Savvy Social Security Planning for Boomers

Savvy Social Security Planning for Boomers: What Agents Need to Know to Optimize Clients’ Retirement.

• How to maximize benefits so clients get the most money for their needs. This is where agents can truly set themselves apart—by advising clients on how to optimize the inflation-adjusted, lifetime-guaranteed income that Social Security provides…

• How spousal benefits interconnect and affect decisions concerning the timing of when benefits should be taken…
• How the often-overlooked cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) will compound the growth of your clients’ monthly benefits and help improve the accuracy of your retirement income projections…
• Why extending one’s retirement date can help under-saved clients build their retirement nest egg quickly…
• Why taking early retirement may actually be the best approach for well-off clients with the right investment risk profile…
• The impact of working while receiving benefits…
• How to know when Social Security benefits are taxable…
• The outlook for the Social Security Trust Fund and the solvency of the system…

What should the Scope of an Insurance Agent Be?

Today, Tim Smid asked me what the role of Field Representative/Insurance Agent should be in many other areas of the agency. My quick answer is simple, it depends on the size of the agency in that location. So for the sake of this story let’s assume Pro Advantage Services is an agency that has enough other personnel to handle things like marketing, software testing, or cleaning the office areas. Here is a list of the most common tasks a sales professional could be involved in. Put an "X" next to the ones that you believe an insurance agent should be doing. 

__ Lead generation
__ Proposals
__ Direct sales
__ Discovery
__ Qualification
__ Presentations
__ Applications, intake sheets & closing sheets
__ Policy delivery & post sale follow up
__ Customer Service
__ Training & CEs

Next to the right of the items that you checked, enter the percentage of time you feel an insurance agent should be spending their time on. 

Once you have labeled each item above, perform the following exercise. Multiple 2,080 by the percentage you have entered for "direct sales". For example if you believe you should spend 60% of your time on direct sales perform this exercise: 2080 x .60 = 1,248 hours should be spend each year selling. Next divide the total sales for the year you achieved by the answer above. For example, if an insurance agent closed $100,000 in written premium (sales) for the year then perform this exercise: 100,000 / 1248 = $80.13. This represents the amount of written premium you are selling per hour. This is not a perfect equation for calculating every sales professional’s productivity, but it is a decent guide to use. 

Next you need to ask yourself, "Would more time increase your written premium and sales effort?" If the answer is yes, you now have the figures and equation to use to monitor your decision. In most B2C sales environments more time will likely improve your productivity and sales, in B2B it will likely help some. The key to B2B sales audits is to understand where an insurance agent is spending his/her time. If you determine that 25% of your time is spent creating proposals, then we have a real issue. I like to see 90% of an insurance agent’s time used for selling. The other 10% is spent updating the database for us to forecast your efforts and sales projections. 

Get out from behind your desk

Do you want to know how your clients are doing? Want to know what’s working for them, what’s not working for them and what challenges they’re facing right now? Want to know how you can earn the right to a greater share of their wallets?

Want to build relationships with your dream clients in front of a deal? Want to create value now so that you can be known as a value creator when they’re ready to explore the better results you know you can bring them?

There’s only one thing holding you back, isn’t there? It’s the thing you’re sitting at. But your desk can’t really hold you back, can it? If you wanted to get out badly enough, you could. If you want to make a difference, you have to go where the action is—and that isn’t at your desk.

Break free from the bonds that constrain you! Release yourself from your prison. Get out from behind your desk, and go get into something. You know you can make a difference if you try.