Don't Discount Millennials as a Sales Opportunity

By: Oscar Toledo, Director of Sales and Marketing
Partners Advantage Insurance Services

The early cusp of the Millennial generation is nearing 40 years of age! Millennials were originally known as the “Echo Boom” because they represent a surge in the number of births that came mainly as a result of the Baby Boomer generation having children of their own.  The Baby Boomer and Millennial generations are the two largest generations in American history.  Until the emergence of the Millennials, Baby Boomers were considered the most important demographic in commerce, marketing, and sales.

Millennials have lived for most of their youth in a time of broad economic and technological expansion.  Indeed, ease with technology and telecommunication is one of the hallmarks of Millennials, along with a sense of optimism and entitlement that comes from growing up in an “everybody wins” world that their very attentive parents (Baby Boomers) carefully structured and programmed.  

I encourage you to watch Simon Sinek’s video on YouTube titled: “Millennials in the Workplace.”  I believe you will gain good insight from this 15-minute video.

Selling Tips

• Tell them where to research and let them educate themselves so they can decide
• Stay in touch with and through technology
• Be a trusted resource and be yourself
• Don’t be pushy
• They’ll tell you when they’re ready to buy

Don't discount Millennials as a sales opportunity. They are the youngest and largest generation in the workforce. They have adopted an understanding that they need to save for retirement. Seventy-two percent of Millennial workers have started saving at the young median age of 22-years-old.2
 
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2Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, August 23, 2016, "Retirement Insecurity: A Multi-Generational View" - http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/retirement-insecurity-a-multi-generational-view-300316823.html, last accessed 1/17/17.

For financial professional use only. Not for use with consumers.

The information in this article is for general information only.
Always follow your firm’s policies and procedures regarding review and use of third-party templates, creation and distribution of client and prospect materials, hosting of client and prospect events, offering giveaways or prizes, and your firm’s employment process.

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Don’t Miss the Sales Opportunities with Younger Generations

By: Oscar Toledo, Director of Sales and Marketing

Partners Advantage Insurance Services

It was only a few minutes before the client seminar began, and as my team prepared to present, I noticed something I had not seen in my 18 years in the business.  I have done a number of client seminars throughout the years and have experienced strong success with them.  Because where else can you get 25 clients/prospects in one place and commit to a meeting with you at the same time?  

So, what was this new vision at my event? In the door walked a young prospect, in his early 20s. When we advertised the event, we were very specific in the age demographic we targeted; it was baby boomers. But here is a 20-something walking in and sitting down.  I asked myself if he was going to be a distraction.  The answer panned out quickly, yes, he was a distraction.  

He was actually responding to the questions being asked by the speaker and I was impressed with his answers.  It turned out he was a teacher in the local school district and he was interested in life insurance.  And not just term insurance, but it was an Indexed Universal Life policy.

Selling Across Generational Divides

Generational differences are more significant in marketing and selling now than at any other time in our history.  For one thing, there are currently more generations alive and active than ever before, as modern medicine and affluence have produced a revolution in longevity.

Of course, generational biases are not ironclad, and birth date does not dictate personality. The first step in applying generational tactics in selling is to learn about the generations by becoming familiar with each one’s characteristics, likes, and dislikes.

Once we do that, we need to understand how to sell across generational divides rather than allowing these differences to short circuit that crucial connection to provide the best service to our clients.

We need to try to understand how customers’ backgrounds affect their buying preferences.  As an example, during my fact finder with a prospect, I begin with questions such as:

• Where are you from, and what was it like growing up?
• What did you learn about money growing up?
• What was the hardest lesson you’ve had regarding money?

I do this because the information they will share with me during the first half of the meeting will allow me the opportunity to better understand their buying preferences, and just as important, build rapport with them.

Proper Fact Finding Creates Better Understanding and Results

Fact finding is similar to an MRI health scan. It helps you dive deep into your client's perceptions and financial make-up to better understand them, build rapport, help you understand their financial goals and start to identify how you can help them. Using a well-designed fact finder to understand your prospects and capture what is important to them is a key step in a successful sales process. 

Request the full article entitled: "Better Understanding GENERATIONS to Enhance Sales." 

Fill out my online form.

For financial professional use only. Not for use with consumers.

The information in this article is for general information only.

Always follow your firm’s policies and procedures regarding review and use of third-party templates, creation and distribution of client and prospect materials, hosting of client and prospect events, offering giveaways or prizes, and your firm’s employment process.

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The 2-2-6 Program for Effective Business Building

By: Oscar Toledo, Director of Sales and Marketing at Partners Advantage
Insurance Services

You met with the client and made the sale. 

Congratulations! You're all done and can move on to the next potential client - right? 

You might want to reconsider that!

It's important that your practice management plans recognize that many times your very best prospects are right in your current client database. Don't leave business on the table or the opportunities to continue serving the needs of the clients you already know. Put a specific plan in place to cultivate your database, produce more sales opportunities and cultivate stronger relationships.

I use a "2-2-6 Program" to serve and cultivate my database. Here's how it works. Use your Client Relationship Management (CRM) system to trigger important follow-up reminders. You can also ensure you cover these steps by entering calendar reminders in your Outlook calendar or smart phone right after you close the sale.

2-2-6 Program:

• 2 Weeks After the Sale: Send a personal email and/or call the client to see if they have any questions that have popped up about the financial products they chose.
• 2 Months After the Sale: Follow up in two months to ask if the client has any questions concerning their new policy and how it works.  
• 6 Months Later: Follow up in six months to review coverage, ask if they have had any life changes that might require added coverage.

Annual Reviews:  It is important to schedule annual reviews with clients in order for them to understand the value in your recommendation.  Also keep in mind, most people don’t disclose all their assets to you during the first sale.  Go back to continue to cultivating the relationship.

Your client could have any number of issues suddenly appear in their lives. Here are just a few reasons the 2-2-6 program and annual reviews are so important:
- Death of a parent, spouse or child
- Receiving an inheritance
- Divorce
- New additions to the family via adoption or birth
- New marriage
- Seeing a friend/family member struggle with health and financial concerns related to long-term care needs
- Health change/issue

Most carriers are now paperless, so you don't receive clients' annual statements from carriers via postal mail anymore. These used to be good reminders to reach to your life and annuity clients. Now, you need to have your own system to trigger follow ups. 

You can gather this information by logging into the carrier websites to view your clients' annual statements each month. This is an important practice management task. Once you gather the updates, be sure to make the follow-up calls and you may very well uncover new needs with your clients.

If you don't have time to retrieve the annual statement information from carriers, you can choose to use a technology solution. These technology solutions are generally subscription based and they do the research for you! These systems locate all the policies you've written under your license number from all the carriers you choose. Information is provided such as, policy anniversary date, annuity in-force premium amount, if the term period still allows for conversion, etc. It feeds the information right to your inbox. It's a small investment to help you continue to mine your database and provide valuable service to your clients. Keep in mind, people like to do business with someone they have done business with in the past.

In addition to utilizing the 2-2-6 program and annual reviews, here are a few additional tips:

Relationship Building:  Your clients should not just be clients; they need to become part of your extended family.  Keep in touch with a friendly call or card. And if you’re placing your client in a position of success, why wouldn’t they inform fellow members of their church, bowling league, county club, etc., about the value that you bring to their household. Every sale and just a meeting with a new prospect warrants a thank you note. Even a “no sale” could possibly lead to a wider referral base of future sales. When you are confident you have helped the client and built an ongoing relationship, you can feel more comfortable asking if they have friends or family that might have similar needs (referrals).

Client Advisory Board: Creating a client advisory board provides valuable feedback about your practice from clients.  It's an effective and inexpensive way to learn how to improve customer service, the office experience and your overall practice.

We all know this is a relationship business. Be sure you are structuring your practice for success.

Contact the Partners Advantage Brokerage Team for additional information and complete sales assistance: 888-251-5525, Ext. 700

About the Author:
Oscar Toledo, Director of Sales and Marketing, Partners Advantage
Oscar Toledo has spent 18 years in the insurance industry as a business consultant and in personal production. He has helped hundreds of financial professionals and agencies grow their life, annuity and linked benefits business by providing innovative sales concepts, extensive product knowledge and superior support. He has also qualified for the Million Dollar Round Table for several years as a personal producer - CA License #0E38226. He can be reached via phone: 888-251-5525, ext. 124 or email at otoledo@partnersadvantage.com.


For financial professional use only. Not for use with consumers.

The information in this article is for general information only.

Always follow your firm’s policies and procedures regarding review and use of third-party templates, creation and distribution of client and prospect materials, hosting of client and prospect events, offering giveaways or prizes, and your firm’s employment process.

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Break Through the Myths. Set the Record Straight about Long-Term Care Protection.

When it comes to long-term care (LTC), your clients might not know where the facts end and the myths begin. You can help set the record straight.
More people today will need LTC services at home, in assisted living or in a nursing home — and the cost for care is on the rise. Yet too often, they stop short of preparing for real future needs because they’re confused by the myths of LTC products and services.

Have your clients confused facts with fiction on the subject of LTC? The myths are many:

• “A government program will take care of me.”
• “I already have health insurance.”
• “LTC protection is for nursing home care only.”
• “I can’t afford LTC protection.”
• “LTC is only for old people.”
• “We don’t need protection — we have each other.”
• “I can save the money I need for LTC.”

With OneAmerica® Care Solutions, we put the myths to rest with solutions your clients can use to help protect themselves, the ones they love and their retirement future.

Help your clients uncover the truth about LTC protection with OneAmerica Care Solutions. Start today with training resources and sales tools!

The Myths of LTC consumer campaign includes a variety of consumer marketing materials at your fingertips. Contact the Partners Advantage Brokerage Team for more information: 888-251-5525, Ext. 700

Not a deposit • Not FDIC or NCUSIF insured • Not guaranteed by the institution • Not insured by any federal government agency • May go down in value

OneAmerica is the marketing name for The State Life insurance Company® (State Life), offering the Care Solutions product suite.

Notes: Products are issued and underwritten by The State Life Insurance Company® (State Life), Indianapolis, IN, a OneAmerica company that offers the Care Solutions product suite. Asset-Care form numbers: L301, R501 and SA31; Annuity Care and Annuity Care II form numbers: SA34, R508; SA35; Indexed Annuity Care form numbers: SA36, R529 PPA, R529, R530 PPA and R530. Not available in all states or may vary by state. All guarantees are subject to the claims-paying ability of State Life.

For use with financial professionals only. Not for public distribution.

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