Fact Find
Instructions
Use this section of your Participant’s Guide to take notes and complete activities for the
Fact Find step of the Bankers Life Sales Model. Complete as much of the Participant’s Guide
as you can during the online course, and you will complete any remaining sections during
your live training on Step 2: Fact Find.
You must complete the online course before attending your live session. Live sessions may
be held via remote broadcast or via face-to-face training.
You will see this symbol in your online course to alert you to
an accompanying activity in your Participant’s Guide.
Fact Find Objectives
At the end of this module, you will be able to:
• Describe the purpose of the fact finding step in the Sales Model
• Use open and closed probes to learn more about prospects’ needs
• Compare and contrast the roles of logic and emotion within the sales process
• Practice effective listening skills
• Complete a Fact Finder
Materials Needed/Pre-Work
Before beginning this course, complete the following:
• Acquire a blank Fact Finder from your branch
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Fact Find
Goals of Fact Finding
You have several goals to accomplish during fact finding, including:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Gather information about your prospects.
Plan your strategy for the appointment.
Put your prospects in a buying frame of mind.
Complete the Fact Finder.
Use the next several pages in your Participant’s Guide to
take notes on methods for accomplishing your fact finding
goals, tips from the field, and concepts related to your fact
finding goals.
Goal 1: Gather information about your prospects.
What types of information should you gather?
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Fact Find
Goal 2: Plan your strategy.
During fact finding, you are
getting to know your prospects
and learning about their
thoughts, feelings, and
preferences. You can use this
information to personalize
your presentation to these
prospects and to handle their
objections.
What characteristics can you look for to plan your strategy?
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Fact Find
Complete the chart below with characteristics of logical buyers
versus emotional buyers.
Logical Buyer
Emotional Buyer
Tailor your presentation style to match
your prospects.
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Fact Find
Goal 2: Plan your strategy (continued) – Future Product Needs
How can you apply what you learn during this appointment to
future appointments with these prospects?
Goal 2: Plan your strategy (continued) – True Objections
How does identifying your prospects’ true objections help you
during the appointment?
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Fact Find
What objections should be addressed during fact finding? Why?
What is the process to respond to objections on fact finding?
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Fact Find
Goal 2: Plan your strategy (continued) – Hot Buttons
What is the importance of learning your prospects’ hot buttons?
Goal 3: Put your prospects in a buying frame of mind.
How can fact finding put your prospects in a buying frame of mind?
Goal 4: Complete the Fact Finder.
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Fact Find
Being an Effective Fact Finder
To accomplish your fact finding goals, you must be an effective fact
finder. Being an effective fact finder requires that you continue to
develop your relationship with your prospects; you ask the right
questions; and you listen effectively.
What should you do to continue to develop your relationship with
your prospects?
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Fact Find
Notes on Putting Your Prospects at Ease:
Notes on Asking the Right Questions:
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Fact Find
Notes on Types of Probes
Open Probes
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Closed Probes
Fact Find
Notes on Using Types of Questions
Why are open probes more helpful than closed probes in learning
about your prospect?
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Fact Find
Fact Finding—Open and Closed Probes
There are two types of probes that can be used to learn more about your prospect
and his/her needs. They are open and closed probes.
Open Probes
Use open probes when you want to encourage a prospect to respond freely. An open
probe allows the prospect to voice his/her needs, problems and attitudes.
There are key words that can help you identify an open probe:
“Who …”, “What …”, “When …”, “Where …”, “Why …”, “How …”, and “Tell me …”
Two important open probes to learn:
“Tell me more.” and “Why do you say that?”
Examples:
“How have you planned to handle a long-term care need?”
“How would your children handle the financial burden of your long-term
care?”
“Tell me about your investment strategy.”
Closed Probes
Use a closed probe when you want to limit the prospect’s response. A closed probe
requires a “yes” or “no” response or a choice among alternatives you supply.
There are key words to help identify closed probes:
“Do …”, “Does …”, “Are …”, “Is …”, “Have …”, “Has …”, “Which …”, and “… or …”
Examples:
“Do you currently have life insurance?”
“Are you happy with your current Medicare Supplement coverage?”
“Do you prefer nursing home coverage along with home health care, or only
home health care?”
Closed probes are also very effective for confirming a need. If a prospect states a
need, you can let him/her know you heard what was said by saying:
“Then, what you’re saying is that you think it is important that the cost of
your final expenses be taken care of in advance. Is that right?”
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Fact Find
Activity: Turning Closed Probes into Open Probes
Directions: Reword each of these closed probes to an open probe. When you are
finished, check your answers against the examples on page 28.
Probe #1: “Are you concerned about being able to cover your burial costs or other
final expenses?”
Reworded as an open probe:
Probe #2: “Do you have concerns about your savings and retirement income?”
Reworded as an open probe:
Probe #3: “Are you concerned about becoming an emotional or financial burden to
your children?”
Reworded as an open probe:
Probe #4: “Do you have any desire to provide money for your grandchildren’s college
education?”
Reworded as an open probe:
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Fact Find
Ask Additional Questions
Use open and closed probes to ask follow up questions to those on the
Fact Finder to obtain all of the information that you need. Here is an
example of a question from the health expenses section of the Fact
Finder:
“How might one of these critical illnesses affect your family?”
What follow up questions could you ask?
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Fact Find
Besides the answer to your question, what else should you be
listening for? Use the Field Tips in the online module to help you
with this response.
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Fact Find
What are some examples of hot buttons that your
prospects may have?
What are some tips that can help you be an effective listener?
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Fact Find
Notes on Types of Needs
Realized Needs
Unrealized Needs
Notes:
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Fact Find
The Bankers Life Fact Finder Tool
Use the approved Bankers Life Fact Finder during your sales
appointments to guide you on the questions you should ask, to establish
credibility, and to record information from your appointment.
Notes on Fact Finder Demonstrations
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Fact Find
Completed Fact Finder
The next pages contain the Fact Finder that Gene Chartier completed during the
demonstration.
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Fact Find
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Fact Find
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Fact Find
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Fact Find
What information should be recorded on the Fact
Finder?
Transition from Fact Finder to Present Need (Step 3)
•
Change “health expenses” to the
need for each prospect
After listening to your answers on the
Fact Finder, it seems like health
expenses might be your most
• Obtain agreement from your
important concern. Would you agree?
prospects before moving on to the
next step in the Sales Model
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Fact Find
Additional Notes
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Fact Find
Classroom Debrief (broadcast or at branch)
Following completion of the online Fact Find module, you will move into Stage 2
of Training: the Classroom Debrief. Your Classroom Debrief will be delivered via
classroom (face-to-face) or via broadcast (virtual). Use this section of your
Participant’s Guide for the Classroom Debrief.
What can you do to help yourself feel more comfortable while
asking your prospects personal questions on the Fact Finder?
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Fact Find
Multiple Needs
What do you do if, during fact finding, you uncover multiple needs
to address? Do you address them all in one day?
If not, how do you prioritize the needs to address?
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Fact Find
Multiple Needs
What challenges exist in addressing more than one need during
your appointment?
Assuming all of your prospects’ needs cannot be covered during
the initial visit, when should those other needs be addressed?
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Fact Find
Fact Finding—Using the Prioritization of Needs Ranking Worksheet
1. Bridge from the Fact Finder to the Prioritization of Needs:
“Thanks for answering my questions today. When I take a look at your
situation, my number one recommendation for you is the area of
“______________”.
2. Use the “Prioritization of Needs” worksheet and draw focus to the area you just
identified by saying:
“To better understand your specific concerns when it comes to __________, I’d
like to have you rate your concerns for several specific needs as they relate
to_____________.”
3. Ask the questions and record the answers in that section only.
4. After the section is filled out, continue your bridge statement by saying:
“Thank you. Understanding that ___________ is your number one concern right
now, I would like to share some ideas that can help you eliminate these
concerns. These ideas will provide you with peace of mind, knowing you won’t
have to worry about this anymore.”
Notes
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Fact Find
Fact Finding—Role Play
1. Pair up with a colleague.
2. In this role play, you will complete a Fact Finder with a “prospect.” Your
objective is to ask all questions and write down all of their answers on the
Fact Finder. Be sure to practice using open and closed probes.
3. One of you will be Bob and Helen Anderson (pages 30-31) and the other will
be John and Alice Hemsley (32-33).
4. READ ONLY THE BACKGROUND OF THE PROSPECT YOU ARE
PLAYING. You can use as much as or as little of the information provided to
help you stay in character as the prospect.
5. The role play is finished when each of you has completed the Fact Finder and
ended with the Bridge to Step 3 – Present the Need (see page 23 in your
Participant’s Guide)
Here’s how this exercise will be conducted:
• 2-3 minutes to prepare for round 1
• 30-40 minutes to conduct the role play
• 5 minutes to debrief
• Switch roles and repeat for round 2
Note that when you are in the role of the prospect, you have specific directions on what
and how much information to provide depending on if you are being asked the right type
of open or closed probe. Please stay in character for the entire role play.
What I learned during the role play:
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Fact Find
Prospect Profile: Bob and Helen Anderson
As the role play starts, be sure to avoid being overly forthcoming with information,
because you were hesitant to make the appointment.
Call Background
You recently received a call from an agent with [Bankers Conseco Life Insurance
Company] OR [Bankers Life and Casualty Company]. Although you weren’t anxious to
meet with him/her and are still unclear as to how the agent got your name, you have
agreed to the meeting. The agent seemed to be an honest and sincere person over the
phone, and he/she raised some questions you’ve wondered about concerning the
Medicare coverage you and your wife are now receiving.
Your wife/husband was no more anxious for this meeting but—like you—agrees it would
probably be a good idea to hear what the agent has to say.
FAMILY
Bob is 69 years old; Helen is 67 years old—both are retired
Children
Bob Jr. is a dentist and lives in the same town; wife, Susan, is an occupational therapist
- 44 years old
- 3 children (15, 11 and 9 years old)
Mary is single and teaches in public school; she lives out of state
- 41 years old
- 1 child (14 yrs old)
John works in construction and lives three hours away; wife, Laura, is a stay-at-home mom
- 37 years old
- 2 children (7 and 4 years old)
MEDICAL
• Both have Medicare Parts A & B; yes to prescription coverage (through AARP)
• You are happy with your coverage to date, because you’ve had no problems, but you still
wonder if it is adequate
• Both of you do moderate exercise and take a multi-vitamin
• Bob’s medication:
- Lopressor 25mg—1x a day for high blood pressure
- Lipitor 40 mg—1x day for high cholesterol
• They feel good about their health but can’t get Helen’s sister, Esther, out of your minds;
don’t want to be a burden to each other or the children
LONG-TERM CARE
• You currently have made no plans or arrangements for long-term care for either of you
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Fact Find
•
•
•
•
Helen’s sister, Esther, is the closet person for whom you have direct knowledge of long-term
care issues (major stroke)
Ralph, her husband, is the primary care giver, and family members help as they can
You know Ralph is struggling with the cost of care, but he really won’t talk about it
If long-term care becomes necessary, you want to be able to live as normal of a life
as possible without causing a financial burden or lifestyle change to your spouse or
children
FINAL EXPENSES
• You each have whole life insurance policies with a death benefit of $5,000 each.
They were taken out in the hopes of covering funeral expenses.
• You each have a will that has been reviewed within the last five years
• Want any other monies to go to children for grandkids’ education
RETIREMENT INCOME
• Still paying income tax; want to both increase income AND decrease taxes
• Not concerned about outliving money
• Both get Social Security—Bob about $1,500; Helen around $950
• Bob has a $1,700 per month pension; Helen has none
• There are no other sources of income
• Monthly expenditures include two car payments totaling $400 and a credit card
balance of about $3,700
• Try and put away majority of the remaining income into savings account; usually it’s
$400-500 per month
• Comfortable with all investments except the IRA
• Don’t want to spend it all, so children will have an inheritance
• Details on investments (or make up your own):
- In house for 20 years and mortgage paid off; house is valued at $275,000
- Savings account: $50,900 with ING Direct
 0.25% interest rate
 Money is for grandkids’ college education
- Stocks/bonds: $75,000 in municipal bonds
 3% interest rate
 Bonds mature in two years
 Money is for retirement expenses if needed; if not, then it’s for the
children’s inheritance
- IRA: $18,000 in a Fidelity Roth IRA
 Lost 38% of money when market went down in October ’08
 This year has earned about 5%
 Have been using this money to fund family vacations to Arizona
- CDs: $150,000 in a CD at Bank of America
 1.00% interest rate
 CD is due in two months
 Like the safety of the return; do not plan to use this unless
absolutely necessary
 Money is for inheritance to children
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Fact Find
Prospect Profile: John and Alice Hemsley
As the role play starts, act somewhat surprised as the questions get more personal, but make
sure to open up quickly.
Call Background
Your neighbors, the Goldens, recently referred you to an agent with [Bankers Life and
Casualty Company] OR [Bankers Conseco Life Insurance Company]. They had a good
experience and learned some things about Medicare they were not aware of, so you
thought it would be a good idea to meet with the agent to make sure you know all you
need to know. You really don’t plan on purchasing anything today—you just want to get
information.
FAMILY
•
•
John is 64 years old; Alice is 62 years old
John was laid off from the plant with a good severance package and is contemplating
making this a permanent retirement; Alice still works part-time as a receptionist in a
law office
Children
Susan is a teacher and lives out of state; her husband, Henry, is a local truck driver
– 32 years old
– 2 children (5 and 3 years old)
Janet is a single fitness instructor who lives out of state
- 28 years old
MEDICAL
• Both of you are on your employers’ health plans (John through COBRA)
• John is Medicare-eligible in six months
• You are happy with your coverage and to date you’ve had no problems
• Both do moderate exercise, although Alice struggles with her hip
• John’s medication:
− Multi-vitamin
− A 10 mg generic drug to control blood pressure
• Alice’s Medication:
− Celebrex 200mg—1x a day for arthritis
LONG-TERM CARE
• You currently have no plans for long-term care for either of you
• John’s father was in a nursing home for three months before succumbing to pancreatic
cancer; that is the only experience either of you have had
• You have thought about it but haven’t known what to do
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Fact Find
FINAL EXPENSES
• Both of you have term life policies through your employers, valued at $50,000 each.
John’s will end at age 65 (no conversion) and Alice’s will continue until she retires or
reaches age 65
• No trust fund
• You each have a will but you cannot remember when they were last reviewed
• Want any leftover money to be split between your daughters
RETIREMENT INCOME
• Ten-year home equity loan with four years left ; in house for 30 years
• Still paying income tax
• Want to both increase income AND decrease taxes
• Alice’s income is $1,600 per month
• John’s equivalent income from severance is $900 per month
• Somewhat concerned about outliving money
• John will start Social Security in six months and receive $2,250 per month
• Monthly expenditures include home equity loan payment of $800 per month and
some credit card balance—all total about $2,100
• Try to put away any remaining income into savings account—usually it’s $100-200
per month
• Don’t want to spend it because have not thought about what future may hold
• Details on investments (or make up your own):
- Savings account: $70,000 with TD Waterhouse
 0.25% interest rate
 Money is for immediate needs
- IRA: $60,000 with the Plant Managed Fund (you think Wells Fargo)
 Lost over 40% of money when market went down in October ’08
 This year have recovered about 11% of what was lost
- CDs: $35,000 in a CD at Citibank
 1.0% interest rate
 CD just rolled over for another 12 months
 Likes the safety of the return
- Unless needed sooner, part of the money is for a vacation when Alice retires
- Rental property—no mortgage, receives $650 per month in rent, property taxes
are $1,800 per year
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Fact Find
Fact Finding: Additional Notes
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Fact Find
Fact Finding—Example Answers for Turning Closed Probes into Open
Probes
Here are some example answers.
Probe #1
“Are you concerned about being able to cover your burial costs or other final
expenses?”
Example open probe:
“Tell me about your concerns regarding adequate coverage for your burial or
other final expenses.”
Probe #2
“Do you have concerns about your savings and retirement income?”
Example open probe:
“What are your concerns about your savings and retirement income?”
Probe #3
“Are you concerned about becoming an emotional or financial burden to your
children?”
Example open probe:
“What are your feelings about the possibility of becoming an emotional or
financial burden to your children?”
Probe #4
“Do you have any desire to provide money for your grandchildren’s college
education?”
Example open probe:
“How do you feel about providing money for your grandchildren’s college
education?”
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Fact Find
Fact Finding—How Do You Know if You’re Doing Great Fact Finding?
To help you self-evaluate your fact finding technique, ask each of the following
questions when debriefing an interview. Also, keep these questions in mind
before you begin fact finding to help you steadily improve your conduct of this
important process.
1. Did I ask all the questions and record the prospects’ answers as closely to
verbatim as possible?
2. What questions did I ask—and what answers did I record—that told me what
their concerns are?
3. What questions did I ask—and what answers did I record—that led me to
identify a specific product, and particular features of it, that address the
prospects’ concerns?
4. What questions did I ask—and what answers did I record—that told me why it
is important for the prospects to take these concerns out of their lives? (Your
answers to this question will identify the prospects’ dominant emotional
buying motives. You can use your knowledge of these motives in handling
objections and closing the sale.)
6. What financial data did I gather that allowed me to determine whether the
clients will fund the policy from current income or by repositioning assets?
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Fact Find
Fact Finding: Notes from the Field
Use this space to record your observations and experiences from the field. You
may want to note tactics, questions asked, and issues that you witnessed that
you would like to incorporate into your business.
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