For long-time agents, online life insurance sales is still a new field. They may still be young, but they will still be able to recall the birth of the Internet and Windows 95. Online life insurance sales bring a new dimension and perspective to an age-old business that is familiar with education, closing one-on-one, following up, following up and keeping your company name in front of people.
There are two main differences between selling life insurance “the traditional way” and using the amazing new tool called the Internet. The Internet allows people to create a buffer between themselves and their “personal space”, and it makes it possible for life salesmen to do everything they did before, faster and at a lower cost (both physically and financially).
These simple differences can cause serious problems for life insurance agents’ business model and financial success.
One thing is that life insurance agents used to be far more concerned about getting in someone’s home and getting to their kitchen than about actually closing the sale. Ironically, they can now get in someone’s house and “sit at their kitchen table” but it is much more difficult to actively engage with the science and art of selling to win the prospect’s trust and win their mind.
This is what it means for life insurance agents. This means that you must be able to provide excellent customer service if you want to sell online life insurance. Selling. For those looking to be successful in sales, the Internet makes it possible for people to get exceptional service and provide quality information. Life insurance agents must now do what others who have sold top-quality products in other fields (and of a different type) for years have been trained to do. Let prospects sell the products while you just sit back and take their orders. People hate being sold and love to buy. People can feel as if they are buying and selling online without leaving any trace.
This means that life insurance agents need to be much more knowledgeable than average. To be certain, the most educated agents made a lot of money. The bar has been raised. Although many of these agents were knowledgeable about the products of their companies, they did not know much about the company. Their winning personalities came in to close the deal. This is not the case these days. You can be sure that prospects will compare your message with other agents online. They expect the best price for the best product, and they also demand the best service. You don’t need to be the smartest life insurance agent, but you do need to be. With the advent of the Internet, life insurance sales is more of a technical brain game and less of a personality game than ever before (although, you still need to be extremely personable–personality does still come through; coy computer geeks need not apply). This applies whether you’re an agent captured or an insurance broker.
You should have realized by now that you need a website. Find, research, and use the best ISPs. The best e-mail service providers, with the best stationary, fonts, and features. Also, invest in an autoresponder to publish articles online and record podcasts. You can also hire a multimedia marketing company to design the most popular print materials for your prospects to mail via snail mail. They will always be available to you.
One last note: Keep yourself “Joe Cool”. Learn the lingo and protocols of Internet communication. The Internet has made it possible to live in a world where things are changing faster than ever before. Life insurance sales are all about communication. Keep on top of the latest developments, be prepared and have some fun.
