Just a few months ago Tony Houston was stewing over all the changes coming to Medicare and how they would impact the growth of his business. He is still stewing about Medicare but has become significantly distracted in the last few weeks. His story is another one of taking a risk and stepping outside your comfort zone and finding it’s really not that uncomfortable after all.
Reading time: 8 minutes
Tony Houston ended up on Redbird’s doorstep a few months ago for a reason. And, that reason is taking shape in a big way. This is a good story.
What we first loved about Tony was how a room turned instantly positive when he was around. He has a laugh like St. Nick and a positive outlook that is off the charts. It would have been easy to dismiss him as simply a happy guy who’s had a good career and wants to start winding his way out of the rat race. But, we felt there was something left under his hood.
There was. His mind, heart and mouth weren’t exactly on the same page. He told us all he needed from Redbird were a couple of Final Expense products to augment his primary day job which was selling Medicare products. But, as much as he tried to convince us he wasn’t looking to re-charge his career, the more we talked the more his wheels started spinning.
“When I first got involved with Redbird and started going to some of the training I could see the emphasis on retirement products like annuities,” Tony said. “I said to myself, ‘I want nothing to do with annuities.’ But, I’m listening to Redbird and others talking about things they are doing and I quickly realized that I’ve been giving away business for years.”
“Everything for me now is Services Offered. If you’re not doing Services Offered then you’re just shooting yourself in the foot. It’s surprising the information flying out of my mouth that Drew have been telling me. I’m having fun with this.”
-Tony Houston
In so many words, Tony admitted he was scared to change. He had fallen into a well-worn path of leading with what he knew—Medicare—and then as so many do, walking away from the customer, never to be heard from again.
“If someone wanted an annuity I passed them to a friend,” Tony said. “I didn’t know how. You just have to not be afraid to pull the paper out. You can say you’re not afraid but when you get in front of the client things seem to change.”
The “paper” is Redbird’s Services Offered.
“It’s so easy,” Tony says. “What I’ve been doing is reacquainting myself with people I’ve sold to in the past. After a good warm-up I go through Services Offered. I first tell them I’m not there to sell them anything. I’ll always ask if they know of someone that might be interested in what I’m doing. And, pretty soon they just start talking: ‘I’ve got this and that …’
“I went to see a customer yesterday who told me she has an IRA that she really wants to move. We were talking about the market and she is worried about a correction. I pulled out Redbird’s Thumbprint and I asked her those few simple questions that help get a discussion going. She told me she has $50,000 and wants to move it. She also has several other accounts.”
What started as a process to get Tony to open his mind to opportunities other than Medicare has turned into a recruiting poster for Redbird.
“You guys (Redbird) have shown me how. You’ve given me a roadmap, a path to run on,” Tony says. “So what if don’t know anything about some of those things in Services Offered. Who cares? I do the Thumbprint and then I call Redbird to get help. What I don’t know I get help with. As I learn more I can start cutting the apron strings.
“Everything for me now is Services Offered. If you’re not doing Services Offered then you’re just shooting yourself in the foot. It’s surprising the information flying out of my mouth that Drew have been telling me. I’m having fun with this.”
Tony also has a new trick he uses with his Redbird business card.
“I hand out the business card and immediately show them the back side first (with a list of Redbird’s Services Offered). Then I tell them my contact information is on the other side. It’s just amazing to me.
“I see a whole new revenue stream.”
Product of the week: Allianz Life Pro +
How many of your clients would be interested in discussing a product that offers tax-free retirement and will pay them while they are still alive?
Enough said. You need to dig into Allianz Life Pro +. It’s an excellent Tax-Free Retirement product for ages 20-60 and sometimes older. No one knows what taxes will be in the future and Life Pro can provide peace of mind for those clients smart enough to worry about it today.
Take the time to dig into this. Call 866-547-8780 and talk to either Drew Gurley, ext. 102.
Benefit opportunities:
- Fixed Indexed Universal Life
- 16% cap
- Tax deferred cash accumulation
- Tax-free retirement income
- Multiple indexing options
- Chronic illness rider
- Terminal illness rider
- Accelerated LTC rider
- Children’s term rider
- Issues ages: 18-80
Redbird Chirps
- Get on the social media bus. It’s easy to dismiss Twitter, Facebook and others as not relevant to what we do in business. The good news if you’re reading this: the vast majority of sales people in financial services think just like that. We found this story about Twitter from Financial Social Media and dug into their website. Yeah, nothing worth having is free, but it’s a resource worth considering if you’re like us and you know a snowball gathering steam when you see it. Sign up for their newsletter by clicking here.
- Benefits getting new life. This story features data from research conducted by Prudential Financial. While the subjects of the research are larger companies, we can use the information as discussion starters for companies we approach. Healthcare is on everyone’s mind and adding value with things like voluntary benefits is gaining steam. Full article
