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 June 2024 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.
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June 2024 – 7 Ideas and Views Newsletter by Van Mueller
In the last 30 days I have spoken to a wonderfully large group of Farmers agents and two State Farm groups and finally my Heroes of Zero seminar in Nashville, TN with David McKnight and Tom Hegna and Ed Slott. The meeting was wonderfully well attended. I want to thank all the attendees who participated using my discount. I am grateful to you. The meeting was a big success and I believe they will repeat the meeting next year.
What I learned watching and being with everyone at these meetings was eye opening. I realize that the information being shared by all our mentors is NOT being learned. In fact, I am beginning to understand that the information is barely being heard. We are not helping the attendees to learn the information that is being provided.
That is why I have been working with all my newsletter subscribers and speech attendees, helping them to learn the ideas for prospecting and selling that they so desperately desire.
Many agents are taught to study. They do this because thy are trained to believe this is a product business. We have the best product, the cheapest premiums, the highest cash value and the best interest rates. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Think about this, please. Aren’t the most successful insurance and financial professionals in our business magnificent people persons? Isn’t this a people business? Isn’t why so very few of us find the success we desire, because we have been sold a bill of goods? Can you really differentiate yourself and create the absolute necessary trust that is required for success by talking about you, your company and your products? Isn’t everyone doing that? What separates you as the best insurance and financial advisor for that client? Isn’t it your consideration for the client? How can you easily display that consideration for the client? Isn’t it by asking important questions that help the customer discover and give clarity to not only issues they know about and understand, but also issues that they were probably not even aware of.
Aren’t the most successful insurance and financial professionals in our business magnificent people persons? Isn’t this a people business?
Isn’t that the easiest and quickest and most effective ways to separate you from other insurance and financial professionals?
We are going to review a few things that you must understand to achieve your success as quickly and efficiently as possible.
EVERYONE CAN DO THIS. I AM PROOF OF THAT STATEMENT. THE SKILLS ARE LEARNED, NOT NATURALLY GIVEN.
They can be learned quickly. However, you cannot partially use the skills. If you don’t use them all, you will probably achieve average results. How long your success takes will be entirely up to you. If you practice occasionally, it will probably take six months to one year. If you practice once in a while, it will take you one year to never.
If I asked you to practice these skills 100 times per day for 60 days, would you do it if you never had to worry about being successful ever again for the rest of your career?
What hasn’t been made clear to everyone in our business is that there is no teaching. “There is only learning.” You cannot be taught anything if you are unwilling to learn anything. If you are looking for a better way to do what you are already doing wrong, you will not find it. You must be willing to learn the skill that will make you successful. What 95 percent of agents and advisors have been taught about being successful is wrong. You cannot grow and become successful by being partially wrong. You must learn methods and processes that are repeatable in any circumstance. The more you accomplish that, the more confident you will become, and you will achieve more success. When you achieve this new success, you will grow to love what you do. You will desire to add new questions and techniques that will bring more success and more confidence. Prospects and clients will begin to see how much you love to do what you do. They will not buy what you say. They will buy how you say it. They will buy how you make them feel.
What is amazing to me is that EVERY agent I discuss this with instinctively knows this is the correct way to achieve success in our business. They know it, but have been trained to go against their own instincts. Many agents know it and find it difficult to transition because they have practiced incorrectly. I ask them if they have been able to achieve mediocrity by practicing incorrectly, couldn’t they just as easily achieve success if they practiced correctly? They still find it difficult to change because if the new method doesn’t work what will they have to fall back on?
Let’s be honest; if you are a grownup and you decide you want to succeed, you will do what is necessary to achieve that success. If you don’t wish to succeed, you will not do the learning that is necessary to succeed. It is and has always been your choice. As the great philosopher Yoda shared, “There Is No Try, There Is Only Do.” When do you want to get started?
Let’s be honest; if you are a grownup and you decide you want to succeed, you will do what is necessary to achieve that success.
That is the 100 percent purpose of this newsletter. You must read the newsletter every month, out loud, with a legal pad and pen nearby so you can immediately write down the information that had the biggest impact on you. This would be the information you would use to ask powerful questions to prospects and clients. Then, you must watch the Zoom about the newsletter every month either live or in the email that accompanies the newsletter or both. Hearing and seeing and then writing are the fastest ways to learn.
Here is a guide to help you achieve YOUR success, sooner rather than later. There are five items that must be given consideration to build your confidence and your path to ever increasing success.
1. QUESTIONS
If you have been a subscriber of the newsletter or attended one of my speeches or watched and or listened to a zoom meeting or interview, you know without a doubt that the foundation of success in our industry is based majestically on questions.
I don’t mean stupid questions like what’s your favorite color or who is your favorite football player or what’s your favorite restaurant.
I mean powerful, important questions about issues that our customers may have considered and many issues they may not have considered. Questions such as, “What’s the best age to take Social Security?” or “Do you want to be rich, or do you want an absolute positive guarantee that you will never be poor?” or “When is the last time you did a beneficiary review?” or here’s a new one, “What would give you a happier retirement; having a lot of money that you would have to worry about or sufficient guaranteed income that you could not outlive?” The questions must be practiced so they sound conversational and not like a pitch.
Here's the most important part. This is what everyone gets wrong about all the great teachers in our business. They have been taught to believe the questions make the sale. Here’s an example. Mr. & Mrs. Customer, do you believe taxes will be higher in the future? Just yes or no. “Yes, we do.” Do you think with everything going on in our country, including more money needed for Social Security and Medicare, that taxes could be even way higher in the future? “Absolutely we do.” Agents, incorrectly believe that is an opening. They immediately say and not ask, that they have a policy, or they have a solution, and they present themselves as a salesperson. We, continue with our questioning using an action question. May I ask you a question that I would bet no one else has ever asked you? They always say yes. DO you want to pay those taxes? They say absolutely not. I then ask them, what are you going to do to not pay those taxes? They reply that they don’t know. I ask again; doesn’t that mean you are going to let the Internal Revenue Service and the government come and take as much as they want? Finally, the customer will say, “I don’t know what to do. Will you recommend something?” or they will say, “If you were in my shoes what would you do?” I reply that I am in their shoes and in order to make sure that we accomplish exactly what you want to happen, would it be okay if I asked you some additional questions? That is the fact finder.
Because they asked me to help, I am no longer a salesperson: I am their advocate, advisor and counselor. What agent and advisors miss in ALL the teaching of the icons of our industry is that they use questions to engage prospects and clients in CONVERSATIONS that inherently create trust in a ridiculously short amount of time. If people like you, they will listen to you. If they trust you they will buy from you.
What agent and advisors miss in ALL the teaching of the icons of our industry is that they use questions to engage prospects and clients in CONVERSATIONS that inherently create trust in a ridiculously short amount of time.
Aren’t questions that lead to wonderful conversations the most effective way to build trust? Doesn’t that shorten the sales cycle? Don’t people give more referrals to people they trust? Doesn’t this make complete sense?
Isn’t a question a powerful statement in disguise? Isn’t asking questions the fastest way to build trust? Please remember, you are using the questions to build engaging conversations.
2. PRACTICE
All professionals practice. The repetitions make you conversational. Many of our customers say that they can’t afford the premiums. Always reply, “I totally understand. That makes sense to me, but doesn’t that raise another question?” If you as the primary breadwinner can’t afford the premiums while you are here, how would your family or business afford the problem if you were not here? Wouldn’t they be in terrible jeopardy if you were not here?
A good way to practice is on friends, family, even other agents. You could also practice on prospects that you believe there would be no way ever that you would sell them. Then you don’t feel you are wasting practices on people you feel confident that you could inspire them to buy. You will also get a nice surprise. You will probably sell a few of the people you thought you had no chance to sell because they will have never heard the questions or had great conversations about issues both known and unknown. Because your initial goal was only to practice and not to sell them, you will represent yourself in a positive manner.
You will probably sell a few of the people you thought you had no chance to sell because they will have never heard the questions or had great conversations about issues both known and unknown.
ALL PROFESSIONALS PRACTICE. It makes them a step faster.
3. INVISIBILITY
How do you prove to someone that you are interested in them? Do you talk about you and your company, or do you ask about them? Little or nothing in the conversation should be about us. It should ALL be about the customer. How can we discover what is of interest and value to the customer if we only talk about us? I never brag about me. I share information about the icons in our industry, David McKnight, Tom Hegna and Ed Slott to ask my prospect or client about what should be considered. I even use my phone to ask Google about the icons in front of my prospect or client. Let me give you a few examples.
I ask Google, “What is advisor David McKnight known for?”
Google replies: David McKnight is a renowned financial advisor and expert in zero tax retirement planning having assisted thousands of Americans in achieving the zero percent tax bracket by training agents like me. Is achieving the zero percent tax bracket in retirement something you would like to achieve?
I ask Google, “What is Tom Hegna known for?”
Google replies: Tom Hegna is an author, speaker, and economist. He has been an incredibly popular speaker for many years and is considered by many to be: The Retirement Income Expert.
Would you be interested in building a guaranteed retirement that you couldn’t outlive under any circumstance?
I ask Google, "What does Ed Slott say is the most beneficial benefit in the income tax code?"
Google replies: Ed implores you to take advantage of it. Ed believes the tax exemption for life insurance is one of the most significant single benefits in the tax code and most people don’t realize it.
Mr. & Mrs. Customer, with discretionary money decreasing dramatically would you be interested in strategies that would allow one dollar to do the work of many dollars? And, what if you could buy those dollars for pennies per year? At the very least, even if you didn’t do anything, wouldn’t you want to know a strategy like that was available?
The more the conversation is about our customer and the less it is about us, the more successful the outcome.
The more the conversation is about our customer and the less it is about us, the more successful the outcome.
4. SIMPLIFICATION
People will buy small policies or invest small amounts of money with you because they like you or even trust you. They will NEVER give you all their money if they do not understand what you are doing with them. Your goal should always be to show the customer how smart THEY are, not how smart YOU are. Simplification always leads to the biggest sales. If you can show a prospect or client how effective a cash value life insurance policy is for them by asking them eight or ten questions rather than a 50-page illustration, you will find successful outcomes more often than not.
Several weeks ago, I watched an agent make a presentation filled with all kinds of facts and information, He went on with his presentation for almost 40 minutes with the customer hardly speaking. Finally, the customer raised his hand and wondered if he could ask a question. He exclaimed that the only reason he had come in was to find out if he was going to be okay. I believe this happens an extraordinary number of times every day in our industry. The goal is to simplify the process so the customer can lead the way.
5. STRATEGIES
There is no single product that can effectively deal with all the challenges Americans face to achieve their financial, retirement and protection goals. That is why it is vital to have a wonderful conversation about how all these challenges can effectively be protected against and with the right strategy, even be taken advantage of.
I know you will laugh when I say this, however I will say it anyway. The strategy for each person, business or family is different. These strategies cannot be built with only one product. The most effective strategies require the use of several of our products used hand in hand to achieve the goals the customer desires.
The most effective strategies require the use of several of our products used hand in hand to achieve the goals the customer desires.
What is the ultimate goal of all of these five guideposts? Would it not be to become the most AUTHENTIC you possible? The goal is not to sell like Van Mueller, or Tom Hegna, or David McKnight or Ed Slott. You can use some of our questions and use many of our solutions, however you must NEVER forget; The customer is not buying your product or your company: They are buying YOU and their belief that they can trust you. Be your most authentic you and you will almost always accomplish that goal. What’s the goal? To be as authentic as you can be. Let’s get started with this month’s sales ideas.
Idea #4: Two-Thirds of Retirees Fear Outliving Their Savings
Very important article to share with prospects and clients. Ask them if they have the same concerns as the people in the study. When they say yes, and they will, ask them if they understand that our industry is the only place they can build guaranteed income that cannot be outlived. Ask them, even if they didn’t do anything, would they want to know if it could be done?
Title: 68% Of Retirees Fear Outliving Their Savings, Schroders Survey Says
https://www.fa-mag.com/ (Financial Advisor, May 9, 2024)
https://www.fa-mag.com/news/68--of-retirees-fear-outliving-their-savings--per-schroders-survey-78045.html
Idea #5: Using Cash Value Life Insurance in Long-Term Care Planning
Believe it or not, the number one reason customers cite for not buying long term care is that if they don’t use it, they will have wasted all the premiums. They know it’s expensive and they know they need it; however, they worry if they don’t use the benefit, that’s a lot of money gone in a world where discretionary money is declining at a rapid rate.
Hence, the miracle of cash value life insurance policy instead of a CD or savings account. If they need it for long term care, it is available. If they don’t need it for long term care the cash value is available for other uses.
Best of all, if you do use your cash values, the death benefit can still replenish the money that was used for long term care for the family. What a spectacular idea. READ THIS ARTICLE. You have over 100 million prospects.
Title: The importance of life insurance in long-term care planning
https://insurancenewsnet.com/ (Insurance News Net Magazine, May 1, 2024)
https://insurancenewsnet.com/innarticle/the-importance-of-life-insurance-in-long-term-care-planning#:~:text=If%20they%20don't%20use,just%20a%20return%20of%20premiums
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