Selling life insurance can be a profitable and rewarding career path, but it requires more than just a convincing sales pitch.
In order to help you sell life insurance successfully, we have explored a variety of different digital marketing strategies, as well as common insurance selling tips and practices.
This How to Sell Life Insurance article will help you understand your clients’ needs, how to address them, and, ultimately, how to increase your sales as a successful life insurance agent.
How to Sell Life Insurance Successfully
If you are already licensed as a life insurance agent — and are looking for ways to improve your selling — you will need to utilize a variety of different insurance agent marketing campaigns, including:
- Leveraging Social Media Advertising
- Invest in PPC Ads
- Utilize Content Marketing Strategies
- Build Your Online Presence
These techniques can allow you to target specific demographics, and can also be extremely measurable.
Leverage Social Media Advertising
Social media advertising is an effective way to reach potential clients online.
This is because you can use social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.) in order to create targeted ads for specific demographics.
Moreover, social media can be an excellent means of communicating with your target market — either through posts or direct messaging. This can make you seem more trustworthy and legitimate in your niche.
Note: Remember that consistent posting and tailored content are both key to your social media marketing campaign’s success. This is because frequently sharing relatable, audience-specific information will allow you to effectively engage potential clients, driving trust and fostering long-term relationships in the life insurance market.
Recommended Service
As a life insurance agent, we recommend working with Arrow; Arrow uses AI in order to offer up to five personalized posts a week, online traffic boosts, and weekly reporting.
Invest in Pay-Per-Click Advertising
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a powerful tool for reaching potential clients online.
PPC advertising is a highly safe marketing option as you will only be charged for clicks actually made on the ads you’ve placed across search engines or social media platforms.
This is great for being able to determine how many clicks (i.e., how many visitors on your website) it takes in order to generate one sale. Once you know this, you can scale up accordingly.
Utilize Content Marketing Strategies
Creating high-quality content like blog posts, press releases, articles or videos is the lifeblood of any marketing strategy and is essential to selling life insurance successfully.
In this way, content marketing allows you to establish yourself as an authority in your niche, as well as provide value to your audience — two great opportunities to advertise your products indirectly.
Recommended: If you are interested in boost-starting your content marketing campaign, have a look at Sitetrail’s premium press release services.
Build Your Online Presence
In today’s digital age, it’s essential to have a strong online presence. It makes you seem significantly more trustworthy to online users and also grants you access to more advertising channels.
One way to enhance your online presence is through website development. In particular, try to focus on creating a website that showcases your expertise and services (e.g., through reviews, testimonials, etc.).
Note: You will want to ensure that your website is optimized both from an SEO and from a call-to-action (CTA) point of view.
Recommended Software
We recommend the GoDaddy Website Builder as a small insurance agent company. GoDaddy meets most small business needs while providing an extremely straightforward user experience.
Tips to Sell Life Insurance
Even though having an effective marketing campaign is an essential part of selling life insurance, it is unlikely to be enough on its own.
Below we have delineated a few helpful tips that you should keep in mind in order to increase your sales, including:
- Understanding your client’s needs
- Effectively communicating the benefits that you are offering
- Successfully addressing common misconceptions
- Following up consistently
Understand Your Client’s Needs
It’s important to understand your client’s needs before you start selling, such as what they’re looking for in life insurance and their budget. For example, if a client is concerned about paying off their mortgage, this needs to be taken into account.
Once you understand your client’s individual goals, you can tailor your pitch so it meets their specific needs, which can go a long way in helping you to improve your online sales.
Build Relationships
Insurance sales are all about building relationships.
When trying to boost life insurance sales, it’s essential to establish trust and credibility with your clients.
Make sure to follow up with them regularly and provide them with valuable information about life insurance. By building relationships, you’ll increase the likelihood that your clients will refer you to their friends and family members.
Delineate the Benefits of Your Policies
For a life insurance business trying to increase sales, it’s essential to explain the benefits of each policy to potential customers in simple, succinct terms.
Make sure your clients understand the differences between term life insurance policies and permanent life insurance policies, and explain how each can provide financial security for their loved ones.
This is because, by explaining the benefits of each policy, you will likely be able to ease your client’s concerns, allowing them to make informed decisions about their insurance needs.
Address Common Misconceptions
There are many misconceptions about life insurance, such as it’s only for older people or it’s too expensive.
You will need to address these concerns with your clients. Explain that life insurance can be affordable, and it’s never too early to start thinking about it.
By debunking these myths, you can help your clients make informed decisions about their insurance needs.
Follow Up Consistently
Selling universal life insurance can be a long and challenging process, but it’s essential to be persistent. Make sure to follow up with your clients regularly and provide them with valuable information about life insurance coverage.
Don’t be afraid to ask for referrals, and make sure to continue building relationships with your clients even after the sale is made.
Be Prepared for Objections
It’s common for potential clients to have objections or concerns about life insurance. Make sure you’re prepared to address these objections and provide solutions.
For example, if someone says they can’t afford this coverage, you can explain that there are affordable life insurance policies available that still provide adequate protection.
Stay Up-to-Date With Industry Trends
The insurance industry is constantly evolving, with new products and regulations introduced regularly. To succeed as a life insurance sales agent, it’s essential to stay up-to-date with industry trends and changes.
You should attend industry conferences and seminars, read industry publications, and stay informed about changes to insurance regulations in your state.
By staying up-to-date, you can provide your clients with the best possible service and stay ahead of the competition.
How to Become a Life Insurance Agent
You will need to obtain an insurance license in your state before you start selling life insurance policies.
Even though the specific process for this can vary from state to state, you will generally need to complete the following steps in order to get a life insurance license:
- Complete a pre-licensing education course in your state: This is a legal requirement in most states. Even where it is not required, we recommend purchasing a course in order to ensure that you pass your exam on your first attempt — this can end up saving you both money and time
- Take your state’s life insurance licensing exam: State insurance exams are generally administered by Pearson VUE, PSI, or Prometric. Line-specific outlines are offered to help with your preparation
- Get a fingerprinted and/or a background check: The exact fee for this will depend on your state, but is generally less than $100
- File an official license application: This is usually done through your state’s Department of Insurance. (This department may also be known as the Division of Insurance or another name, depending on your location)
Recommended: For more information, we recommend having a look at our state-specific How to Become a Life Insurance Agent guide by selecting your state.
How to Sell Life Insurance FAQ
Is selling life insurance a good way to make money?
Selling life insurance can be highly profitable, though to ensure you maximize your profits, it is advisable to invest in digital marketing strategies such as PPC ads and content marketing. For more information on the strategies you can use to increase your profits, make sure to read our article: How to Sell Insurance.
How much do you get when you sell a life insurance policy?
The exact figures of how much you’ll earn when you make a sale on a policy as a life insurance agent will vary depending on the company employing you. That being said, it is quite common for life insurance agents to receive between 60%-80% in commissions for the premiums paid in the first year, and between 5%-10% of the premiums in subsequent years.
Can you sell a $10,000 life insurance policy?
While it is possible to sell a permanent life insurance policy with a death benefit of $10,000, the feasibility and attractiveness of such a sale — often referred to as a life insurance settlement — will largely depend on factors such as the policyholder’s age, health status, and the terms of the policy itself.
How can I sell insurance effectively?
In order to sell insurance effectively, it is important to possess a deep understanding of your client’s needs and make sure to educate them about suitable insurance products. In addition to this make sure to stay up-to-date on industry trends and leverage powerful digital marketing strategies in order to greatly enhance your sales effectiveness.
How do life insurance companies make money?
A life insurance company makes money in two primary ways: by collecting premiums from policyholders, and through investments made with those premiums. Life insurance companies profit when the money earned from premiums and investments exceeds the amount they pay out in claims and administrative costs. To read more about this topic, be sure to see our article on How Do Life Insurance Companies Make Money.
Featured Articles
- Insurance Agent Marketing
- Insurance Licensing
- How to Become a Life Insurance Agent
- How Do Life Insurance Companies Make Money
For all related articles, have a look at our How to Sell Insurance page.