Regardless of the life insurance market you choose to work activity is the key to success. Meaning having people to talk too is what we all need, and the more the better. Understanding how lead campaigns work will maximize your income and reduce your expenses.

Those people that are generated from leads be they referrals, purchased, or both. They are generated through lead campaigns which include seminars, directmail, telemarketed, internet, pre-approach letters, and your skills at gaining referrals.

In talking with agents about leads the questions I am asked are all over the board. Questions such as “What are the returns I can expect,” “What is the closing ratio,” “What’s the cost,” and, believe or not, “How good are they?”

Any IMO, recruiter, upline manager who spits out an answer to these questions leaving you with the impression that their leads are the best around is lying to you. Let me explain taking on these questions one by one.

Consumers are no longer willing to settle for a product just because a life insurance professional says it's a good choice. Most customers these days aren't necessarily looking for products at all.

"Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants, so long as it is black."

This famous quote by Henry Ford reveals his strategy for mass producing the Model T and launching the great industrial juggernaut of the early 20^th century. For almost 100 years, this attitude also defined the baseline strategy of most life insurance sales organizations.

The biggest sale you will ever make in your career is to yourself. Before your clients buy from you, you have to believe in your message. Your No. 1 priority is to believe in what you do.

You are important: Why? Because many of our institutions may not be able to keep the promises they have made to the American people. The federal government may be forced to cut benefits for programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. State and local governments could reduce or eliminate pensions and promised health insurance benefits.