Another long Major League Baseball season has come to a close. The Kansas City Royals won the World Series for the first time in 30 years! I was fascinated by just how well this team played without any real superstar players. I got to thinking about how what they accomplished actually relates closely to what we do in our industry. You may think I’m crazy, but just hang in there with me, and you’ll see how we can use this with our clients.
Step 1: I want you to watch this brand new video that was created by our great partners at Allianz. This video talks about the legendary home run hitter Babe Ruth. As prolific as Ruth was in hitting homers, he actually struck out twice as many times as he hit home runs! What’s the lesson? Smart teams surround their power hitters with guys who can get on base by hitting singles, doubles and the occasional triple!
Step 2: Want proof of what I’m talking about? Take a look at the Kansas City Royals this year. They won the World Series 4 games to 1 against a really hot New York Mets team. How? The Royals had a total of 47 hits over the course of the 5-game series. How many of those hits cleared the fence for a Home Run? ONLY ONE! They won the World Series handily by hitting singles and doubles and also drawing a total of 17 walks. In other words, they got on base by any means necessary. They had a total of 197 at bats, and only struck out 37 times. Getting on base is a positive outcome. The frequency of their positive outcomes (lots of singles and getting on base) made more difference than the magnitude of each individual positive outcome (i.e. hitting a homer). Pretty darn good especially when you consider that the Mets struck out 46 times in 181 at bats. The team that gets more hits while limiting their strike outs almost always wins!
Step 3: Defense! The Kansas City Royals played a terrific defensive game. They only committed 2 errors over the 5-game series! Their pitching was solid as well. The Royals’ ERA was a meager 2.94, while the Mets had an ERA of over 4!
Step 4: Think about the products that you offer to your clients – fixed indexed annuities and fixed indexed universal life insurance. These two products are designed in such a way that you will earn credited interest gains, but probably never hit the proverbial “Home Run” the way that you might in the market. However, all those singles doubles, and the occasional triple can add up. And part of the reason why is because you’ll never strike out! Your credited interest is locked in each year, and you’ll never go below 0% – you’ll never lose money due to a market decline. These products play great defense, just like the Royals did. When external market factors and market volatility are against you, FIAs and FIUL are like a great bullpen and defensive players to help you protect your lead late in the game – as you’ve probably heard said when it comes to these products, ZERO IS YOUR HERO!
So what have we learned? Getting on base consistently (modest gains) and avoiding strikeouts (losing money) is a winning formula! Just ask the Kansas City Royals or any of the thousands of people who are satisfied owners of a fixed indexed annuity or fixed indexed universal life policy.
And what are you going to do? Send an email to all your clients with the link to this video! Here’s how – just copy and paste the text below into an email, BCC all your clients and prospects, and hit send! Go out and be the Coach that your prospects and clients need! Times are tough and there is a lot of uncertainty out there. You can help them win the World Series of Retirement!
SAMPLE EMAIL:
Dear [CLIENT NAME],
I hope this finds you well! As fall rolls along, another baseball season has come to a close, with the Kansas City Royals winning the World Series for the first time in 30 years. Whether or not you’re a baseball fan, that’s pretty amazing! The Royals won by playing what many analysts of the game call “small ball.” They hit very few home runs (only 1 in the series!), but they also avoided striking out and were able to get on base frequently with singles and doubles. “So what?” you may be thinking. “Why is he telling me all this?”
Here’s why. Believe it or not, this could have a direct application to how you save and plan for retirement. I know, sounds crazy, but bear with me. I recently saw a great video that illustrates this concept and explains how I can help you hit more singles and doubles, while avoiding the devastating strikeouts of the market. Also, it’s only 3 minutes long!
Take just 3 minutes and watch it now by clicking here, then give me a call or email me back if you’d like to take a look at how this might work for you. There’s no such thing as a perfect product, perfect plan, or one-size-fits-all, but together I can help you achieve the right balance to make your retirement more secure. Hope to speak with you soon!
Warm Regards,
[AGENT NAME]