- As a disability insurance sales professional, do you feel frustrated when prospects are more concerned about securing full-coverage for their cars than protecting their incomes?
- Do you encounter people who discount the need for income protection because they believe they will never be disabled?
- Do you wish you could grab prospects’ undivided attention for just a short time, so you could show them what’s at stake and help them understand the risks?
If you answered “yes” to any one of these questions, consider hosting a seminar to convert more DI prospects into DI customers. Seminars generate qualified leads and also establish you as an income protection expert in your community, creating valuable referral opportunities.
Below are five tips to consider when planning an income protection seminar:
1. Host a series of income protection topics. Host a seminar at least once every quarter featuring a series of relevant DI topics. For example, you can begin with an individual disability insurance topic, offer a seminar for businesses owners the next quarter, and feature Retirement DI in the third quarter. When advertising your events, include information about all the upcoming sessions. If one topic doesn’t resonate with a prospect, perhaps others will.
2. Practice old-fashioned hospitality. When people are comfortable and their needs are met, they are easier to engage. Pay attention to the temperature of the room; provide tables and extra pens and paper so people can easily take notes; offer snacks and drinks and a place to hang up coats. Be mindful of your audience. If there’s a chance that attendees could have children in tow, provide coloring sheets and perhaps a teenage childcare provider to minimize distractions. If you’re speaking to a business or professional audience, include a brief time for introductions or networking.
3. Sign attendees in. When attendees come through the door, they should be warmly greeted and asked to sign in (name, phone, email and mailing address). This way you can follow-up later or send additional information as it relates to the specific topic. Depending on the size of the group, you may want to provide name tags.
4. Give attendees valuable tools. When planning a seminar, put together a well-polished presentation binder for each guest. Include engaging, useful tools and worksheets such as a personalized DI planning guide so they can follow along as you talk. Remember, it’s critical to have participants complete these worksheets during the seminar. By doing this, you provide them with a personalized needs analysis they can take home. The numbers don’t lie. Prospects who need protection will either flag you down before they leave or they’ll call you later.
5. Keep the selling soft. Now that you have a willing, captive audience you should pitch the need for DI hard and heavy, right? Dead wrong. Remember the topics you thoughtfully selected? Present them in an informational, solution-based manner. Avoid long boring PowerPoint presentations. To create emotion, tell stories from your own experiences and tell them about people you know whose lives have been impacted by income protection (or lack of income protection). Pause many times to solicit questions and feedback to facilitate two-way conversation. Connect with your audience and make them feel welcome and cared for. There’s no need for a hard-sell approach.
Ready to make 2013 a banner year for income protection sales? Consider adding a seminar to your selling toolbox. You’ll finally have a candid audience, and you’ll position yourself as the industry expert in your community.
For more ideas about how to present income protection, download our most popular sales script, The Wealth Preservation Plan.
