Avoid the cost of waiting: Ask one more time

The fourth quarter is a challenging time for the insurance and financial services profession as advisors work on completing the year’s goals. Many of us will face objections and delays from clients and prospects as the year draws to a close.

As financial advisors, we can only advise and educate our prospects and clients. They make the final decision. We can, however, go the extra mile by asking them one more time — even after they refuse our proposals. This is one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from the pandemic.

The cost of waiting

In November 2020, a friend realized he should get more life insurance and asked me for a proposal. I sent him the proposal, and he said he would get back to me later. However, we were busy catching up with our work and neither of us had followed up. I felt much regret when I heard about his passing in January.

Mine is just one of the many stories out there. As long as we are doing the right thing in the best interest of our clients and prospects, we should keep trying until they have no reasons to refuse our help. We have nothing to lose by asking one more time.

Here are some of the objections you may encounter as you ask one more time, especially at the end of the year, and here’s how I deal with them:

Objection 1: “It’s already the end of the year. Let’s see next year.”

Answer 1: “Mr. Prospect, risks can happen anytime. The cheapest cost to secure a guarantee is through a life insurance policy. I advise you to secure a financial guarantee now so you can be anywhere you want with peace of mind. ”

Objection 2: “Sorry, I’ve already run out of budget for this year!”

Answer 2: “Mr. Prospect, I know you have planned your budget well this year. However, there may be some other important factors that most of us have never thought about and could be used to reprioritize our financial goals. This is all about you and your loved ones. Let’s be as cautious as we can.”

Objection 3: “Let me think about it first. I’ll get back to you by the end of this week.”

Answer 3: “Mr. Prospect, thank you for taking this into consideration. Something to keep in mind is that it’s better to have an insurance policy one year early than one minute late. There is a price to pay for such a delay, and I don’t want you to place you and your family at such a risk.”

Life insurance shows our love for our spouse, children and parents. There is no harm in asking one more time if we can help them get protection. We know the insurance policy itself is not valuable; it’s just a stack of papers with clauses between two parties. When it’s properly planned, though, these papers can be powerful protection for our loved ones.

Make sure we carry out the practice of asking one more time as part of our activities. You will be amazed by the results!

Kennedy Sumarlie, of Jakarta, Indonesia, has been an MDRT member since 2018. Read more from him in “Never run out of new clients by asking for recommendations.” Find more from MDRT members worldwide at mdrt.org/learn.