Essential Tools to Succeed with Final Expense Telesales [Top Picks]

Taking the leap and beginning a career selling final expense life insurance over the phone can be scary in the beginning. Don’t let it be. It has the potential to increase your income dramatically if you take the time to implement some best practices and put the best tools in place. Having some additional tools can take your final expense telesales game to an entirely new level. I know from experience.

Today, I wanted to break down the tools I implemented in my own practice, and that can help streamline your processes. Additionally, some of these tools I discuss are for nothing more than finding a way to personally communicate with your clients with the click of a button.

When you begin your career or if you have already started, you will find your favorite tools along the way as well. If, however, you are stuck now, these can certainly give you a starting point and an initial boost.

#1-A Quality CRM (Custom Relationship Manager]

A quality CRM comes up frequently discussing essential tools all agents selling final expense insurance over the phone need to excel to new heights. The reason for this is simple. It’s perhaps the single most crucial piece of technology you can use to create sales and remain organized.

To have a big year selling any form of life insurance over the phone you need to be making hundreds of outbound calls weekly. The more, the better. With this kind of volume and quality leads, you need a central HUB to store all your important notes, client information and keep you organized and always performing the next best action.

What Do You Mean by The Next Best Action?

The CRM we provide at Digital Senior Benefits at no cost to agents is built around the idea of always having you placing calls to the “next most logical” prospect. It’s set by certain time intervals and will continue to re-organize your list of calls and feed the next most important outbound call or “action” to the top of the list.

Why is This Is Important?

This is huge for a few reasons. First, it takes the guesswork out of the equation. When you login to your CRM, you should be able to immediately start dialing your prospects without picking and choosing who to call. This can include any form of disposition such as the following.

·         Contact Attempts 1-12 (No Contact Made Yet)

·         Contacted Call Backs 1-4 (These Would Be Your Follow-Ups)

·         Contacted Quoted (Follow Ups That You Have Presented Rates to Previously)

·         Applications Taken, Submitted- (Follow-Ups for Requirements on Applications Already Submitted)

#2-A Reliable SoftPhone Service for VOIP Calling Abilities and a Professional Business Phone Number

Having a reliable softphone service is not only necessary with many outbound dialing and calling CRM’s but also an overlooked benefit. Having a reliable softphone can make life much more simple selling over the phone. Some providers are better than others, but your softphone service doesn’t necessarily need to be a long drawn out search.

Using a softphone application is going to allow you to make calls anywhere you have a stable internet connection and allow you to use a “plug-in-play” approach with your computer and CRM. I’m a big fan of Ring Central. The customer service is fantastic and Ring Central also offers other features to look for that can help boost your final expense sales when selling primarily over the phone and internet.

Always make sure to have features such as a professional business phone number. This is the number you can display and advise individuals to call you back at. Additionally, you want to use these features to have a custom built out voicemail greeting. This builds your credibility and makes you appear like a true professional.

When you make hundreds or even thousands of calls in a week, you will get phone calls back. Plenty of them. Having an easy to use the application on your computer for your softphone makes life so much easier.

Not to mention some of the other features I recommend considering which we will discuss next.

#3-Digital Faxing Abilities for Sending and Receiving Faxes

Softphone providers often allow for a small additional fee to upgrade your package to allow for digital faxing.  This is also a significant benefit when you are working in final expense telesales. Anything you can do to digitize your entire business, the better.

I used Ring Central for this is as well. You would be surprised how many clients want to fax in paperwork to your “office” or when having the ability to fax in policy requirements to the final expense carriers can help you. It looks professional, sounds professional, makes life easy and is something that is 100% worth the small extra fee per month.

I gave mine plenty of use back in my “selling days,” and I’m sure you would as well.

#4-A Unique Way to Stay in Touch with Clients

Get creative with this. Plenty of digital final expense agents have different approaches to staying in contact with their current clients or even “hot prospects.” I personally enjoyed and used Send Out Cards for this task, and it worked incredibly for me.

Send Out Cards is merely a greeting card service that can be fully automated (remember, digitize and automate all processes when possible to sell final expense over the phone).

Use these automated processes to mail out personalized cards to your clients on certain occasions that can help boost your business. Here are a few good examples of when to implement these services.

•    Policy Anniversaries

•    Clients Birthdays

•    Holidays

•    Life Events You Are Aware of For Your Clients

•    To Warm Hot Prospects in Your Pipeline

I used Send Out Cards for all the above-listed events. It works great. When you subscribe, you are given points every month to mail out these personalized cards with your business name and logo and even customized photos. Additionally, these programs serve as a “CRM” in a way.

Once you enter the information, your clients fall into your “contacts” within the subscription dashboard. Once you have a steady flow of names to input into the program, you can begin automating the mailers to send out different cards at different intervals. This removes the need to login and does the work for you.

It’s a fantastic program that many life insurance agents selling over the phone are beginning to implement.

#5-A Password Manager for Easy and Quick Logins

This is a tool that is perhaps the most significant “lifesaver” on the list, but Agents don’t discuss it enough. Use a program such as “Last Pass.” Last pass is going to take your passwords and create an “auto login” function on your desktop, laptop or any other device.

Let’s assume one of the big draws that have you interested in selling final expense life insurance over the phone is the ability to travel while still making a living. Well, doing so is excellent and one of the big perks of the job.

However, you need to keep in mind that you will have a crazy number of logins to remember. You will have passwords and logins for the following.

•    Each Individual Final Expense Carrier You opt to Contract with and Sell

•    All Your Social Media Accounts

•    Your CRM

•    Other Tools You Use for Your Business

It gets very overwhelming to attempt to either write these down or even remember each one. Using a program that can have you logging into Mutual of Omaha to sell a Burial policy quickly over the phone with your clients, makes the process faster and keeps you and the client happy. Not to mention that it looks professional to move right into the process without any hiccups or time delays.

#6-A Case Management Team for Pending and In-Force Business

Having a case management team in place is huge when selling any form of life insurance over the phone. You need an Agency that will help you get cases to go on the books and remain on the books.

Digital Senior Benefits is an example of an agency who has this figured out down to a science. When you call and make the sale to a client over the phone, you can rest assured that the case management team is going to be calling for further requirements needed.

Additionally, having a case management team or “conservation team” can help those pesky lapses remain on the books. Usually, it can take nothing more than a phone call to get a client to realize that they are pending a lapsed policy.

A lapsed policy takes money away from you and your business. Case management is something I’d add to the top of your list when looking for an Agency to sell final expense life insurance over the phone under.

It makes a huge difference and can dramatically impact how effective you can be.

Your goal should be to do nothing much outside of learning new tactics and making more sales. That’s it.

#7-A Reliable and Comfortable Headset

This may seem simple, but it’s essential. Your headset is your money maker. You want a comfortable headset and a reliable headset. It should have stable sound quality and ideally, allow you to take it with you on the go with ease.

You have so many options to choose from, but the important thing is that you have one and use one. You having the ability to hear your client is important but what’s more important is for you to sound clear, concise and professional to your client when calling them.

A headset with quality sound will make the entire process that much easier.

#8-A Quick Way to Underwrite Cases on The Fly

Learning the underwriting for various health conditions with different final expense carriers doesn’t happen overnight. It takes some time to build up this muscle memory.

Even after field underwriting over the phone hundreds of times, you will still be faced with health conditions and scenarios that can throw you for a loop.

The last thing you want to do is to sound un-educated over the phone with your client. You need the ability to keep moving through the process seamlessly. Using an underwriting response engine can help you navigate the best companies and options for your clients quickly and with accuracy.

#9-A Full-Blown Resource Center Filled with Valuable Information

Outside of being able to underwrite cases with ease, you need the ability to find other information quickly. This can be anything from carrier product guides to company contact information.

For example, with Digital Senior Benefits, we provide a resource portal where you can quickly find all the information for each carrier in one easy to access spot. This can increase your chances of making sales over the phone and make you come across as a professional with your clients.

#10-Dual Computer Monitors and A Comfortable Area to Work

Making sales over the phone can be done from a laptop in a remote location if you choose to do so. However, for much of your work, you likely use a desktop in your home.  I highly recommend using 2 computer monitors. It will make your life much easier.

One computer monitor can always be used to view your CRM and next best action to take, while your other computer monitor can have your carrier tabs for logging in, underwriting response engine and other useful tools you may need to help you effectively navigate more efficiency.

#11-Contracts with The Best Final Expense Telesales Carriers

You can have every recommended tool in this post but without the contracts with the best final expense carriers that are built for telesales will still leave you frustrated and not making as much money as you possibly could be.

Final expense carriers built for telesales are going to offer streamlined applications, telephone interviews, and fast approvals. This makes your life much easier and gets money into your bank account much faster. The companies you contract with can make or break your success in this industry.

Learn the companies and what their unique underwriting niches are. This is not only good for making final expense telesales more lucrative for you, but it’s the ethical thing to do for your clients.

#12-An Agency That is Built and Understands Final Expense Telesales

Some agencies that you can work under aren’t built for training, mentoring and providing the necessary tools needed for creating a lasting career in the final expense telesales. You want an agency that focuses on you if you’re going to hit the next levels.

You should also be looking for an agency that implements best strategies, useful scripts and leads that can be delivered at cost to you. Your agency shouldn’t be flipping profits on leads and should care about your success and development.

This is an area Digital Senior Benefits knocks out of the park. From training, proven scripts and high-quality final expense leads, you can rest assured that you will have the support needed and the quality prospects to call to keep your business growing and allow you to scale.

#13-Quality Leads at Volumes You Choose

We discuss this often when we are mentioning your top priorities and what needs to be considered when beginning a career in final expense telesales. Without quality leads, you can’t advance to the next level. Everything ties together correctly when you have the leads to call and the system to support your efforts.

Once you have this system in place and gain a better understanding of how things work and how to effectively manage your pipeline and calendar is when you can consider scaling and growing your business.

Final Word, these 13 Tools Can Elevate Your Final Expense Telesales To the Next Level

These 13 tools can help boost your final expense sales dramatically. Of course, it takes the ability and work ethic to make the calls and place the business but utilizing these 13 tools can surely help streamline and automate the process for you.

Taking advantage of the remote opportunity is the name of the game but building a sustainable income and business should also be a top priority.

Commit to building your book of business, your income, and knowledge in final expense telesales and begin affording yourself the freedom you have been searching for.

For More Information About What Digital Senior Benefits Has to Offer, Be Sure to Email Us At Info@digitalseniorbenefits.com

We would love to show you are technology and explain our processes to you.