Have you ever heard that most people spend more time planning a vacation than their retirement?I have a new one. Most annuity agents are not business owners and they spend more time planning a vacation than developing a marketing plan and setting goals.Our partners hopefully don’t reflect that statement and I know for sure most of you don’t. Here is an email I got from one of our partners today. What you see in this email is how dreams become reality.

It never ceases to amaze me how securities firms spend so much time designing products to try and mimic the lifetime income benefits of fixed indexed annuities and lifetime income benefit riders. So much wasted energy is spent designing investment strategies when the solution is right in front of their faces. You have to wonder if these guys ever climb out of their box to find out what we already know.

How do you sell millions in annuities? How do you grow your business?Annuity sales is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. Establish a marketing budget and increase it constantly. Even if you start out modestly, say $1,500 per month, and increased your budget by $100 per month your annuity lead budget would more than double in two years to over $3,900. That budget, in most cases, would be enough money to run a Safe Money Radio show and buy six Pre-Qualified Leads or two Annuity.com Lead orders.

See the article linked below and pay special attention to the text, “… those clients received $107,350.97 in bonuses and paid $122,630.24 in surrender penalties, according to the order.”Illinois Securities Regulators Treat Indexed Annuities as Securities

How would you define the process of selling annuities?

One of the ways I define it is as, “The process of eliminating question marks.”

Are you credible? Yes, I work in association with Annuity.com and I am the host of Safe Money Radio in Denver, Colorado? (Use whatever credibility you have as long as it is legitimate. No fake designations.)

Helping your client find liquid accounts where they can store their emergency money provides a value added service. This will build trust and confidence with your client and prove that you are looking out for more than just their safe money income funds.

Fixed and fixed indexed annuity complaints have all but gone away in recent years. If you go back to 2007 one carrier that starts with an “A” had around 35 complaints in Colorado (the state I live in) and this year none. Although not as drastic, other carriers have seen their complaints greatly decrease or disappear completely. How is that possible with fixed and fixed indexed sales increasing?

Indexed annuity cap rates are dropping like rocks. Most notably, North American has seen major cap reductions on their Charter Series and other products.

Do cap rates matter to indexed annuity sales? Some agents seem to have a hard time selling indexed annuities if cap rates are “low” (See article linked below).

Marrion: Low Caps Hurting Indexed Annuity Sales

Why are variable annuities at risk for the guaranteed benefits they provide to their policy holders?

It has to do with taking money vs. holding money. When an insurance company sells a variable annuity they take a client’s money and give it to someone else. That “someone else” is usually a stock or bond mutual fund. Therefore, the only way a variable annuity insurance company can make money is to charge fees on the premium as it “passes through their hands”.

In March this year I had the privilege of listen to Jack Marion, founder of Advantage Compendium, Ltd., speak at the American Equity conference in Las Vegas. He is a true champion and defender of our industry. Below is a link to his website. There is more information about annuities and their real life comparisons to other investment options than any one person could possibly absorb.He also has some great articles that debase the annuity bashing articles we have seen lately.http://www.indexannuity.org/index.html