and that is how Unity Life Group began....

by: Adam Brsan

 I recently celebrated the 20th Anniversary of when I got into the insurance business and received my license. In those 20 years, I have (for the most part) only worked with two companies. When I first got in the business, I was independent and brokered individual health insurance and Medicare supplement products. After that first year, I was looking for assistance when it came to leads. I found a Final Expense Life Insurance company that was willing to finance the cost of my leads to me on a regular basis. All I had to worry about was going out and working and the leads would pay for themselves (and I’d earn some pretty good money along the way). Some people might say that I should have never joined that company for one reason or another, but it worked for me for 11.5 years and it has worked for many others as well.

I would consider myself a pretty loyal person. I will always be loyal to my family, I’m loyal to my agents (as long as they always focus on doing the right thing!) and I’ve been loyal to the companies I have worked with. Only two times in my 20 years have I decided to break that loyalty to the companies and move on to do other things.  If I lose passion for something and don’t believe in the path ahead, it’s not fair to myself, my family, or the company I’ve partnered with to continue on that path. I need to be willing to put in at least 100% and I need to be a part of something I believe in and am passionate about – Especially if I’m recruiting agents.

 “What’s in it for me??”

Loyalty is something that I feel really lacks in our business. So many people are too focused on “What’s in it for me?”  The “What’s in it for me?” mindset is what’s holding many agents/managers back from long-term success and growth. Sometimes I wonder that if an agent has this sort of attitude, will he/she always look out for what’s in the best interest of their client or are they just looking to make a commission? I’ve heard some sales agents close clients who come back with the rejection of “I have to think about it” by saying, “There’s nothing to think about. I just need to see if we can get you approved.” The agent then proceeds to complete the application without the client even realizing what they’re committing to. Some might say that they are looking out for the client because without that little PUSH, the client may never move forward, but how much of that business is going to stay active? I would assume most of the clients who take out a policy that way would feel “sold” or even, taken advantage of. I have also seen agents go back to their clients after a year and replace their own business. This, in my opinion, is also very sketchy and I believe could (or at least should) put the agent in jeopardy of losing their license. If a client has paid into something for a year, two things have happened: 1. They have already spent a good amount of money to have their insurance., and 2. They are just a year away from their policy no longer being contestable. When an agent replaces this business, it’s kind of like the client just pulled a bunch of money out of their bank account every month for a year and tossed it in the garbage can. Starting the clock over on the contestable period is also risky. Even if the client appears to be in very good health, we don’t know what’s exactly in their medical records. If a client takes out a new policy and they pass away within the first two years, do you think the insurance company has much desire to pay that claim? I would assume not. Is it very profitable for a company if the person just took out a policy and passed shortly after? I think most companies would dig deep into the policyholders medical records searching for reasons to not pay the claim. The agent who replaced the business made a new commission, but it could cost a family thousands of dollars that was intended to be used to pay for their loved ones funeral expenses.

  The “What’s in it for me?”mindset, can also be seen in some “leaders” who are building agencies if they purposely hold their people back to protect what they have built, or if they won’t give up a few extra commission percentage points to help give their downline more room for growth. The funny thing about it is that if a leader looks out for their people and focuses on doing whatever is necessary to help them succeed and grow, the leaders legacy would also continue to grow! I’ve also seen leaders who will not take any ideas into consideration unless they are their own ideas. This could be an ego issue, but I think I’ll save the topic of “losing the ego to further your success” for another blog post.

 When I decided to part ways with my most recent company (after being with them for 7.5 years), many different people and organizations reached out to me to learn about what my plans were moving forward and to see if they could be of help to me in any way. Some people talked a big game, but seemed like they would deliver little. Others were great at wining and dining, but putting together a plan of action is much more valuable to me and would create more loyalty than a steak dinner. Some groups even reminded me of how I don’t want to treat people once my own agency starts to take off. I’m a firm believer in the Golden Rule: Treat others the way that you would like to be treated. I do know from my own experiences that you can go out of your way to help people succeed, but sometimes it’s not going to be enough. Sometimes they still might want to move on to do other things. I will not hold people back. If someone believes a brighter path is out there outside of working with me, sometimes I’ve just had to let them go. This is a relationship business. Am I better off to discourage someone from a path that they see fit for themselves at the moment, or am I better off letting them explore that opportunity and see what happens? Recently,  an old colleague of mine was exploring new opportunities. Over the past year or so, he’s done a great job with his social media and made a name for himself. A lot of people never knew who he was in the insurance business and now he is becoming known. He posted on Facebook about a company he was considering joining and he was ridiculed by many. He called me for advice one day and to see what I thought of the decisions he was looking to make. I told him that if it felt right in his heart, than to go for it. So far, he is doing really well and I wish him nothing but the best. I hope things work out for him, but if for some reason they don’t, do you think he is going to reach out to all of those people who ridiculed his decision for help, or is he going to reach back out to me? Always take the high road.

I have no regrets, but sometimes I do wonder if I would be further ahead in my career had I not let people get in my ear in the past. I do believe that God has a path set out for every one of us. His path set out for us has no intention of failure. Every moment and every decision we have made in our lives, brings us to where we are at in the present moment. If we aren’t happy with where we are at, maybe we need to make better decisions in the future. I am grateful for all of my experiences and the knowledge I have gained throughout my 20 years in the business. It has brought me to this point, and with God’s strength and encouragement, I’m ready to compete with the best of them. 

I’m building an organization where agents are taught how to do business the right way to achieve long-term success. I have been on both sides of the insurance business: Insurance Sales Agent and Insurance company. I know what it takes for agents to succeed and I know what it takes from Agents for Insurance companies to flourish. Our agents are taught to look out for the best interest of their clients, their clients families, and the companies we are doing business with. Zig Ziglar once said, “You can have everything in life that you want, if you will just help other people get what they want”. With this focus and mindset, everyone wins. Unity Life Group is the name of our organization. Unity to me means “coming together as one”. Let’s work together for the greater good. While others sit back and insult on social media because they don’t agree with the path some people have chosen, Unity Life Group will sit back and focus on what matters most-

 “What’s in it for OUR AGENTS, our Company partners, and the families that we serve!?”  If we focus on what’s best for all three, a form of UNITY takes place where EVERYBODY WINS!!!

 and that is how Unity Life Group began….

If you would like to learn more about an opportunity working with Unity Life Group, click here and fill out a request. Adam will try his best to get back to you within 24-48 hours.

"Call me after the Holidays!"

How to stay successful throughout the holiday season....

By: Adam Brsan

Many people in the Insurance business are under the impression that December is a slow month – that people don’t want to be bothered around the holidays. In my 15 years in the Final Expense business, I have never had a slow December. I have always felt like this is a mindset issue more than anything. If we feel like December is going to be a slow month, well than it’s going to be a slow month. I could also take off on days that it’s sunny out because it’s too nice out -  people are probably out running errands so they won’t be home. I could also take off on rainy days because it’s just too nasty out - People won’t be in a good mood to talk to me on days like that. I don’t want to work on Friday’s either because people are getting ready for the weekend. Monday’s are bad too because people are recovering from the weekend. We can come up with many excuses why it’s probably not a good idea to work. What we need do is be coming up with more excuses why we should be working.

“Call me after the Holidays” – This is nothing but an excuse and an easy-out for the client to get out of having to talk with you. This is how I handle it – “I know, Mrs. Jones, the holidays are a busy time, but this will only take 10 minutes. If money is an issue, the nice thing about our program is that we don’t need any money up front. Can I come in?” As you can see in the quote, I put “Can I come in?” I don’t recommend calling and trying to set up appointments in December. People are programmed to say “Call me after the holidays.” It is much easier to get in the door when we are running leads and we are already there.

The most important thing I recommend to you though is to not change anything. If it’s not broken, there is no need to try and fix it in December. Keep doing in December what you have done the rest of the year and you should have a successful month. Set a goal to have your best month ever. Prove people wrong that have the mindset that they can’t be successful in December. I have had some of my best months ever in December and I know that you can do the same. 

It doesn't hurt to ask!

I have been spending some time recently meeting up with old client's of mine. As time goes on, the costs involved with funerals continue to go up. I like to keep my clients up to date on what the current costs of funerals are and also what the costs of funerals are predicted to go up to in the future based on inflation. I never replace their existing coverage, but I will write an additional policy to see to it that their amount of coverage will be sufficient for today and also for in the future. I have always preferred just dropping in on my leads and not calling to set up appointments. With my list of old policyholders, I add the addresses into my GPS, put my route together and head out for the day. 

I dropped by one of my clients homes a few weeks ago and it appeared as though nobody was home. Just as I was about to walk back to my car, a car pulled into the driveway. The woman rolled down her window and asked what I was doing there. I told her who I was there to see and she informed me that he moved away about 3 years ago. I told her that he was a very good client of mine and that he had had insurance with me for a very long time. I asked her if she knew how I may be able to reach him but she didn't. I then let her know what I do and that part of my job is to do free insurance reviews. I mentioned how there are many insurance plans that people apply for through the mail where the fine print is overlooked and that they can be somewhat misleading. I asked her if she had any coverage and she said that she did. I told her I would be happy to take a look at what she had and that I would be honest and if everything she had looked good, I would reassure her that she was pretty well set, but if there was anything in her policies that were concerning to me, I would let her know and we would talk about it. I told her it would only take about five minutes and she said, "Come on in!"

The woman handed me two policies: The first policy, her premiums increased every five years and when she turned 80 years old, the policy would expire. The other policy was a term policy that she could keep after she turned 75 years old, but the premiums would increase each year. I asked her if she planned on living a long life and she said, "Yes". I let her know that if she made it to the age of 85, her premium payment would be over $600 a month at that time. She said that there was no way that she would be able to afford that. I let her know that that is how a lot of insurance companies make their money. The company is hoping it will get to the point where the insured can no longer afford to keep the policy and are forced to cancel. Being that they are term policies, they build no cash value and nothing will have to be paid back to the insured if they cancel. The company is then also off the hook with never having to pay a death claim. 

I explained to the woman that she would be much better off with a permanent whole life plan where the rates would never go up and where she would never get cancelled as long as she kept up with her payments. She agreed and I wrote her a policy with an annualized premium of $693. This came out to an advanced commission of over $500! I also asked for some referrals and she told me that I needed to go talk to her sister who I also wrote a policy on (annualized premium of $672 - another advanced commission over $500!).

What i'm trying to get to with all of this is that IT DOESN'T HURT TO ASK! When the woman told me that my client no longer lived there I could've just left it at that. I could've just went on my way and moved on to my next stop. But what did I have to lose by asking her about her current situation and trying to see what I could do to help her? What's the worst thing that could happen? She tells me "NO"? Big deal. I can then move on to the next. But what happens when she says "Yes"? It turns into an extra $1,000 in commission that I never would have earned. 

I have learned in this business that the agents who make it have a strong work ethic. They aren't afraid to do the things that other agents may not be willing to do. We talk about how for some new agents who don't have money of leads, it's a good idea to knock doors. Well, for agents who do have money for leads, what's wrong with knocking on a few doors around your leads? Give your 30 second commercial at the door and try to make a few extra sales. If you write one additional application each week from doing this, that's an additional average annualized premium of over $31,000 that you will be paid on. 

Go out there and set goals, do that little extra, and most importantly, don't be afraid to ask!