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 July 2018 edition. We're sharing the full 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.
July, 2018 – 7 Ideas and Views Newsletter by Van Mueller
I love using the beginning each month's newsletter to explore selling techniques that will help you to get more appointments and then convert more of those appointments with your prospects and clients making a decision to take action immediately.
The government, Wall Street and the banks have given us enormous opportunity to be of service to the American people if we will only ask them enough of the correct questions that will inspire them to take control of their financial and retirement futures.
I have two things I want to TELL you before I start sharing all the questions I would ask you to consider using to increase the success you are working toward in your careers.
First, I don't know if I can thank you enough for all the birthday wishes I received. Most of you have become friends and you have contributed to my increasing success in our business. Not only that, you have helped me to become a better person, father, husband, friend, etc.
I tell you all the time that as I have gotten older, I cry easily. You all made me cry on my birthday. They were tears of gratitude. I am grateful, appreciative and humbled by your good wishes. You all made me feel like George Bailey in the movie It’s a Wonderful Life. I feel like the richest man in town because I have all of you as friends. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Second, and I am very proud of this, my new CD Modern Techniques for Success is available at VanMueller.com. I worked very hard to make it current and immediately useable. It has new questions, new sales ideas and new and up to date economic information that you can use to create questions that inspire your prospects and clients to give you appointments and then take action.
I have another surprise. You can now get all my information on MP3 as well as CDs. Your old guy is actually working his way into the twenty first century, slowly but surely.
Please go to VanMueller.com as soon as you read this and get the new CDs. They will help you to increase your appointments and you will achieve better results in the appointments you make.
I believe these are the best CDs I have ever made. I am very proud of the contents. I know they will help you to help more people.
In the June 6, 2018 USA Today newspaper, it was reported that the Social Security and Medicare Trustees had issued their annual report about the financial health of these two programs that millions and millions of Americans depend on. It was also reported in the Wall Street Journal and many other newspapers across our country. It was on the evening and morning news. It was on the internet. It was everywhere. How many Americans saw or heard the information it delivered? Very few. Why? Because the information was buried inside the newspaper. Or it was discussed on the back page. When you could find it, the information provided at best, a few paragraphs. I will explain why a little later, however it was amazing and important and impactful information.
First, the Trustees reported that Social Security had entered into a negative cash flow. That means we were now paying out more in benefits than we were collecting in FICA taxes. We would have to begin to remove money from the so-called trust fund to make up the difference.
What is the significance of this information? It is twofold. First, this was not supposed to occur until the year 2022. Second, this occurred during a nine-year economic and stock market expansion. Here's the question you should ask everyone. What will happen to Social Security when we have a stock market crash or recession or both?
What will happen to Social Security when we have a stock market crash or recession or both?
Shouldn't we ask our prospects and clients if they should plan for this eventuality so they can take advantage of, rather than be hurt by this occurrence?
Second, The Trustees reported that Medicare would become insolvent in 2026 rather than 2029. In less than a decade one of the most important delivery systems for healthcare in our country will become insolvent. Again, this occurred during an economic expansion not during a recession.
Why was so little attention paid to this very important information? We have an election in four months. The people running for office on either side of the aisle do NOT want to talk about this. They want to focus on non-financial emotional issues that are only based on OPINION and not mathematical fact. If they have to answer mathematical questions, that to be honest, are not possible to be answered in a positive way by the people running for office it would be detrimental to their campaigns.
This election will be followed over the next two years by the most contentious presidential election in the history of our country. We won't have a discussion about Social Security and Medicare during the next presidential election. It will all be treated as “Fake News.” Essentially that means we will not have a discussion as a country about the financial wellbeing of Social Security and Medicare until at the earliest 2021. By that time the catastrophe will be upon us. It will be much more difficult to repair and the pain felt by Americans will be much more severe than it would have been had they addressed these challenges sooner.
This is going to be a serious issue for all Americans but you must first understand the math. You must develop an expertise with this information because it will impact an astonishing amount of the American People. Here's the most important point. You haven‟t missed it. This information can be used to make an astonishing amount of additional appointments. Here is a transition question I ask all the time. “Have you ever done the math on this? Would you like to do the math on this? Has anyone ever done the math on this for you? Would you like to see and address the challenge and then the opportunity it provides?”
You must develop an expertise with this information because it will impact an astonishing amount of the American People.
There are 74 million Baby Boomers who were born between 1946 and 1964. Every one of them will be over the age of 65 by 2029.
There are 66 million Generation Xers that were born between 1965 and 1980. Every one of them will be over the age of 65 by 2045.
That is 140 million people over the age of 65 in the next 27 years. Do you think we have enough money to take care of them if we barely have enough money to take care of the 62 or 63 million that are currently on those programs? WILL WE NEED MORE REVENUE IN THE FUTURE?
Will we get that revenue from the 90 percent of Americans who really don't have the money or will we get that revenue from the 10 percent who do have money?
Why do we keep insisting on building enormous piles of taxable money for the future when we know this is coming? Why don't we pay our taxes now when they are historically low and transfer as much money as humanly possible to the future that will remain free of income taxes forever? Why do we keep falling into the governments trap?
Why don't we pay our taxes now when they are historically low and transfer as much money as humanly possible to the future that will remain free of income taxes forever?
How do I know that there will be fewer and fewer people? First, we just passed a new tax law that effectively removed a number of people from the income tax rolls. It is calculated that currently 10 percent of the taxpayers in our country are paying 87 percent of the taxes.
Next, and this is very important because people are not calculating the impact of technology on jobs in the workplace. When technology replaces jobs, there is no one to pay income tax, FICA tax and Medicare tax. This is program threatening because both Social Security and Medicare are now pay-as-you-go entitlement programs.
I had a new McDonald's quarter-pounder with cheese in the Minneapolis Airport. I ordered from a screen. There were only a few people in the back preparing the food and only one person taking money and delivering the food. McDonald's has ordered thousands of these all over the United States. Do you think Burger King, Wendy's and Taco Bell will follow suit?
In the pay-as-you-go system the less people paying into the system, the more stress will be applied to the few people who can still afford to pay. Ask these people if they want to maintain control of how much can be taken or do they wish to allow the government and the Internal Revenue Service to decide how much they should pay?
In the pay-as-you-go system the less people paying into the system, the more stress will be applied to the few people who can still afford to pay.
Here is one additional piece of information that clearly shows what is happening.
California is now the 5th largest economy on the planet. It was just reported that the size of the California economy now exceeds Great Britain. That means only the United States, China, Japan and Germany have larger economies. Listen to this; on May 16, 2018 it was reported that just one percent of the California income tax payers, which is around 150,000 families in a state that has 40 million residents account for nearly half of the income taxes and one third of all general fund revenues. There are fewer and fewer people having more and more of the responsibility to provide the revenues that governments need at the federal, state and local levels.
The Federal government can print money so they will always be able to meet the obligations they have promised. It comes at a staggering cost. The purchasing power of our money continues to decline at a staggering pace. I will share some of that information with you in one of the sales ideas.
The state, counties, cities, municipalities, townships, etc., CANNOT print money. They either increase taxes, lower benefits, borrow money or a combination of all of these things. Won't it be the last one? That will also contribute to a reduction in the standard of living of most Americans. There is still time to plan for all of this, but that time is waning quickly.
There is still time to plan for all of this, but that time is waning quickly.
There are several other concepts we must talk about before we start the sales ideas.
First, what is the difference between inflation and deflation? Deflation is a reduction in the price of commodities, such as stocks, bonds, real estate, gold, silver, bitcoin, corn, wheat, etc. When the value of a house declines from $300,000 to $200,000 that is deflation.
There will be a lot of deflation. It could be as much as 50 percent or even more for many assets and commodities.
Let's say you have $10 million in assets and deflation reduces their value to $5 million, wouldn't that be catastrophic?
Now can you imagine having to deal with inflation? What is inflation? It is an increase in the supply of an asset. I will use money as an example. If the governments of the world have created out of thin air $20 trillion dollars of new money using “Quantitative Easing” they have reduced the purchasing power of that money. The reason that we haven't dealt with massive inflation yet is important to understand. Tom Hegna talks about this all the time. The new money must also have velocity. That means it must be inserted into the economy and used by the consumer.
We haven't had any velocity of the new money because people didn't really get any of the money. The new money was used to bail out the government and bail out or recapitalize Wall Street and the banks. It was feared that if we did not do that we would have a global economic collapse. Our Federal Reserve even bailed out banks in Europe and Asia in 2007 and 2008.
Because the economy didn't get to use the new money, we have suffered through one of the weakest recoveries in the history of our country averaging only around 2 percent annual growth for the nine-year duration of the current recovery.
Because the economy didn't get to use the new money, we have suffered through one of the weakest recoveries in the history of our country averaging only around 2 percent annual growth for the nine-year duration of the current recovery.
That is one of the reasons for real concern. The Central Banks of the world have provided and will continue to provide enormous fuel to create the next Jimmy Carter bout with inflation. Much higher interest rates in the future.
Now apply other information to the couple with $10 million in assets. They lose $5 million in the downturn and then are confronted with real inflation which will dramatically reduce their purchasing power. They were considered rich before deflation and inflation. After, they will have to, at the very least, reduce their standard of living. At its worst it could destroy their life.
Now, imagine the same scenario for the 90 percent of Americans who only have $140,000 in assets or less. Do you start to see how important you are going to be to this country? You play a vital role just by asking prospects and clients about these issues. You help them to become AWARE.
Remember, this is a double-edged sword. First, deflation will reduce the value of their assets. Then, inflation will reduce the purchasing power of the money they have left. It is a frightening challenge that the American people are about to endure. We could alleviate so much of this for every person that we come across.
It is a frightening challenge that the American people are about to endure.
Please remember, you are using this information to inspire people to take action. Many think they have enough of those assets to rest on their laurels. They are in for a sad surprise.
I am being redundant. However, I want to repeat. Ask these so-called rich people these questions. “If the government needs more money in the future will they get that money from the 90 percent of Americans who don't have any money or the 10 percent who do? Do you think the government is stupid? You don't think they know we still have products that allow you to pay your taxes now while they are historically low and then transfer that money and the growth of that money to the future where they can never get their hands on that money again? How much longer will they allow us to have those products and won't the only people who will have them in the future be the ones who already have them? Do you understand? In one paragraph you have made a sale, and all that is required is that you are able to portray the significance of this information to your prospects and clients. That brings up the final concept I want to share before we start the ideas.
PEOPLE DO NOT BUY BAD NEWS. In fact, if you give them too much bad news many will say something like this. “If it's going to be that bad maybe I just live now and worry about later, later.”
PEOPLE DO BUY OPPORTUNITY. In fact, they are extra inspired if they feel they might miss out on opportunity that other people have access to. That is the sale. Get their attention with the bad news and then show them the opportunity it created. That inspires people.
Get their attention with the bad news and then show them the opportunity it created. That inspires people.
Here are the clear processes for getting appointments and then making sales in those appointments.
- Ask people if they are aware of the challenges they face. Will taxes, loss of benefits, inflation, volatility and longevity and multitudes of additional challenges disrupt their financial and retirement futures in a negative way?
- Ask them if it would be amazing to not be harmed by any of those challenges. Wouldn't it be more amazing if you never had to worry about any of these issues ever again?
- Finally, this is the sale. Ask them if it would be spectacular if every time one of those issues presented themselves you could actually take advantage of them rather than be hurt by them? Wouldn't that be a strategy that would allow you to achieve the financial and retirement success you desire? When would you want to start a program like this; before or after these challenges occur?
If you understand these three things and can clarify them for prospects and clients by asking them questions, you will easily achieve the success in our business that you so desperately want.
It only takes practice so you can become conversational asking the questions.
This is the greatest time ever to do what we do. Wouldn't you like to be an important part of that tremendous opportunity? Please, practice, practice and practice some more and you will accomplish what you have always hoped for. Success in our industry.
Let's get started with this month's ideas.
We're passing on two of the newsletter's monthly sales ideas - every issue of the newsletter contains 7 ideas, plus one idea for the Canadian market. Subscribe to get them all.
Idea #2: Less and Less People Pay More and More of the Taxes
In the introduction, I talk about 10 percent of the people paying to take care of 90 percent of Americans: That information is based on assets. 90 percent of Americans have less than $140,000. 75 percent of Americans have less than $28,000 in assets. That is after a nine-year bull market.
If people think $140,000 is a lot of money ask them this question. If you retire at age 65 and you live to age 95, how long would $140,000 last?
The information is this article I am sharing with you is based on current income. 20 percent of Americans pay 87 percent of the income tax in this country.
Out of 175 million households in America, 1 million households in the top 1 percent of wage earners will pay 43 percent of the income tax. You have to make $730,000 per year to be in the top 1 percent.
To be in the top 20 percent you have to make more than $150,000 per year. Those 20 percent pay 87 percent of all the federal income taxes in our country.
Why must you know this? Ask the people in the 20 percent of earnings and the 10 percent of assets if the government will need more revenue in the future for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, The Affordable Care Act, Interest on the Debt, Defense, Homeland Security, Etc.? Will they get that money from the bottom 80 or 90 percent who REALLY have no money? Or, will they get that money from the 10 or 20 percent who do? Don‟t all of you already know the answer? Ask prospects and clients if they want to let that happen or would they like to be in control of how much is taken? Ask them many times and in as many ways as you can think of. Are you working to benefit the 80 or 90 percent who were not willing to do what you did or are you working to benefit your family and/or your business? The government will be coming for your money sooner rather than later. What do you want to do about that?
Title: Top 20% of Americans Will Pay 87% of Income Tax
www.wsj.com (The Wall Street Journal, April 6, 2018)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/top-20-of-americans-will-pay-87-of-income-tax-1523007001
Idea #4: When You Die, Who Is Responsible for Your Debt?
American households are in debt up to their eyeballs. Household debt now exceeds $13.2 trillion dollars. When someone dies, who is required to pay off all that debt?
The average amount of debt at death is almost $62,000. Here is an average breakdown:
Student loans: $25,000
Auto loans $17,000
Personal loans $15,000
Credit cards $4,000
Can anyone say Life Insurance?
When you die your estate becomes responsible for your debts. In community property and marital property states your spouse will probably become responsible for your debt. Don't misunderstand, the spouse still loses the use of those assets needed to pay off debt, however they are probably not personally responsible.
For estates doesn't that make it vitally important that there are named beneficiaries on EVERYTHING so the asset does not go into the estate?
Is anything beyond the reach of creditors? Absolutely, retirement accounts and cash value life insurance and term insurance are protected from creditors.
If you read this newsletter you will know that since I began writing it I have always shared this sentence, “Debt Signals the Need for Life Insurance.” If you can‟t afford the premiums now, how will your family or business afford the debt later?
This is a very simple yet, very important article. Use it to inspire action.
Title: What Happens to Your Debt When You Die?
www.moneywise.com (MoneyWise, June 20, 2018)
https://moneywise.com/a/what-happens-to-your-debt-when-you-die
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