#1 - THE GOVERNMENT PROGRAM (SUBSIDY) BAIT'N'SWITCH

An advertisement (social media, internet, direct mail) has words like; "You are entitled to a state regulated benefit to pay for all your final expenses. It is important to know how to quality for this benefit which will pay up to $[xxxxx] of your final expenses." 

These types of advertisements are specifically created to prey upon middle-class Americans with little or no knowledge of Final Expense or Burial Insurance.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT - THIS IS THE INDUSTRY STANDARD FOR LEAD GENERATION!

There is some value and some good that can come from these types of advertisements. For people that are not aware of such programs, it can serve the purpose of introducing those people to such products and policies.

My personal issue with this type of advertising is that the relationship with the consumer (potential customer or client) is based upon a LIE, a better term is probably False Premise. Agents are trained and senior agents are highly skilled at overcoming this false premise and selling ice to unsuspecting eskimos. Many agents swear by this method, this is just not for us!

#2 - AGENT REFUSES TO GIVE YOU FULL NAME, CONTACT INFO OR COMPANY

Agree, this is common sense - HOWEVER - there are a couple of reasons why an agent will not share this info. That does NOT mean someone that is unwilling to share that info is a bad person.

This will typically happen on the phone. There are a variety of reasons why an agent will not offer this information over the phone;

• Telemarketing (cold calling) is regulated by the FCC (the FCC's TCPA Act). If someone refused to give last name or company, chances are they are afraid of getting in trouble with the FCC. The agent may actually be unsuspecting but has been trained to not give out this information from managers and superiors. Those managers, thought, CERTAINLY know what is at stake!
• Agents using leads captured from "bait-n-switch" tactics will refuse to share their company info because it can/will "confuse the consumer."  Example: If you completed a form or post card for a "State Regulated Program" and someone calls you from XYZ Financial, the consumer might be confused.

The TCPA requires solicitors provide their name, the name of the person or entity on whose behalf the call is being made, and a telephone number or address at which that person or entity may be contacted."

As per the TCPA, it is in the law that the solicitor must provide this information. SO, if the solicitor is NOT offering that information they are breaking the law. Furthermore, if you ask them and they refuse to provide that information, they are in vehement violation of the law!

#3 - IF PRINTED ADVERTISING OR SOLICITATION DOES NOT HAVE COMPANY NAME OR INFO

This one absolutely KILLS me. It does not matter if the printed material is printed on a piece of direct mail (postcard), Google advertisement or a Facebook post, if you CAN'T trace back the information to a company, brand or individual your privacy is AT RISK!

• Direct Mail - If the ONLY way to contact or get more information on a product or service is to return a piece of mail (postage paid!), be very careful. If there is NO business name, individual name, phone number, address or website than I would recommend NOT sending returning the postcard. You have NO clue who will receive that postcard. In some cases, you name, privacy and contact info is likely being sold as a "lead" to multiple people or businesses!
• Internet or Google Ad - Once again, if you click an ad on Google (or any website) and the page does not have any contact information (official business name, individual name, phone number, address or official website), your information is being collected probably as a bait-n-switch and your info, privacy and contact information is at risk and likely being sold to multiple people and businesses.
• Facebook Post or Ad - This is the new medium and platform for taking advantage of unsuspecting consumers. If/when you see a post or an ad with a button that says "Learn More", "Get Quote" or something similar, then do the following;
  1. CLICK ON THE NAME OF THE BUSINESS
  2. CLICK THE ABOUT TAB - LOOK FOR WEBSITE, CONTACT INFO, PHONE NUMBER, ADDRESS, ETC - If you do not see any contact info, DO NOT SUBMIT THE FORM!
  3. REVIEW THE 'WALL' OR 'PAGE' FOR POSTS AND CONTENT - If you do not see any content or posts, DO NOT SUBMIT THE FORM!

#4 - THE SENIOR BENEFITS CENTER

Another one that PAINS me dearly. Agents that purchase leads from 3rd party marketers and lead sources, typically (99.999% of the time) have NO CLUE ABOUT THE CONTEXT OF HOW THAT LEAD WAS CAPTURED.

In many cases, agent may suspect or know that it was from a bait-n-switch tactic.

The most at risk age group for scams is seniors (we have all read countless articles about this), the oldest trick in the book is to call a senior and say you are from THE SENIOR BENEFITS CENTER.

This is just wrong on so many levels, we could write a 1,000 page novel on this one.

#5 - WE HAVE TO VISIT YOU IN PERSON TO VERIFY YOUR IDENTITY AND HEALTH

Again, this one is used frequently for bait-n-switch tactics. Agents are highly trained and skilled on how to make smooth transitions from the bait to the switch, that transition is done gracefully in person - BUT VERY DIFFICULT TO DO OVER THE PHONE (because you can simply hang up).

An agent or sales professional will use very cagey and aggressive tactics to get you to agree to meet in person. If you ask for information over the phone and they REFUSE to give you any information about the products, services, rates otherwise then here is an easy solutions - HANG UP THE PHONE!

THE TAKEAWAY - Be Vigilant

Take a minute or two and listen to the audio recording below. This audio clip is a real life example of how agents manipulate people over the phone and use aggressive sales tactics (aggressive appointment setting tactics). This is NOT an exception but, unfortunately, rather the rule of how agents are trained.

Chances are that this article will not be very popular with fellow agents. Many agents will listen to this and say; "What's wrong with this?" ... It's wrong on SO MANY LEVELS ... You just have to listen!

This recording is from an insurance company senior Vice President training a room full of agents how to set an appointment from a Facebook Lead (horrible, I know). There is an example from each item in the list above.

0:01-0:04 - "This is Dom from the Senior Benefits Center" - VIOLATION of #'s 1, 2 and 3 above (ad  was for state regulated benefits program, no last name and there is no such thing as Senior Benefits Center).

1:40-1:45 - "Our job is to verify you are who you say you are." - VIOLATION of #5

1:50-1:55 - "I am going to get you the information and check your ID" - VIOLATION of #5

2:10-2:20 - "I don't like all the rules at my job, this is just one of the rules that THEY make me do" - VIOLATION of #1, this is a common tactic taught in many insurance sales training. This is a play off of "State Regulated Final Expense Benefit" which is supposed to make people feel warm and cozy that the agent is on assignment from a government agency, when in fact the sales person is an independently commissioned insurance producer (there is no "THEY").

NOTE: In many cases, including this case, there is no "information to drop off". This is strictly a means to get an appointment to pursue aggressive and predatory sales tactics.

Consider for a minute this is you, consider for a minute it's a relative, a mother, a father or someone else you know. Would you want a loved one to be put through this experience?

Finally, our intention is not to scare you into not doing your research and due diligence when researching where to purchase Final Expense or Burial Insurance.