It can be tempting to deviate from the assigned script when selling preneed.
Following a script can be difficult at times.
This feeling is no stranger to insurance agents from any walk or industry.
Here lies the importance. The preneed agent must walk a narrow line between sales and service. While selling funeral insurance, it is paramount to keep in mind you’re not selling a product but rather giving an opportunity for the family to have peace of mind on one of the worst days of their lives.
As a funeral director, I hold a unique perspective that many preneed agents have never known. I have personally sat in front of countless families during crisis who lost a loved one with no advanced preparations. This terrible burden weighed on those families day after day. Most preneed agents have never felt the sadness in comforting a family during an at-need arrangement conference. You see their reluctance at having to choose a casket, a vault, and organize the service while in a state of emotional distress. Death is an overwhelming event even when it has been expected due to something like long-term illness. Many family members are clearly dazed and medicated during the whole ordeal.
Preneed sales agents often do not understand the atmosphere of the at-need arrangement conference! Every agent should have the experience of sitting in on a few at-need conferences during training. Then, and only then they can speak with conviction about the benefits of pre-arranging funeral services in a family’s home.
As a funeral director, from all I’ve seen and experienced, I can say unequivocally that preneed planning spares families painful and unnecessary decision making, emotional exhaustion, and suffering when their primary tasks should be simply grieving and cherishing their family.
