On the Third Day of Christmas

Senior Insurance Training Services gives to you …

The Health Frame

During the next three days, we’re going to provide you with a graduate level mini-course in selling LTC Insurance.

If you have paid attention to any of the news that flows out of Washington D.C. over the past decade, you know the topic of Health Care Costs is and has been a heated topic of debate across the aisle in the House, Senate and on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Now we’re going to share with you how Health Care Costs provide the framework for discussing long-term care with your prospects across the kitchen table.

We’ll start with Health today, then follow with Care tomorrow and Costs the next day. We’ll tie a bow around this selling model the following day with a discussion on Planning.

Key Agreements

If your prospect or client doesn’t agree that they have a need, wouldn’t you agree that you have no chance of helping them buy LTC Insurance?

Good answer! So, what is the first key agreement you must reach with your prospect?

The answer is that they agree their health could change over time.

Now slow down! There is no need to sink your teeth into their jugular vein with your first bite!

You start by asking your client to share their awareness of the long-term care experiences of others.

Have any of your friends or family had a long illness? Who was this? What happened?
Do you know anyone else who has ever needed long-term care? What health problem did they have?
How old were they when they first received care? How did their condition progress? How long did they need care?
Were these people generally healthy before they needed long-term care? Was the change in their health sudden or did it deteriorate over time?
Was the experience of these people difficult for their families? How?

Hopefully you are listening attentively to your prospect describe their experience of how others faced health issues as they grew older.

At this point, you want to generalize the conversation – take it away from the specific people they have been thinking about.

What issues do people face with aging?
What do you know about the need for long-term care?
What types of health issues cause long-term care problems?

Now why would you ask them to think about specific issues (first) that those they know have faced … and then ask them to think more broadly about health issues in general (second)?

A River in Egypt

If you don’t take your time and work through the health frame in this way, your prospect will be taking you on a journey to a famous river in Egypt.

Yes, they will take you on a slow boat down the Nile, where they will continue to live in DENIAL that they could have a health issue at some point in their lives.

You must paint the small picture first – make it personal regarding people they know. Then you paint the big picture – it could happen to anyone.

Wouldn’t you agree that none of us are immune to a decline in our health, Mr. Prospect?

Let’s Get Personal

Based on the client’s awareness of the long-term care experiences of their friends and family, followed by their understanding of long-term health issues in general, you must now uncover their personal perspective.

You accomplish this by exploring their current health condition and personalizing the experiences they have shared with their beliefs about their future.

How would you rate your health (excellent/good/fair/poor)?
Have you been hospitalized in the last few years? When? Why?
Have you had any major health problems, like heart attacks or strokes?
Do you have any serious medical conditions?
When was the last time you saw your doctor? What were the results?
Are you taking any medications? What conditions do they address?

Wow! What a great field underwriter you are!

If you make this part of your interview conversational and demonstrate your empathy for their health situation, you might even start to earn their trust.

Isn’t this a better approach than putting the application in front of them and asking them to check all of the boxes that apply?

Now it’s time to move from their current health to their possible future health:

How do you see your health condition changing in the future? Do you understand activities of daily living, or ADL’s?
What future health problems concern you? How do you feel about your future health? Why?
When could your health change? Could it happen sooner?
If you were beset by a long-term illness, what do you foresee? How do you see yourself needing care in the future?
When might you need long-term care? Why?

Money pays for long-term care insurance, but only good health buys it!

Key Agreement # 1

You started small – who do they know that faced health issues.

Then you went big – what could happen to anyone?

You brought it back home – what could happen to them?

Now you need to tie a bow around it:

You told me about ____. Could you see yourself in this situation? Why?
What if this happened to you?
How would you handle a similar situation?
What are your biggest concerns regarding your long-term health?
Considering your family’s health history, what ailments concern you?
What are you doing to protect yourself from these conditions? Can you be sure you will avoid these symptoms?

Make sure you are listening attentively and empathize with your prospect!

Now go deeper!

What do you think could happen to you that would require long-term care?
How would you assess your probability of needing long-term care?
How long do you see yourself needing care?
What could happen that would cause a sudden, dramatic change in your ability to function independently?
No on ever plans on needing long-term care, but do you feel this is something that could happen to you? Why?
How do you feel about your future chances of needing long-term care services?
If you don’t believe you may need long-term care, why not?

Do you need to ask all of these questions? Maybe you do, maybe you don’t!

How will you know if you have asked enough questions?

How about a trial close? If they agree, you can move on.

But if they don’t, you’ll need to ask more questions, then trial close again.

DO NOT PROCEED UNLESS THE CLIENT ACKNOWLEDGES THE POSSIBILITY OF EXPERIENCING A LONG-TERM HEALTH PROBLEM

If you move on without gaining this key agreement, you will be out to sea while your prospect continues floating blissfully down a river in Egypt.

Tomorrow we move to the second key agreement – the Care frame.