Insurance Sales - How to Overcome Objections

By Bennetta Slaughter 

When trying to sell insurance (or any product for that matter) overcoming objections is best done before those objections are actually voiced. For example, if you are trying to sell life insurance to a couple, one of the most common objections that you will face is: "this all sounds great, but we'd like some time to think it over." If as a salesman you can anticipate this objection, you can prevent it from ever coming up by saying something to address it before the close.

Something to the effect of: "Now Mr. Jones, these programs are very advantageous to people like yourselves, but unfortunately many people procrastinate. While they are thinking about it, their health or situations may change and then they might not be able to qualify for programs like we are talking about today." Is there a chance they will still want to think it over? Yes, but it is a lot harder for them to voice that objection when you have already effectively addressed it beforehand.

If you actually get the voiced objection, there is one key thing to remember: objections die with agreement. If you agree with their concerns, it establishes you as an individual trying to understand them and their situation and find the best fit for them, not just some salesman looking for the biggest commission check they can find.

Let's say that the prospect tells you they are happy with their current agent or broker.

With the agreement mentality, your response might be something along the lines of: "I understand Mr. Jones, and I am not here to interfere with that relationship. I am just here to make sure that you are in the best vehicles with the best rates to match where you are at this stage of your life. If you would like to show me your existing policy, I will be happy to do a free review for you and make sure that it will meet your current needs."

Another common objection that you may hear when talking with a prospect is that: "It will never happen to me."

Depending on the type of product you are selling, this can be a killer objection. Everyone knows they need life insurance because they will not live forever, but accident insurance, long term care insurance, or cancer policies are a little tougher sell. Overcoming objections on these types of policies can be much tougher.

You still want to agree with the prospect, perhaps something along the lines of: "I understand where you are coming from, and we don't want these things to happen to you, but it is still wise to be prepared. Tell me, when is the last time you totaled your car? Never? But you still feel it is important to have coverage in case that happened to you, right?" At that point, they acknowledge that just because it is an unpleasant thought, it can still happen to them.

Overcoming objections is one of the most important parts of the sales cycle. You can make a killer presentation, have the best products with the lowest rates, but if you're not able to surmount the objections that will come up in the prospect's mind, none of your product advantages will matter to the client. They have to not only see the value in your product, but have all their objections (both voiced and unvoiced) resolved before they will be willing to fill out the application or cut you that premium check.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7463541

AMEYA VAIDYA - MDRT Award Achievement 2013

5 Money tips for expectant parents

 Welcoming a child in the family is one of the most anticipated events in a couple’s life. However, if you haven’t planned for it well, it could be financially debilitating. Here are the things you should take care of before the baby arrives, says Namrata Dadwal. 

 1 Don’t buy everything  

Most parents start splurging on cute baby stuff the moment they receive the good news. But, remember, your baby isn’t going to notice, let alone remember, the expensive toys, clothes or nursery accessories. So, avoid spending money on things that she’s going to outgrow within a few weeks. Preferably, rent most of the stuff, buy pre-owned items online or use hand-me-downs, especially items like baby swings or cribs. For the latter, check sites like olx.in, rentoys.in, toys-on-rent.com and toyzland.in. It’s a good idea for parents to focus on essentials as the baby is likely to receive a lot of gifts. You don’t want to end up with double of everything, do you? Instead, spend on baby-proofing your house. Once the child arrives, you will hardly have time for repair work for at least two years. So, install smoke alarms and socket protectors, smoothen and varnish splintered wooden furniture, and install shelves so you can keep stuff above the toddler’s reach.  

2 Get your finances in order 

 
Your budget will go up substantially once the baby arrives, so it’s best to get rid of high-interest debts or at least pay off as much as you can. You’ll need to bolster your contingency fund, too, since your monthly expenses will be on the rise. Keep at least six months’ worth of expenses in the fund. Also, discuss with your spouse whether both of you will continue working or move from a DINK to a SISK (single income, single kid) family. If both of you plan to work, calculate how much you are likely to spend on hiring a full-time maid/nanny. However, if one of you is thinking of quitting, try living on the income of only one person for 3-4 months to see if you can afford to do so. In this case, take care of financial paperwork too. If you want to leave the job for an indefinite period, you may want to consider withdrawing money from the EPF and investing it in another avenue since the former won’t earn you any interest if there is no contribution in it for three years. 

 
3 Write a will 

 
Don’t be lax here. Write/modify your will immediately to ensure that your child has no problems claiming your assets as a legal heir. You could even appoint her as a nominee for some of your investments or accounts. More importantly, appoint a guardian for your child after taking that person’s approval. Specify the manner in which you would want your child to be brought up and the assets to be used for rearing her, if anything were to happen to you and your spouse. This will avoid any confusion or acrimony among family members about who will be responsible for what. 

 
4 Increase your insurance 

 
Review all your insurance policies. Take a term plan or enhance the existing one after taking into account all your outstanding debts and the amount you will require to sustain and educate your child for the next 20 years. Reassess your health plan too. The cost of prenatal and postnatal care, as well as regular paediatrician consultation fee, can be exorbitantly high. Even if your employer provides a cover, buy a family floater plan that includes your child. A cover of 3 lakh for a 30-year-old with a family of three will have an annual premium of 6,500-7,500. However, all such plans cover the child only after he is over three months old. Some plans provide maternity benefits too, but you should have had the policy for at least two years to avail of this benefit. 

 
5 Start saving for other goals 

 
Bringing up and educating a child can be very expensive. In fact, you will spend 50-60 lakh on your child till he turns 21. At least half of this amount will be spent on education. So, start saving early for this goal. A good way to begin is to invest the cash gifts that your baby receives and start a monthly SIP. If you begin investing even 2,000 a month after the baby is born, you will have a corpus of about 12 lakh by the time he is an adult (assuming 10% return). However, don’t pare down on investing for your own goals, specifically retirement. You can get a loan for your child’s education, but you won’t get one to sustain you during the sunset years. 

 Source : ET Wealth - 21-Jan-2013 

HOW TO FILE A COMPLAINT AGAINST YOUR BANK

Find out where to lodge your grievance and the steps you need to take to redress it suitably.

AMIT SHANBAUG

    Laxmi Bhardarkar, an 81-year-old retired schoolteacher from Mumbai, feared phone calls till recently. It wasn’t suprising considering that she had received nearly 1,500 threatening, abusive calls for over two months. Bhardarkar’s fault? Her son had pending dues on his credit card, a transaction he had not even carried out. He had sent a letter to the bank, pointing out the error and refusing to pay. After this, he had to go abroad for an official assignment, and while he was away, the bank appointed recovery agents, who started harassing his mother. The ordeal ended when the family contacted the police. 

    The Bhardarkar family isn’t alone in its predicament, nor is it the only grievance against banks. In 2011-12, 48,180 complaints were filed against public-sector banks alone. Here are the steps you need to take to redress your grievance. 

 Step 1
Complain to your bank According to Adhil Shetty, CEO, Bankbazaar.com, nearly all banks have a grievance cell. “So a customer can visit the bank and meet the officials to sort out the issue,” he says. Banks have a dedicated toll-free customer care number, which you can use to lodge your grievance and get a complaint ID. “You can also register a complaint on the bank’s website,” he adds. 

    KS Harikumar, head, operations, Federal Bank, explains that e-mails can also be sent to the service quality department in public-sector banks. “This is an exclusive unit dealing with customer grievances and headed by an executive of the rank of general manager. The complaints posted directly on the bank’s website are also resolved by this department,” he says. Harikumar adds that some banks have begun or are in the process of starting a realtime monitoring system for the complaints received centrally through the customer relationship management (CRM), which is set up in all branches. Once the complaint is lodged, the customer needs to wait for 30 days for the bank to offer a solution or give a suitable reply.  

Step 2
Approach the banking ombudsman If your bank does not address your complaint within a month, you can approach the banking ombudsman. This is a senior official appointed by the Reserve Bank of India to redress customer complaints against deficiency in banking services, as per its scheme introduced in 1995. All scheduled commercial banks, regional rural banks and scheduled primary cooperative banks are covered under the scheme. So far, there are 15 ombudsmen, whose offices are located mostly in state capitals. Their addresses and contact details are available on the RBI website. The ombudsman tries to effect a legally binding settlement between both the parties within a month. However, if a settlement is not possible, it will pass an award after allowing both the parties to present their cases to him. 

 
    Types of grievances When the scheme was introduced, it addressed complaints such as non-payment or delayed payment of cheques and drafts, and services such as remittances. However, in the ensuing years, the scope has widened to include grievances related to plastic money, unfair banking practices, levying of service charges without prior intimation, transactions on the Internet banking platform, and the like. Deficiency in service with respect to loans and advances, say, delays in sanctioning/disbursing loans and non-acceptance of loan applications without a valid explanation, are also valid grounds for complaint. For a complete list of the types of complaints you can take up under this scheme, visit www.rbi.org.in/scripts/FAQView.aspx?Id=24. 

Lodging a complaint 

You have to file the complaint at the office of the ombudsman under whose jurisdiction your bank branch is located. The grievances relating to credit cards and other types of services with centralised operations are to be filed with the ombudsman in whose territorial jurisdiction the billing address of the customer is located. 

    You can put it down on a plain paper, send an e-mail, or fill the complaint form on the RBI website. There are no charges for filing a complaint. 

Grounds for rejection The ombudsman can reject a customer’s complaint if he has not approached his bank for grievance redressal first, or if the subject is pending for disposal, or has already been dealt with at any other forum, such as a court of law or consumer court. Also, the complaint will not be considered if more than one year has passed since the customer has heard from the bank, or 13 months since the date of representation to the bank. 

Compensation limit The scheme caps the amount of compensation that can be doled out to 10 lakh or actual loss suffered, whichever is lower. The ombudsman may choose to award the compensation, not exceeding 1 lakh, to the complainant for mental agony and harassment. However, so far, this has been limited to complaints regarding credit card operations.

 Step 3
Legal route If you are not happy with the settlement offered by the ombudsman, you can file an appeal before the appellate authority within 30 days. The appellate authority in this case is the deputy governor of the RBI. Alternatively, you can approach consumer redressal forums, which take up bank-related complaints, or even the courts.

 

Source : ET Wealth - 21-Jan-2013

HOW TO FILE A COMPLAINT AGAINST YOUR BANK

Find out where to lodge your grievance and the steps you need to take to redress it suitably.

AMIT SHANBAUG

    Laxmi Bhardarkar, an 81-year-old retired schoolteacher from Mumbai, feared phone calls till recently. It wasn’t suprising considering that she had received nearly 1,500 threatening, abusive calls for over two months. Bhardarkar’s fault? Her son had pending dues on his credit card, a transaction he had not even carried out. He had sent a letter to the bank, pointing out the error and refusing to pay. After this, he had to go abroad for an official assignment, and while he was away, the bank appointed recovery agents, who started harassing his mother. The ordeal ended when the family contacted the police.
    The Bhardarkar family isn’t alone in its predicament, nor is it the only grievance against banks. In 2011-12, 48,180 complaints were filed against public-sector banks alone. Here are the steps you need to take to redress your grievance. Step 1
Complain to your bank According to Adhil Shetty, CEO, Bankbazaar.com, nearly all banks have a grievance cell. “So a customer can visit the bank and meet the officials to sort out the issue,” he says. Banks have a dedicated toll-free customer care number, which you can use to lodge your grievance and get a complaint ID. “You can also register a complaint on the bank’s website,” he adds.
    KS Harikumar, head, operations, Federal Bank, explains that e-mails can also be sent to the service quality department in public-sector banks. “This is an exclusive unit dealing with customer grievances and headed by an executive of the rank of general manager. The complaints posted directly on the bank’s website are also resolved by this department,” he says. Harikumar adds that some banks have begun or are in the process of starting a realtime monitoring system for the complaints received centrally through the customer relationship management (CRM), which is set up in all branches. Once the complaint is lodged, the customer needs to wait for 30 days for the bank to offer a solution or give a suitable reply. Step 2
Approach the banking ombudsman If your bank does not address your complaint within a month, you can approach the banking ombudsman. This is a senior official appointed by the Reserve Bank of India to redress customer complaints against deficiency in banking services, as per its scheme introduced in 1995. All scheduled commercial banks, regional rural banks and scheduled primary cooperative banks are covered under the scheme. So far, there are 15 ombudsmen, whose offices are located mostly in state capitals. Their addresses and contact details are available on the RBI website. The ombudsman tries to effect a legally binding settlement between both the parties within a month. However, if a settlement is not possible, it will pass an award after allowing both the parties to present their cases to him.
    Types of grievances When the scheme was introduced, it addressed complaints such as non-payment or delayed payment of cheques and drafts, and services such as remittances. However, in the ensuing years, the scope has widened to include grievances related to plastic money, unfair banking practices, levying of service charges without prior intimation, transactions on the Internet banking platform, and the like. Deficiency in service with respect to loans and advances, say, delays in sanctioning/disbursing loans and non-acceptance of loan applications without a valid explanation, are also valid grounds for complaint. For a complete list of the types of complaints you can take up under this scheme, visit www.rbi.org.in/scripts/FAQView.aspx?Id=24.
Lodging a complaint You have to file the complaint at the office of the ombudsman under whose jurisdiction your bank branch is located. The grievances relating to credit cards and other types of services with centralised operations are to be filed with the ombudsman in whose territorial jurisdiction the billing address of the customer is located.
    You can put it down on a plain paper, send an e-mail, or fill the complaint form on the RBI website. There are no charges for filing a complaint.
Grounds for rejection The ombudsman can reject a customer’s complaint if he has not approached his bank for grievance redressal first, or if the subject is pending for disposal, or has already been dealt with at any other forum, such as a court of law or consumer court. Also, the complaint will not be considered if more than one year has passed since the customer has heard from the bank, or 13 months since the date of representation to the bank.
Compensation limit The scheme caps the amount of compensation that can be doled out to 10 lakh or actual loss suffered, whichever is lower. The ombudsman may choose to award the compensation, not exceeding 1 lakh, to the complainant for mental agony and harassment. However, so far, this has been limited to complaints regarding credit card operations. Step 3
Legal route If you are not happy with the settlement offered by the ombudsman, you can file an appeal before the appellate authority within 30 days. The appellate authority in this case is the deputy governor of the RBI. Alternatively, you can approach consumer redressal forums, which take up bank-related complaints, or even the courts.

Source : ET Wealth - 21-Jan-2013

 

HOW TO HANDLE FINANCES FOR AND AFTER A WEDDING

  Before they marry, couples need to discuss how they will share their joint wealth, says Uma Shashikant.

    It is the season of weddings, and as I attended my share of the events, several questions crossed my mind. It is tough for families to view everything from a monetary angle. There are social and peer pressures, emotional gratification and many other aspects to a wedding, besides the ones associated with living together. I risk being told off that there are things that money cannot buy. However, all of us know the power of money and how poor financial decisions can hurt us. Money matters can easily stress families, especially young ones who have high expectations. The emotional, social, psychological, even karmic angles, make these decisions complicated. Perhaps, it would simplify things and help us deal with these questions if we have a money framework that we can follow. 

    First, I am amazed at the amount of money that is spent on weddings even by the simplest of families. Perhaps the flourishing parallel economy has deeply influenced our social events. The grandest weddings are still conducted by those who seek a good excuse to spend the black money they have hoarded and earn some social brownie points. The new standard these extravagances have set for the simpler folk is disturbing. The money spent on weddings is easily a multiple of the savings of the family. 

    A goal or an expense that cannot be met comfortably by the current regular salary needs a well-thought out saving and investment plan. However, several families scoff at including weddings in their financial plans. The confidence about future incomes makes youngsters big spenders. However, middle-aged parents, who are spending a large sum, may be compromising another goal—retirement or the education of another child. This is why the funding of a wedding needs to be a project that a family should plan seriously well in advance. 

    Second, several newly-weds end up being a part of the extended families. It is not uncommon for children to stay with parents after marriage along with their spouses. I see doting parents living with their children and raising their grandchildren, thus enabling the younger generation to pursue paying careers. But what about the finances? Who manages the household expenses? Who bears the EMIs and loans? Is there a common spending pool? Is there a fair contribution to it? 

    A household with multiple incomes and common expenses needs a working plan to run smoothly. A plan to take care of the macro items without getting into the nitty-gritty. For example, if there are advantages of living with parents, do the younger members invest the savings in rent, housekeeping and childcare for the future benefit of the parents? I find that most 

households begin with trust, goodness, generosity and kindness, but the lack of a sensible spending and sharing plan results in acrimony, leading to a deterioration of relationships. 

    Third, weddings are expensive, from the functions and trousseau to the honeymoon. Later, to please a new spouse, there may be more expenses on travel, gifts, eating out, and the like. Reduced saving ratios, higher credit card expenses, and occasional hand loans from friends are all par for the course. However, without pre-planned savings, or a plan for repayment, unbridled enjoyment can result in financial stress and a high-cost debt. Many people are unwilling to discuss finances or the affordability of an expense with the new spouse. Most are likely to spend with a sense of joy and entitlement. It is important to make a mental map of where this will go in the long run. Cash-flow maps for spending and repayment need to be maintained, budgets 

should be made even if these are not
disclosed, and care should be taken to ensure that all fun is not about spending money. Including lowcost fun activities and setting the tone for affordability, sooner than later, is important. Debt traps are not good to deal with in the early days of marriage. 

 
    Fourth, young couples tend to set benchmarks for their standard of living based on their peer group. To have their own car, home and a lavish lifestyle is too enticing to be ignored. There is a need to prioritise and sequence the goals to avoid stress. Buying a car and home, and bringing in a huge EMI because of an employed new spouse, can turn into a risky proposition, especially if the spouse would like a career break to raise children or if one of the spouse’s job faces a risk. Having too many loans and EMIs, and clubbing multiple financial goals can stress finances seriously. It may be a good idea to see what portion of the joint income can be devoted to these possessions and how it would be funded and managed. 

    Fifth, young couples find it tough to discuss ‘your money’ and ‘my money’. Many are still not comfortable with pre-nuptial agreements. Money is personal to each person who earns it, and attitudes to money can be very different. I know of a household, where the husband saved his income, while the wife used hers to run the household. The couple sadly broke up, and the wife was left with no assets. Each spouse needs his or her corpus to fall back on. How, how much, when and where are the decisions that need to be taken. 

    Sixth, everyone needs a finance buddy. Many of us are unwilling to discuss money issues with parents, spouses or siblings. We don’t want them to know we have enough, or that we are running short. We all need a friend who knows what our money attitudes are, and helps steer us when we are in trouble. Someone with whom we can discuss alternatives without worrying about being judged. It can be an outsider, adviser, tax consultant or an uncle. Many of us clam up when faced with a crisis and having a friend helps in resolving money issues. 

    There is a lot that changes in our money lives when we decide to get married. It may be worthwhile spending time to think about our money attitudes, capabilities, wealth and willingness to spend before we end up quarrelling about it.

WHY WOMAN DON’T ASK FOR THEIR SHARE IN INHERITED PREOPERTY AND WEALTH?

   Let’s talk about Women and Inheritance today. Our Indian culture, has for thousands of years treated men as someone who lead families and be the heads of next generation and women as someone who will go to some other family after marriage and start a new life. This has been deeply rooted in all our minds for years and years. This is one big reason why women in India are not aware about inheritance laws and their rights in property.

Some families, where there are sons and daughters both, do not even raise the point of dividing the property equally among all of them equally. Daughters who are married are not even in picture at the times, the wealth is divided and it’s considered  natural and something that makes sense. Women on the other hand also do not take any lead or don’t bother asking for their fair share in the family wealth.

Brothers do not share wealth with Sisters

You must have seen cases like these and might be experiencing them in your family as well.

Case 1 : I know a family which had 1 brother and 3 sisters and who had a huge property in Mumbai at a central location, lots of shares, mutual funds and bank accounts, When the father died, people cried and after a month every body was back at home, all 3 daughters who are married didn’t even think for a second that they have a huge 25% share in the wealth, which is a decent amount by today’s standards. All 3 daughters are not so well off  and struggling day in and day out, but they are just not considering the option to ask for their share. Legally if they want, it would be just a matter of a  few months or years and some bitter experiences, but they might reach their financial freedom if they go to court. But they are too emotional to take that step and worry about relationships and the problems which arise out of it.

Case 2 : In another case, there are 2 brothers and 2 sisters (all married), and after the father’s death, the brothers are fighting with each other for property “Father spend so much on your education, my career was affected because of that, So I should logically get more now.” Fair point logically, but from legal point of view, it does not matter much how father treated whom . The sad part of this story is that brothers are fighting for their share and also sharing their plight with their sisters, but not for a second do they think that even sisters are legal heirs and should also get their share. (Incase you didnt knew – Hindu Succession Law is applied when a WILL is not written)

It’s not Fair!

Just because now they are part of another family, they are not seen as valid heirs. I am raising this point today because this is wrong practice. Women now have to raise their voices and ask for their share from their parents and brothers. If required, ask for it legally. Just because father has spend lot of money on wedding of sister and given her gold does not mean she can be cut off from the family wealth sharing.

If father writes a WILL saying that he wants to give his wealth in some specific proportion, then it’s fine, it’s your father wish. But if a WILL is not present, then you are a valid legal heir, you should ask for your share and you will get it.

Look at it as part of your Financial Plan

If you are a man, your wife might be entitled for her share of wealth from her parents’. In today’s world where money has become so important, see if you can convince her to ask for her share. It might get her valid share of money and can help you in leading a better financial life. I am not saying this because you should be money minded, but because its a fair thing to ask for.

Source : Manish Chauhan - www.jagoinvestor.com