3 Tech Tools to Make Your Point of Sale More Successful 

Have you ever made a sales presentation to a prospective life or annuity client and felt like something might be missing? There are a number of ways to improve your “interviews per sale” ratio by using point-of-sale tools such as illustrations. Used properly, these tools can help your prospects better understand what you’re offering and how it can benefit them.

#1: Illustrations
The basic illustration is designed to provide the prospective buyer with projected values for the product and to meet regulatory requirements for disclosure of product features and non-guaranteed values. For many prospects, the illustration is more confusing than informative, in part because of the manner in which the information is presented (columns of numbers). So, let’s look at some additional tools that can be used to better inform the prospective buyer of the advantages and benefits of the proposed product.

The first tool is a graph of the values shown on the illustration. Many people have some difficulty in visualizing the relationship between the different types of values shown in the illustration (e.g., running total of premiums paid, cash value, death benefit, and any cash distributions from the policy). A graph that shows these numbers over the period from the prospect’s current age to, say, 100 can make a significant difference in the prospect’s ability to understand what they will receive and how little the cash value and death benefit actually cost them over time. If future policy distributions are shown, they too can be included on the graph.

Of course, any supplemental presentation must contain appropriate footnotes referring to the required basic illustration.

In many situations, additional presentations will be useful. Examples are comparisons of the proposed cash value plan with a term plan, expanded reports that show all elements of cash flow (withdrawals, loans, loan interest, loan repayments, cost basis, taxes on distributions where applicable, etc.), internal rates of return on the cash value and death benefit, and so forth. It is far easier to be prepared to show these in response to a prospect’s question than to try to describe the idea with no concrete example on hand. In many cases, the supplemental reports are built right into the illustration system and can be easily previewed by the agent to determine if they are appropriate in any given situation and printed right along with the base illustration when desired. It is critical to become familiar with the reports that are available so that you can quickly decide which ones fit a particular prospect and put them to use.

#2: Needs analysis
Another valuable point-of-sale tool is a personalized needs analysis focused on a prospect-specific issue, such as retirement, education expenses, estate planning, or survivor needs. If the prospect is a business owner, then they may need business continuation, key-person coverage, business valuation, or executive compensation, in addition to solutions for their personal needs.

These all require some fact-finding prior to presentation, both to determine what is appropriate for the prospect and to obtain the necessary data to provide a fact-based custom analysis. One clear benefit is that you are able to focus on a specific need and provide the prospect with a clear explanation of the need for the product and how the proposed amount was determined. In some cases, the prospect may prioritize their needs at the first interview, telling you which one is most important and “signaling” that one or more additional categories may be of interest in the future.

#3: E-applications
Some carriers offer electronic completion and submission of applications and associated forms.

This can enable you to be more productive; the e-applications generally have thorough business rules built in, so all required questions are answered and all required forms are completed at the same time. The result is a completed application that is legible and complete, includes all required forms, and is submitted at the high speed of the Internet. The benefit to you is that you need not make return visits for additional requirements. Also, the policy — and commission — will be issued more quickly. The benefit to the client is shorter “processing time” in the home office. The carrier also benefits from reduced processing costs, which result in reduced acquisition costs. In some cases, the application will be pre-populated with all the information the illustration system knows about the client, in order to expedite the process.

Many of you have these tools readily available. Using them in concert to provide your prospects with a complete package of information that helps them understand the features and benefits of the product you are presenting can help you be more productive and successful.

Donn McLaughlin is the manager of advanced marketing services at Fiserv Insurance Solutions. He can be reached at donn.mclaughlin@fiserv.com.