2. What Makes aQualified Prospect? Does he or she have a NEED for life insurance? Can he or she AFFORD to pay for it? Can he or she QUALIFY? Can he or she BE APPROACHEDunder favorable circumstances? 2
9. SITUATIONS THAT INDICATE NEED FOR LIFE INSURANCE Financial Improvement Increased Responsibility Increased Receptiveness 5
10. FINANCIAL IMPROVEMENT Appointment or Promotion Salary Increase Bonus Inheritance Probate of a Will Winning a Law Suit Completion of Installment Payments on Car, Home, etc. Policy Becomes Paid-up or Has Matured Dependent Relative Dies or Becomes Independent Successful Speculation Real Estate Transfers Awarded Business Contract Business Expansion Gets Building Permit Patents Awarded Government Action Gets Favorable to Business Winning in the Lottery Increased Prosperity 6
11. INCREASED RESPONSIBILITY Marriage New Child Adoption of a Child Engagement Taking First Job Changes Job and Loses Group Insurance New Home Borrows Money Parent/Relative Becomes Dependent Death of Wife Death of Husband Child Enters College Interest in Some Charity Has a “Special Child” Becomes a Key-Person Improvement in Standard of Living 7
12. INCREASED RECEPTIVENESS Death of a Friend or Relative Narrow Escape From Death Observing Narrow Escape Sees Life Insurance in Action Sees What Life Insurance Could Have Done Birthdays Age Changes Approaches Retirement Becomes Uninsurable or Rated Financial Losses Graduations Becomes Executor or Administrator of Estate Improved Social Status New Resident Friend/Relative Buys Birth of Grandchildren Child Gets Special Honors Failure of Competitor Death of Competitor Favorable Business Forecast Takes Child Into Business Change in Management Business Re-Organization Another Agent Sold Idea but Didn’t Ask for the Application 8
14. The Sales Pipeline* It’s in “Seeing the People” There is not a business going that does not depend on new people to see. Somehow someone must put names into the pipeline so that what comes out the other end are completed missions. Although there are multiple facets to operating any business, the entrepreneurial spirit would mean nothing without new prospects, and these mean less if no contact is made. The success of any business venture can be measured by the percentage of time spent face to face, and this time occurs only when someone asks for the meeting. General Public Targeted Market Specific Prospects Eliminated by Choice Initial Contact No Need At This Time Study of Their Needs Proposal Inappropriate Proposed Solutions to Client’s Problems Confirm The Purchase Assure Client Satisfaction * from the “Business of Selling,” Allesandra & Cathcart 10
15. Client Referral Model Personal Referrals Family Relatives Friends Social Contacts Social Referrals Acquaintances Neighbors Key Business Relationships Business Associates Business Contacts Occupational Referrals 11
18. What’s the BestProspecting Method? Client Prestige Referrals Client Referrals Endorsements Professional References Seminars Advertisements Leads Mailing or Telephone Lists Cold Calling The value of the method increases as you move from the bottom to the top. 14
19. AGENT CONTROL PROACTIVE PROSPECT CONTROL REACTIVE Impact of Various Prospecting Methods TOP OF THE TABLE Target Market Network of Advisors COURT OF THE TABLE Referrals MDRT Research Followed by Phone Call SHORT CAREER Direct Mail Followed by Phone Call Face-to-Face Cold Calling Direct Mail Natural Market The following Prospecting Pyramid clearly illustrates the impact of various prospecting methods on an agent’s career. Generally, the more an agent relies on “cold” methods of prospecting, the lower his/her productivity and the shorter the career in sales. Agents who direct their prospecting efforts toward Target Marketing achieve the highest production and maintain long-term, successful sales careers. 15
20. First Year Commissions and Lives/Cases SoldAverages for U.S. Agents and Members of MDRT Table Levels 16 * U.S. Average Commissions and Lives/Cases from LIMRA
22. Organized Prospecting List Names Evaluate Names Record Names & Data Organize for Calls Record Results 18
23. Methods of Prospecting PERSONAL OBSERVATION FRIENDS & ACQUIANTANCES DIRECT MAIL CENTER-OF-INFLUENCE’S LEADS REFERRED LEADS (Endless Chain) COLD CANVASS SEMINARS/WORKSHOPS SUSPECTS NEW CONTACTS FOLLOW-UP CONTACTS CASES OPENED CLOSING INTERVIEWS SALES COMMISSIONS: $ ____________ 19
24. Weekly Sales Success Formula PERSONAL OBSERVATION FRIENDS & ACQUIANTANCES DIRECT MAIL CENTER-OF-INFLUENCE’S LEADS REFERRED LEADS (Endless Chain) COLD CANVASS SEMINARS/WORKSHOPS 20 G U I D E L I N E S YOUR S T A N D A R D S SUSPECTS 12 NEW CONTACTS 8 FOLLOW-UP CONTACTS 10 CASES OPENED 6 CLOSING INTERVIEWS 2 SALES COMMISSIONS: $ ___________________ 20
25. Weekly Sales Success Formula Below, the Weekly Sales Success Formula is charted in the form of a funnel. On the left-hand side of the funnel, you will see “Guidelines” showing the suggested number of Suspects, New Contacts, Follow-up Contacts, Cases Opened, Closing, Sales and Commissions. On the line below the funnel, enter the average weekly amount of “Commissions” you wish to generate. Then develop, and fill in the lines down the right-hand side of the funnel, “Your Standards” — as required to generate the “Commissions” you set to achieve. “SUSPECT” - New people whom you plan to contact in the near future. You only have a “Suspect” when you know the name, address where to be contacted, phone number, occupation, approximate age, family status, hobbies, interests, etc. “NEW CONTACT” - A ‘New contact’ is when you have an appointment to speak to someone for the first time about one of the company’s products. “FOLLOW-UP CONTACT” - A second or subsequent interview, as part of the selling process, on any previously Opened Case. “NEW CASE OPENED” - A “Case” is “Opened” when you have had your first interview and decide to continue your negotiations. “CLOSE” - A “Close” consists of a face to face (not telephone) conversation during which you ask the prospect to take some positive action, such as signing the application, to be recorded whether the attempt was successful or unsuccessful. “SALE” - A “Sale” is any interview which results in your obtaining all the necessary requirements to complete a sale: — signed application, premium payment, medical evidence arranged. 21
26. 22 Are You Seeing3 People Per Day? “If you are not seeing 3 people per day, you haven’t earned the right to complain about the state of your financial circumstances.”
27. Always remember the basic premise of any sales endeavor:“You’ve Got to Kiss a Lot of Frogs to Meet a Prince.” That’s the job and you’ve got to kiss them Don’t try to substitute You can’t mail them a kiss You can’t stay in the office and wait for them to hop in and kiss you You can’t let advertising change them into princes You can’t ask your secretary to kiss them (he or she hasn’t got the stomach for it) It doesn’t take a lot of smooching to tell a prince from a frog You can’t change kissing styles every 30 days or spend all your time in Kissin’ School You’ve got to spend time with frogs and you’ll find them out there in the marshes Then, when you find one, you got to make contact Kissing is a contact sport -Source Unknown 23
28. CONTACTS At this point, when your prospect is ready to buy, you have a 90% chance of being called. You are probably the only person to make eight contacts with this prospect. You are building top-of-the-mind awareness (TOMA). Nurturing slowly, your prospect gets to know you and your company. Customer Relationship You are becoming a factor in the prospect’s mind. 89.9% of salespeople have given up by this point. 79.8% of salespeople have given up by this point. 65% of salespeople have given up by this point. 50% of salespeople give up. PROSPECT 24
29. 25 HOT 50% 35% WARM DEGREE OF PROBABILITY OF BUYING NOW 20% COLD 10% Success in Our Businessis All AboutQuality Prospecting… Everything else is Commentary.
39. “You Miss 100% of the Shots You Don’t Take.” Wayne Gretzky Great Hockey Player 28
40. JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC Prospecting Sales One Reason for Sales Slump The vast majority of salespeople experience sales slumps. The one reason why dry spells occur can be understood with the aid of this chart. Let’s say you start a job in January and spent a lot of time in prospecting, in fact, it took 90% of your time that month. Naturally, there is a time lag between your initial contact with your prospect and the confirmation of a sale. This is called the Sales Cycle, and generally, the higher the price, the longer is the sales cycle. As time goes by, sales increase. Your prospecting activities begin to pay off. You become more and more impressed with yourself. You’re making customers happy, your sales manager is thrilled and your bank account looks better all the time. But as your sales increase, you keep decreasing your sales activities because you think “I don’t need to prospect, I’m making sales?” Months later, you enter a dry spell but you can’t figure it out. The answer is simple, you have stopped prospecting. The prospecting groundwork you laid at the beginning of the year has already paid off, and the well of new business is starting to run dry. Sales slumps can be avoided by continually prospecting. One simple truth to remember in this business is that “if you stop planting, you stop reaping.”
