LIFE INSURANCE IS BOUGHT, NOT SOLD
When I first started selling life insurance with a career company, my instructors claimed repeatedly that life insurance was sold, not bought. Their rationale was this:
People do not like talking about death;
They therefore do not like talking about life insurance;
So, the job of the salesperson was to “create the need;” to convince the prospect that they had a need for the product.
How…. 20th century 🙂.
I didn’t like that thinking anyway. The idea that people have to be sold on spending lots of money to take care of their family, business, and favorite charity made no sense. The client is not the enemy to be “won over.” They are a smart person who needs some education.
An educated consumer is the best shopper, right?
The bottom line to me is that it really is not my problem if the client does not buy. The problem lies with the spouse, children, employees, lender, religious congregation, and every other entity the client supports. They are the ones who would miss out if he did not take care of them; not me.
I have made this point frequently on sales calls. Here is one example.
A woman I knew told me she was frustrated because her husband refused to even talk about life insurance. She was financially dependent on him, and felt vulnerable. He had a number of medical conditions, and she was very afraid of losing him and suffering financially.
I agreed to come to their home and try to talk to him.
I arrived at their home in the evening, and we settled into the living room. After a little small talk, he got down to business. He folded his arms across his chest, looked at me defiantly, and proclaimed “You think you are going to convince me to buy life insurance? Lots of luck.”
I told him “No thanks,” got up from my seat, and walked towards the front door. On my way out, I pointed at his wife and said this:
“She is your wife, not mine. She is dependent on you, not me. My job is to take care of my wife, not yours. You don’t want to do that, that’s your call. But I am not here to tell you to do your job.”
He was a good guy, and took it well. And he bought a substantial policy.