Are you interested in final expense telesales?

Want to know the facts behind selling final expense insurance over the phone?

If so, you’ve found the right article!

In today’s article, I’ll discuss how the best final expense telesales opportunities works, pros and cons, and the best final expense phone sales agencies to consider joining.

Let’s begin!

NOTE: Looking for a completely FREE final expense telesales crash course?

You can learn how to sell final expense over the phone (INCLUDING my final expense telesales script) FOR FREE using my free resource guide by clicking the link here.

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• At Home Telesales
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NOTE: Are you an aspiring or new insurance agent looking for more insight on how the insurance sales industry works? Check out my free New Insurance Agent Resource Guide to help answer many of your questions (as well as ones you didn’t know you had!).

How Final Expense Telesales Works

The most common way to successfully do final expense telesales is in a call center environment.

Let’s describe first how a final expense call center works, what it’s like working in one, and cover pros and cons.
 

Call Center Sales

Final expense telesales call centers are exactly what you’d imagine.

You report to an office daily.

Your insurance leads are provided at no cost.

There is a substantial amount of free final expense training available to new and experienced hires.

A Hands-On Experience

Overall, working in a final expense call center is a very hands-on experience.

In fact, many times the quality of sales training reps receive in a call center exceed those trained to sell face-to-face.

This high level of sales training development makes final expense telesales in a call enter one of its biggest advantages.

Lots Of Face Time With Trainers

Added, as you dial away, your senior trainer or manager invests time to tweak your presentation.

Then, if you run into sales issues like closing the deal, your manager can help to quickly identify how to improve.

At a final expense telesales call center, sales and product training is an ongoing, never-ending process.

And many agents, especially with no entrepreneurial or sales background, benefit from this arrangement. 

How Leads Work

In final expense phone sales at a call center, expect to pay nothing for your final expense leads.

Many times, you have access to an unlimited number of leads, as long as you’re closing business consistently.

Call center leads are usually fresh, although new agents commonly work old leads to begin.

In my experience, final expense call centers buy tons of final expense TV leads, Facebook final expense leads, and final expense telemarketing leads.

Don’t want to bother buying leads? Selling final expense in a call center may be the perfect solution. 

Play To Your Strengths

Why would selling final expense insurance over the phone be a good idea?

Bottom line, you PREFER a final expense telesales environment to face-to-face sales!

If your background is in selling over the phone, selling final expense telephonically makes sense.

Even though I’m a face-to-face guy, I’ve learned some agents fare better with final expense telesales.

I’d wager all good call centers agree, too…

They’re looking for agents best suited for their business model.

Most importantly, they want agents to match its company culture to the highest degree possible.  

Who Should NOT Sell Final Expense Insurance Over The Phone?

Sometimes, I am asked…

“El Jefe, who should NOT do final expense telesales?”

That’s a simple answer.

If you find yourself:

• Creatively restricted in a corporate environment,
• Prefer selling face-to-face, and
• Are a “lone wolf” personality,

Then a call center environment is not for you.

There are many like myself who shy from office work.

We love the freedom selling face-to-face without boss oversight provides. 

Right For Some (Wrong For Others)

Bottom line, if you don’t like a traditional office environment, then facet-to-face is a better choice.

A while back, I consulted with a large Midwestern insurance call center.

The company generates hundreds of life insurance leads a day, with 100+ agents working those leads constantly.

I observed many happy agents working there.

It was clear they liked selling final expense insurance over the phone.

Final expense phone sales was more suited to their personality type. 

Where Do You Fit?

As you can see, selling in a final expense telesales environment is different from face-to-face sales.

Agents thriving in final expense telesales are REALLY good on the phone.

They don’t feel chained to their desks. They prefer the interaction and camaraderie a call center provides.

Bottom line, you must not only have an inclination towards final expense telesales, you must also partner with an organization successful in telesales. 

What Coronavirus Taught Me About Final Expense Telesales

When Covid-19 hit in March 2020, many agents found it difficult to secure face-to-face appointments, thus the necessity to sell final expense insurance over the phone was born.

Here’s what I’ve discovered…

Final expense telesales is VERY similar (but definitely different) to selling final expense face-to-face.

Originally, I worried about my agents making the transition to final expense phone sales.

And the good news was the transition was WAY easier than I originally thought.

Sales Is Sales, After All

Despite a few tweaks, my final expense sales script works just as good face-to-face as it does over the phone.

The biggest differences?

• SLOWING. Things. Down…
• Intentionally building more rapport and trust to compensate for no face-to-face meetings.

This entire experience helping agents make the change has made me realize that final expense telesales is very much a viable sales opportunity, and I plan on recruiting any agent interested in it, as I’ve now had the experience helping many do so.

My Final Expense Telesales Success Stories

A few examples… Check out the 2 YouTube interviews below.

Jason writes 10 to 15 final expense applications over the phone weekly, and Michael writes 5 to 10 weekly. Both work in my agency, and I assisted them in making the transition:

Interview with Jason

Interview with Michael

It Does Work

The biggest takeaway?

Whether selling over the phone or face to face, there is opportunity to realize success selling final expense insurance.

And part of your journey in this profession is discovering which method you’re best suited for.

I have agents weekly asking me,

“How does selling final expense over the phone compare to selling face-to-face?”

Let me spend time addressing this question through relaying a story of an agent who’s done both. 

Scott’s Story

I recruited an agent named Scott from Michigan.

His experience over the past 4 to 5 months was selling final expense insurance over the phone.

Scott’s ride-along was his first experience selling face-to-face.

While he declined me to directly interview him, he did give me permission to discuss the comparisons between telesales and face-to-face sales.

What amounts below is an account of this agent’s opinion on how final expense telesales and face-to-face sales compares.  

Gaining Trust

Scott’s first comment about face-to-face sales was that trust- and rapport-building was easier in a 1-on-1 meeting versus an appointment by phone.

Scott found building rapport telephonically was much more challenging. Commonly, he experienced difficulty creating a connection with his prospects.

Of course, your mileage will vary, but many telesales final expense agents who transitioned to face-to-face sales experienced the same.

Face-to-face sales allows ever-important body language communication.

Plus, final expense prospects are accustomed to face-to-face sales more often than over the phone.

For some, there is a higher degree of skepticism of someone over the phone that they do not meet in person. 

Overcoming Resistance And Objections

One big difference Scott noticed selling final expense insurance over the phone versus face-to-face was there were WAY more objections than face-to-face sales.

Overall, he noted less rejection and less pussyfooting around.

This partially due to how I conduct my final expense sales presentation.

I overcome objections BEFORE they manifest.

That way I have MUCH less resistance when I ask the prospect to buy.

As mentioned previously, some of our prospects are just plain paranoid. They don’t know who you are.

And their spouses and kids told them for years to NEVER give out Social Security or banking information to a stranger over the phone. 

Limited Product Selection

Another thing that Scott shared with me is the lack of final expense carriers available selling in a call center.

For Scott, his final expense call center offered only 1 carrier to work with, whereas I am able to sell multiple carriers face-to-face (or if agents want to work with me to sell final expense over the phone from home).

Some final expense phone sales operations operate with only 1 carrier, although more now are working with multiple carriers.

More Options Is Usually A Good Thing

And that’s good because no one final expense company is best for every prospect.

For many agents, they realize selling 1 product is not in the best interest of their prospects.

Incidentally, agents lose trust in that product, as it’s hard to sell something that you don’t believe in.

Especially once you KNOW there are better alternatives.  

More Lapse Issues

I heard 1 final expense telesales organization having a 30% not taken rate, and a 30% first-year lapse rate.

Ultimately, that means HALF the business written sticks through the first year.

YIKES!

Why is this the case?

Even with great sales training, many still operate with 1 or few carriers, and some prospects get buyer’s remorse and back out of their purchase. 

Best Agencies

With all said and done, agents will ask me, “I’m a final expense person, and I’d like to sell over the phone. I prefer that versus face to face. Who would you recommend?

Here are a few final expense telesales program recommendations to consider. 

North Star Insurance Advisors

North Star Insurance Advisors has many years running a successful final expense telesales program.

I am acquainted with one of the co-founders (Ramiz Hakim), and while I’ve never done business with them personally, feel they run an honest operation.

They run a tight ship based around the call center model discussed earlier in this article.

At most they utilize 2 final expense carriers, with 1 carrier (last time I checked, Pioneer Life) as it’s primary carrier.

You can read more about them here in my North Star Insurance Advisors review.

 

Premier Producers Group (PPG Insurance)

Don’t want to sell in a call center? Prefer final expense telesales from home?

Reach out to my friend James Campbell at Premier Producer’s Group (PPG).

PPG recruits agents into final expense telesales from home. My business with James was always satisfactory and feel he is a trusted source to go to regarding final expense telesales.

Digital BGA

DigitalBGA is doing great things in the final expense telesales world.

They offer a complete platform for the at-home agent that wants to sell final expense insurance over the phone, without reporting to a central call center.

Complete with CRM, an in-house lead program, and multiple carriers to choose from, I routeinly recommend DigitalBGA for agents looking for a final expense telesales from home opportunity.

You can learn more about them here in my Digital Senior Benefits review.

Yours Truly =)

Since the COVID-19 crisis hit, I am recruiting final expense agents across the country, interested in selling final expense insurance from home.

We have access to everything you need, including:

• Affordable leads
• Multiple, high-quality final expense carriers
• Sales scripts proven to convert prospects into clients
• Daily sales training opportunities for new agents
• Direct access to David Duford to ask your burning questions
• Top commission-earning opportunities
• Ability to cross-sell Medicare Advantage plans to develop your own passive stream of income (few if any FE telesales agencies offer this opportunity)

Interested in learning more? Reach out to me here. 

Summary

I hope you enjoyed this article on final expense telesales.

Selling final expense over the phone is a great opportunity for the right agent.

Interested in learning about my face-to-face or telesales final expense sales opportunity?

You can request free information here on how my national insurance agency helps new and experienced agents become top producers selling final expense, in addition to Medicare, annuities, and mortgage protection.

And make sure to check out my Agent Success Stories, too.