NAILBA Perspectives - May/June 2015 - (Page 28)

life happens Three Ways to "Make It Real" for New Agents and Advisors They won't be able to sell life insurance until they truly understand what it does for those left behind. Here's how to accomplish that. BY MARC SCHWARTZ, J.D., CLU Michele Krzewina and her family on their dairy farm. I To have a Life Lessons Scholarship student speak at an upcoming meeting, contact Julie Holsinger at jholsinger@lifehappens. org. She can locate a student in your area and assist you with the details. To read or watch their stories, go to www.lifehappens.org/lifelessons. 28 perspectives MAY/JUNE 2015 f you ask an agent or advisor who's been in this business for a while what a major turning point was in their career-something that cemented the desire to continue selling life insurance-and many will mention delivering their first death benefit check. Life insurance, that great intangible we sell, means nothing to most people until someone dies. Then, the family or business will either be OK financially or it won't, depending on if there was life insurance. Until that point, it's all hypothetical. I would say this is applicable to both those buying life insurance and those selling it. It's an intangible whose benefit doesn't really hit home until something happens. So how do we help those who are new to this profession understand the noble business that we're involved in? (And this includes the support staff that works in our offices.) If we can make it real for them, they can, in turn, make it real for clients and prospects. Here's how to start. 1 Show them, don't tell them. It's an old newspaper saw, but it's still relevant today. People respond to stories-real stories. The non-profit organization Life Happens has spent the last 20 years documenting real families and businesses that have benefited from life insurance- and how an agent helped them put the coverage in place. There are dozen of Real Life Stories videos that show a range of families and business, one to fit almost every kind of prospect. (All the videos are available at www.lifehappens.org/videos.) Take the story of the Young family. Steve died while paddle boarding on the 4th of July, but his wife, two daughters and the dream ranch they built was OK because he had life insurance in place for his family and his business. (Watch at www.lifehappens.org/young.) Or how about 20-year old Summer? This single mom was struck and killed while walking home one evening, but her 9-month old baby, Nathan, was OK financially because she had put a $12-a-month policy in place while she was still pregnant. (Watch at www.lifehappens.org/stokes.) Then there's the Krzewina family, whose thirdgeneration farm stayed in the family through proper planning with term and permanent life insurance. (Watch at www.lifehappens.org/krzewina.) http://www.lifehappens.org/videos http://www.lifehappens.org/young http://www.lifehappens.org/stokes http://www.lifehappens.org/lifelessons http://www.lifehappens.org/krzewina

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NAILBA Perspectives - May/June 2015

NAILBA Perspectives - May/June 2015
Contents
Chairman’s Corner
CEO Insights
Basic Staff Training: Onboarding Should be Longer than One Day
NAILBA Charitable Foundation
Member Profiles
Mooers Award Nominations
Get Schooled! Ongoing employee Education and Producer Training are Key to a Brokerage Agency’s Success
Agency Successor Networking Group
Life Happens
Reading Ahead
Government Affairs
Calendar of Events
Index of Advertisers

NAILBA Perspectives - May/June 2015