21 Sep 2020
The Art of “Combo Selling” Life and Health Insurance
Estimated read time: 3 minutes, 34 seconds
You’re undoubtedly familiar with the process of cross-selling life and health insurance products. Combo selling is a similar idea. However, with combo selling, agents present prospects with the concept of securing complete, comprehensive insurance protection from the first conversation.
Combo selling can be particularly effective right now, as people continue to reel from the impact of COVID-19. Now more than ever, purchasing life and health insurance is viewed as an act of love. It’s both a practical and emotional purchase.
These days, most people are painfully aware that they are vulnerable to COVID. The risks are more real. Bad things are easier to visualize. That makes it easier to present the combo story: that while health insurance protects the family’s health and finances should they become ill, only life insurance protects their finances and future in the event of a loved one’s death.
But that’s not all. Whole and universal life policies also offer aid in the form of accumulating cash value, allowing families to sustain themselves during difficult times. Given the current high rates of unemployment right now, this benefit is resonating more loudly than ever.
In short, by presenting life and health insurance together, you can offer your clients a full circle of essential insurance protection. In many ways, combo selling is a philosophy. Other industries have mastered it, and it works in our industry, too.
Take the Lead from the Fast-Food Industry
Here’s a great example of the short- and long-term impact of combo selling. About 15 years ago, fast food restaurants first started offering combo meals. Before then, everything on the menu was sold à la carte. But by offering combo meals—say, a hamburger, French fries, and soft drink—fast food restaurants were able to achieve several goals at once.
- They were able to drive up the average purchase price per customer, resulting in a 35% increase in sales.
- They created a sense of enhanced value, by pricing the combo meal somewhat lower than the cost of purchasing everything separately.
- They accelerated their checkout times, because customers spent less time surveying the menu and placing their orders, improving satisfaction.
- They streamlined workflows in the kitchen, since orders became more predictable.
Over time, ordering combo meals have become a habit for many consumers. Now, it’s second nature—many consumers don’t even think twice when they place an order.
If we can encourage that kind of thinking in the life and health insurance industry, we can better protect our clients, while streamlining the sales process and increasing revenues.
Deflating the Myth of “Two Is Too Much”
There are some in the insurance industry who believe that pitching two products at once puts both sales at risk.
They believe that it’s safer to close one sale and then go back for the other at a later time—the more traditional cross-selling technique.
Yes, it’s easier to sell an existing client a second product than to go out and find another first-time customer. But if a client is ready to do business with you—if you’ve established trust and the need for insurance protection—why not present both forms of protection at once?
Obviously, combo selling first involves selling clients on Pan-American. One highly-successful agent who employs combo selling very effectively uses this technique:
- First, she reassures prospects that they will be establishing a contract with a highly-rated carrier that’s been in business for over 100 years.
- Then, she reassures them that they will also be establishing a contract with her—as a Pan-American intermediary who is highly committed to serving them.
- Finally, after discerning their needs, she offers them life and health products geared to their situation, educating them on the benefits of the products.
Developing a combo selling strategy is simpler than you might think. Know your PALIG portfolio. Define a clear action plan. Set daily, weekly and monthly goals for yourself, in terms of time investments and results. Tracking your metrics, measure your results, and you will see productivity increase.
Keep in mind, there are many advantages to combo selling. For one thing, by providing your clients with complete life and health protection, you’ll improve client loyalty and satisfaction. Furthermore, by offering your client multiple products, you help prevent your competitors from getting a foot in the door. You’ll even improve client retention—all while enhancing revenue generation.
Combo selling offers many advantages—and there’s never been a better time to give it a try.