Most of us rush through the year with our busy lives, families, and work, giving little thought as to the “what if’s” that could impact our lifestyle. During the upcoming Holiday Season, we are rushing to buy gifts, prepare meals and get our homes ready for gatherings and may forget what the “True Thanksgiving” really is. Of course, the meaning of Thanksgiving is different for everyone. This leads to the point of a “True Thanksgiving” and the opportunity to protect your customers, their families and their livelihood from unforeseen life events that may change the course of their financial future forever.
As the season starts to get hectic and the branch starts to get busy, it’s important to remember that each customer should have the same opportunity of knowing how they can protect their loan. Slow down and think about how, in the event of death or disability, this could financially impact either the customer sitting in front of you or the one you’re speaking to on the telephone. Educate everyone as to how an absence of Payment Protection may turn a temporary loss of income into a catastrophic situation that would impact them the rest of their lives.
Ask yourself this question, “If I was not informed of the opportunity to protect my loan, and lost my income due to death or disability, how would I feel?” The answer would be “upset”. Upset that you weren’t given the opportunity to say “yes” or “no”. Don’t make that decision for them. Open the dialogue and explain that you would like to share how they can protect this loan and their financial well-being. Don’t hesitate to ask these tough questions:
- In the event of your death, who would you like to receive the title of the vehicle?
The purpose of this question is for them to give you a name of someone they want to protect; therefore, when you offer Payment Protection, you can explain that with this protection, this is what will happen.
- In the event of disability, when your income may be reduced, who will be responsible for making the payments on this loan and how would it impact that individual?
The purpose of this question is to slow them down enough to think about how the decision they are making could financially impact not only themselves but whoever would be responsible for their estate.
Don’t let the hustle and bustle of the holidays prevent you from taking the time and showing your customer the meaning of “True Thanksgiving”. Protecting their loan is something they may be truly thankful for.
For Internal Training Use Only