hit a sales slump because I always made sure that I made at least two sales every week. If I did hit a slump, I would do one thing: keep working!

» The best life insurance policy is the one that is there one day longer than the client. Often, this would be a permanent life policy. 

» Be persistent. Spend time on building client relationships. Focus on the long term. Stay positive.

» Whatever you do, remember client appreciation is the art of making others feel special. 

I hope these ideas and tips will provide new agents with the motivation to work hard, protect your clients and most of all, enjoy our wonderful business. I have made a big difference to thousands of good human beings, and so can you!

Steve Spector is a recently retired partner-in-charge of insurance services for Sikich. He has written $3 billion in death benefits on more than 15,000 lives in his 43-year career. Contact him at [email protected].