Have you had a friend call out of the blue and say he needs you to help with his or her training with Primerica? Or tells you that the office is hiring and will have a business overview and orientation at a certain place and time? You are probably wondering what to expect, right? What is Primerica exactly, and will the Primerica Representative try to sell you a load of stuff? Well, wonder no more.
Primerica Financial Services was started in 1977 and made a name for itself by selling term life insurance before term life insurance became widespread. It has grown to provide debt consolidation, life insurance, and investments. The company seeks to help people manage their money more wisely and become debt free and financially independent.
Primerica relies on a referral system to obtain names and numbers. Primerica representatives are trained in how to present the business to their friends and relatives as well as get referrals from their clients. Should that fail, a Primerica representative will turn to the cold market and use strategies such as three-footing (talking to anybody within three feet of you) and even cold calling if they have to.
The services Primerica offers tend to help young homeowners who are married and either have or plan to have children. If the prospect is likely to be able to benefit from the services, the Primerica representative will try to set up what is called a KTA, or Kitchen Table Appointment. That is when the Primerica representative (and his trainer if he is just beginning) will set up a time to visit the couple at their home and do a presentation at the kitchen table. However, if the prospect is single, retired, doesn’t own anything, etc, then the Primerica representative will invite the prospect to a “Business Orientation and Overview” which is a fancy term for a basic presentation on what the company is, what they do for people, and how the services work. This is usually held at a Primerica office.
So what is the KTA like? Well, the Primerica representative arrives and greets you, then head to the kitchen table, where everybody pulls up a chair. The Primerica representative starts out with a few basic questions to gage the prospects’ interest in the possibility of joining Primerica. What do you like about your job, and what would you change if you could. And would you take a McDonald’s franchise if a relative handed it to you. Bottom line, would you be interested in building a Primerica franchise?
Then the Primerica representative pulls out a brochure and talks briefly about what the company is; its size, stability, etc. The idea is to just present the facts in the most attractive way. Is this a sales presentation? Well, technically, it is not, but the prospect can choose to be interested in something and the rep will talk more about it. Too many other multi-level marketers will come in and start selling people on a million different items so Primerica has tried a different approach where they educate the prospect on how the company and its products work, then let the prospect initiate a sale on his or her own timing.
Then the Primerica representative explains the company mission, how they help families become financially independent and debt free. The economy, compound interest, and investments are discussed. The rule of 72 is discussed. It is a simple calculation to figure out approximately how many years it takes an amount of money to double based on the interest it is earning. Divide the interest percentage by 72 and that is approximately the number of years it takes for the money to double. For example, with a four percent interest, 72 divided by four equals eighteen. That means in roughly eighteen years the amount of money will double. With an eight percent interest, it doubles in nine years, and has quadrupled by year eighteen.
Then comes Life Insurance. The original idea back in 1977 was buy term and invest the difference. Back then; almost all life insurance was cash value, so the idea really took off. Now buy term and invest the difference has become commonplace. There are advantages to buying term and investing the difference. If you die, you not only have the death benefit but also have the investment. The catch is, when the term ends, so does the life insurance. But with a 30-year term, that pretty much covers the time you really need the life insurance. Hopefully by the time the term ends, the debt consolidation and investments will have you financially sound and not needing any more life insurance. That is what Primerica calls the Theory of Decreasing Responsibility.
The third thing that Primerica does is debt consolidation. It is basically a bit of common sense, consolidate all the little debts that have high interest into the mortgage; basically refinance; saving a load in interest and taxes down the road. (Taxes? Yes, mortgage interest paid is tax deductible!) Any bank can do this for a family. Primerica tries to differentiate them from other banks and financial institutions by teaching the homeowner to reinvest some of the money into paying down the principal of the mortgage and the rest in either a mutual fund or an IRA.
This is when the Primerica Representative pulls the ace out; something called the FNA, or Financial Needs Analysis. There is no charge for it; it is offered with the premise that if the prospect benefits from any of the solutions recommended in the FNA, he or she will give Primerica six names and numbers of other people who would also benefit from Primerica’s services.
The presentation closes with a brief showing of how the Primerica representatives get paid. It sounds real easy. If the representative helps two families a month as a district leader, he earns over 2,000 a month. A Regional Vice President earns another 4K in overrides while doing nothing! What is not said is how hard it is to actually do the groundwork needed.
If the client goes forwards with wanting to have the FNA done, then the Primerica representative will go forwards and fill out a FNA questionnaire where he takes down some financial numbers, statistics and facts. These he will take to the office and figure out which solutions will best help the client.
Is there sales pressure? Not usually. Is it a sales presentation? The goal is to take the FNA and return to sell the prospect on the services. What if the client doesn’t want to do anything? A good trainer or representative will thank the prospect for the time and leave. I have not heard of many Primerica representatives blurring the line here.
The Opportunity meeting is similar to the KTA. It is held every week in a Primerica office, where a vice president or regional leader will present basically the same things that are discussed at the KTA. Afterwards, the Primerica representative who invited the prospect meets with the prospect that fills out a sheet to rate his or her interest in the company or its services.
So this is basically how a Primerica presentation works. I am not trying to sell anyone on the company or its services, nor am I trying to deter anyone from Primerica. I am just trying, as a former representative to honestly tell the facts to dispel the rumors, fears, and misinformation. I hope you find this article helpful.
