Your Next Big Case Is Probably Already in Your Book
5 clients. 5 phone calls. One could uncover your next major insurance opportunity.
Most advisors spend a lot of time looking for their next big client. But what if you didn't have to look outside your practice? What if your next $25,000, $50,000 or $100,000+ insurance case is already sitting in your book? Your clients' financial lives don't stand still. Businesses grow. Corporate cash builds up. Incomes increase. Estates become larger and more complicated. Retirement gets closer. Yet the insurance planning you put in place five, ten or even fifteen years ago may not have changed at all. That's where book mining can become one of the most effective business-development strategies in your practice.
Stop Prospecting. Start Looking for Change.
Book mining isn't about selling insurance to clients who don't need it. It's about finding clients whose circumstances have changed enough to warrant a new conversation. Some of the biggest opportunities can be hiding in plain sight.
Look for these clients:
The business owner whose company has doubled in value.
The $1 million business may now be worth $5 million. Has the owner's key person coverage, buy-sell funding and estate liquidity kept pace?
The corporation with millions sitting on the balance sheet.
Excess corporate cash can create opportunities to discuss corporate-owned permanent insurance, CDA planning, estate liquidity and wealth transfer.
The client approaching retirement.
The client who was focused on accumulation may now be focused on retirement income, corporate assets, and getting wealth to the next generation.
The client with an old term policy.
A renewal or conversion opportunity may be the easiest lead in your database. Is the coverage still required? Is the client still insurable? Has their financial situation changed?
The client whose estate has grown substantially.
A larger portfolio, cottage, business, and corporate assets can create a significant future tax and liquidity issue.
The client whose family or financial circumstances have changed.
Marriage, divorce, children, grandchildren, inheritance, increased wealth, or a significant health event can all be reasons to revisit existing planning.
The common denominator? Something changed and change creates opportunity.
Don't Call It an Insurance Review
The biggest mistake is making the conversation about a policy. Instead, make it about the client's life.
Try:
"It's been a while since we really looked at your overall planning. A lot has changed since we originally put everything in place. I'd like to sit down with you and make sure your current plan still makes sense."
That's a much better conversation than:
"Do you need more life insurance?"
Once you understand what has changed, you can determine whether there is an insurance need and whether the opportunity is significantly larger than the client originally anticipated.
Where Advanced Planning Can Make a Difference
This is where QFS Advanced Planning can help.
You don't need to become an expert in every corporate, estate, or insurance strategy before you identify the opportunity.
Bring us in when you uncover situations involving:
Significant excess corporate cash
Corporate-owned permanent insurance
Large estates and estate liquidity
Business succession and buy-sell funding
Key person planning
Large term conversion opportunities
CDA and wealth-transfer strategies
Joint-last-to-die insurance
IFA and other advanced financing strategies
Complex corporate or shareholder structures
Your role is to identify the opportunity. Our role is to help you develop the strategy.
Working together early can help you move from a routine client review to a sophisticated planning conversation, without having to figure it all out yourself.
Here's Your Challenge
Don't start with your entire database. Start with 25 clients. Look for business owners, clients with significant corporate assets, large term policies, growing estates, approaching retirement or major changes in their financial or family circumstances. Then identify your top five and pick up the phone. Don't send a generic email. Have a conversation. You may discover that the client you thought needed a simple policy review actually has a $2 million, $5 million or $10 million planning opportunity.
The Gold Is Already in Your Book
You already have the relationship. You know the client. You know their history. You know what they originally purchased and, in many cases, why they purchased it. The question is simple:
Has their financial life changed since then?
If the answer is yes, there may be a significant opportunity waiting to be uncovered.
Mine your book. Find the change. Start the conversation.
When you uncover something bigger or more complex, contact QFS Advanced Planning. We can help you assess the opportunity, develop the strategy and work alongside you to turn a client conversation into a sophisticated planning solution.
Your next big case may not be a new prospect.
It may already be one of your best clients.
Tony Gallippi
Head of Advanced Planning, Insurance
QFS
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