It's as easy as 1, 2, 3
1. Sourcing life and retirement opportunities
Look for customers aged 50 – 70
- Recent empty nesters
- Own their home and two cars
Here's the opportunity:
Their focus is shifting away from college expenses or mortgage payments and towards retirement planning and savings.
These customers are looking for a financial professional to revisit their current financial plans and help them re-focus, if necessary, on maximizing returns. They also likely own life insurance and may need a policy review to make sure it matches their evolving needs.
OR
Look for customers aged 60 – 70
- Retired or nearing retirement
- 24% have a net worth between $100k-$499k
- 28% have a net worth of more than $500k
Here's the opportunity:
They're focused on protecting their retirement income. They need a financial professional to help ensure their savings can produce enough income to live out their retirement as they envision.
These customers also likely own life insurance but may need riders or living benefits to prepare for unexpected retirement expenses. Their primary focus for both life insurance and retirement is income and income protection.
Listen for these words as clues
- Retirement
- Saving
- Taxes
- Interest rates
- Annuities
- Bonds
- Investing
- Investments
- Charity
- Education
- Life insurance
- Assets
- Potential
- IRA
- 401(k)
- Security
- Income
- Brokerage
- Returns
- Legacy
- Planning
- Growth
Ask customers these topical questions based on the information you've learned from looking at their situation and listening to them:
- Retirement: Have you talked to anyone about your options for reliable retirement income?
- Savings: Would you like some help meeting your goals?
- Legacy planning: Legacy planning can make things like taxes easier for your beneficiaries. Would you like to speak to someone about it?
- Taxes: Would you like to talk to an expert who understands the details?
- Specific product or service request: Would you be interested in getting more information from my colleague?
- Requests for advice: Do you have a few minutes to meet with ____ ?
Ready to flex your referral skills? Work with the Personal Financial Representative in your Agency to develop your talking points. Use these conversation starters to practice what you'd say to a customer. Say it out loud. Then you will know exactly how you can handle the situation when you make a similar referral.
Ask customers specific questions related to any life events that would affect their retirement savings. It's easy with open-ended questions based on the information you know about their life:
- Any big changes since we've last talked? (Listen for details such as big purchases, comments about taking care of their kids, or their parents)
- How's your family? (Listen for details such as marriage, babies and grandchildren, college planning)
- How's it going at work? (Maybe they received a promotion, or took on a new role)
Then, follow up with congratulations or the proper response and transition to:
- These life events often mean a shift in finances, which is a good time to look at your bigger financial picture.
- I'm not sure if you are aware that we have Personal Financial Representatives with our Agency suited to address all your financial needs here at Allstate. Would it be helpful for me to put you in touch with them?
3. Responding to 5 common referral objections
It's never too late. You still have plenty of options. May I put you in touch with ________?
Many Allstate customers feel that way. Our Personal Financial Representative, ____, meets with customers like you every day and can help you put together a comprehensive financial plan. May I introduce you?
That's great! If you ever want a second opinion, or to bounce ideas off someone else, I would be happy to introduce you to ____. They're an amazing resource.
_____ has a lot of experience helping customers get through the highs and lows. Would you be interested in talking to them about your concerns?
I understand. If anything changes, give me a call. We can revisit this at any time.
2. Starting conversations with customers from non-partnered agencies
Hello this is ____ calling from Allstate. I'm calling today for a couple of reasons. First, I want to sincerely thank you for being an Allstate customer. We know that you have a choice as to where to place your trust, and your loyalty doesn't go unnoticed.
What I would like to do is to set up a time to talk for just 15-20 minutes to get your feedback on what we're doing well, and what we can improve upon. I want to help make sure you have all the protection you need so that your loved ones are protected. We can do this over a quick phone call or or we can meet via Zoom.
Would [date and time] or [date and time] work better for you? Is this the best number to reach you or would you like me to email an appointment to meet on Zoom?
Hello, this is ____ calling from Allstate. I'm calling today for a couple of reasons. First, I want to thank you for being an Allstate customer. Considering the changes that have taken place in our world over the past few years, we appreciate your loyalty and allowing us to continue protecting you and your family's needs.
With that in mind, our goal is to check in and identify if there have been any changes in your life that warrant a more in-depth review of coverage. One area that we have identified as being timely to review considering recent trends, is your current employment status as this has an impact on benefits like life insurance and retirement. Have there been any changes in your employment status? Are you still working, are you transitioning between jobs, or have you retired?
- If still working: Great! Do you have benefits through your employer? If so, keep in mind that, while group benefits are great, they are only good while you're still employed with that company. Have you considered seeking benefits outside of work so you (and your family) are not dependent on your current employer? I would be happy to run you a personalized life insurance quote.
- If not working/transitioning between jobs: Many Americans are experiencing the same thing. Did you have benefits with your previous employer and, if so, were you able to take any of those benefits with you when you left? What about a 401k?
- If retired: Great! When is the last time you had your life insurance or retirement plan reviewed? I want to help make sure you have all the protection you need so that your loved ones are protected.
We can do this over a quick phone call, or we can meet via Zoom if you prefer. Would [date and time] or [date and time] work better for you? Is this the best number to reach you or would you like me to email an appointment to meet on Zoom?
Hello this is ____ calling from Allstate. I'm calling today for a couple of reasons. First, I want to thank you for being an Allstate customer. Considering the changes that have taken place in our world over the past few years, we appreciate your loyalty and allowing us to continue protecting you and your family's needs.
The other reason for my call is to ensure that you have been introduced to Allstate My Money. It's a great tool to organize and view your assets and accounts in one place for a complete financial picture. This is a tool available to all of our customers at no cost. We want to be sure that you are taking advantage of the benefits available to you as a loyal customer of Allstate.
I'll send you an email to establish your Allstate My Money account, and follow up with you next week. We can do this over a quick phone call, or we can meet via Zoom if you prefer.
Would [date and time] or [date and time] work better for you? Is this the best number to reach you or would you like me to email an appointment to meet on Zoom?
3. Responding to 5 common referral objections from customers of non-partnered agencies
I am calling from [your agency name]. As a loyal customer, I was given your name by Allstate. I am reaching out to sincerely thank you for being a loyal customer, and to set up a time where we could talk for just 15-20 minutes to get your feedback on what we are doing well and what we can improve upon. I want to help make sure you have all the protection you need so that your loved ones are protected.
I was given your name by Allstate. I am reaching out to sincerely thank you for being a loyal customer, and to set up a time where we could talk for just 15-20 minutes to get your feedback on what we are doing well and what we can improve upon. I want to help make sure you have all the protection you need so that your loved ones are protected.
To sincerely thank you for being an Allstate customer, and set up a time where we could talk for just 15-20 minutes to get your feedback on what we are doing well and what we can improve upon. I want to help make sure you have all the protection you need so that your loved ones are protected.
Great! Let's get together to review your existing coverage to ensure that you have the most appropriate protection for you and your loved ones and make sure you are getting the best value for your money. We can do this over a quick phone call, or we can meet via Zoom if you prefer. Would [date and time] or [date and time] work better for you? Is this the best number to reach you or would you like me to email an appointment to meet on Zoom?