Retirement Prospects Creates Prospects

 

We often find at Retirement Prospects that many agents and advisers are unclear about the distinction between marketing and sales.  We find that they only select lead types that match products that they sell.

For example, if the producer is an annuity specialist, he only wants leads that have specific interest in annuities.  He thinks it unwise to select other lead types and pay for leads of consumers who have interests other than annuities.  We find this thinking to be myopic and an illustration of the failed distinction between marketing and sales.

One of the lead types that Retirement Prospects offers is Social Security leads.  These are people who seek ways or understanding to maximize their Social Security benefit.  They order a booklet “How to Maximize your Social Security Benefits.”  Most producers don’t see how the can ever make money talking to people about their Social Security.  The producer does not have a “social security product” to sell and they don’t charge a fee.

So they miss two opportunities.

Retirement Prospects Defines Two Lost Opportunities

The first opportunity is to charge a consulting fee.  It is very easy for an advisor or agent to learn about how to maximize Social Security.  All they need to do is read a book and then get the software and now they can discuss Social Security options intelligently and produce a nice-looking report with the software.  They can charge for this say $250-$500.  Once a prospect pays a small fee and gets greater value in return, they are far more likely to buy other products and services from the producer.

Note that since the fee is not for investment advice, one does not need an RIA certificate.  Check with your state but we are unaware that consulting to maximize Social Security benefits is regulated in any way or requires any type of training, certificate or license.

So the first short-sightedness is the misunderstanding that every agent and producer sells trust.  If you gain the prospect's trust, you have opened the door to multiple sales and a lifetime client.

The second aspect of shortsightedness we see at Retirement Prospects is misunderstanding what the prospect wants.  If a prospect orders a booklet “How to Maximize your Social Security”, we know they want more income. Do you really think they care how they get the extra income?  Would they be just as happy to get another $500 a month falling out of the sky as they would from the Social Security Administration?  Of course they would.

So when the agent or advisor understands the prospect’s objective which is to gain more income, the smart producer realizes that he has multiple products that can fulfill that objective.

If we reconsider our annuity sales specialist, we realize that he maybe not much of a specialist. Some of those who receive Social Security benefits pay federal income tax on those benefits. About the only way to relieve oneself of this tax is through the ownership of annuities. So the conversations of Social Security and annuities are closely intertwined. Any annuity agent who overlooks this is likely losing the bulk of their business.

 

While we try to teach this at Retirement Prospects, it is a hard sell. Many producers are so indoctrinated by the product manufacturers, the insurance carriers and broker-dealers, they cannot conceptualize that marketing is about gaining a prospect and not making a sale. The sale is made once the producer is face-to-face with the prospect. When the producer sees the prospect’s objective in a wider context, he realizes that he has many products and services with which to make the prospect the client.