You give them a few dollars a week to spend, and another few dollars to save. You offer to match the amount they save (sorta like how a 401K works) — essentially showing them how to save and invest their money towards the future.

Well, did you know that you, as their agent have an even better plan to help them save money for their kids’ futures?

Your clients may currently have a policy in place to protect their loved ones from losing their house should something happen to the breadwinner. Did you know you could convert this policy to accumulate a cash value for your client’s kids’ futures? This “cash allowance” would not only protect your client’s assets, but at the same time will build up a cash value for your client’s kids’ college fund (or simply a nest egg for their future).

February is considered to be a month for love. In fact, one of the largest retailer weeks for the card industry is Valentine’s Day. Hallmark® even has over 1,330 different cards specifically for Valentine’s Day!

Many of us will be showing appreciation or love for someone this month, but did you know that more hearts are aching across the United States than there are sweethearts? Let me explain…

Every second with a loved one counts…

Every 20 seconds someone in the U.S. is having a heart attack. Heart-related illnesses, particularly heart disease, are the number one cause of death in the U.S.

This February, make sure that you are protecting your clients should something happen to the breadwinner of the household. Give your clients an unwavering sense of security by protecting the ones they love.

Mortgage Protection is like a bandage in that we use it to cover and protect our families.

Often people tend to overlook protecting the things that matter most to them, until a financial problem festers and becomes too difficult to heal.

How long would your clients last if they became disabled and could not work? Do you have a back-up plan in place for their income?

Educate your friends, neighbors, and clients about mortgage protection insurance – and the options available to them. Take the time to personally guide them through the ins and outs of securing their income for the sake of their family.

-Stocks vs. Bonds

Bonds are low-risk and won’t grow your clients’ money. Stocks can increase their earnings, but with the tipsy stock market the consequences can be harsh.

-401K?

Saving money and getting it matched by an employer is great, but are your clients thinking about how inflation will affect their return? Saving more will up their chances of having more for retirement.
There is a better way! And the answer is an annuity!

Annuities are designed to increase your clients’ savings without risk and with guaranteed interest.
The money can grow tax deferred and then can be distributed back to the owner in several ways. This means 100% of your earnings are invested into an annuity and allowed to grow without having to pay taxes on earnings.

Advantages of an Annuity

- Guaranteed Income
- No Penalty Annual Withdrawals
- No Penalty Rollovers
- No Probate in Case of Death
- No Annual Fees
- Unlimited Contributions
- Bonus Rates
- No Risk of Loss

Annuities provide a safe and simple vehicle for all clients… especially for those clients who have money invested, but can’t afford the risk and don’t have the time to recoup the losses if the market where to drop.

- Some questions to ask your clients:
- Where is your safe money?
- What are you doing for retirement?
- Are you happy with the returns you are getting?
- Have you changed jobs that had a retirement plan?
- Do you have a will?

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NAA is an insurance marketing organization that supports independent insurance agents in all 50 states. In 2008, the company provided more than $13.3 billion in life insurance protection to families throughout the U.S. The company specializes in term and mortgage protection life insurance products, but also provides a full array of insurance-based financial services. Headquartered in Burlington, NC, the company employees approximately 130 people and serves more than 9,000 insurance agents. For more information visit, www.naalife.com.

Non-verbal Communication

Make eye contact ¾’s of the time – It’s a known fact that most Americans find eye contact assuring; it shows that you are trustworthy and confident. Try to hold eye contact about ¾’s of the time you’re speaking to the client so they know they can trust you. You may want to lessen this if you’re speaking to the spouse of the opposite sex, or if your client comes from a different cultural background; many Asian and Arab countries prefer less eye contact.

Lean forward – While still respecting your client’s personal space, lean forward towards them as you speak. This will show your client that you’re interested in what you’re talking about as well as illustrating the importance of the appointment to you and them.

Position Yourself – When sitting at the table, make sure you are wary of what gender sits where. You should sit at the end of the table with the spouse of the same sex closest to you. Spouses of the opposite sex should sit furthest away, so the other spouse is not distracted by the fact that you’re sitting too close to their husband or wife! By sitting in the correct position you’ll be setting yourself up for success.

Avoid fidgeting – Just like you’ll hear in public speaking, fidgeting during a presentation gets in the way of your message. Don’t toe tap or pen click; this makes you appear nervous, impatient, and distracted. All three of these things may harm your appearance to your client.

Verbal Communications

Pay attention to your surroundings – Before you set foot in your client’s home, take a moment to look at your surroundings. What do you notice about your client from their front yard? What about once you’re in the home? From these observations, you can discover talking points to discuss with your client. For example, if they have a boat parked in their driveway, you could ask them if they go boating frequently and where. Although this won’t help with “nuts and bolts,” it’ll give you good talking points in becoming familiar with your client and building trust with them.

Know the answer to your question – Ask questions that incite the answer you’re looking for. You want your client to visualize the situation they’d be in if they don’t get protection. This will help you have power over the conversation.

Lead with questions – This is a good way to steer a conversation without seeming too pushy. Know the answers you want and create questions from that.

Pauses – Pausing after delivering information will give your client a chance to catch up mentally and possibly offer a reply. You can also emphasize an important point by doing this, as well as highlighting the gravity of the decision being discussed.

Notice your Client’s Discomfort – You may not be the only one nervous during your appointment. If your client seems agitated or nervous, it may be a good idea to point it out and address it. This will both show you’re perceptive as well as give you a chance to address their worries. It puts you in control.

Coupled with the National Agents Alliance Sales System and proper training, this extra step in properly communicating with your client will help you strengthen your ability to speak effectively. Remember, you are there to help your client, and you should use all the skills you can in clearly presenting your products so the client is fully aware of their need to be protected.

About NAA:
National Agents Alliance is the independent agent’s goldmine of opportunity to develop serious income potential in both up-front commissions as well as back end residuals. Whether your career ambitions are to run your own independent life insurance agency or to be in the field writing business, National Agents Alliance is the place to make the kind of money you always dreamed of making.

The Sales Training blog is only a fraction of the type of training available to insurance agents through National Agents Alliance. Contracted NAA insurance agents have access to many more tools and resources such as:
• NAA University™, a platform for training and certifying our agents on peak production techniques
• NAAtv™, an online resources containing training videos and a conference call archive available 24 hours a day
• KIT Marketing®, a direct-mail service exclusive to NAA® agents for automatically keeping in touch with clients

But let’s start with the basics first…

What is an Annuity?

An annuity retirement product that allows you to save for your future on an tax-deferred basis and then allows you to choose a payout option that best meets your need for income when you retire—lump sum, income for life, or income for a certain period of time.

What are the Types of Annuities?

Below are the most common types of annuities that you should be familiar with.

• Fixed Annuity -An annuity contract in which the premiums you pay are credited with a fixed rate of return by the life insurance company, and the company guarantees a fixed payout every month.

• Deferred Annuity - A contract in which annuity payouts begin at a future date.

The above annuities are those that can be sold with a standard life license.

At NAA, we understand how important annuities can be in adding extra value to a client’s policy, as well as extra sales for you.  Our resident annuity sales guru, John Kight talks about three crucial questions that you must answer to make the sale and protect your clients’ accounts for many years to come.

“Is my money safe?”

Question number one asks you to prove that the client’s accounts are in a safe place.  Because annuities are not often discussed as a primary means of savings, many people don’t know the answer to this question.  Here’s the answer:

Annuities are as safe as banks, but there are further advantages than banks. Recently several banks insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) have gone bankrupt, however stayed in business. Because all reputable banks must file with FDIC and make a payment into the system, this allowed them to ensure a certain amount of money

Just as banks are supported by the Federal Reserve System, insurance companies run under the Legal Reserve System.  Each state has a State Insurance Department http://www.naic.org/state_web_map.htm   that requires Insurance companies operating in their state to file reports proving they have money to cover policies with their clients. Insurance is a highly regulated industry.

The bottom line is annuities are 100% safe, dating back to the Roman soldiers. No one’s ever lost money with annuities.

“Can I get my money if I need It?”

Annuities are not 100% “liquid”, meaning they cannot withdraw money at any time and at any amount.  However, in order to ensure stability and safety of their savings, this may be a worthy exchange. Make sure that your client has the amount of liquidity you’re providing is enough. It’s called “being suitable,” and it is part of being a responsible mortgage protection specialist.

“Can your client compromise with access to about 10% free withdrawal every year? Can you qualify that by 10 percent access is enough for them?”

If the answer is yes for both you and your client, an annuity may be a good idea.

“Am I going to get a fair return?”

People want a floor with no ceiling: 100% upside potential with no downside risk. The biggest thing that annuities have going for them is the great amount of growth with minimal interference from tax deductions.

Annuities offer the strongest guarantees on principal and interest.  Unlike a 401k, no matter how volatile the market is, your annuity will stay at the original principal amount you invested, unless withdrawals are taken. It can only go up! Considering the economic climate this is a huge selling point.
With our annuities, you’ll instantly earn a 10% bonus on your initial premium. That
Some carriers have annuity products that offer a 10% bonus, your client may move $10,000 into and annuity and have the value of his/her annuity immediately rise to $11,000. If they Move $75,000 in, add 10% and it becomes $82,500.

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Like any sales, the important thing to remember about an annuity sale is to highlight the benefits, but also to make sure your client is going to receive the correct type of savings plan that will lend itself to their lifestyle and needs. If you do this, the annuity sale can become an additional thousand or so payment to your policy. Remember, this is Commission on top of your insurance sale!

As we said before, before you set foot in your car to drive out to a sale, make sure you’ve got the sales system down pat (we can’t stress this enough!). Otherwise, you’ll be driving further out for further expense without increasing your profit! Play it safe; get the hang of selling before venturing out into the wild blue yonder.

Travel Smart by Cutting Back on Costs

Alex gave us these factors to consider when making trips for sales. You may want to spend more money on food or other factors, but this breakdown shows the least expensive approach. If you do make more expensive choices, make sure to review the expense and factor that into what type of sales numbers you’ll need to make!

“Expense for 1 ½ days of Sales:

40 A-leads x $21.95 = $878*

Hotel – $80

Rental Car – $60 (or $0… drive there yourself)

Airfare = $250 (or $0… drive there yourself)

Food = $0 (pack your own)”

*For purposes of clarification, example lead costs were used. Adjust according to your own situation

This is assuming you’re using premium leads. Agents sometimes snatch these up because they believe they’re guaranteed sales. However, if you’re a good salesman, you can work discounted leads with less expense.

Remember, you don’t have to buy premium leads! People like Mike Lewantowicz and Patrick Connors are making a huge profit with buying low on discounted leads. This can be a great way to help you save money while getting appointments.

Research what type of discounts you can get on airfare, hotels, and cars through travel sites such as Priceline, Hotwire, Expedia and more!

Factor in your Income and make projections before you go.

Making a profit in sales involves looking forward and projecting how many sales you’ll eventually have to make in order to both cover your expenses and make a profit. If you are investing a large amount of money into premium leads, you then have more of an expense to cover. 

60% of 40 A leads = 24 appointments.

70% x 24 = 17. You should write around $17K.

17K x 55%* = $9,350

$9350 x 75% issue rate = $7,012.50

$7,012.50 x 80% advance (the backend will come months 10,11,12) = $5,610

*Sample commission rate used. Adjust to your own situation.

Notice that the amount decreases in each step of making a sale. This is why you should look all the way down the line of production to the very end.

Agents should also note the 80% advance number very carefully;  if you don’t consider the fact the entire amount of money is yet to arrive, you could fall victim to the dreaded chargeback! This is why it’s very important to budget for chargebacks and not spend your money too quickly.

Give your clients the attention they want and need!

Because of the distance between you and your clients, you may not put as much effort into keeping in touch or making sure they understand their policy. We encourage you to take your time interviewing the client, as well as delivering the policy. Distance can make it a bit more challenging, but keeping communication lines strong between you and your client is the key to maintaining persistency.

“If the agent is applying the Client for Life principles, making extra sales, getting referrals, then the lead requirement will drop. If the agent is smart, he will also recruit in this area so he doesn’t have to go there forever. That way, when he goes in, he can also do a Sales Meeting/Opportunity Meeting.”

Alex says that lack of dedication to travel sales is a big problem in the industry:

“They don’t take the time to keep in touch with their clients… they don’t personally deliver their policies; giving themselves an extra chance to (1) make sure the client knows what they bought and why, (2) make extra sales, (3) get referrals.”

Travelling Sales isn’t for everyone.

Our final piece of advice about traveling sales is that it’s not for everyone. Like we highlighted in our last post, doing travel for a sale is a way to compress production that would usually take a month into a weekend. It takes a good bit of skill to do, and maybe more importantly, there are already opportunities at home. Alex reminded us of this before the end of our conversation before leaving:

“When you look at all leads available, there is very little reason to travel outside of driving distance (within 3-4 hours of home).”

But if you want to see big numbers and are willing to do the work, travelling for sales can be a profitable venture in mining untapped opportunities!

However, out-of-state leads need to be approached in a smart way or you could end up in the hole. We recently spoke with Alex Fitzgerald of National Agents Alliance, one of the top Agency Managers in the business.

For a little background, Alex Fitzgerald is one of National Agents Alliance’s brightest and most enduring stars. As a self-employed salesman he sold coupon books, LTC insurance, and just about anything else they could find with his good friend Andy Albright. One day, Andy informed Alex that he and two of their other friends had decided to start their own business and invited him to become one of the first members. Alex decided to rely on his long-term trust of Andy, Barry and Philip and joined NAA in its infancy. Alex and his team made over $9 million in issued premium in 2008. This is especially impressive considering he was once $60,000 in debt.

Because he started from the bottom and worked his way up we knew he’d give us great perspective on how traveling for business works. We weren’t disappointed; Alex gave us a plethora of travel tips, as well as many pitfalls agents fall into during, or even before setting out.

If you’re one of those intrepid agents that are ready to saddle up their wagon and travel to other states for sales, pay close attention to the following guidelines Alex gave us.

Perfect your sales ability locally first.

It may seem like an obvious tip, but many agents strike out and travel for sales when they haven’t gotten down the ABC’s of making a sale.

“I don’t encourage someone to travel until they’ve got the basics of the Sales System down in their local area.”

It’s better to hone your skills locally where you can cut back your travel expenses than trying to cut your teeth two states over.

There’s no real measuring stick to when you’ll be ready to travel, but ask the advice of your managers or other traveling agents.

Make your appointments no longer than 24-48 hours out.

Alex also pointed out that the short time frame on local leads applies to non-local leads as well.

“Our agents that travel get their leads right before a trip and call like heck for two days before traveling. Don’t book farther out than 24-48 hours.”

Even before you travel, you need to sign up your potential client for an appointment two days at the most. Anything beyond this point in time and you’re more and more likely to knock on empty houses doors or encounter clients with a change of heart.

Also, give them a follow-up call the day before or day of your appointment; it may seem like overkill to be so persistent, but it’s not; your chances of a successful appointments increases substantially the closer the appointment is to the initial call, and the more frequently you keep in touch. If you’re going to take a bigger risk by traveling outside your local area, this should be an even higher priority to ensure a better chance of success.

Premium leads don’t always equal premium applications.

A sales agent should not have a false sense of security just because he bought premium travel leads; premium leads are not the end-all solution to booking appointments, and can actually end up taking a bigger bite out of your budget.

When we asked Alex about it, he told us that agents who cherry pick premium leads often burn through money much faster.

“Try working with discounted leads. They will keep costs way down while increasing your sales way up.”

He also questioned agents who had difficulty booking appointments on premium leads:

“Clearly they need more training on making phone calls to potential clients.”

This goes hand-in-hand with our earlier advice to perfect your sales skills before venturing out.

Understand how traveling sales is different.

Finally, an agent should consider the fact that travelling for sales is just plain different than local sales. We don’t mean the people are different, but planning for how a trip will factor into your production certainly is.

Alex explained it this way:

“I always viewed traveling to run production as a chance to get a month’s worth of production in a weekend. If an agent is getting 10 premium leads a week, the absolute minimum he should write is $12K in a month… and just like minimum wage, that’s not great. That’s 40 leads a month. If you take 40 leads in a weekend, we are finding that the agent would run similar (usually better) production as if he had taken them over 4 weeks.”

By the way, have you been reading the NAA Newsroom? The Newsroom has important news and announcements about National Agents Alliance. If you want to be “in the know,” you know you should be reading the NAA Newsroom! Subscribe now!

According to ABC News, part-time jobs are now in high demand, and for good reason. With companies cutting back hours, there’s an increasing gap between American’s paychecks and their monthly bills.

What do you need to help fill the gap? Do you really want to work an extra 40 hours per week to get by? There is another, smarter,  way to help increase your income: part-time insurance sales.

Now is the right time to seize the opportunity to go into insurance sales, specifically with National Agents Alliance. There are several reasons why this is the perfect place for those people looking to supplement their income:

1. Previous Education not a factor. Anyone can become an agent, even if they have no previous experience in insurance sales. Several of our top producers held such jobs as engineers, office managers, waitresses, and much more.

2. Flexibility

• In hours… Unlike a typical 9-5, National Agents Alliance offers you the freedom to determine how often you work.  You set your schedule, and you decide when to work and how many hours.

• In pay… just like hours, you can determine how much extra money you want to earn, and you can determine how much work that will entail. Unlike a typical job, the amount of effort you put in directly influences how much money you make.

3. Growth Potential - If you want to progress to a full-time agent, National Agents Alliance offers a stable system for you to lay your own roots down and recruit. If you want to grow and climb the ladders to higher levels, your commission will also increase.

Commission rates allow an agent to make a large amount of income in a much smaller amount of time. National Agents Alliance estimates that working 15-20 hours per week, a family could bring in an additional $42,000 to supplement where their full time job runs short.

National Agents Alliance has already seen part-time work pay off in a big way for agents; below is the story of Kelly Wilson (pictured left), a full-time semi-truck driver that is making more than he could imagine working part-time with National Agents Alliance.

“I went to the National Convention and came away with a huge sense of purpose and confidence that NAA will be my last career move. As soon as I came home from the convention I purposed that my activity (the one thing I can control) will match a full time person. I work from 2:00am until 1:00pm in the afternoon,  10 hours a day, 4 days a week at my J-O-B. When I am working the JOB, I plug into MP3s via The Presidents Club, conference calls, and counsel with my upline as much as possible. The whole time my mindset is planning how to maximize the next 6-9 hours and hit the ground running on my real job.”

“The last few weeks I have had zero tolerance for error. If I have a bad week I can trace it back to as much as 3-4 hours not doing what I needed to do to set up the next day’s activity, or trying something new without counseling with my upline (even a bigger waste of time). My original goal of $1,500 to $3,000 a month has grown to a goal of making $10,000 a month. Now I just don’t want a part-time income, I want to break out as a manager and be full-time as soon as possible. It’s very hard to stay motivated on the J-O-B when, at times, I have made more in 2 hours with NAA  then I have in 2 weeks with the JOB.”

“I feel I could write a book about how much I have grown in the past three months but I still know I am just in the embryonic stage of my development here. This truly is an unbelievable personal development program with a huge compensation program on the back end for those who do the right thing .Thanks for opening up the opportunity for my family.”

Virginia Charles was named the number 1 personal producer at National Agents Alliance for 2008, as well as winning Old Mutual’s En Espanol contest for most Spanish applications filed. Virginia took a moment to answer our questions about the Spanish Speaking Market and what agents can do to break through it.

What is your Key to success?
I was fortunate be brought up by two phenomenal loving parents who instilled great values and a good work ethic. Coupled together, those two can create success. I have to add that I love what I do and I believe it comes across when I’m sitting in front of a family.

Do you approach Spanish-speaking families differently than English-speaking families? If so, how?
No, I have to say that I approach both Spanish and English speaking families in the same manner and that is with a genuine interest in what is most important to them.

What are Spanish-market families looking for in protection?
It has been my experience that the Spanish families’ main interest is the death benefit for the most part.  Not as interested in the additional benefits as much.  Basically their concern is that their families don’t lose their home.

What’s the biggest wrong assumption about the Spanish market? How can other agents overcome it?
I would have to say that I have heard from clients that no one has contacted them and they have sent in several forms.  My guess is  it was perhaps due to a language barrier.  These families want the protection just as much as other families, if more.  If you don’t speak Spanish, give them a call.  You will find that they are very warm and accommodating and will work with you because they want this protection.

If an agent only speaks English, what would you suggest they do in order to tap into the Spanish-speaking market?
I have a great example here for you. My son Michael speaks very little Spanish and finished as a top producer in the OM En Espanol contest.  He did this by determination and a bit of creativity. At first, he would call me or Grace McGill because we speak Spanish.  Now he does it on his own by asking help from the family members that do speak English in that prospective family.

What are you goals for 2009 in the Spanish-speaking market?
My goals for the Spanish-speaking are not changing, except to strive to reach more families. I love the Spanish speaking market; they are very warm and welcome you into their home.  I would say that 90 percent, if not more, of my business is to the Spanish speaking market.

What does the National Agents Alliance opportunity mean for you and your family?
I can’t begin to put that into words.  I am a single mother of three awesome sons and National  Agents Alliance has truly enabled me to better our lives.  I was a paralegal before I started NAA and I don’t have to tell you that the hours were very long it was a stressful environment.  As a paralegal I have very little time to spend with my sons while they were growing up. Now, I work out of my home and I see them on a daily basis so I am grateful for the blessings National Agents Alliance has brought into my family’s life.  I would also like to add that I now work with siblings and most of my immediate family is in NAA therefore I couldn’t ask for a more rewarding or a better work environment.