The Veteran Call, start to finish

“Hey, is this John? … John, this is Mike over at the Veterans Benefit Center. How you doing today?”

ThemI'm alright. Who's this again?

“Mike. I'm the guy who handles the paperwork you sent in for the veteran burial and will kit benefits. Nothing scary, I just gotta confirm a couple things with you.”

Smile. Talk slow. You're a neighbor calling, not a call center.

WhyThe first ten seconds decide if they stay on. Casual beats formal every single time.

“So you sent in a card asking about the burial benefits and the will kit for veterans, right?”

GET A VERBAL YES BEFORE YOU MOVE ON.

FIND THE COMMON GROUND

“So what branch were you in? … How many years did you do? … Where'd they station you?”

ThemArmy, four years, mostly Fort Hood.

“No kidding. I talk to a lot of Army guys. What'd you do after you got out?”

Let them talk. Do not interrupt. Take notes on names, kids, jobs, hobbies.

WhyPeople buy from people who listened first. Every detail here comes back in the close.

SET YOUR AUTHORITY

“Real quick so you know who you're talking to. I'm licensed, I only work with veterans and their families, and my whole job is making sure you know what you've got coming and what you don't. I'm not here to talk you into anything.”

“Fair enough?”

TIE-DOWN. WAIT FOR THE WORD "YES."

“I'm gonna text you a link real quick. Tap it and you'll see my screen. You don't gotta turn your camera on, nobody wants that.”

ThemOkay, hang on… alright I see something.

“You see the blue page that says Veterans Benefit Center? Perfect.”

SET THE AGENDA

“Here's how this goes. Three things. One, I show you your certificate and your guide. Two, I ask you some questions so I know what you already have. Three, I show you what the VA actually covers and where the holes are. Then you tell me if any of it makes sense for your family. Sound fair?”

TIE-DOWN. "SOUND FAIR?" GET THE VERBAL.

WhyAn agreed agenda kills the "how long is this gonna take" objection before it shows up.

“First thing, this is yours. It's a no-cost accidental death policy from the association. Two thousand dollars, no medical questions, it's just a thank you for serving.”

“Who do you want listed as the beneficiary on that?”

ThemMy wife, Linda.

Type Linda's name on screen while they watch. Slow down so they see it happen.

WhyYou just gave them something for free and made them name the person they're protecting. That name is your close.

“Alright, Linda's on there. That's done and it's yours no matter what happens the rest of this call.”

“This is the will kit you asked about. It's where you write down your accounts, your passwords, your wishes, who gets what. When something happens, your family opens one folder instead of digging through the house for six months.”

“Have you and Linda ever written any of this down?”

1. Show page one, the personal information sheet.
2. Show the accounts and bills page.
3. Show the funeral wishes page.
4. Show the where-my-documents-are page.

“I'll email you this whole thing when we're done. Sound good?”

DISCOVERY

“Now the questions. Do you have any life insurance right now?”

ThemYeah, I've got some through work.

“Okay, good. How much is it?”

“And is that the kind that follows you if you retire or leave, or does it stop when the job stops?”

Ask it flat, no attitude. Let the silence do the work.

WhyDoubt has to come from their own mouth. If you tell them their coverage is bad, they defend it. If they say it, they own it.

DOUBT CREATION

“Let me ask you this. If you were 72 and retired, would that work policy still be there?”

ThemHonestly, I don't know.

“That's the answer most guys give me. And here's the thing, most people pass away in their seventies and eighties, not while they're still working. So the coverage is there when you don't need it and gone when you do.”

“Does that make sense?”

TIE-DOWN. "DOES THAT MAKE SENSE?" GET THE VERBAL.

“What about SGLI or VGLI, did you keep any of that after you got out?”

“Last one on this. If something happened to you tomorrow, what would Linda actually have to work with?”

Shut up completely after this question. Let it be uncomfortable.

“So the kit tells your family what you want. It doesn't pay for it. Those are two different problems.”

“The kit says, I want to be buried at the national cemetery next to my dad. The money is what actually gets you there.”

“Make sense so far?”

WhyThis is the bridge from the free thing to the paid thing. If you skip it, the offer later feels like a bait and switch.

“Alright, here's what the VA actually does. You get a plot at a national cemetery if there's room, you get the headstone, you get the flag, and you get the folded flag ceremony.”

“For a non service connected death, the burial allowance is around nine hundred bucks. That's it.”

ThemNine hundred? I thought it was way more than that.

“Everybody thinks that. And a funeral right now runs between nine and fifteen thousand once you count the service, the vault, the transport, the death certificates, all of it.”

1. VA burial allowance, non service connected: about $900.
2. Average full funeral cost today: $9,000 to $15,000.
3. The gap your family covers: $8,000 to $14,000, usually within one week.

“And here's the part nobody tells you. A lot of the national cemeteries near big cities are closed to new casket burials. So Linda might be driving three hours to visit you, or paying for a private plot at six or seven grand.”

“You following me on that?”

TIE-DOWN. GET THE VERBAL BEFORE YOU MOVE.

“Now I gotta ask a few health questions so I know what you actually qualify for. Nothing invasive, it's the same stuff on the application.”

1. Date of birth and height and weight.
2. Tobacco or nicotine in the last 12 months.
3. Any heart attack, stroke, cancer, or COPD, and when.
4. Diabetes, and is it pills or insulin.
5. Current medications, name and what for.
6. Any hospital stays in the last two years.

Write everything down exactly as they say it. Do not guess on meds.

NEEDS ANALYSIS

“Outside the funeral, is there anything else you'd want covered? Any car note, credit cards, a mortgage balance?”

“And would you want to leave Linda anything to live on, or just enough to bury you and settle up?”

ThemI'd want her to have a little cushion.

“Okay. So we're looking at the funeral, the final bills, and a cushion for Linda. That's the plan we're building.”

“I'm gonna run your numbers right now so you're not guessing. Watch my screen.”

“Based on your age and your health, here's what it looks like. I'll show you three so you can see the range, not just one.”

1. Option A, the full plan that covers everything you said.
2. Option B, the middle, covers the funeral and the bills.
3. Option C, the starter, covers the funeral only.

“These are locked in for life. The price never goes up and the coverage never goes down, and it's yours whether you're working or not.”

“Does that make sense?”

WhyLevel premium and never-expires are the two things their work policy and VGLI can't say. Say both here.

“Now look, I'm not gonna pick for you. This is your family, your money. My job is to show you what's real and let you decide.”

“Of those three, which one feels closest to what you had in mind?”

Then stop talking. Whoever speaks first loses this one.

“Let's talk about the number, because I know that's what's in your head.”

“This one comes out to about a dollar forty a day. That's a large coffee, or half a pack of smokes, or one lunch a week.”

“And what it does is turn a fourteen thousand dollar problem for Linda into zero. She makes one phone call and the check's there in a few days.”

“When you look at it that way, is that something that fits in your budget?”

TIE-DOWN. WAIT. DO NOT FILL THE SILENCE.

“Alright John, based on everything you told me, I'd put you on the middle one. It covers the funeral, it clears the bills, and it leaves Linda a cushion. Are you okay with that one?”

WhyYou recommend one. Undecided people don't buy from a menu, they buy from a recommendation.

“This takes about ten minutes. I'll read you each question, you just tell me yes or no.”

1. Confirm legal name, address, date of birth, Social.
2. Confirm beneficiary and the relationship.
3. Run the health questions exactly as written.
4. Set the draft date, tie it to their deposit day.
5. Read the disclosures out loud.
6. Get the voice signature or the e-signature.

“Couple things so nothing surprises you. You'll get a welcome packet in about ten days. The first draft comes out on the date we set. And you've got 30 days to look it over, if you hate it you get every dollar back.”

“Fair enough?”

“Last thing and then I'll let you go. You know how the VA never actually calls anybody about this stuff? Who are two or three veterans you know that nobody's ever explained this to?”

Ask for names, not permission. Wait through the silence.

“Alright, I sent it. Do me a favor and just hit reply and type "Thanks" so Dave sees it came from you.”

ThemDone.

“Appreciate you, John. That one text just took care of Dave's family too.”

WhyA referral texted live with the veteran watching converts several times better than a name you call cold next week.

DO ALL OF THIS BEFORE YOUR NEXT DIAL.

1. Email the Family Information Guide and the AD&D certificate.
2. Log the sale and the referral names in the CRM.
3. Set a callback for day 3 to confirm the packet arrived.
4. Set a callback for day 10 to confirm the first draft.
5. Text the referrals within 24 hours while the intro is warm.
6. Send a handwritten thank you card if you have the address.

Persistency is the whole business. The day-3 and day-10 calls are why your policies stay on the books.