Insurance Agents Should Consider Themselves As "This" in Order to Make More Money

One the primary reasons most agents have to work long hours to earn only an average income is they consider themselves simply as Insurance Agents!
While you may and should be proud of being an insurance agent, if you think you're just an insurance agent who sells insurance policies or products to your prospects and clients, then this is the reason you aren't making the kind of income you want.
This is because...
Your prospects and clients not only hate to buy insurance from an agent, they hate to buy insurance!
So, if you present yourself as an insurance agent, then, no matter how long and hard you work, you'll be able to make only an average income, at best.
Please listen closely...
If you want to start making more money from your insurance business or career, then you must see yourself as a 'dream protector' or a 'financial doctor!
As Dream protectors, we have people's dreams in our hands. Everything our prospects and clients have worked hard for is in our hands. So, if we don't give them the proper coverage and something disastrous happens, they'll have lost their dreams!
Do your prospects and clients think of you as a "Dream Protector" or a "Financial Doctor"... or do they think of you simply as an insurance agent who sells insurance products?
Well, if all or most of your prospects and clients simply think of you as another "me too" agent, don't worry. Because, after you've read a few Success Tips, you'll know how to present yourself to them as a "Dream Protector" or a "Financial Doctor."
According to my research, the prospects and the clients of the super agents - the ones who earn more than $500,000 a year - consider their agents as "Dream Protectors," "Financial Doctors," or "Professional Advisors."
So if you want to become extremely successful in your insurance business or career, then you'll need to get your prospects and clients to see you in the same way.
After you've established yourself as a "Dream Protector" or a "Financial Doctor" in your market, you'll become incredibly successful in your insurance business or career.
When this happens, you won't need to chase after prospects for more business. Instead, they'll be chasing after you and begging you to become their "Financial Doctor."
Have you visited a doctor's office lately?
Did you notice every time you go see your doctor, if you have a good one, then there usually is a bunch of patients waiting to see him or her as well? And, after waiting for about half an hour, sometimes longer, you finally get to see him or her.
Your doctor asks you a few questions about your condition, diagnoses your symptom, writes up a prescription, and then sends you home. And then he or she would see the next patient.
Imagine being able to run your insurance agency or practice in the same or similar way.
What if you could see one prospect or client after another in your office all day long (on the days you choose), helping them solve their problems and protecting their dreams with insurance products?
How much more money would you make if you could see five to ten qualified and enthusiastic prospects each day?
You would be able make two, three, five or more times as much money as what you're presently earning... while having a ton of fun doing it!

Insurance Agents Should Consider Themselves As "This" in Order to Make More Money

One the primary reasons most agents have to work long hours to earn only an average income is they consider themselves simply as Insurance Agents!
While you may and should be proud of being an insurance agent, if you think you're just an insurance agent who sells insurance policies or products to your prospects and clients, then this is the reason you aren't making the kind of income you want.
This is because...
Your prospects and clients not only hate to buy insurance from an agent, they hate to buy insurance!
So, if you present yourself as an insurance agent, then, no matter how long and hard you work, you'll be able to make only an average income, at best.
Please listen closely...
If you want to start making more money from your insurance business or career, then you must see yourself as a 'dream protector' or a 'financial doctor!
As Dream protectors, we have people's dreams in our hands. Everything our prospects and clients have worked hard for is in our hands. So, if we don't give them the proper coverage and something disastrous happens, they'll have lost their dreams!
Do your prospects and clients think of you as a "Dream Protector" or a "Financial Doctor"... or do they think of you simply as an insurance agent who sells insurance products?
Well, if all or most of your prospects and clients simply think of you as another "me too" agent, don't worry. Because, after you've read a few Success Tips, you'll know how to present yourself to them as a "Dream Protector" or a "Financial Doctor."
According to my research, the prospects and the clients of the super agents - the ones who earn more than $500,000 a year - consider their agents as "Dream Protectors," "Financial Doctors," or "Professional Advisors."
So if you want to become extremely successful in your insurance business or career, then you'll need to get your prospects and clients to see you in the same way.
After you've established yourself as a "Dream Protector" or a "Financial Doctor" in your market, you'll become incredibly successful in your insurance business or career.
When this happens, you won't need to chase after prospects for more business. Instead, they'll be chasing after you and begging you to become their "Financial Doctor."
Have you visited a doctor's office lately?
Did you notice every time you go see your doctor, if you have a good one, then there usually is a bunch of patients waiting to see him or her as well? And, after waiting for about half an hour, sometimes longer, you finally get to see him or her.
Your doctor asks you a few questions about your condition, diagnoses your symptom, writes up a prescription, and then sends you home. And then he or she would see the next patient.
Imagine being able to run your insurance agency or practice in the same or similar way.
What if you could see one prospect or client after another in your office all day long (on the days you choose), helping them solve their problems and protecting their dreams with insurance products?
How much more money would you make if you could see five to ten qualified and enthusiastic prospects each day?
You would be able make two, three, five or more times as much money as what you're presently earning... while having a ton of fun doing it!

How to Become a Successful Life Insurance Broker

The life insurance market is one of the fastest growing industries filled with great career opportunities. However, according to the last survey, it is also a field with really high turnover with approximately 80% of new brokers leaving the industry within the very first year.
First, you have to believe in your work and enjoy it. As a good broker you must believe in what you are selling. Your aim is to help people to protect their health, life, money. Be passionate about your work but be professional. Your personal approach is a key tool in building good relationship with clients. A passionate insurance broker is also an inspiration for colleagues and especially for new brokers.
Successful life insurance brokers know how to make an impression. They know how to talk, how to use body language, how to shake hands. Being outgoing is about making clients feel comfortable, creating a friendly atmosphere. Empathy will help you understand your clients' needs, worries and expectations. It helps you obey possible objections or misunderstanding. So be outgoing and empathetic, it is a key to your success.
New brokers also need to be prepared for rejection, because many prospective clients are not willing to face their own mortality and morbidity. Many will procrastinate and postpone potential meetings and even get verbally abusive. But rejection is not personal.
As a successful broker you need to know your goals. First, your companies' goals which are short term, mid term and long term. Also set your personal goals, they will keep you motivated. Achieving goals in time is part of your success. Right goals will help you to stay on the right track

How to Make Your Insurance Advertising More Ineffective

Please answer this question...
"What is the purpose of advertising?"
Take a few moments to think about it, because the response isn't as obvious as you may realize.
When I asked agents this question, they usually replied, "To get the agency's or the agent's name in front of the prospective customer."
Was this also your answer?
If so, then to a small extent, you're right. But there's more to it than that.
The Purpose Of Advertising Is To Make Your Prospects Aware Of Your Products...And To Get Them To Act!
Keeping your name, your agency's name, or the types of products or services you offer in front of your prospects is only part of the formula. If you can't motivate your prospects to take some type of action, you're not maximizing the effectiveness of your advertising.
It's nice to create "top-of-mind-awareness" or to establish yourself or your agency as a brand in your prospects' and customers' minds. But unless you have deep pockets like some of the large national corporations you see advertising on TV, you'll go broke trying to do it.
There Are Two Kinds Of Advertising:
The first is called image or institutional advertising. And it's the type of advertising that makes up the majority of the ads you see in newspapers, magazines, and other media.
The biggest problem with image or institutional advertising (and what makes it so ineffective for the average agent to use) is that ads created in this format are NOT designed to sell. Their purpose is to keep the name of the agency in front of their prospects, letting them know how great, how big, and how wonderful that organization is.
The problem with this is that your prospects don't care how great, how big or wonderful you are. They have only two main concerns:
First, what can you do for them and how can you help them solve their problems or satisfy their needs and wants? And second, what unique benefits or advantages do you offer them that your competitors don't?
"Image" or "institutional" advertising doesn't answer either of these questions. Large corporations, such as IBM, AOL Time Warner, Coca Cola, Nike, and GM (and most insurance companies) use this type of advertising mainly to keep their names in the buying publics' minds after they've already established themselves in the marketplace.
Now, you may ask, "If image advertising is so ineffective, then why do these large companies still use it?"
Well, there are three reasons:
First, they have an almost unlimited advertising budget.
Second, since there's no accurate way to track the results of image or institutional advertising, they (incorrectly) think the advertising is actually working because they're making hundreds of millions of dollars a year (in spite of bad advertising).
Third, an image ad usually pleases their shareholders. Even though their shareholders really do want to see the company make more profit, they don't know the ads are ineffective (because they're not marketing experts). They're just happy to see it being run because it makes them feel good to tell someone they own a part of that particular company.
It's a shame these giant corporations just don't realize how ineffective their image advertising campaigns are. If they did, they would have saved millions of dollars. Better yet, if they knew how to use the right kind of advertising (which we'll discuss in a few moments), they would be making millions extra a year.
Like most agents, you may also have a limited advertising budget. So you must make every dollar produce the maximum return. And the best way to do this is to use the second kind of advertising - the one that works. It's called direct response advertising.
Unlike image or institutional advertising, which is simply a waste of money if you use it...
Direct Response Advertising Can Make You A Fortune!
A direct response ad (or sales message) achieves three main objectives:
1. It answers the prospect's most important question, "What's in it for me?"
2. It asks your prospective customer to respond or take action in some way!
3. It's trackable, measurable, and accountable!
As you can see, a direct response ad (or sales message) appeals to the self-interest of the prospects. It tells them all the benefits they'll gain from using your product or from doing business with you.
In other words, a direct response sales message (whether an ad, a flyer, a sales letter, a postcard, and so on) allows you to identify, qualify, and then target your prospects - the ones who are interested in what you're offering. This way, you can weed out the non-interested parties up front, maximizing your marketing dollars by focusing your efforts on selling only to those who are interested in your offer and can also afford it.
Because a lot of agents think their market is everyone, they usually make their ads or sales materials appeal to everybody. Perhaps you've even done this yourself.
If so, this may be the reason your ad hasn't been working as well as it could. You see...
When You Try To Sell To Everyone, You'll End Up Selling To No One!
Although your products or services may be suitable for everyone, there are some people who will need or want them more than others. Your goal is to find out who your most ideal prospects are (the ones who are actually interested in and can afford what you're selling), and then target them with your most irresistible offer.
For example, if you sell homeowners insurance, your ideal prospects would be those people who own their own homes. So rather than placing an ad in a newspaper where thousands of people may see it, including renters and apartment dwellers, you'll reduce your advertising costs and increase your chances of making a sale if you obtain a listing of the homeowners who meet the specific requirements you're looking for, and then send your offer to them. Or, you can rent a list of the people who live in your area that subscribe to a home-improvement magazine and mail a sales letter with your irresistible offer to them.
Similarly, if you sell a special kind of auto insurance, then you want to find the names and addresses of the people who live in your town or city that own the same type of vehicle you're insuring, and send them your offer. This is called niche or target marketing.
In short, it doesn't matter what kind of insurance you sell, you should take the same approach. You and I simply don't have a marketing budget large enough to reach everybody. Nor do we want to.
Here's an important point you should always remember...
Your prospects and customers want to buy from an agent who can relate to them and who specializes in their areas of interest. If they see you try to be all things to all people, they simply aren't going to do business with you.
For instance: If you drive a BMW, you most likely will take it in for servicing at a dealer that specializes in BMWs, and not in Hondas, Toyotas, GMs, Fords, and so on. In other words, a repair shop specializes in your type of vehicle.
Running an image or institutional ad is like operating a garage that services all makes and models of vehicles. You'll have to place a lot of ads to find enough people who are interested in buying your product or using your service, because most of the people who see your ad simply aren't interested in or can't afford what you're selling, or both.
As its name implies, a direct response ad stimulates a direct and immediate response - either a qualified inquiry, phone call or visit to your agency - or better yet, encourages an instant sale.
Interestingly, while some agents admit most of their ads usually produce little or no sales, they keep running them because they claim their advertising has probably made more people aware of their agency.
This makes absolutely no sense to me. Please understand this important point...
The Only Purpose Of Running An Ad Is To Compel The Reader To Take Some Sort Of Action Toward Making A Purchase!
I can't emphasize this enough. If you place an ad for any other purpose, especially to tell your prospects how big and how wonderful you are, then it's just a waste of your hard-earned money. Remember, your prospects don't care a bit about you, they only care about themselves and getting their problems handled quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively.
The way to get in front of your prospects to let them know about your products and services, and how you can help them solve their problems, is through marketing. And when you use direct-response advertising, instead of image or institutional, your income will shoot to new heights.
Since marketing is the engine that drives your business, if tougher competition or a poorer economic environment begins to affect your income negatively, don't do what so many other agents and financial advisors do: eliminate or cut back on your marketing.
Instead, realize this is the best time to get aggressive and turn up the heat on your marketing campaigns. As your competition pulls out of the advertising arena, and you begin using direct-response advertising, you'll acquire more clients and increase your market share substantially.
Remember, because marketing is an investment and not an expense, doing more of it (especially when all your competitors are cutting back) will skyrocket your agency or practice to a new level of profitability and success

Study For Your Insurance License Online

Getting your insurance license can be a daunting prospect. Facing the State Insurance Exams can be difficult - and deciding what to study to prepare is sometimes confusing. Insurance law can be dense and complex requiring a strong understanding of basic principles and standards in order to be cleared for selling insurance anywhere in the United States. Many states require a pre-licensing course be taken prior to accepting you for examination, others do not, but whether it is a requirement in your state or not a pre-licensing course is the best way to be sure you are prepared and will pass the test on examination day.
Some states require classroom pre-licensing courses, before you can take the exam for your insurance license. In that case you will not be able to take an online course. However, a great way to prepare for insurance exams, no matter what your state, is to practice exam taking online. Top insurance training companies will offer mock tests that contain sample questions designed to be similar to your state's exam. Not only does this type of practice exam taking help to prepare you for the type of questions you will face on the actual exam, it can help you to feel less nervous.
If your state allows online pre-licensing courses then you will find that the ease and accessibility of online training can help you achieve your goal of getting an insurance license in a timely fashion. The benefit of online training lies in the ability to fit the training around your busy schedule. You can undertake training at anytime of the day or night. You can move quickly through the concepts that you grasp immediately and devote more time to those you struggle with. You can review at will, and then take the practice exams until you are confident of passing the actual exam in your state.
Getting your insurance license can be daunting, but it does not need to be an insurmountable task. The key to succeeding in this endeavor is the same as it is for any other academic undertaking - preparation by reading, reviewing and absorbing information. Working with an online training company can help ensure you effectively absorb the information you will need to pass the examination with flying colors. Whether you do your entire pre-licensing study online, or simply log on for exam practice you will benefit from preparing via online study

10 Keys to Creating a Winning Insurance Sales Presentation

Sales presentation is the most crucial part in a sales process where you put all your skills and knowledge to test. Besides showing and telling, you use questioning skills and listening skills to promptly and accurately answer customers' concerns during the presentation.
In addition to that, you must be tactful enough to identify your customers' explicit and implicit needs and fulfill those needs. Your ability to present your solutions strategically puts you ahead of your competitors and makes your customers think of you favorably.
Here are 10 keys to delivering a winning sales presentation.
(a) Preparation
Prior preparation prevents poor presentation. Whether your sales presentation is going to be a rough ride or smooth sail is very much dependent on your preparation work. Make sure you have all the facts right and present to the decision maker.
(b) Build connection
Your prospects must first connect to you before they like you and listen to you. Make eye contact with your prospects. Use their name from time to time. Be natural. Be yourself. Be confident and smile.
(c) Be empathetic
When you put yourself in your prospects' situation, you learn to see things from their perspective. When your prospects feel that you think at their wavelength and comprehend things from their angle, they are more inclined to be in agreement with your suggestion.
(d) Establish a two-way traffic
Involve your customers in your presentation by asking questions. By getting your customers to talk, you make them take a more active role and your sales presentation becomes more interactive and lively.
(e) Appropriate body language
Your body language speaks louder than your words. It is important to use appropriate body language to show the confidence you have in your products. Your gesture, posture, tone of voice etc must convey your interest in your customers.
(f) Customer focused
Your sales presentation is not about you, it is about the customers. Your discussion should revolve around your customers. You should focus on their prevailing problems and present solutions that correspond to their needs.
(g) Avoid canned talk
Every customer likes to be treated differently. Customize your presentation according to your customers' situation. Intertwine some of your customers' concerns and aspiration in your sales presentation. A one-size-fits-all kind of presentation turns off your customers most of the time.
(h) Make your sales presentation a memorable one
You can tell a story to explain how your solutions solve a problem or draw a diagram to show how a concept works. People like to look at drawings and listen to stories. Use interesting pictures or stories to make your presentation a memorable one.
(i) Highlight your unique strengths
Accentuate your unique strengths. Your customers want to know if they make the right choice. They want to know if they get the best value out of the money they are going to part with. It is important for you to help them understand that why you are their best advisor.
(j) Wrap up
Recap the purpose of your sales presentation. Revisit and confirm the prospects' concerns and priorities. Assure them that their problem warrants your solutions. In this phase, it is important to maintain a high level of energy and optimism that may help your prospects make a decision in your favor.
A sales presentation is not complete without an effort to close. Always incorporate closing strategies into your presentation. You can gauge from the reaction of your prospects if they are ready to make the purchase. Once you detect positive response, you have the right closing technique at your disposal.

Be Sure to Pass Your Insurance Exam - Study Online

The insurance exam joins a list of the most difficult exams to take - the Bar exam for law, the CPA exam for accountants, the medical license exam and the pilot's license exam. The key thing that all these exams have in common is the depth of knowledge needed to successfully pass. Basically, the more laws that affect a given profession, the more complicated the exam to practice it will be. Many people who approach the insurance examination for their state do it with trepidation because the scope of knowledge required. How best do you prepare for such an exam?
Successfully preparing for any exam involves organization and planning. You need to know not only the material to be studied, but the amount of time you have to study in, and the priority of what to study first. Luckily you can find help for this study preparation in an online pre-license course. Studying online for your insurance exam has many advantages, not the least of which is your ability to study as and when you will - even if that is at 3am. When you study online you also have the leisure of going over a section that you find difficult until the concepts come clear.
Some states require classroom study for pre-licensing courses and if this is the case for you, online pre-licensing will not be available. This does not mean, however, that you cannot take advantage of online resources. One of the most effective study tools available online are exam simulators and practice exams. These programs give you an opportunity to experience the insurance exam format and sample prototype questions. By challenging yourself to pass the online exam simulation you will gain knowledge of your own strengths and weaknesses - where the holes in knowledge are. This will allow you to study specifically the areas you need to be stronger on. If nothing else, this means the exam will not surprise you on examination day.
The insurance exam can be one of the most difficult exams to pass, but with proper preparation you can do it. Whether that prep involves a complete pre-licensing online course study or simply using an exam simulator you will be better prepared and will score higher on your state's exam for having used online preparation tools. To learn more about how online programs can help you prepare for and pass your insurance examination log on to the internet.