Mortgage Leads - A Great Unused Key to Selling Annuities

The goal of all insurance agents is to be able to sell annuities, just ask them. Annuities are the most profitable product we can sell and one which has tremendous benefits for those who buy them.
The appeal of selling annuities can be irresistible, the products are valuable and beneficial, the commissions are significant and the future service commitments are low. If I make a decision to become an annuity salesperson and make them my primary market, how would I go about it? How could I find people who would buy them and get benefit from them?

Obviously I need prospects and prospects I could see under a favorable basis. The hardest part is finding the prospects, not selling them. What might be my choices be for finding them?

• Senior Seminars can be a good choice but the upfront expenses can be high.

• Referrals from professional groups are very hard to obtain regardless what the annuity marketing companies tell you.

• Cross selling your data base works if you have one and you have kept in touch with them.

• Direct mail can be efficient if worked properly but it is very competitive and response rates are declining. Plus almost no one responds to an annuity direct mail piece so it needs to be disguised as a different topic. Somewhat devious.

• Internet leads have value but finding leads in your geographic location can be difficult. Plus the cost can be too high hovering in the $100 range.

• Pre-set appointments are offered by many direct call firms but my experience is that these are not much better than a cold call.

• Cold calling is absolutely no way to sell anything and is extremely demeaning and virtually useless.

What else can be used for marketing annuities? How about selling annuities as an add on benefit to another need? How about providing the alternate product while solving the primary need. Here is what I am talking about.

Mortgage protection leads. Sell the secondary use of annuities while providing protection for the loss of a mortgage payer. The need to protect against the death of a spouse is vital and a need understood by almost everyone. How does that transfer to the annuity sale? It actually is quite easy if you follow basic thinking. There is an assumed need to protect the mortgage if the use of an insurance company is accepted. Since the insurance company assumes risk and becomes the risk bearer the risk of having funds protected is assumed.

Use a preplanned sales track to show the benefits of the need to protect a mortgage. Many are available. After the presentation which is usually very short move to a fact finder. To complete the sale you will need some basic questions answered and it becomes the segue into asking about other factors in their life such as the ownership of an IRA, mutual funds etc.

With this fact finder completed it becomes the perfect time to set up the return visit to discuss the topics discovered during that process. Setting up the time the mortgage protection policy is delivered is the best time for the appointment since one transaction is completed and the timing for the next one is ready. It becomes very easy to build on the relationship and the fact they have done business with you makes the second sale easier.

Selling annuities from mortgage protection leads is easy and efficient.