We look forward to the Van Mueller newsletter every month. It's chock-full of sound bites, sales tips, and eye-opening statistics. Here are our favorite parts of the January 2017 edition. We're sharing his introduction and 2 of the 7 monthly sales ideas. If you like what you read, we encourage you to click here and become a subscriber.
Reprinted with the author's permission.
January, 2017 – 7 Ideas and Views Newsletter by Van Mueller
I believe the economic catastrophe that I have been telling you would be coming for almost three years now, is almost upon us. Events are occurring that point to 2017 as the beginning of a worldwide DEBT catastrophe that will affect every aspect of our lives. It will impact all economic assets.
Deflation will probably occur first. That is a reduction in the price of economic assets. It will probably be followed by inflation; increases in interest rates; dramatic increases in commodity prices of assets like gold, silver and oil. We will also see an even more dramatic increase in stock prices than we saw from 2009 to the present.
Please be sure that you clearly understand: There is no end of the world scenario here.
Most of what will happen is based on math, economics and science. Most markets revert to their “mean.”
When the stock market was up for a long time in the 80’s and 90’s the market crashed from 2000 to 2002 causing the markets to return to their long term market average.
Then we had a big rally from 2002 to 2007. The market crashed again bringing its average back in line with its long term numbers.
We are at the end of another long term rally from 2009 to the present. It is the second longest bull market in history. It has been powered by fake stimulus. Printing money and stock buybacks are mostly responsible for the increase in the markets since 2009. Mathematically, the stock market has to incur some pretty amazing losses to revert back to its “mean” or average return over a long period of time. It will do that. It is not a matter of if; it is only a matter of when.
You must not be swayed by the government, by Wall Street, the banks and surprise; you should not be swayed by me.
We are at the end of another long term rally from 2009 to the present. It is the second longest bull market in history.
I don’t want to freak you out, but I want you to assume I don’t know anything. Why? Because I don’t and neither do you. President Bush never once called me during his presidency. President Obama never gave me any advance information about the fiscal policies he would employ. I am absolutely positive I will not hear from President Trump. He made it very clear while he was running for office that he would decide what he was going to tell me when it happened and maybe not even then.
Neither Ben Bernanke nor Janet Yellen has ever called me to explain the monetary decisions then have made so I could properly advise my clients. Most analysts who follow them closely have no idea what the Federal Reserve Chairpersons will do next.
None of the politicians running our country accurately portray why they legislate the way that they do and what conflicts of interest they have as it pertains to legislation they created for our country.
None of the politicians running our country accurately portray why they legislate the way that they do and what conflicts of interest they have as it pertains to legislation they created for our country.
Now, don’t misunderstand me. Do I study like crazy? Yes. Do I read everything I can lay my hands on? Yes. Is there information I have access to that is based on math, such as debt, money creation and unfunded liabilities? Yes.
What I don’t have access to is what manipulation of monetary and fiscal policy is taking place. Who is doing it. Why are they doing it. When will it be to their benefit to stop? Without that information my information becomes secondary.
If we don’t know any of this information how can we help our clients plan for the future? I know it sounds counterintuitive but, that is exactly why we must build plans for our prospects and clients. It is because no one knows what is going to happen.
The process and the sale become simple if you will only ask a few important questions.
If no one knows what is going to happen in the financial markets, doesn’t that create greater danger for your retirement and your financial future? Are you okay with losing thirty, fifty or even seventy percent of your money every time one of these economic disasters occurs in order to make money? What if there was a way to guarantee you would never lose money again, would you want to know about it? Just not losing money isn’t good enough is it? In order to have the retirement we are hoping for don’t we have to make money? What if we could design a certain amount of liquidity or access to your money so that every time one of these economic disasters occurred you could turn it into an opportunity rather than being hurt by it? If that was so, would you want to know how to do that before or after the next downturn?
If no one knows what is going to happen in the financial markets, doesn’t that create greater danger for your retirement and your financial future?
Planning is vital because no one knows what is going to happen. Ask prospects and clients if they realize that they can succeed even if no one knows what will happen. They can have the financial success they desire. All they have to do is create a plan for success. I don’t know many people who could resist that. Do you?
Make a list of economic disasters you could ask prospects and clients about. Ask them how these things will impact the global and domestic markets.
Then make it personal. Ask them how these events will impact their savings, investments, jobs, retirements and their futures. What if because you know about these issues you could plan for them rather than be hurt by them, wouldn’t you have a better outcome than you had in the past?
Make it personal. Ask them how these events will impact their savings, investments, jobs, retirements and their futures.
Remember, only their opinions matter. You cannot get someone to believe something different than they believe. Find out what they believe and show them with proper planning that they can have a successful outcome.
Please, please I beg you, don’t ever attempt again to show people how smart you are. Always endeavor with your questions to show prospects and clients how smart they are. The more invisible in the process you become the more sales you will make. The simpler, rather than more complex you make your discussions with prospects and clients the bigger your sales will be.
Build a set of questions you can ask with passion and enthusiasm. Your prospects and clients will grow to adore these conversations with you. Because they will have a more organized understanding of what is happening with their money they will feel a CONTROL they almost never feel they have. That is what will draw them to you. They will participate in the recommendations rather than being told by you what to do. They will love it!
Build a set of questions you can ask with passion and enthusiasm. Your prospects and clients will grow to adore these conversations with you.
The issues that you can ask prospects and clients about are immense, almost overwhelming. Again, don’t use all of them. Use the ones that are appropriate for your prospect or client.
Here is as comprehensive a list as I can think of. Use it as a foundation for your list. Add to it. Only ask questions about issues you can address with real passion.
Never ever tell anyone anything again. Ask them. Wouldn’t a product like life insurance that provides instant protection, is a great savings vehicle, has enormous liquidity and tax advantages provide the quality foundation you must have to always have successful financial outcomes? Wouldn’t it even be a better foundational asset if it didn’t require probate, was uncontestable and private, could be controlled from the grave and had creditor and predator protections and provided Medicaid versatility that it would allow conversion from an asset into an income stream?
Never ever tell anyone anything again. Ask them.
Do you notice? All in the form of a question. How many Americans know that life insurance does all that and more? None.
After a while, asking questions will become second nature. People will enjoy talking to you rather than feel pressured by you.
It is those small nuances that make the difference between an average producer and an exceptional producer. Much of this can be accomplished in a very short amount of time. In thirty days or less you could have the career you always dreamed about.
In thirty days or less you could have the career you always dreamed about.
Asking questions is the secret we all search for in this industry yet most never seem to find. Most of the problem is ego. Not in a bad way. We just think we have to prove to people how smart we are. The only way to do that is by telling people things. People don’t like being told. They turn off. They don’t listen well. They love talking about themselves, however. They feel engaged. They are interested. The easiest path to building a relationship is by being interested in our prospects and clients. The less it’s about us and the more it’s about them the more success you will enjoy.
Here is as comprehensive of a list of issues I believe you should be asking prospects and clients as I can provide. There is so much. You will always have something interesting to discuss with prospects and clients.
Here is the list:
- Taxes - Will they be higher in the future? Will there be fewer deductions? Will things like stretch provisions on IRAs and 401ks be eliminated? Shouldn’t taxes always be the first thing we ask about because of the current benefits of life insurance and Roth IRAs?
- Inflation - Is it coming back? Could it cause problems if you are retired for thirty years and have no way to increase income?
- Volatility - Markets have ups and downs. What if you start your retirement after losing 30 or 50 percent of your retirement money?
- Longevity - The longer people live the more challenges they face to have a successful retirement. I always ask my clients, “If you retire at 65 and die at 70 won’t planning your retirement be easy? However, if you retire at 65 and die at 95 don’t we have a number of issues we must plan for if we are going to have a successful retirement?”
- Debt – The world’s debt has increased since 2007 from $137 trillion to $220 trillion. Could that ever cause problems?
- U.S. Debt - We are now $20 trillion in debt and predicted to be 57 trillion in debt by 2035. Could that prevent us from receiving promised benefits?
- Unfunded Liabilities - Federal, State, City, Municipal pensions and healthcare. Where will we get the money?
- Under 65 Healthcare Costs
- Over 65 Healthcare Costs
- Nursing Home, Assisted living and Caregiver costs
- China - Largest debt and housing bubble in the history of the world
- Europe – Most of Europe’s banks are bankrupt and some countries are starting to leave. This does not bode well for Europe.
- Japan – Oldest country on the planet. By 2040, 50 percent of their population will be over age 65.
- South America – Poverty is everywhere
- Housing Bubble
- Commercial Real Estate – Disaster about to begin
- Commodities – Gold, Silver, Oil etc. Will they go down in price or will they go up in price? How can we take advantage of the changes?
- Derivatives – Weapons of Mass Financial Destruction
- Infrastructure Costs
- Homeland Security
- Defense
- Food Quality
- Privacy
- Internet Security
- Income Inequality
I am sure by now you all get the point. I could write five books just on the introduction to this month’s newsletter. We have so much that we can have interesting conversations with our prospects and clients about. None of it is about product. All of it is about how our prospects and clients feel.
2017 will be the greatest year of your career. How do I know? The American people need for you to have the greatest year of your career or they will be in trouble.
2017 will be the greatest year of your career.
This is as exciting of a time as there has ever been to be an insurance and financial professional. That’s what you are: A professional. You are the only people that can deliver on the promises of financial and retirement security.
Don’t assume your clients know that is what they are searching for. ASK THEM! Help them organize THEIR thinking so they will push you into helping them achieve that amazing goal.
In an era of amazing uncertainty, show prospects and clients that they can easily achieve the financial and retirement certainty they desire. All they have to do is develop a plan. Then ask if they would like you to help. They will want your help. Get ready for the best year of your career.
Let’s start with our first idea for 2017.
We're passing on two of the newsletter's monthly sales ideas - every issue of the newsletter contains 7 ideas. Subscribe to get them all.
Idea #2: Lots of Life Insurance Ideas
Here are four tremendous articles about life insurance. One focuses on four reasons women need life insurance. Another focuses on advanced tax planning using life insurance. Another extols the virtues of indexed UL. And finally, I have provided an excellent article about cross selling life insurance to business owners using your commercial lines property and casualty book as the foundation.
The last one is the most underused by property and casualty agents who already have the confidence of the business owner as their commercial lines agent. Who better to help a business owner understand how to use life insurance products to increase the financial viability of a business?
This article even includes the questions to ask and offers recommendations.
One of the articles offers tax considerations life insurance offers including FIFO tax treatment. Under the cost recovery rule basis can be removed first before loans are taken.
Finally, one of the articles explains why indexed universal life might be more favorable to our clients than investing in mutual funds.
Take a look. Get these articles. Use them and the ideas they share to dramatically increase your life production and increase the financial success your prospects and clients desire.
Title: 18 reasons for making indexed UL part of your portfolio
www.lifehealthpro.com (LifeHealthPro, December 6, 2016)
http://www.lifehealthpro.com/2016/12/06/18-reasons-for-making-indexed-ul-part-of-your-port
Title: 4 reasons why women need life insurance
www.lifehealthpro.com (LifeHealthPro, December 19, 2016)
http://www.lifehealthpro.com/2016/12/19/4-reasons-why-women-need-life-insurance
Title: Advanced tax time planning: 15 life insurance considerations
www.lifehealthpro.com (LifeHealthPro, December 7, 2016)
http://www.lifehealthpro.com/2016/12/07/advanced-tax-time-planning-15-life-insurance-consi
Title: Cross selling life insurance to business owners
www.lifehealthpro.com (LifeHealthPro, December 28, 2016)
http://www.lifehealthpro.com/2016/12/28/cross-selling-life-insurance-to-business-owners
Idea #5: Healthcare Costs Will Bankrupt Our Country and the World
According to the Congressional Budget Office, healthcare spending accounts for one out of every six dollars of GDP in our country. Listen to this. By 2050 healthcare costs will account for four out of every ten dollars of GDP: That is more than double. They are using a very low inflation rate for healthcare costs of 5.8 percent.
I could write an entire book about this healthcare issue. One of the best sales you will ever make is when you go to every grandma and grandpa you know and ask them if their children and grandchildren will be able to afford those increased costs? Won’t their access to quality healthcare be reduced dramatically? Ask them if they could make their money look a lot bigger without giving up control or returns wouldn’t that be a valuable opportunity that they could provide to their families?
Shouldn’t we ask every grandma and grandpa about this? Why? Because they have 70 percent of all the wealth in our country. If we can leverage that wealth couldn’t they be of great benefit to their families when they are done using their money?
Please ask them.
Title: Can the $7 Trillion US Healthcare Problem Really Be Fixed?
www.equities.com (Equities, October 20, 2016)
https://www.equities.com/news/can-the-7-trillion-us-healthcare-problem-really-be-fixed
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