When it comes to sales training, not all programs are created equal. This applies especially to an area as crowded as the financial products space, which includes insurance, annuities, mutual funds, etc. In a universe where products are often as indistinguishable as they are odd, it takes solid training and solid support to be able to convey how a product is at once unique but also not so unique that has no place in a client’s risk management portfolio. Annuity selling systems are offered by most large underwriters and marketers, but just as there are ways to discern bad products from good ones, there are also ways to tell a good system from a bad one; you just have to kick the tires a bit.

First, consider the support you will be getting, because if you are a normal salesperson, chances are you will need it. Leads, alas, do not fall out of the sky like rain, and so a selling system that integrates a system of annuity leads will be instrumental in your success. If you won’t have access to good leads, you won’t sell as much – no matter how good the product is.

Next, consider how good the product is. Is it unique? Does it add value to something that is already out there to make it better? In the annuity world, leverage and downside protection are two features that make variable products especially unique, as does access to a wide range of underlying investments like currencies, commodities, or other investment strategies.

The third you thing should look for in an annuity selling system is a commitment to the customer on the part of underwriter or product wholesaler. Companies that spend all of their time developing salespeople to manipulate are not customers that last – as the recent financial crisis has shown us quite poignantly. Instead, companies that show their salespeople how to actually help their customers, either by providing more solutions or simply by providing timely free advice, is a way to make clients happy and build a lasting relationship that will assist the business’s growth fare more than sleazy pitches.

Last, consider the established target market. Is the company a college start-up geared to help you sell to college students? If so, do you think you can realistically sell enough to make a living? Do you think the product is suited to that market? A good selling system will integrate all the important aspects of making clients happy and delivering results to the agent that will trickle down to the company’s bottom line: a winning situation for everyone.