The Guide to Life Insurance Appointment Setting

I can think of a lot of things that are absolutely no fun to buy: toilet plungers, carpet cleaner, hydrocortisone cream. Know why we don’t enjoy spending money on things like that? It’s because if we need them, that means we have a problem. Know what else is no fun to buy? Insurance. And that’s because we’re banking on a having a problem at some point in the future. We simply don’t like to plan ahead for unpleasant experiences.

Now, the idea of buying life insurance is a particular type of buzzkill. Think about it this way: We don’t like to think about needing car insurance, because that means we’ll have had an accident. Following that logic, we don’t like to think about needing life insurance, because that means we or someone we love would’ve… died. I don’t mean to make light, here. It’s not a pleasant thing to think about. Plus, people don’t think they need life insurance because they’re healthy… or they’re too young… or they don’t have children. And when reminded that they aren’t invincible, denial sets in. Nobody wants to think about their own death—or the death of someone they care about.

As a compassionate, thoughtful insurance agent, part of your job is to get them thinking about it. 

How to Talk About Life Insurance Without Talking About Life Insurance

Since most people will have a natural resistance to talking about life insurance, particularly if they’re young or don’t have kids, it’s helpful to think creatively when you call to invite people in for an appointment. To help spark your creativity, let me remind you of a critical paradigm shift related to sales–regardless of what you’re selling:

People aren’t looking to buy your product. They’re looking to buy a solution to their problem.

More specifically, they’re looking to resolve how they feel about their problem. 

Here’s a for-instance: No one wakes up in the morning with a deep desire to buy a new plunger. But if their toilet gets stopped up, they’re completely on-board with heading to the store for a plunger. And yes, they’re willing to spend the money to solve the obvious problem (clogged plumbing), but there’s a deeper layer, too: They’re willing to spend the money on a plunger because they feel disgusted by and embarrassed about the plugged-up toilet. 

So let’s bring this back to life insurance appointment setting. The key is to tie your offer of life insurance to a pressing emotional or psychological concern your prospects have and/or to introduce a new one they might not be considering yet.

Here are a couple of specific examples of how to invite people to come in for a life insurance appointment:

You’re really young, so I know it’s tough to think about retirement. Unfortunately, most people don’t start saving for their future until they feel like they can “afford” to—which is pretty much never—and they miss out on years and years of accumulated wealth. What if I told you there’s an affordable, effective way to start setting money aside now, so you can enjoy life when you’re older instead of worrying about how to make ends meet? And what if I told you that if you start putting aside just $20/month now, you could have $1 million in the bank before you turn 50? 

In this case, I’ve introduced a problem they might not have thought about (“I might wait too long to start saving”) and named the emotional consequences (“I’ll be worried about my finances instead of playing golf!”).

Here’s another one:

You two are incredibly responsible parents, and I know you want the best for your kids. It’s tough to think about something happening to either one of you, but I’d love to share some ideas about how to make sure your family’s taken care of—just in case something happens. That way you can feel confident they’re provided for.

In neither of these examples did I use the words life insurance or policy. Sure, prospects may guess that’s what you’re referring to. But you’re more likely to set an appointment, and therefore sell a policy, when you start by talking about your customer and their problem.

Be Prepared for Objections

Honestly, most people whom you invite to come in for a chat about about their insurance needs are going to be less than enthusiastic. That’s just not most people’s idea of a good time. So, they’ll come up with all sorts of reasons to avoid an appointment: they don’t need life insurance, it’s too expensive, they don’t have time to make an appointment, can’t you just send them a quote, and on and on. 

The key to getting past people’s objections is to first empathize with them and then talk about the value they’ll receive from coming in to meet with you:

You sound so busy! Honestly, it would be faster for both of us if I just shoot you a random quote. But the truth is I care about you and your family, and I want to make sure I’m making the best recommendations for your situation and needs. I know it’s tough to carve out the time. If I can promise you it’ll take just 20 minutes to talk through some simple questions, would that work for you?

Take some time to list out every possible objection your prospects might have. Then, write out your responses and rehearse them until they completely natural and conversational.

Current Customers Are Your #1 Prospect for Life Insurance

Of course the most important question to consider when setting life insurance appointments is whom you should be calling to begin with. You know as well as I do that it’s easier and cheaper to keep new customers than it is to find new ones. 

So start with your current list—re-familiarize yourself with their family configuration, their season of life, their work situation. Try to remember something you have in common with them—because people like people who are like them, and people do business with people they like. Then, get in touch—with a sincere interest in helping them, not an interest in selling another policy. 

Take Advantage of Referrals to Book More Life Insurance Appointments

Aside from your current customers, the second-best prospects you have are people who’ve been referred to you. That means if you haven’t established a clear referral pipeline, you’re missing leads and losing sales. RECAMP can help you generate referrals automatically. Check out this quick video to learn more, and join RECAMP today.