Disability insurance sales can be a highly lucrative career. If you’ve already built a disability insurance business and now you’re ready to take it to the next level, it’s time to focus on adopting sophisticated sales strategies that can help you unlock underserved niches and build a book of high-net-worth and business clients.
Warning: These Strategies Are Not for Beginners
Selling disability insurance is a great idea for all insurance professionals and financial planners. You get to earn lucrative commissions, while your clients receive protection for their paychecks and, by extension, their financial futures.
However, this article is not about strategies for beginners. If you’re new to disability insurance, the Disability Insurance Crash Course is a great place to start.
On the other hand, if you already have substantial disability insurance sales experience under your belt and you’re ready to challenge yourself to grow your business even more, the rest of this article is for you.
1. Mastering the Markets that Intimidate Others
Are there any disability insurance markets that you shy away from because they intimidate you? Most of your competitors probably steer clear of these markets for the same exact reason – and that means there’s an opportunity.
In business, this concept is often known as the “Red Ocean” or “Blue Ocean” strategy. A Red Ocean is a crowded market – all your competitors are already there. A Blue Ocean is an underserved market. Selling in a Blue Ocean is much easier because there’s less competition.
In disability insurance sales, specialized niches like buy-sell disability insurance agreements and IRS Code 162 Executive Bonus Plan disability insurance options are good examples of potential Blue Ocean opportunities. Many agents avoid these areas because they seem complicated. However, if you’re willing to learn a little information up front, you can leverage new sales opportunities.
2. Standing Out in Crowded Markets
When people think of disability insurance markets, doctors often spring to mind. There’s a good reason for this. Doctors have invested a lot in their careers, they have a massive earning potential and their jobs are both physically and mentally demanding. A disability could threaten everything they’ve built.
Most doctors recognize the need for disability insurance. In theory, this could make selling disability insurance to doctors easy, but in reality, it’s difficult to get your foot in the door because everyone is trying to sell disability insurance to doctors. It’s the ultimate Red Ocean strategy.
However, this doesn’t mean that experienced disability insurance sales professionals should ignore disability insurance for doctors. If you can demonstrate your value by uncovering potential coverage gaps and helping doctors secure better protection, you can establish your value and win business in this challenging but lucrative market. For example, most disability insurance agents know that doctors can benefit from own-occupation coverage, but they may not pay attention to how CPT codes can impact disability claims – and that’s an area where you can shine by delivering savvy case design.
High-earners and high-net-worth clients are another niche where insurance professionals with sophisticated strategies can stand out. These clients often need more advanced strategies to protect their considerable assets.
3. Moving Beyond Disability Insurance
Disability insurance provides critical paycheck protection, and it’s not the only type of insurance that your clients might need to protect their financial security. As your clients transition from work to retirement, their needs may shift from disability insurance to long-term care insurance. At this point, you could lose their business – or you could figure out strategies to retain them.
However, long-term care insurance has its own challenges, including price objections. To be successful in long-term care insurance sales, you’ll need to find ways to overcome these price objections, such as helping clients using HSAs to pay for their premiums.
Are You Ready to Get Started?
We’ve touched on three strategies that disability insurance sale professionals can implement to take their business to the next level. If you’re up for the challenge, the Advanced DI Planning Playbook has the details you’ll need to get started. In this resource, you’ll learn the ins and outs of sophisticated sales strategies:
- Increasing Assets Under Management
- Using the IRS Section 162 Executive Bonus
- Offering Disability Buy-Sell Agreements
- Protecting Doctors by Paying Attention to CPT Codes
- Layering Coverage to Protect High Earners
- Helping Clients Use HSAs to Pay for Long-term Care Insurance