Selling life insurance from home offers a tremendous opportunity to sell great products to people who need them while retaining your independence. Thousands of potential life insurance agents have considered the option and wonder whether selling insurance remotely is the right career choice for them. Here’s what you need to know if you want to start a new career and sell insurance from home.
Can You Sell Life Insurance from Home?
Yes, it is possible to sell life insurance from home, but any prospective agent wants to be sure they can earn a viable income through their new venture. With time and experience, it’s possible to make a fantastic income working from the comfort of your own home. Remember, some people will spend $20,000 or more on a life insurance policy in premiums alone every single year.
Keep in mind that if an agent is selling a high-value policy to someone with a higher net worth, they’ll be required to have a deep understanding of the ins and outs of life insurance, as well as the pros and cons of each policy.
Why Should You Sell Insurance from Home?
There are several benefits to starting a new career and selling life insurance from home, including:
- No Glass Ceiling – There are no limitations on how much it’s possible to earn as a digital life insurance agent.
- Booming Industry – Americans are thinking of their futures, and there is a huge demand for comprehensive life insurance policies.
- Flexibility – Digital agents can work as much or as little as they please. There are no set hours. It’s even possible to sell life insurance part time.
- Long–Term Security – Life insurance is an industry with great prospects. This is not simply a fad.
- Automation – Automation technology allows agents to streamline the selling process, meaning they get to work less for more.
So, is selling life insurance a good career opportunity? It can be, as long as agents are willing to put in the work to learn and grow. This is not a get-rich-quick scheme, but it is an excellent opportunity.
What You Need to Sell Life Insurance from Home
Those who take the time to research how to sell insurance from home are often surprised at the small initial investment required to get this type of business off the ground. However, there are certain skills and expectations agents must familiarize themselves with before they begin selling insurance from home.
Skills
There are no qualifications required to start a life insurance business. However, possessing certain skills will increase the chances of success. In general, digital agents must be comfortable with inbound sales, handling outbound leads, upselling, and selling in the face of objections. Experience with sales already offers a huge advantage when selling insurance remotely.
Equipment
There has been an increase in the number of new digital insurance agents in recent years due to the low threshold to start this type of business. When figuring out how to sell life insurance from home, people mistakenly believe they need to invest in the latest computing systems. While more advanced technology is always a plus, agents need no more than a dedicated digital phone line, a computer with Windows 10 or newer, and a strong Internet connection. To make life easier, it’s recommended that agents operate using a dual monitor setup, but this is not required.
Expectations
Committed agents may choose to work full time, but it is perfectly normal to begin selling life insurance part time. However, keep in mind that agents are expected to be available during standard business hours to sell, take queries, and handle any complaints. Thankfully, with digital insurance sales platforms like iLife, agents can leverage the power of technology to reduce their hours worked.
How to Start Selling Life Insurance from Home
Learning how to sell insurance from home is a constant learning process. Industry changes, new sales tactics, and understanding the complexities of different policies means agents must strive for perfection to beat out the competition. Selling life insurance remotely is not designed for those who expect instant results with no effort. Here’s how new agents can begin selling life insurance remotely.
Step One – Research Your Options
Insurance policies vary drastically. Some agents choose to have a wide range of policies on their books, whereas others prefer to specialize in certain areas. Which approach you choose is largely a matter of personal preference. Some options for insurance policies to sell include:
- Individual policies
- Group plans
- Family plans
- Medicare coverage
Standing out as an expert in a niche market makes it simpler to build a brand and edge out the competition. Think about the target audience and which ones play to your selling strengths.
Step Two – Determine Licensing Requirements
Depending on the state, agents may need to conform to certain licensing and testing requirements. For example, states tend to ask for evidence of pre-license education. This requires proof of completion of select online courses that cover the law, regulations, and ethics. To start selling insurance legally, most states require agents to pass a brief exam.
Step Three – Establish Your Logistics
Working from a home office and selling life insurance requires agents to have the right setup. Any home office space should be professional and comfortable. Communication is the core of this industry, and any home office must reflect that. On a side note, creating a dedicated home office also allows digital insurance agents to claim the home office tax deduction every year.
Step Four – Be Organized
The next step in selling insurance from home is to be organized. This may seem simple, but organization is crucial. Agents need to be able to manage multiple clients, carriers, and prospects. While going paperless is eco-friendly, some agents choose to maintain paper records to keep themselves organized. It’s recommended to use productivity and organization apps, such as Asana, to ensure no task goes forgotten.
Finally, consider investing in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software to keep client data organized. CRM maintains a record of vital client information, including their names and when their policy expires. A great CRM platform empowers agents to remain organized while also providing the easily accessible information needed to offer a personalized experience.
Step Five – Automate as Much as Possible
Technology is important, and adopting a policy of automation makes agents faster, more agile, and they get to spend more time selling than on administration. Automation enables agents to provide real-time quotes, offer multi-carrier information, and easily assist with online enrollment as part of a single system.
While digital agents tend to sell the same insurance products, building a reputation for being a trustworthy resource, quick to enroll, and personalized is what can set any developing insurance agent apart.
Sell Life Insurance Part Time: Tips for Success
Selling insurance from home part time is possible with the latest technology. Developing an all-in-one system of selling, customer management, and support can slash the amount of time agents are required to work per week. Understandably, the more you work, the more you sell. Let’s explore some important tips for success in the cut-throat world of insurance sales.
1. Become a Specialist
Choosing a life insurance niche and becoming a specialist are two different things. Some agents sell from a specific life insurance niche while lacking the knowledge to consider themselves a specialist. Specializing impresses clients, demonstrates authority, and builds trust. Agents who want to aim for a one-call sales strategy must become a specialist, or their strategy is doomed from the start.
2. Avoid Paper Applications
There are multiple ways to enroll someone for a life insurance policy. Some insurance agents prefer to offer numerous ways to enroll someone, including the dreaded paper application. By all means, never turn down someone who insists on filling out their application on paper but avoid promoting it. Paper applications are slow, a hassle, and add an extra step to the sales process.
Younger people prefer digital applications they can fill out in a matter of minutes. For the older generations who may be unfamiliar with technology, consider a verbal application process. This is most relevant to final expense and Medicare Advantage clients. A verbal application can be conducted over the phone without any digital or paper signature requirements.
3. Optimize Your Lead Strategy
Optimizing a lead strategy means selecting the right approach for the type of product and the available budget. There are so many lead strategies agents may choose to employ, such as:
- Direct mail
- Social media
- Telemarketing
- Live transfer
- Radio and television
Not every lead strategy will suit every product. It’s important to tailor the strategy to the people most likely to purchase a specific insurance product. For example, radio and television are only useful when selling to a more general audience. Agents who choose traditional media are likely to specialize in final expense or Medicare Advantage.
4. Record Sales Calls to Improve Techniques
In order to sell insurance from home successfully, the key is to nail the selling aspect. Unless an agent has a background in sales, most agents are starting from square one. They’re green, and they need to figure out what’s holding them back. Sadly, many agents fail to improve their sales techniques, and they declare their businesses a failure as a result.
Consider recording sales calls and reviewing them later for any mistakes and flaws. Analyzing sales pitches in this way can work out the kinks early on and improve conversion rates.
It’s also worth investing in the help of a professional industry sales coach. For a small fee, you’ll be able to submit a sales call and have them provide detailed feedback on what was done well and where improvements can be made.
5. Build Relationships with Clients
Most agents believe that building relationships with clients means responding to them quickly and giving them what they need. While this is important for reputation and relationship building, it slightly misses the mark. True rapport building means learning about who those clients are as human beings. Too many agents launch into their sales techniques the moment the client picks up the phone. This will only lead to the prospect hanging up the phone.
Take the time to ask open-ended questions about the prospect’s work, family, and hobbies. Let the client do the majority of the speaking. Note down the answers to these open-ended questions as they can also help agents determine the right product for the right person.
Conclusion
To sell insurance from home means establishing the right setup, selling the right products, and being committed to the learning process. This is no get-rich-quick scheme, and new agents need to take the time to build their businesses in the same way as any other business. If you’re interested in pursuing this path, check out iLife’s quoting tool which allows clients to browse policies and receive quotes completely by themselves, saving you massive amounts of time.
Grow your insurance business with the help of iLife. Our digital platform allows you to manage your business, your policies, and your clients all in one place. We take pride in supporting agents as they grow their businesses. To learn more about selling life insurance and our approach to the insurance business, contact iLife today.
