NAILBA Perspectives - March/April 2015 - (Page 22)

life happens (No-Brainer) Ways to Make Selling DI Easier Here are low-impact ideas and resource to help advisors improve their DI sales during May's Disability Insurance Awareness Month. BY MARC SCHWARTZ, J.D., CLU 94% of people from an independent online survey were more likely to consider buying DI after being exposed to a Real Life Stories video from Life Happens than those who had not seen a story. 22 perspectives MARCH/APRIL 2015 L et's be honest. Disability insurance (DI) isn't at the top of most advisors' lists when it comes to products they recommend and sell to clients and prospects. It's not an easy sale, but it's certainly important: One in four 20-year olds working today will become disabled at some point in their career, according to the Social Security Administration. A long-term disability can be ﬁnancially crippling for a family and put all of their other ﬁnancial goals at risk. That's why each May the non-proﬁt organization Life Happens coordinates the national Disability Insurance Awareness Month campaign. But leveraging a marketing campaign is difﬁcult without focus, so here are three easy ways to help advisors get started. Have them focus on a target market. Many doctors and dentists are schooled in the importance of DI to protect their practices and livelihood. They understand that their ability to work is their most valuable asset-something that is usually a big hurdle to get other professionals to understand. But knowing and doing something about it are two different things. Have advisors connect with prospects using Valerie King's story. As a physician, Valerie could not imagine life without practicing medicine. A chronic illness however, put her out of commission permanently when this single mom had three girls under the age of 5. DI was-and continues to be-her ﬁnancial lifeline. This Real Life Story is available as a video (http://www.lifehappens.org/king) or a digital ﬂyer (at www.lifehappens.org/industry, which can be sent as a PDF or downloaded and printed). This type of storytelling works-and it motivates people to take action. In fact, an independent online survey found that people were 94% more likely to consider buying DI after being exposed to a Real Life Stories video from Life Happens than those who had not seen a story. Make using social media a nobrainer. Social media can be an easy way for advisors to connect with clients and gain new prospects. The numbers prove it: 77% of respondents in a recent Accenture report ("How TechSavvy Advisors Can Regain Investor Trust") said that social media has helped them with client retention. And 61% of advisors in a HubSpot survey said that they had landed a new client from social media. Getting content-new, fresh, engaging content-can be the sticking point to this ... but only for those who aren't using Life Happens' social media resources. NAILBA members are able to access hundreds of prewritten posts and tweets, images, "info-statistics," and so much more. It's a virtual library of social media content that's continually being refreshed. Plus, there's a whole section of DI and DIAM related posts that are ready to go for May. For an even lower-key approach, advisors can simply follow Life Happens on its various social channels and then share what they think their friends or followers would like to see. Life Happens keeps it educational, neutral, non-sales-ey, and often times fun (yes, fun). Just go to www.lifehappens.org/socialmedia to access links to all the social media properties where Life Happens is active. http://www.lifehappens.org/king http://www.lifehappens.org/socialmedia http://www.lifehappens.org/industry

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NAILBA Perspectives - March/April 2015

NAILBA Perspectives - March/April 2015
Contents
Chairman’s Corner
CEO Insights
State of the Industry Panel
NAILBA Charitable Foundation
Life Happens
Member Profiles
Agency Successor Networking Group
Get STREAMLINED
Reading Ahead
Calendar of Events
Index of Advertisers

NAILBA Perspectives - March/April 2015