Here are a few tips for preneed insurance agents to help them increase awareness about preneed funeral planning.
For preneed insurance agents, it can be difficult to get people to talk about death, but we know that the prearrangement of funerals and burials can be such a boon to families who are grieving. We want you to be successful at guiding those conversations toward the myriad benefits that preneed insurance can bring.
Funeral Planning Conversations
Preneed insurance agents have found that the first step to a successful conversation about prearrangement paperwork is to learn about the family’s needs. Most people have already had some experience with the death of a loved one, whether it was a parent, grandparent, neighbor, coworker, etc. I have found that prompting a conversation about past experiences with funerals, burial, and life insurance can lead to beneficial connections in the discussion.
Make sure to listen to what is being said, but also notice the attitudes and emotions your clients have toward these past experiences. That’s my second tip for preneed insurance agents: listen to the client and be perceptive toward their comfort level. Death can be a sensitive topic of conversation with someone who feels like a stranger, so be an active listener and a considerate speaker.
Which brings me to my third tip, which is to build trust. It’s no secret that sales are more easily made between two parties who trust each other. It is your job to ensure that your clients have the information they need to make an informed decision, but the difference between a salesperson and a brochure is the personal element that you bring to the table. Connect with them, share your experiences and relevant examples from the past.
You are there to guide them through this process, so be their guide. Start with more general questions about their preferences, and then help them narrow down their decisions to the nuts and bolts. You want the clients to feel taken care of and heard, and they want to walk away feeling in control and understood.
Additional Tips for Preneed Agents
Acknowledge the discomfort. Agree that it is difficult to think about death and awkward to talk about money, but these are the conversations you have every day! Keep the feeling light and respectful, and give ideas when you can, since no one at the table has thought about death, burial, and funeral as much as you have!
Remind the client that this will happen. 100% of us will die, and 100% of the time, our bodies will have to be taken care of. This is out of our control. What we can control, however, is how that is done and who has the responsibility to arrange it. If we want to help, if we want a say in what happens, preneed funeral and burial arrangements are the absolute best way to do that. And if we don’t want the financial burden to fall on someone else, preneed insurance is the best way to take care of it ahead of time.
