Using Negative Advertising to Acquire Annuity Prospects

How do you buy toothpaste? Is it because Colgate protects you with fewer cavities or because Crest has been shown to be effective in preventing tooth decay? What about cars? GM has just the one for you however; Ford claims their car is rated higher than the others.

Have you ever noticed that advertising is either negative or positive?

Negative advertising focuses on elevating an existing concern. Positive advertising focuses on the positive attributes of a company or product.

How are politicians elected? Do they emphasize their positive attributes? Do they play above the board and respect their opponents? Do they let the election stand on the record?

No.

They attack, attack, and attack. They harp only the negative qualities of their opponent, both factual and perceived. The results pay off: Negative campaigning wins elections.

Negativity not only wins elections, it also sells products. By instilling distrust and fear into prospects, you can offer solutions to their worries. It can make you an enormous amount of money.

How do you use negative advertising to make money? It's easy. It requires a different approach than is traditionally used by insurance companies and agents. The Insurance industry focuses on establishing an image that comes across as professional and experienced. Agents emphasize how much training they have, how many degrees they've received, and how active they are in their communities. Typically, such advertising is a waste of time and money.

Look at your own experience. When was the last time you ran a company approved advertisement? How many calls did you have from it? We both know the answer to that question. If you had any at all, it's unlikely the results even began to pay for the cost of the ad.

Negative advertising is the key to your success. By talking about how good your company is with the usual claims in insurance advertising, you offer your target audience exactly what everyone else does: a boring sales pitch. Your target market doesn't want a sales pitch. They want solutions to their concerns. Emphasize what they're worried about, and you?ll grab their attention. By offering solutions to their problems, you offer them security and peace of mind.

Security and peace of mind is what is most important to seniors. How do you go about it? Recognize the enemy.

Who is the enemy? Old thinking! Here is an example, LTC salespeople.

Have you ever attended a LTC insurance seminar or a LTC sales meeting? Have you ever listened to a LTC ad on the radio? Do you ever wonder why sales for LTC insurance are so low, when it's so heavily touted as the next great market?

LTC is in fact a great market. It?s a market where an enormous amount of income can be made. However, it?s not easy to sell the insurance.

Selling annuities to seniors who are concerned about LTC, to protect their assets makes the money.

Nothing else is worth the effort.

Let's go back to advertising. When an LTC salesperson advertises, what is the message conveyed?

1. The many benefits their policies have to offer 2. The necessity for seniors to protect their assets 3. Fear: Seniors who don't own LTC will likely be confined to a nursing home where they won't be taken care of properly.

You've heard it all, no doubt. You may have even used some of these points yourself.

The goal is to attack the fear the LTC companies and salespeople instill. Structure ads which plant questions in the minds of our target audience about the competition, and attack LTC as a solution to their fear. This gets your prospect thinking about other possible solutions, other than LTC.

The goal is to create fear, uncertainty and doubt about the enemy.

The following are examples of negative ad headlines used to accomplish this:

? Find out why very few seniors need LTC insurance!
? Find out what LTC insurance companies don't want you to know!
? Find out what your LTC salesperson isn't telling you!
? How to cut your LTC insurance premiums in half!
? Save 50% on your LTC insurance premiums!
? Don't be a sucker! Find out if LTC really works!
? Get informed. LTC insurance isn't for everyone!

The ad provides information on how to contact your office.

Remember you don't want to jump into a sales presentation with these people. They need to be educated. When they schedule time with you, they'll be receptive to a solution that addresses their concerns: you in turn will have used your time productively.

Bill Broich is a 30 year annuity salesman who helps agents generate annuity leads. Visit his website to learn more -- Annuity.com.

10 Little Known Insurance leads - Annuity Leads Marketing Secrets to Double Your Income in 2007

1. Failing to Market Your Business Effectively

This one is self-evident?or so we thought. The reality is 90-95% of all Insurance agents with whom we speak aren?t marketing at the level they can or should be, or just plain aren?t marketing at all! Many agents are in a comfort mode where they are living or dying off the referrals they may accidentally stumble onto. Most agents think they are marketing their services yet, when we ask for a specific, step-by-step marketing plan, the telephone usually goes dead for a minute.

Remember this statement, ?Marketing is the ONLY function of your business that makes you money! Every other function is an expense!?

Thus, if you are sitting back and waiting for a minor marketing miracle to happen and not optimizing your time, money or talents to become a top marketer in your field, you are causing yourself to lose thousands of dollars monthly. This could be one of the reasons why many agents drive cars that have over 150,000 hard traveled miles on them. I still believe insurance agents have a right to make a six-figure income and be able to enjoy life to the fullest. You need to be marketing every day to generate a steady flow of leads.

2. Not Fully Utilizing Your Invisible Insurance leads Asset

If you have been in the Insurance business for any amount of time, you have built up a substantial amount of goodwill among your clients. You have brought value and piece of mind to their lives. This asset, however, hasn?t been performing for you the way it should. We will show you how to convert your customers? goodwill into ready cash?and actually strengthen your customers? loyalty to you at the same time. And if you are new in the business and don?t have a client base we will show you how to use ?parasite marketing? to tap other professional sources within your community.

3. Using the Same Old Insurance leads and Annuity lead Ads that Get a Terrible Return

Ads, postcards, and direct-mail pieces cost you the same regardless of whether they bring in 1 new customer or 100. Knowing the secret techniques of creating award winning ads and direct-mail pieces can easily be the difference between driving an old car with 150,000 miles on it versus driving a brand new Mercedes, BMW or some other luxurious car. By testing and using dynamic headlines in all your marketing pieces (like postcards, ads, newsletters, flyers and direct mail pieces) your response can skyrocket by 1,800% and more. We will show you an easy 7-step method that anyone can use to create ads and direct-mail promotions that will bring in floods of new clients.

4. Failing to Customize your insurance lead Letters

I have had some outrageous responses from prospects and clients when I mail them a hand addressed envelope with a message pad sized ?While You Were Out? message saying, ?Evidently you didn?t get my message.? We have also experimented with several other sayings on the message sized pad ?While You Were Out? mailings that are great for annuity sales. Another agent we know uses this concept to recruit agents and has had a 75% response to his letters using the ?While You Were Out? message pad technique.

5. Relying on One Shaky Pillar for Insurance Marketing

What you want to strive for in your marketing strategy is to build strength through marketing diversity. Think of your business as a Greek Temple supported by numerous, sturdy pillars. Each of these pillars represents one aspect of your marketing campaign. For example, you could have pillars for direct sales, telemarketing, direct mail, postcards, flyers, endorsements, referrals, parasite marketing, and joint ventures. The reason that there are so many is if you have failure in one or more pillars you will always have a few pillars holding up your marketing program. We have had dozens of agents who tell us that if this home office flyer fails, they will be out of the business. This concept will almost guarantee you failure in this business. However, could you imagine the commissions you would generate if you combine a wide array of marketing approaches, stabilizing your business with several pillars?

6. Stunting the ?Growth? of Your Insurance Business

We have read countless books and attended dozens of seminars on how to increase your business. However, we have discovered just three ways to grow any business. Now you may think these techniques are too simple or don?t apply to your situation, but could you imagine if you actually implemented these as a foundation for your business?

1. INCREASE your average sale of an Insurance policy. Instead of quoting $82.00 per month round it off to $90.00 and give them more coverage.

2. INCREASE the number of clients. By doing consistent, target marketing to a niche market, you will increase your sales and client base dramatically.

3. INCREASE the frequency of repurchase. Always have other products you can sell your clients. Always contact your client at least every six months. A monthly, client newsletter will help you build your business. If you need a client newsletter check out our "Annuity Pro Lead Capture Web Page."

7. Investing Thousands of $$$ in the Wrong Insurance leads Ads

Before you invest thousands of hard earned dollars in direct mail, postcards or newspaper ads, wouldn?t it be great if you could know exactly which offer would pull in the most leads and qualified prospects?

What you need to do is conduct your own marketing test. Try mailing two or more versions of your sales letter or flyer to a small portion of your mailing lists you intend to use. One version of a letter might have a powerful headline along with a special free report titled ? 8 Secrets on How You Can Get the most Out of Your Retirement Years.? Also, hand-address the envelopes. Another version of the letter may have a different headline and different benefits. Then, after testing, you can mail the most effective letter to the entire mailing list with confidence.

By the way, if you can have your envelope hand-addressed or the prospect?s name typed on the envelope instead of using a label, you can sometimes increase your response by 15%. People today who receive an envelope with a label on it consider it junk mail.

8. Having a Poor Attitude

Having the right mental attitude will make your business work, no matter how many obstacles get pushed in your way. In any business, there will always be problems that come about and you need to address them. Deal with them immediately, and don?t wonder ?Why in the world do bad things always happen to me?? Bad things happen to everyone. Successful people just know how to work through them. For them, when they have a problem, they put on their work clothes and go to work. They don?t assume the end of the world is coming. Tony Robbins says that the definition of insanity is doing the same things you have always done and expecting to get different results.

Example: If you have been afraid to invest any money in marketing for yourself and continue to do that, your income will remain the same. If you never try to improve your sales presentation, letters or advertisements your results will remain the same.

However, if you are willing to test new marketing approaches and new products, your income will go up. If you will implement the following formula in every sales presentation, letter to your client, and advertisements you will greatly improve your income.

1. Get Attention!
2. Arouse interest and emotion.
3. Tell interesting stories that are believable.
4. Offer a reason to act?NOW!
5. Make it easy for people to take the action you want.

Remember, the most important thing you learn is to: GET PEOPLE?S ATTENTION!

9. Blaming Insurance Marketing ?Conditions? for your Lack of Success

Many Insurance agents who have failed in the Insurance business always blame someone or something for their failure or for a low income. If you want to be successful, not only in your business career but also in your life, you must own up to your shortcomings and realize that your success, or lack of it, is totally, 100% your responsibility!

Have you ever heard anyone, including yourself, say the following: ?It?s a slow time of the year. I think I?ll put more effort in my business after the first of the year. I?m really busy right now. I don?t have time for any new products or marketing techniques. I can?t afford to hire a secretary to do the $8.00 an hour office work that I?m currently doing myself. I tried an ad or flyer once and it didn?t work!?

All of these lame excuses are justification for not being more successful in the Insurance business. From this day forward, stop making excuses and start making things happen for yourself.

10. Not Offering Additional Insurance Products and Services to Your Customers.

It is a known fact that existing clients are far more likely to purchase from you than cold prospects. They will, at least give you a few minutes to offer additional services. Unlike prospects, your clients should trust you and enjoy doing business with you again. However, you must treat your clients with respect and they must be satisfied with your service. If you can provide your clients with the proper service, they can reward you for a lifetime with additional business and qualified referrals. Now let?s talk about specifics.

Many of you have clients or their friends who may be interested in alternative financial products that are safe and pay an excellent rate of return on their money! If that is true for you, our office can help you with several products you can use as an alternative to CD?s and Annuities.

Do you think if you mailed out a postcard offering a special report titled, ?10 Deadly Mistakes Most People Make when Planning for Retirement and How to Avoid them,? some of your clients might respond to this postcard and request a copy of the FREE report? Do you think some of the people who receive your FREE report, (which are essentially sales letters) might want to come into your office for an appointment to discuss these issues? Of course they will and when they do, guess whom they will ask to help them.

It should be obvious by now that if you had additional products or services to offer your clients, a percentage of them will want to hear about several of your new products.

Hope you have a great selling year in 2007.

Russ Jones
Creator of the "3-Step Postcard System"
http://www.ultimateinsurancesystem.com
Developer of the "Annuity Pro Lead Capture Web Page System"
http://www.pmrsystem.com

Generating Insurance And Annuity Leads Using Squidoo Marketing

Heard of Squidoo? I?ve only been using it a few weeks, but the website has major buzz and justifiably so. The site is an incredible marketing tool. Basically it?s a web page builder? You can build what they call lenses which are simply web pages. Your lense can be about any topic you choose. It could be a professional bio, an article about insurance, maybe you want to review an annuity product or you simply want to show off pictures of your grandkids or pets.

You?re probably saying, great. I can build webpages. Big deal. What you really want to know is how Squidoo can help you get more leads and make you more money. When you setup a Squidoo lens pick search engine key words and phrases people are searching for. You can get a general estimate of keywords people are plugging in on the search engines and how many searches a word or phrase gets every month by using this keyword tool.

Type in annuity here and you?ll see the number of monthly phrases and other related keywords.

These constitute the number of searches performed on Yahoo. Google tends to run 50-100% higher. Plus you have engines like MSN, AskJeeves and the others which provide even more searches.

If ?Annuity? is the key phrase you?d like you would want to attempt to secure www.squidoo.com/annuity. Granted that?s a highly desirable word and (I?ve checked) it?s already taken. But why not secure phrases close to your area? why not grab.

(Note: For some reason unclear to me the Yahoo keyword tool only returns singular words. That doesn?t mean there aren?t plural searches as well? don?t discount plural words and phrases because there doesn?t appear to be searches.)

Google and the other major search engines love Squidoo and tend to rank Squidoo pages very high on their search results. If you get a good ranking and take the time to write useful, original copy with your contact information you will likely pick up leads.

Squidoo is fairly straight-forward and easy to use, but it can take a while to learn. I ended up reading a short very well-written manual to help me navigate the Squidoo system. Check it out: Squidoo Marketing

Squidoo is just another tactic in the neverending quest to obtain leads. It should be a part of a comprehensive annuity lead generating and selling system, not used as the sole method for attracting new business. The best part about Squidoo is that it costs you nothing. It's 100% free to use.

Bill Broich is veteran annuity salesman who helps agents generate annuity leads and close more sales. Visit his website for more information: Annuity

Successful Annuity Selling by Becoming a Barber

Have you ever considered the experience in getting a haircut to the marketing of annuities? They are very similar in the process.

Many agents call me and want me to help a specific case with all sorts of contingency issues. The agent wants to make the sale and if he could get some help on a certain point then the prospect will surely buy. Generally this is a situation where the issues are not as clear and the agent thinks. My experience has shown that resistance to buying is based on one thing?a lousy fact finder.

When I encounter this issue in my own practice and a prospect I think should buy will not then I just use the ?barber syndrome.?

NEXT!

It is so much easier to move on to another sales situation than to beat a dead horse to death. Put your energies to work in marketing and finding new prospects than worrying about one prospect. If they haven?t bought after you presented the solution developed in the fact finder?they are never going to buy from you.

The idea of firing the prospect and moving to the next one is totally liberating. It puts you as the salesperson in control and makes the business model work so much better. Our products are not for everyone and our prospects situation can never be put into a prefabricated mold. By retaining control over who you do business with gives you an attitude of control and professionalism. Do not be afraid to fire a prospect and move on. There is always someone else to see and someone else to tell our story too.

Next!

Bill Broich is a 30 year annuity salesman who helps agents generate annuity leads. Visit his website to learn more - Annuity.com

New Medicaid Annuity Rule Enacted

A small but important change relating to Medicaid annuities was signed into law Dec. 20, 2006, as part of the Tax Care and Health Care Act of 2006. It changed the word "annuitant" to "institutionalized individual" in the section of the federal statute that described annuities intended to be helpful for Medicaid planning.

So what does all this really mean? Essentially, if a spouse who is living in the community (the so-called "Community Spouse") purchases an annuity that meets all the requirements necessary to avoid having that purchase treated as a gift, that spouse must now name the state as beneficiary up to the amount of any Medicaid payments made on behalf of the "institutionalized individual" (instead of the "annuitant").

So who, exactly, is the "institutionalized individual"? Well, clearly if the Community Spouse purchases an annuity, the other spouse, who is in a nursing home, is the "institutionalized individual." As such, upon the death of the Community Spouse, if the annuity has not yet made its final payment, the state will be entitled to receive future annuity payments, up to the amount of the value of all Medicaid benefits it made and will make on behalf of the nursing home spouse.

Prior to this change in the law, repayment in the above situation would have been due only for nursing home expenses of the Community Spouse.

Example: Mary and Dan have $150,000 in assets. Mary lives in the community and purchases a $50,000 Medicaid annuity payable to her. Dan, who is in the nursing home, immediately qualifies for Medicaid, because (i) the annuity itself does not count as an asset for Medicaid eligibility purposes, assuming it is correctly structured, and (ii) Mary's remaining assets are less than $101,640, the excluded amount for community spouses (although some states only allow Mary to exclude half that amount, most states allow exclusion of the full amount).

Two years later, Dan dies. Results:

1. If the annuity pays out completely before Mary dies, then the new law makes no difference, since there is no remainder to go to the state. (This would typically be the case in so-called "half-a-loaf" planning, a topic for another day!)

2. If Mary dies before the annuity is fully paid out, then it will make a difference, because now Dan's costs must be repaid from the remaining annuity payments. Under the prior law only Mary's costs---if any---would need to have been repaid (and if Mary never went to a nursing home, then Dan's costs would never be recouped by the state).

3. If Mary enters the nursing home during the annuity payment period, those payments will go to the nursing home, since they are considered her income. If Mary then dies before the annuity is fully paid out, not only must Dan's Medicaid benefits be repaid to the state, but depending on how the new law is eventually interpreted, it's quite possible that Mary's Medicaid benefits must also be repaid out of future annuity payments.

Note that although this change was just signed into law, the law itself states that it is effective as if it were part of the original law that it is amending. Thus, it applies to all annuities issued after February 8, 2006, the date of enactment of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.

K. Gabriel Heiser

Attorney K. Gabriel Heiser has devoted his legal practice to Medicaid planning, elder law, and estate planning for the last 23 years.
NOTE: For more information on this topic and other Medicaid planning techniques, see http://www.MedicaidSecrets.com, which describes an exciting new 256-page book written by attorney Heiser, "How to Protect Your Family's Assets from Devastating Nursing Home Costs: Medicaid Secrets." You don't have to go broke to get Medicaid to pay your nursing home bills, you just have to know the rules and planning techniques. For the first time ever, you can learn the inside secrets of high-priced estate planning and elder law attorneys, in attorney Heiser's new book.

News Article Expert Annuity Lead Program

Are you an annuity agent looking for a surefire lead program? Try writing news articles for your local newspaper. Neighborhood newspapers gladly print compelling copy of interest to readers. You also position yourself as the expert in your field and, being perceived as the expert, your sale is practically in the bag even before you meet your prospect.

Successful annuity agents are those who position themselves as the "expert" in their field. An expert is held in higher regard than a salesperson. An expert substitutes the sales presentation for a polished dialog of probing, educated questions that expose symptoms of financial disorder. After proper diagnosis, an expert does not attempt a close. An expert simply prescribes a cure, finishes up the paperwork and moves on to the next patient or client, the unspoken question being, "Do you want to stay sick or do you want to get well?"

Experts are experts because their reputation precedes them. It's all in the setup. There is no reality, only perception. If the prospect first hears about you by reading your newspaper article, you are already the expert. People want to be clients of experts for many reasons, including bragging rights. Sales transactions are pretty much understood even before appointments are set. Your starting point in the sales process is leaps and bounds ahead of the competition. Your annuity lead program is uniquely personal. And one of the most powerful ways of becoming the expert while generating referral-quality leads is through systematically submitting topical, high-content news articles for publication in hometown Senior newspapers.

Newspapers hunger for news and will gladly print informative content, especially from a local expert whose specialty is of interest to their readers. Articles of 400 and 600 words in length should be submitted periodically, should be informational (not a sales pitch) and filled with take-home value. The author's name, photo and contact information is included in case readers wish to pursue additional information or contact the expert about specific concerns. There is no cleaner annuity lead program, no higher quality lead than a news article inquiry.

Unfortunately, most successful annuity advisors don't have the time to write compelling news copy. I've known successful agents barely capable of constructing one-word sentences. But now, a limited number of agents have the opportunity to participate in our News Article Expert Annuity Lead Program.

In the time-honored tradition of ghostwriting, I provide qualifying agents with a new article each month, packed with vital information on Senior financial issues. Territories are exclusive to avoid overlapping geography, and I include my author's release of copyright allowing you to list your name as author, your photo and contact information.

If you are a licensed life insurance agent not currently contracted through Life Sales and wish to begin or advance your career selling fixed annuities, our News Article Expert Annuity Lead Program is for you. Come onboard with two or more of our carriers - Allianz, ING, Sun Life Financial, or American Equity - and receive 200 leads as a signing bonus. Then with your first 2000 QPCs (roughly $40,000 in paid business depending on carrier and product) in any one month, within two months of coming onboard, you'll receive your free six-month subscription to our News Article Expert Annuity Lead Program. Remember, territories are exclusive and you will receive my ghostwriter release of copyright.

http://www.Free-Insurance-Leads.com Gary Le Mon is a wholesale distributor of fixed indexed annuities for Allianz, American Equity, Sun Life Financial, and ING. Author and developer of the Safe Money Seminar, a financial planning seminar for Seniors, Gary serves as guest speaker on behalf of agents and agencies nationwide

Annuity Quotes

To gain an understanding of annuities, we need to start at the beginning. In the year 1740, the Presbyterian Church began to use annuities in order to aid widows and the priestly order. The simple purpose of an annuity is to ensure that you have a sound financial back up during retirement. Today, there are different kinds of products sold by Insurance companies and agents. Before you take out an annuity ensure that the Insurance Company has a license to practice in your state. The State Insurance Commission is a legal body that regulates Insurance companies to make sure they have adequate funds so that investments are not jeopardized.

Different companies have annuities with different rates and returns. There could be several reasons why you would want an annuity. For example, an annuity helps you pay reduced tax, avoid probate and save for the future. You can look out for your future and that of your heirs. By putting money away for an inheritance, you are making a wise decision for your family. When choosing an annuity quote it is important to remember your financial status and goal for the future. Annuity quotes differ according to the annuity you choose. There are several companies that offer quotes for Immediate Annuities, Fixed Annuities, Equity-indexed Annuities and Variable Annuities.

If you choose an Immediate Annuity, then you can expect to receive a fixed or variable sum of money every month or quarter or according to your specification. The amount of money you receive is based on your initial deposit and the time duration of your annuity. If you choose a variable plan then make sure that your investments do very well. A Fixed Annuity is a low risk annuity because you receive a minimum interest whether or not your investments do well. These are more stable in nature and you will always know what to expect. There is no gamble in investing in such an annuity. Some companies that offer this are National Western Life, Jefferson Pilot Life, Great American Life Insurance Company, Allianz Life, American National Insurance Company etc.

Equity Indexed Annuities, as the name suggests is based on the stock market index. If your chosen index rises then you gain and vice versa. There is a certain amount of risk in this product; however, the bright side is that you gain if your investments do well. Variable annuities give you the freedom to decide where you want to invest, but it also does not protect you in case of loss. The benefit is that you get to keep all the profit. These annuities are good for those who are completely aware of the market dynamics. Therefore, before choosing an annuity quote you must first know what kind of annuity you really require. There are several online insurance portals that offer to give you an annuity quote instantly. All you have to do is fill out an online form and your quote will find its way to you.

In conclusion, choose an annuity quote that comes from the right source. Ensure that your agent is licensed, knowledgeable, reputable and experienced. It is always best to go for an agent that comes as a recommended source. Further, you can opt to receive multiple annuity quotes so you have a choice in front of you.

Robert co-founded Insurance4USA.com, an insurance quote shopping service, in 1999. He has been a licensed insurance agent in New York State since 1990