How to Sell Life Insurance During a Pandemic

A lot of companies and industries took quite a hit this year, and many have been forced to cut their losses and shut down altogether. Another great recession is happening, but there are industries that are still hanging on, and a few others are thriving. The life insurance industry is one of the few that are still able to remain relevant especially because of the uncertainties brought about by everything happening these days.

If you are a life insurance agent, what have you been doing to keep the sales coming in during these difficult and trying times? We pooled together a few tips that have enabled our life insurance agent friends to still make sales in the past few months.

How to Sell Life Insurance During a Pandemic:

Don’t Stop Learning

Attend webinars, read books, seek out a mentor. Even if you’re tenured or you feel like you already know everything there is to know about your product/s or industry, there’s always something new to learn. There could be things that you forgot, tips that you’ve shoved towards the back of your arsenal and never got to try, or there could be completely new sales tips that you have, for some reason, missed out on.

Continuous learning also exposes you to successful individuals in your field, which is always a good motivation.

Establish a Daily Habit

With everyone working from home, and with the stress and anxiety brought about by the pandemic, it’s easy to not be productive. But if you let it get the best of you, then that won’t do you any good, would it? The bills won’t pay for themselves.

So start by setting aside some time for prospecting, and make sure you do it every single work day. Activity is key, if you want to be able to make a sale.

Reach Out to Your Existing Clients

Now is the best time to check in on them and just see how they are doing. Do some catching up and lead up to asking for referrals. If their business or livelihood is still doing well despite the pandemic, try to upsell and ask them if they’d like to add on to their existing policies. If not, they may know of a family member, friend, or colleague who might be in need of insurance coverage.

Do not be afraid to ask for referrals. This is why building a strong relationship with your client base is vital. If you have a solid relationship with them, and they know how dedicated you are as a life insurance agent / financial advisor, then they’d happily refer you to other people. Don’t be like some of the other life insurance agents who vanish once the sale is made.

Be Active on Social Media

Socializing in person is just not doable these days. You can’t call a prospect and ask them to meet over lunch or coffee so you can discuss your business proposition. Sure, you can always give your prospects a call, but how else can more people know about you and the life insurance you offer? Social media, of course.

Be where your prospects are, and be active. But your posts shouldn’t always be about life insurance. Too much of that, and you’ll risk more people avoiding you altogether even on social media. Don’t forget to also let them get to know you through your posts. After all, prospects engage with people they know or are familiar with.

Practice Expressing Empathy

Now, more than ever, is the time to be empathetic to towards everyone - may it be a client, prospect, or a colleague. Life insurance agents secure lives and families’ futures, so empathy is one trait that should always be exercised.

If you cannot upsell to a client because of their current situation, be there for them still. Let them know you care. Once their situation gets better and they’re ready to explore adding on to their life insurance coverage, you’ll surely be top of mind.

The same goes for prospects. If they’re currently not able to afford a life insurance policy, why not offer them a job as a life insurance agent? Or you might have a client who’s in need of additional people or staff. Why not point them there? When things turn out for the better, they will remember you.

The key here is to leave a good impact on the people you encounter – and make sure they know you are a life insurance agent at the same time. It’s like planting seeds. Not all of your encounters will result in a sale, but it would be like planting seeds that you can harvest in the future.

Conclusion

There is no fool proof way to make sales during these difficult times, but like we mentioned earlier, activity is key. Yes, we also have to sit down and process what’s happening to our world, but don’t let that get you down so much that you end up giving up altogether. If you’re a life insurance agent, then your goal is to insure lives and protect your clients’ futures. That’s a noble job, so always remember that.