Why We Need Mindfulness Techniques Before a Sales Meeting
People who work in sales only succeed when they have quality interactions with clients. If you can’t close a deal, then you won’t get a fee, which means that you can’t pay the mortgage or put food on the table. This isn’t a place that annuity sellers want to be. However, in the face of competition, it’s there as a possibility. As we get older, we find it more difficult to manage life’s stressors. Our bodies are aging, and our kids need different things from us. We also tend to sleep less while we should get at least 7 to 8 hours of quality sleep per night. With all of this in mind, it makes sense that we should set ourselves up for success by adopting habits that make us feel healthy, strong, and sharp of mind. Here, I discuss the importance of using mindfulness techniques before a sales meeting because these require us to be at our very best. What It Looks Like You are sitting there at your laptop and saying to yourself: “This writer is crazy. Does he or she actually sell life insurance annuities to clients?” I assure you that I am in the very same industry, and I truly believe that mindfulness techniques make us better sellers. I recommend that people build mindfulness meditation into their daily routine, which could even include putting reminders on your Microsoft Outlook calendar or on your smartphone. With a mobile app like Calm, you can schedule alerts to tell yourself it’s time to meditate. I tend to need this alert every day about 11:00 am. I am into the thick of my day, and I am starting to stress out. There’s still an hour or two remaining until I break for lunch. I feel overwhelmed and need to relax my mind and body. I need to refocus my neurons on what I’m doing in the present moment. That’s when I close the door to my office, fire up YouTube on the desktop for a guided meditation, or just watch the inhale and exhale icons on my Calm app. What It Feels Like If you’ve ever been to a yoga class, you know that focused breathing works wonders for the body. I used to go to these classes years ago, but, it was mostly for time away from my youngsters and for the social relationships I formed with other yoga students. Now, I really need to go to yoga class, but it’s not something that I will get up two hours earlier to do before work. What does it feel like to do mindfulness meditation? When I close my eyes, I think about the fact that my mind, body, and spirit have reached a point of overload. I have too many things to concentrate on and negative thoughts won’t stop nagging at me. I tell myself this: “If I can just make two more phone calls or check my emails again, I’ll be able to put those thoughts aside.” I take the first inhalation, hold my breath, and then release it. I feel a bit of tension leave my body. Each breath makes me feel better. Suddenly, the day seems less daunting. I will be able to smile and tell the next client why she needs to consider a fixed rate annuity because she doesn’t like risking her money any more than she needs to. I will also steer her away from high-return investment options because she’ll be furious if one of them loses money. Think About Your Clients If you take 1 to 5 minutes to calm your body with meditation before a sales meeting, you can relieve tension from your being. Your face will look less strained, your shoulders will stoop forward less, you will sit up straighter, and you will feel less pain in your calves. Each of us carries stress in different parts of our bodies. If you’re so stiff that you look awkward to clients (even constipated or anxious), do a full-body stretch before showing them into the sales meeting. These steps may seem silly at first, but they can make a difference in how calm you feel. Your goal is to appear friendly and helpful so you can sell more products to clients. People want to learn about annuity products from a salesperson who is knowledgeable, of course, but also from someone who understands their needs.
Reaching Annuity Clients Without Jargon
Annuity Seller Tips! Are you reaching for annuity clients with the industry jargon? The concept of an annuity is based on very human values like planning for retirement and passive income you can rely on, but all too often when it comes to financial matters, people have a terrible time seeing through the jargon and details. Insurance and tax policies tend to come with a lot of unfamiliar multi-syllable words that are downright intimidating. Especially to someone who is thinking about how to plan a reliable grocery and recreation budget for their retirement years. It is important for your clients to understand the kind of financial decisions they are making. So, you want to explain as much as possible in relatable terms rather than technical details. For annuities, cover the central human concepts, and skip the financial terms until the second half of the conversation. Annuity Clients Think About Personal Retirement Everyone wants to retire well, but retirement isn’t what it used to be. Social security only covers so much and company retirement policies often have contingencies. Introduce the idea that a personally controlled retirement plan can’t be revoked, drained, or have the terms changed without their knowledge. They get to know exactly how much to pay in and how much they will get out of it. Lay out the options, but leave the technical stuff to the side or keep it as final points. They will want to know the difference between the variable, fixed, and income annuities. Let them sink their teeth into the human-relatable benefits first. Annuity Clients Thinks About Passive Income Even if a client is not looking for a specific retirement plan, you can sell them on the idea of non-retirement passive income. Most people work for a lifetime contributing to a retirement plan to gain some passive income. Why wait? Explain that some annuity plans allow them to put in either large sums or regular payments into the annuity. The funds will transfer it into a reliable passive income whenever they want it to start dispensing. This is great for people who have a large saving that they don’t want to overspend. Also, people that get paid irregularly that would like to live on a regular supply of money. By highlighting the human flexibility of the plan types, you can help clients understand annuities. That they can be used for almost anything that could benefit from a steady monthly fund. Annuity Client Think About Funding for Loved Ones It is easy to get into a one-beneficiary mindset, but annuities don’t have to benefit your client alone. Most people have at least one person they care for that they would like to see taken care of. Older couples might want to set up an extra income for their surviving spouse. Grandparents can use annuities to make sure there is college money available for their grandchildren. One under-recognized group is the adult children of aging seniors. Think of adults with parents in a retirement home. These adults are often busy with their own children and are worried about being able to care for their aging parents. An annuity in their parent(s) name could create a safety net. This would ensure that their elderly parents will be well taken care of if they can’t handle it in the future. Clients need to understand what each plan has to offer them in terms of life quality, timing, and financial peace of mind. Once have an idea of what they want from an annuity, then they will be ready to talk about taxes, payments, and financial policies. Start with the concepts they know like retirement plans and assured income before you jump into unfamiliar financial jargon. We would love to help you with your annuity sales product needs. Contact Us!