One question we have heard over the years from agents is, “Why should I care about my client’s estate planning?” I have several thoughts on this from my observations over the years.
Most importantly, proactively engaging with your client’s estate planning deepens and strengthens the relationship between the client and the agent. Your business, like mine, has become highly competitive. Everyone is looking for the edge to gain more clients and keep the ones they already have. We have found that building personal relationships can go a long way to building a successful business.
Why Should You Ask Your Client About Their Estate?
There are a few different reasons why you should bring up estate planning with your client. This includes:
- It shows the client that you care about them as more than just a policy to sell and maintain.
- You learn more about the client’s personal situation. Often, you learn about the family and the client’s assets.
- You often get to personally meet and learn about the whole family. You broaden your relationship beyond just the family member who set up the policy. Knowing the spouse and children can go a long way to maintaining and increasing the business with the family.
The result is that you end up being more of a family advisor than just the insurance agent that provides their home and auto insurance. Clients will contact you when they have significant life events such as the birth of a child or grandchild, change of job, and retirement.
Stating the obvious, while it may not immediately lead to additional business with the client, in the long run, it can help grow and keep your business with the client. Often through the estate planning process, and because you are more connected to the client, you find out:
- The client has just bought a rental house and needs coverage.
- The client has a new child and now needs some life insurance.
- The client and business partners all need life insurance to fund a buy-sell agreement.
- The client is retiring and needs to roll out the 401k account from the company to an IRA account somewhere.
The most common comment I hear from the client is that no one else cared enough about them to discuss estate planning. Not their accountant, investment advisor, or another advisor.
All of this helps keep the client when a competitor tempts them with seemingly lower rates. It can be the relationship that you have with the client that keeps and grows the business.
Experienced Nashville Estate Planning Attorneys
Discussing estate planning with your client has great benefits for both of you. Everyone needs to get their estate planning in order, but many often neglect to do so because they don’t realize how important it is. If you’re looking to build better, long-lasting relationships with your client, be sure to ask about their estate plans to show that you care about their best interests.
At MHPS, our estate planning attorneys have experience helping many people plan their estate carefully to ensure their futures are protected. Contact us today to learn more about our estate planning services and how they can help.
