TO MY FELLOW LIFE UNDERWRITERS AND FINANCIAL ADVISORS IN ASI
Many of you know me or know of me as I have spoken many, many times in each of your countries over the past 30 years and many of you have used my books and tapes to enhance your careers.
All of those talks, and the books and tapes I promoted, focused on life insurance selling. This was appropriate and timely as I have a success story in that profession which goes back to my career beginning in 1948. Also your national regulators and companies were encouraging you to specialize in, and succeed at, that persuasion. That environment is now changing in your country and very likely in your company. Financial Advising is the new expectation.
The USA also went through that transition in the 1980’s but I, on my own as a pioneer, made that transition 20 years earlier in the 1960’s because I felt it was the right thing to do for my clients and my career.
In the beginning the companies, as well as my company, opposed the transition but I knew it was right so I did it anyway.
Now, in today’s environment Financial Advising is being promoted but many life insurance agents are resisting the transition or having difficulty learning the skill?
I write this letter to let you know what and why I have been a Financial Advisor for over 40 years, also my agency learned the skill from me, and my Agency had every agent in MDRT, as Financial Advisors which meant they were selling lots of insurance along with all our other products.
First why did I, on my own, and against my company’s wishes become a Financial Advisor? When I came in this industry in 1948 I was told I would help all my friends, relatives, and future clients solve the inevitable risks we all face of perhaps living longer than our money lasted, or dying before we had provided security for our loved ones, or we might experience economic problems along the way. I bought that concept, became a Life Agent, and did a good job as a Life Agent. I eventually realized I was not really doing the whole job. Yes, insurance provided the security for their loved ones if they died too soon but what about their own retirement years and problems along the way?
I realized I needed two things to do the whole job right. I needed additional products and a different sales system. I was using life insurance effectively but it wasn’t doing the whole job. I was like a doctor that had only one medicine – aspirin – whether the patient had a headache or cancer.
So I, on my own, added products for wealth accumulation, health issues, retirement, etc., to my Agency and my own portfolio and changed my sales procedures in three major areas.
I had always sold my clients based on what I thought they needed, (Need Selling) so I changed to first finding out what they considered important (Want Selling). To do that I had to not only stop talking in order to sell, but to ask questions and then listen to find out what they wanted – (Don’t Talk – Listen) and finally, to stop selling products but concentrate on providing solutions to the prospects’ problems (Solution versus Product Selling).
My Agency bought into these changes ahead of the industry and individually developed the highest per capita income in the U.S. industry. Perhaps this transition in the 1960’s and 1970’s in my career can help you today in your career.
Let me suggest you consider the following three items, if you don’t already have them, study them, practice and then become a great successful real Financial Advisor:
1.) From Life Insurance to Diversification, a book which tells the story of my actual transition in the 1960’s & 70’s.
2.) Passion for Compassion, my up-to-date training book with the skills and methods an Advisor needs.
3.) A Formula for Successful Financial Advising, my 6-CD set of Advisor skills. Each CD is one hour of training to be used slowly over a 6-week period.
An order form is attached and even if you have one or two of the items, buy the others and revisit this whole area in a new light – a real Professional Financial Advisor.