1. Buying Atmosphere Approach – Part II
Rick Katz
Director, Business Markets Development
AIG Advanced Sales
AIG
In the last module, we discussed creating a buying atmosphere by using a 3 step process called the M-O-D process. M is for Manage the buyer’s expectations. O is for Overcoming the reasons for the client’s reluctance to even go through the process. And, D is to Demonstrate the agent’s suitability, competency and credibility in being the right person to help the client to plan ahead. In this module, module 13, we will discuss another method of creating a buying atmosphere. After all, clients love to buy but don’t typically like to be sold. We will explore using a predictable, proven sales process that is client-centric called DDRR. Discuss, Discover, Reveal & React.
Module 2.5
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2. Disclosure
Advanced Markets is a marketing unit of American General Life Insurance Company (AGL), a member of American International Group, Inc. (AIG). No representation or warranty, express or implied, is made by AGL or its affiliates as to the completeness of the information provided. All companies mentioned, their employees, financial professionals and other representatives are not authorized to give legal, tax or accounting advice. Applicable laws and regulations are subject to change and individuals should consult an attorney, tax advisor or accountant. Any tax statements in this material are not intended to suggest the avoidance of U.S. federal, state or local tax penalties. Policies issued by American General Life Insurance Company (AGL) Houston, TX except in New York, where issued by The United States Life Insurance Company un the City of New York (US Life). Issuing companies AGL and US Life are responsible for financial obligations of insurance products and are a member of American International Group, Inc. (AIG). Guarantees are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. Products may not be available in all states and product features may vary by state.
AGLC © AIG All rights reserved.
As a reminder, AIG does not provide any legal or tax advice. A client should seek their own advice from a tax and/or legal professional.
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3. Opening
Life is what happens to us while we are busy making other plans
Allen Saunders
A goal without a plan is just a wish!
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all is a form of planning.
Gloria Steinem
Allen Saunders, a comic strip author and journalist, was credited with saying, “Life is what happens to us while we are busy making other plans.” Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was also a very interesting person. Most famous for authoring Le Petit Prince – The Little Prince, he was also a pilot before and during World War II. He said, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” How poignant. Finally, Gloria Steinem, the infamous feminist and social activist said, “Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all is a form of planning.” While some of these statements seem to contradict each other, I believe they compliment each other. Planning begins with dreaming but doesn’t end with dreaming. One first has to contemplate and discuss to what they aspire, then, they have to discover what they have already done to achieve this goal or dream. Only then can you reveal what still needs to be done and plan how you will act and react. That is what planning ahead is all about.
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4. Creating a Buying Atmosphere
Planning ahead can allow a business owner to achieve greater success
Planning ahead can allow their life and business to unfold as they picture it
There are priorities every business owner shares, with different levels of importance and priority.
By following a planning process, the dynamic plan can be developed to make it happen rather than let it happen.
So, why is it crucial for you to create a buying atmosphere? That’s simple, it is to engage your business owner client in a process to plan ahead. Only then can he or she put together a strategy so life has the best chance to unfold as they picture it. Planning ahead can allow a business owner to achieve greater success. Planning ahead can allow their life and business to unfold as they picture it. There are priorities every business owner shares, with different levels of importance and priority. By following a planning process, the dynamic plan can be developed to make it happen rather than let it happen. You are ideally suited to facilitate this process for your client. By remaining focused on helping your client, the life insurance purchase becomes  an easy part of the process.
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5. Creating a Buying Atmosphere – The D-D-R-R Planning Process
Discuss what the owner wants to happen
Discover what has been done about it
Reveal after analysis, what still needs to be done
React nothing changes until you change actions
Let’s start by defining the process to plan ahead. We call it the DDRR Planning Process. Earlier, I shared an introduction to a client that eliminates the selling atmosphere. “Mr or Mrs. Client, I have no idea if or how I can help you. Because, I don’t know you. I don’t know what you care about or what you have done about it. But, I do know that if you plan ahead, typically, you will have better results and live a more enjoyable life than those who wing it. Don’t you agree?” You see, you are a financial professional with a process that will assist your client in planning ahead. It has 4 steps, which are DISCUSS – what the owner wants to happen in their life and for their business. DISCOVER – what has been done about it up until this point in time. REVEAL – after analysis, what still needs to be done to accomplish what we have discussed. Finally, REACT – after all, nothing changes until you change your actions.
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6. The DDRR Planning Process Discuss - Discover - Reveal - React
What does the owner want to happen?
Use Priority Profile to determine priorities
Your Business
Your People
Your Family
DISCUSS is all about what the owner wants to happen in their life and for their business. It may be a good idea to assist the business owner in addressing several priority topics so they can get an idea of what is most important to them and when it may be important to them. The scope of our interest as a planner includes their goals and aspirations for their business, their people and their family. The priority profile is a consistent way to expose your client to several key topics, issues and challenges that can often benefit greatly from advanced planning.
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7. The DDRR Planning Process Discuss - Discover - Reveal - React
Here is a sampling of the Priority Profile for business owners. It is broken into the three categories, Business, People and Family. Each section presents topics that the owner can choose how important the issue is to them and when the issue will be most relevant. For example, under the Business category, there are 5 topics. Protect the company, which refers to the loss of a key person. Is this important to them? How important is it and when will it begin to be most relevant? Number 2 is, successor training, which is really a response to successor readiness. While the owner picked the successor, is he or she really up to the task? Does the team agree? Perhaps successor training could assist in making the transition as smooth and successful as possible. Number 3 is a merger with a competitor. Are they considering this strategy? How seriously? Next is bringing on another owner, most likely prior to the owner’s departure. This could be from the outside or from the inside. A new leader or perhaps a new investor. Finally, do they plan on selling the business in order to extract their equity out of the business? Have they done any exit planning. Is this important to them? When will it be most important? Relevant topics are also presented regarding the people in the business and the owner’s family.
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8. The DDRR Planning Process Discuss - Discover - Reveal - React
What has the business owner done about it?
Use Business Owner Supplement to accumulate data
Entity & Ownership Info
Plan Documents
Funding Arrangements
Coordination with tax and legal advisers
The second stage of the planning process is the Discover stage. Now that the business owner has identified goals, aspirations and challenges, what has been done about it? We must now discover this. You can use the Business Owner Supplement to accumulate the data and values of the owner. Important information must be captured including their type of entity, ownership of the business, plan documents for any existing planning. Are there any funding arrangements already made for these goals. Do they own investments, lines of credit, other assets and more. It will also be essential that we collaborate our efforts with their other tax and legal professionals. If they don’t already have relationships with these professionals, it is your opportunity to introduce them to competent, trusted advisers.
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9. The DDRR Planning Process Discuss - Discover - Reveal - React
This is what the Business Owner Supplement looks like. It is not only a good aid in accumulating the data, it also presents questions that can help with the feelings and values of your client. It is important that you gather quantifiable and expressive information about your client. The Business Owner Supplement can and should be used in conjunction with the Advanced Planning questionnaire. We have now discussed what the client wants and have discovered what they have done about it.
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10. The DDRR Planning Process Discuss - Discover - Reveal - React
After analysis, what still needs to be done?
What are the recommendations
What tax and legal considerations have been recommended?
What documents must be developed and executed?
Are accumulation and/or insurance policies necessary?
How long for the transition to the on-schedule status?
Now it is time for you to conduct an analysis of all this information to determine a reasonable courses of action. These are your recommendations. For example, if you discuss a retirement income goal of $100,000 a year and you discover all of their benefits and savings will generate $60,000 of income when they want it. You will REVEAL recommendations that will provide the additional $40,000 a year in retirement income. Or, you may reveal an alternative plan that still allows them to live the life they have pictured. What do your recommendations include? Be sure to address the legal and tax considerations. Do they need any documents developed and executed? Is life insurance a potential solution to their issue? Is an accumulation product better than a pure protection product? What is the proposed timetable for the roll out and execution of the plan? How long will it take to be on track? While this is all very important, nothing changes and they are not necessarily any closer to their goals until the next step.
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11. The DDRR Planning Process Discuss - Discover - Reveal - React
Nothing changes until you take a new action
What will you do next?
Embrace recommendations, begin implementation
Embrace recommendations but stretch on-time schedule
Modify goals and recommendations for new considerations
Dismiss recommendations and continue on current path
REACT. After all, nothing changes until you take a new action or your circumstances change. Mr or Mrs client, what will you DO next? Like the old saying goes, you can do everything, do something or do nothing. In other words, you can embrace all of the recommendations and begin implementation. Or, you can embrace the recommendations but stretch the on-time schedule to take a bit slower approach. You can modify your goals and recommendations for new considerations, which may be easier to accept and implement. Or, you can dismiss the recommendations and continue on your current path. Even if you reject the recommendations, you are reacting. From the planner's perspective, remember the famous quote from Dr. Wayne Dyer, “When you change the way you look at things, what you look at changes.” Perhaps your process has disrupted them to look at these issues differently. Perhaps their NO means not now.
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12. Creating a Buying Atmosphere – The D-D-R-R Planning Process
Discuss what the owner wants to happen
Must determine their priorities and timing
Discover what has been done about it
Allows owner to reflect on level of accomplishment to date
Reveal after analysis, what still needs to be done
Numbers reveal deficiencies of current path, but new ability to achieve
React nothing changes until you change actions
Ability to adapt actions, timetable and goals
We explained that it crucial for you to create a buying atmosphere to better engage your business owner client in a process to plan ahead. Only then can they put together a strategy so life has the best chance to unfold as they picture it. Planning ahead will allow a business owner to achieve greater success. Planning ahead will allow their life, and business, unfold as they picture it. There are priorities every business owner shares, with different levels of importance and priority. We use a logical 4 step process called DDRR. Discuss what the owner wants to happen. Which helps them determine their priorities and timing. Discover what they have done about successfully accomplishing the goal. This allows the owner to reflect on the level of accomplishment to date and their current trajectory towards the goal. Following analysis, the reveal is what still needs to be done. The numbers reveal deficiencies of their current path and the opportunities to exceed expectations. Finally, it is time to react. After all, nothing changes until you change your actions. This will give the control and ability to adapt actions, timetables and goals to have the best outcome possible.
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13. Next Steps
On your next three client appointments, share the DDRR process
Ask your clients to plan ahead in a formal way to have better results
Collaborate the analysis in between the Discover and Reveal steps
Share your experience with the AIG Business Development Institute
Next module: Values Based Factfinder – Part I
Time for action. On your next three client appointments, share the DDRR process. Ask your clients to plan ahead in a formal way to have better results. Collaborate the analysis in between the Discover and Reveal steps. Review your own experience. Did this process make it easier to engage your client? Did it simplify the presentation process and improve your ability to close the deal? Share your experience with the AIG Business Development Institute so we can continue to improve our training and processes. After you have done all of this, follow the direction on the back of your shampoo bottle – repeat! Pick 3 more client appointments and do it again.
In the next module, Values Based Discovery, Part 1, we will address the process of discovering the goals of the business owner regarding the first 3 of the 7 Topics for business owners. Getting out of business, Key Person and Estate Planning.
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14. Questions or Comments? AIG Advanced Markets Business Development Institute BDI@aig.com 855-323-6923
If you have any comments, questions or feedback about this module or anything else regarding the AIG Business Development Institute, please contact us by at Or, you can call our AIG Advanced Sales team at This is Rick Katz for AIG’s Business Development Institute. Remember, the more small business owners you help, the more successful you will be.
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