• "Do you prefer to pay the premium once a year or by ABC monthly bank draft?"


• "When was your last medical checkup?"


• "When is a good time to schedule a physical exam?"


• "Do you want to be billed at home or at the office?"

In each instance, give your prospect a choice. On each minor point, continue to acknowledge both actual response and implied consent by recording them on the application.

Ask your prospect to verify the application.

Asking your prospect to "verify" or "put" his or her name on the application is less threatening to most than asking for a signature. Signing a document conjures up nightmares of never being able to change one's mind. Guard against this by making your prospect feel that signing his or her name to the application is just one more step to be taken, so the application can be processed and the plan put into action.

Once the application is signed, ask for a check whenever the size of the sale allows for it. One of the most important 10 seconds in the entire sales cycle is at hand — when you ask for a check for the initial premium. Again, your attitude and demeanor go a long way in securing your prospect's approval. You want your prospect to know that this is yet another customary step in the process. Later in this unit, we will consider specific techniques you can use if your prospect is reluctant to write the check.

In this section, we have considered the attitude and strategy you should use to close. In effect, your calm, understanding, and enthusiastic attitude is the backdrop for a strategy designed to bring your prospect into a series of decision-making situations that direct him/her toward making the ultimate decision — to write a check that will put your recommended plan to work for your prospect. In the next section, we'll see that there are different routes you can use to get there.