What Qualities Do Successful Life Insurance Agents Share?

September 15, 2022

A career as a life insurance agent is not for everyone, but it is a career that includes anyone, regardless of your socio-economic standing, your level of education, and your background.

People who sell life insurance generally agree this job requires diligence, hard work, mental toughness, and resiliency.

You also hear them sing the praises of being boss of their time, schedule, and potential earning power.

This article delves into the characteristics, personality and habits a life insurance agent demonstrates to live a successful and rewarding career.

You can begin with taking one or more of personality assessments that are marketed to identifying a sales personality. There are several available.

One assessment is the Myers Briggs Type Indicator.¹ It is an instrument that helps a person understand why they resist some types of work, people or environment and why they are drawn or attracted to other types of work, people or environment.

Explore the world of life insurance sales:

• Find a few successful life insurance agents, ones who have been in the industry for more than a decade.
• Ask them questions.
• Perhaps, shadow them for the day and see what their sales day look like.

Both methods may help you make a good determination.

Qualities and Characteristics

Someone suited to sales is usually outgoing or likes meeting people. There are other qualities and characteristics that play an important role in building a successful career.

Listed below are the top 7:

1. Drive or motivation - It’s critical you have the inner drive and motivation that gets you up every day with your eyes on the prize and the worthy causes of insurance sales.

2. Patience - Selling is more of a long game than a short one. Being patient with results is part of the success of career insurance agents.

3. Good listener - The stereotype of a person selling is they talk most of the time, telling the potential client about the product. In reality, good insurance agents do more asking and listening. Listening is more than with the ears. It is keeping your attention on what the person is saying, the words they use, and the tone of voice.

4. Persuasive - Persuading comes in different forms. You may use information, facts, and statistics to persuade a potential client. Persuasion may be more behavioral, as in appealing to a client’s real needs and desire to protect and take care of family members and loved ones.

5. Crusaders of good - A life insurance agent is more than a body selling a product. You might call a life insurance agent a crusader of good.  An agent informs people, assists them in choices regarding life insurance, and helps them find the right policy for them and their family, for their security and for the transfer of wealth, especially for the underserved market.

6. Resilient - Keep getting up and out the door each day, believing in the efforts and the reasons you sell life insurance. A really good life insurance company trains their agents and has a system that has proven to work. Work the system, keep a positive attitude and keep smiling!

7. Provide solutions to questions not asked - A successful life insurance agent listens and also asks the questions that haven’t been asked. You are the expert in life insurance, so provide solutions to the client they may not have even thought of, such as unforeseen events or building future funds within a life insurance policy.

Good Habits are the Cornerstone for Success

A well-suited sales personality is important and equally important is establishing good habits with your work and clients.

• Organization - It’s important to keep the administration portion of your business organized and up to date. Efficiency and thoroughness allow you to concentrate and spend time doing what you love- meeting people and selling life insurance.

• Intentional goals - Goal making and selling are intertwined. You want to be the top agent for the year? You want to sell a large amount of insurance per week? All good and worthy goals! In the beginning create smaller and reachable goals; it sets you up to succeed consistently, and then continue on your path to those big goals. 

• Preparedness - The night before you start your Monday calls, assemble all the materials and information. When you begin your calls or head out the door in the morning, your mind will be clear and armed with commitment and motivation.

• Consistency - This is a key to any success in any career, but especially in sales. Consistency builds good habits, trust, and a solid reputation.

• Keeping good notes - is an easy way to remember details about your clients’ and their families. It helps you with talking points and builds a positive business relationship. 

Show up for your clients.

Build your relationships. Showing up means going the extra mile for your clients. Maybe it’s delivering the policy yourself, checking on a family member who may have been ill, or celebrating a family event. You showing up instills trust, caring, and loyalty, as well as great word of mouth references. Your clients will help build your business each year!

Stay sharp and in the learning curve

Successful life insurance agents are always looking for ways to raise the bar in self-improvement. They may read or listen to books that inspire or instruct them.

They also sharpen their skills working with other sharp and successful agents.

Rewards of your efforts

After reading this blog, you hopefully feel confident about your next steps in the career of life insurance. It’s a great career. Let’s wrap this up with the great reasons and rewards of a successful life insurance agent:

• Flexibility-Autonomy
• Unlimited growth of finances
• Long-term clients
• Solid reputation
• Positive impact on others’ lives

Sources:
https://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/