20 minute read
Sell More With Less: Using A Virtual Assistant
A virtual assistant can free you up to spend more time selling, while eliminating human resources responsibilities.
By Rob Vaughn
Insurers are buckled up to accelerate growth in 2022, Deloitte reported in its 2022 Insurance Industry Outlook. “But attracting (and retaining) talent in an evolving hybrid work environment will be key,” the report said.
The latest Jacobson and Ward Insurance Market Labor Market Study found 62% of insurance businesses plan to add staff, but “recruiting difficulty is increasing.” For the first time in the study’s history, from IT to sales to operations, all roles are rated moderately to extremely difficult to fill.
The average salesperson spends only 35% of their time selling. The primary drags on sales productivity are administrative. According to insurance marketers at Zip Quote, the tasks that get in the way of advisor productivity are:
» Email and inbox management — a black hole that renews itself every day.
» Poor customer relationship management data hygiene. Inconsistent and incomplete contact information and status. Physical leads on business cards and Post-it notes vanish.
» Time spent prospecting. Researching and finding qualified leads, building lists and reaching out are time-consuming.
» Inconsistent lead follow-up. A lack of a formal process for following up with leads.
» Cumbersome manual workflows. Tracking new applications and renewals.
The Vanishing Administrative Assistant
The Wall Street Journal wrote about “the vanishing administrative assistant” in 2020. The decline has been gradual but massive. The number of workers with the title administrative assistant has decreased by 65% since 2004. The U.S. has shed more than 2 million administrative assistant jobs since 2000. Meanwhile, job board Lensa reported that administrative assistant is the third most challenging job to fill in 2022.
It turns out that all the productivity apps designed to make executives self-sufficient and had the opposite effect. Research by Service Now found that salespeople spend only 35% of their time selling. The rest of their time is spent on day-to-day tasks such as email correspondence, scheduling meetings, entering the CRM data, prospecting and chasing leads.
Enter Managed Admin Services For Executive Teams
The shortage of administrative assistants is particularly challenging for businesses with larger executive teams that need to scale up support quickly. According to LinkedIn, the tight labor market and surging demand mean it takes a median time of 33 days to hire an administrative assistant. Stretch that time out for multiple executives, and you have a daunting challenge.
Companies realize that paying executives to do admin work is lousy business, and they instead can outsource the work to experts — managed remote virtual assistant services. In a managed virtual assistant service, the service provider hires, trains and supervises assistants — the assistants work for the service provider. Executive teams get a professional administrative layer of support without the time and cost of recruiting, hiring, training and managing more people. Executive teams can:
» Hire faster. Service providers maintain a bench of qualified, trained assistants.
» Scale more quickly. It is far easier to hire multiple assistants to form a cohort.
» Lower overhead. The assistants are service provider employees, with no human resources or performance management lift for businesses.
What Else Can A Managed Virtual Assistant Do For You?
» Lower cost. Assistants are engaged on a fractional basis, and you pay for hours used.
What Can Managed Virtual Assistants Do For Insurance Sales Teams?
Virtual assistants can perform many of the tasks that slow down agency productivity. The beauty of a managed service is that this work happens in the background while the sales team focuses on selling and client relations. Managed virtual assistant providers train assistants to do the following functions.
CRM management. The latest Validity and Demand Metric CRM data management study revealed that although 86% of companies said their CRM system is “important or very important” to achieving revenue objectives, 39% said they have no CRM data management process or said the one they have is ineffective.
Your assistant can:
» Input all your contacts into your CRM and fill in missing information about them.
» Keep your contact data clean and up to date by changing statuses as needed, removing duplicate data, etc.
» Run reports and send them to you so you have access to the latest insights about your pipeline. Lead management. Anywhere from 30% to 70% of lead data “decays” each year (job changes, promotions, phone number and email address changes). A virtual assistant prevents that by:
» Continually updating contact information.
» Logging all communications such as calls, emails and meetings so you have a record of all your touches with leads.
» Maintaining lead status and ownership in your CRM.
» Tracking applications, renewals and policy changes.
Prospecting. More than 40% of salespeople say prospecting is their biggest challenge, according to the HubSpot 2021 Sales Enablement Report. Prospecting is tedious and time-consuming. Virtual assistants can:
» Search contact databases such as Sales Navigator and ZoomInfo based on lead qualification criteria.
» Build lists for email outreach. Lead follow-up. The HubSpot report also revealed that 80% of customers buy from the first business to respond to an inquiry, but most sales teams take five days to respond. Your virtual assistants will:
» Reach out to qualified leads who fill out forms on your website or respond to campaigns.
» Schedule calls for you to meet with prospects.
» Confirm meetings to reduce no-shows.
Build and manage workflows. According to Salesforce, it takes six to eight touches to make a sale, but 70% of salespeople stop at one. Here is how virtual assistants help:
» Create automated email drip campaigns for your leads.
» Schedule social media outreach.
» Set up alerts and outreach for client milestones such as renewals, birthdays and holidays.
More Tasks A Managed Virtual Assistant Service Can Deliver
All kinds of back-office tasks distract producers from their core mission: to win new business and serve existing clients. Among those tasks that managed virtual assistants perform are: » Underwriter communications, so you are not on hold for hours. » Endorsement processing as plans change. » New business and quote preparation. » Invoicing and payment processing. » Tear sheet prep for sales calls.
Finding The Right Solution
There are multiple virtual assistant business models, including hiring a local freelancer, using freelance marketplaces such as Upwork, using a contracting agency and using the managed service model described here. Review sites such as Investopedia and The Balance SMB provide helpful guidance for finding the right solution to ensure you do not fall behind the growth curve in 2022.
Rob Vaughn is head of sales at Prialto. He may be contacted at rob.vaughn@ innfeedback.com.
How To Successfully Frame Client Expectations
Some tips to help you and your client be in alignment on their financial goals and how to achieve them.
By Michelle Hoesly
Clients often come to an advisory firm with preconceived notions about what we do, who we are and how we can help them. Whether you’re meeting with a prospective client or continuing work with a longterm client, I encourage you to use these tools to help establish solid expectations and ensure both you and your client are aligned on their financial aspirations.
Use open-ended questions to gauge expectations.
Clients typically know what they hope to achieve when they seek financial guidance, but they aren’t always fully aware of the full scope of our offerings. When meeting with a prospective client, I like to start the conversation by asking open-ended questions, such as: “What made you choose to call me and set this up?” or “What are you financially unsatisfied with right now? What problems are you currently facing?”
As they respond, I try to remain an active listener and avoid interjecting as best as possible. When you give a client the floor to speak, you will often uncover their true motivations for seeking an advisor and identify any unrealistic expectations that you will need to address during the remainder of the meeting.
Present visuals to bolster understanding.
One of the most common issues I run into with clients is the age at which they’d like to retire. Clients often have unrealistic timelines of when they want to retire based on their savings. To help put this into perspective, I like to use a financial modeling software to visually show them how long their current retirement savings will last them if they were to retire at the time of their choosing. When clients see visual evidence that their savings will last them only a year or two at most — and the difference even a couple extra years of work can make — they are much more willing to reframe their expectations.
Visuals not only help clients understand complex subjects more easily but are also easier to remember than a verbal explanation. Using visual tools is a powerful way for advisors to help clients better understand their point of view and align on realistic goals.
Be transparent about risk.
Managing risk is a key part of our job, and it requires open and honest conversation with clients in order to manage expectations. Although dips in the market are often viewed as negative, they’re perfectly normal and necessary for a healthy market.
I like to start out all initial conversations about risk by making this disclaimer and framing fluctuations in the market as a positive. This reassures clients that ebbs and flows in the market are not a cause for major concern. Additionally, it’s important to discuss how different investments react to risk. For example, an annuity with an income guaranteed rider is relatively low risk; however, it will require a higher level of investment and will most likely have a lower return in comparison to a higher-risk investment.
When evaluating a client’s portfolio, I like to discuss the risk protection of each of their investments and how that may alter its return potential. Establishing these expectations is key to reducing the possibility of clients being upset or surprised by the performance of their investments.
Take your clients’ temperature randomly.
This last tip may seem a little unconventional, but I like to call clients randomly and simply check in, especially if I haven’t spoken to them in a while. Even if I have nothing in particular to talk about, clients almost always appreciate hearing from us, and it often leads to us discussing a question they’ve been meaning to ask but haven’t had the time to connect on.
This is a great way to keep the lines of communication open between you and your clients and ensure you are aware of any challenges they may be facing. If they are facing challenges, this provides an opportunity to proactively discuss and realign. By simply picking up the phone, you grant yourself and the client the chance to naturally discuss potential miscommunications in expectations and restore them.
Michelle Hoesly, CLU, ChFC, MSFS, CPC is president of Resource 1 Inc., a registered investment advisory firm. Hoesly is currently a registered representative with Ceros Financial Services, Member FINRA/ SIPC. She is a 43-year MDRT member, past chair of the Top of the Table and served as MDRT president in 2014. She currently resides in Virginia Beach, Va. She may be contacted at michelle.hoesly@ innfeedback.com.
Use Your Relationship-Building Skills For Political Advocacy
Developing trust and proving yourself takes time, but they can be worthwhile in establishing positive relationships with your elected representatives.
By John Davidson
Have you ever stopped to consider how important relationships are in your life?
I mean, when was the last time that you really thought about the people, issues or organizations that are the most important to you? How much time and effort did you put into developing those relationships? How deep and meaningful are they? Have the relationships changed over time?
After careful examination, you probably will find that you put the most effort into establishing “personal relationships” versus “business relationships,” although there is very little difference between those relationships in the insurance industry. We tend to take our business relationships personally.
So, what’s the big deal about making friends and developing networks, referral sources or political connections — connections that count? Well, after more than 41 years in the insurance business, I think I have figured it out.
Having solid relationships is one of the keys to finding the fulfillment that you are looking for in your career and your life. And it is those relationships that allow you to grow personally and professionally while investing in the lives of others.
As insurance agents and advisors, we also have a unique role in providing financial guidance and advice to our clients who count on us to help them. It is our “relationship” with them, built on credibility and trust, that affords us the opportunity to make recommendations that affect their lives. Our clients can count on us because we have proven, over time, that we have their best interests at heart. We have made the investment and have earned their respect.
Relationships And Political Advocacy
It is those same types of relationship-building skills we use in our everyday practices that we need to employ in dealing with our legislators at the state and federal levels. Believe it or not, lawmakers are people just like our friends and clients (well, some are anyway).
But, in the same way that we would invite friends over for dinner, stop by their offices or send them a kind note from time to time, we can build relationships with those legislators too. It is vitally important that we have solid, genuine relationships with those legislators before we need to ask for a meeting to discuss important matters that impact our clients, our communities and our industry.
Although making financial contributions to a political campaign can be an important part of the “political relationship,” I respectfully would submit to you that investing your time to help a legislator understand our industry and the products that we provide to our clients (who are, after all, their constituents) is valuable in distinguishing you from others who just write checks.
As we head into the 2022 election season, won’t you take the time to meet your members of Congress or your state legislators? Get to know them and share with them the Real Life Stories that motivate you every day to make a difference in the lives of the people you serve. NAIFA’s Congressional Conference, May 23-24, in Washington, presents a great opportunity to meet with lawmakers, introduce yourself and start (or continue) the process of building those meaningful relationships.
I promise that if you make the effort to meet with your elected officials and their staff members and develop new relationships, wonderful things are sure to come. But it won’t happen immediately, because developing trust and proving yourself take time.
You never know what the future holds, but the value of having great relationships with elected officials will give you opportunities, confidence and optimism that can change the world.
Invest in a relationship today, and start making a difference.
John Davidson, LUTCF, FSS, is the owner of Davidson Insurance & Financial Services in Thousand Oaks, Calif., and a national past president of NAIFA. He may be contacted at john.davidson@innfeedback.com.
Consumer Confidence In Agents And Insurers At All-Time High
A LIMRA survey shows consumer opinion of the industry is at its highest point since 2008.
By John Carroll
Two years into the pandemic, people are still uneasy about the economy, the effects of inflation, and the health and well-being of their family members. According to LIMRA research, only three in 10 Americans said their lives are, for the most part, “back to normal.”
In light of COVID-19, nearly half of those surveyed said financial issues became more of a priority. A third of workers said their employment is more important today than it was before the pandemic.
Although consumers may be unsure about their financial situations, consumer confidence in the financial services industry is at or above pre-pandemic levels. When it comes to life insurance companies, 38% of consumers said they were “extremely” or “quite a bit” confident. Our research also shows consumer confidence in insurance agents and brokers accelerated during the pandemic, with 33% of consumers saying they were “extremely” or “quite a bit” confident. This is the highest level of confidence recorded since LIMRA began this survey in 2008 to gauge consumer opinion of the economy and the financial services industry.
The pandemic also had more Americans saying they planned to purchase life insurance. LIMRA research shows COVID-19 has increased awareness about the importance of life insurance. In general, 31% of Americans say they are more likely to purchase coverage due to the pandemic.
According to our research, approximately 73 million Americans own life insurance but know they need more. This perception of the need for (or the need for more) life insurance was particularly pronounced among women, Blacks and Hispanics.
Even before the pandemic, the proportion of women with life insurance coverage was falling. Today, only 47% of women have coverage, compared with 58% of men. For Black Americans, the pandemic had a significantly higher impact on their perceptions of life insurance. Four in 10 Black Americans said they were more likely to purchase life insurance due to the pandemic, compared with only 31% of the general population. Similarly, almost four in 10 Hispanic Americans (37%) said they are more likely to purchase life insurance due to the pandemic.
Our hope is that this increased interest in life insurance, along with increased confidence in the companies and agents that provide it, will translate to more people getting the life insurance they need in order to protect their loved ones.
We’re already seeing an uptick in individual life insurance sales as people have become more aware of the financial impact of losing the primary breadwinner. Life insurance premium increased 20% and policy sales grew 5% in 2021, representing the highest annual growth since 1983.
With the COVID-19 pandemic highlighting Americans’ financial vulnerability, it is becoming even more critical for our industry to engage and educate consumers about the important role life insurance plays in a family’s financial security.
This is one of the reasons LIMRA is continuing its Help Protect Our Families campaign. We are working with seven other trade associations and 76 insurance companies and distributors to raise industry awareness of the role life insurance plays in providing peace of mind and financial security.
As an industry, there is so much we can do to have a positive impact on consumers’ financial concerns and reduce the number of Americans who are financially at risk because they do not have the life insurance coverage they need.
How much confidence do you have in insurance agents and brokers?
Jan ’20 May ’20 July ’20 Oct ’20 Jan ’21 Apr ’21 Oct ’21 Jan ’22
Source: Consumer Sentiment in the Time of COVID-19 (January 2022)
John Carroll is senior vice president and head of insurance and annuities, LIMRA, LOMA & LL Global. He may be contacted at john.carroll@innfeedback.com.
A Simple Strategy To Use Life Insurance For Income Protection
A death benefit is an income distribution portfolio waiting to happen.
By Jim Karthaus
As a Marine helicopter pilot, I was the unfortunate witness of too many young families losing a loved one. The pain of sudden death is overwhelming. Our hearts and minds seem to lack the ability to comprehend the magnitude of such loss. Time may heal all wounds, but it is excruciatingly slow at healing the wounds of untimely death. This is particularly acute when those lost are young and they leave behind a family that depended on them.
Life insurance can minimize the financial strain experienced by untimely death. It can help provide stability and keep a family in their home, in the same school district, and around their friends and community. These stabilizing influences in the face of such a destabilizing event can help families heal over time.
But how much insurance do we need to protect our families? Without delving too far into the differing methodologies that focus on either a capital needs analysis or the economic value of the life of the insured, I want to offer a simpler, more flexible methodology. It’s one that we planners use all the time. And it’s one that is particularly suited for the possibility of an untimely death, as it marries up needed inflation-adjusted income with actual expenses of the protected loved ones. As I would tell the investment advisors that I worked with — a death benefit is an income distribution portfolio waiting to happen.
Let’s flesh out some of the questions that this approach may raise.
Why are we protecting for the rest
of the spouse’s life? When a family loses a parent, the surviving spouse must effectively become both parents. The emotional load is effectively doubled. The surviving spouse now has emotionally traumatized children to nurture, as well as the deceased spouse’s parents. Do we want the surviving spouse working full time as well? I would think we all would agree that we would want to plan to give our surviving spouse all the resources they need.
Why aren’t we paying off all the
debt? First and foremost, as a planner and as a business owner, I want to protect cash flow. Paying off debt in this situation is not always the best decision. Paying off an expensive car loan is fine but paying off the mortgage on a family residence may not be. The effective mortgage interest rate can be lowered by accelerating the payments. We still get a deduction for home mortgage interest if we itemize. We can reduce the financial cost of the loan on a monthby-month basis to where arbitrage can be realistically obtained repurposing assets — say, to preserve our income distribution portfolio. Is the current mortgage rate low in comparison to where we are trending?
Lastly, my mortgage payment is fixed. My income distribution portfolio is pacing with inflation. We can incrementally pay off the mortgage as we gain space from our rising income distribution. I’m not saying that paying the house off is the wrong idea; I just don’t want to siphon assets from an income distribution portfolio.
If we are going to employ an income distribution portfolio, how do we solve
for it? The calculation can be straightforward. We can provide an estimate of our income requirements based on our real and envisioned expenses. We can add accumulation goals such as investing for the children’s education or ensuring that the family can go on a yearly vacation, if those were not already budgetary items.
Importantly, we may be talking about a super long distribution portfolio. We need to think conservatively when deciding on a withdrawal rate. The best research I have seen on super long income distribution portfolios is Optimal Withdrawal Strategy for Retirement-Income Portfolios by David Blanchett, Maciej Kowara and Peng Chen.
It suggests a 2.7% withdrawal rate to start, and then adjust for inflation moving forward. So if you need $50,000 of after-tax income, for example, you will need around $60,000 of pretax income assuming 20% average federal, state and local tax combined. Divide the income stream of $60,000 by 2.7% and you get $2,222,222. Recall that our life insurance death benefit is income tax free but the income distribution portfolio we run from it is not. If the amount of insurance is too large as we get older, we can reduce death benefit along the way.
It seems to make sense to employ widely accepted, time-tested methodologies where they have application. To my mind, an income distribution portfolio designed for retirement would be very similar to what our loved ones would experience over time through the loss of a parent. What are your thoughts?
Jim Karthaus, CFP, is an adjunct professor with the CFP Certification Education and ChFC programs at The American College of Financial Services. As managing principal of Nautic Financial Group, Karthaus has been offering his clients investment and insurance advice for more than 22 years. He may be contacted at jim.karthaus@innfeedback.com.
