Where would a shoe salesman be if he only sold one size of shoe? The truth is that people’s futures are as individually unique as their feet and every annuity package has to be an exact match. People who face retirement have their own needs and specifications, lifestyles and income preferences, plans and motivations. Sell one package, and you’ll be missing the unique needs of 99 percent of your clients most of the time.

That’s a disservice to them and a quick way to fail in the business of selling annuity. Even the way that you approach each client needs to be unique, as every client has his or her own emotions and motivations involved in the annuity process. They respond differently to a variety of approaches. There are really no hard or fast rules about it. The business of annuity selling depends on sharp salesman intuition.

Perhaps a client is swayed by the guaranteed security the regular payments an annuity will provide; perhaps he or she is more interested in making a tax-free contribution towards their future. They may be facing retirement in just a few years; perhaps they’re on the ball, planning early in their careers.

Selling annuity requires an understanding of how people work and a sharp instinct as to how people will respond. There are strategies that can be shared, approaches that can be studied, but at its heart, annuity selling is a natural talent that not everyone has. It requires a special sales approach that’s inviting, welcoming and educational, providing your clients the assets they need to plan for their futures.

To understand where your clients are coming from, ask them what motivates them, what there plans and dreams include for retirement. Find out what they’d like to see in a future. Weigh their dreams; consider their needs. How old are they? Do they have dependent children or other relatives? Do they enjoy a lucrative lifestyle, and what are their prospects?

Let your approach for landing annuity sales be natural, yet understanding. Try to walk in the shoes of their lives and imagine what they must be thinking. The more of an understanding we have of the unique needs of our clients, the more we’ll be able to address their concerns and build a substantial annuity portfolio in the long run.