Allow me to share with you some valuable learning, which I received from attending the MDRT meetings, and which I have used in my practice. Thank you, MDRT, for giving us this platform where ideas are generously shared.

As financial professionals, we know how important successful engagement is. Connecting with our clients on a deeper level is the best way to build trust and long-term loyalty.

Studies conclude that 90 percent of purchase decisions rely heavily on senses and emotions. When I speak the language of the heart, I stir the emotions, imaginations and intellect. When I ask questions, my intention is not just to know my clients better, but for them to know themselves better. This may be the only time my clients get to realize what matters to them — the desires of their hearts, their dreams, pain points, fears, relationships with their loved ones, their business and even their relationship with their money.

When I speak the language of the heart, I get to extract their life story, and there I successfully create a massive connection.

Allow me to share some powerful questions and thought-provoking statements I use to effectively connect and successfully move my prospects to action:

Breadwinner prospect: “When was the last time you and your spouse sat down to talk about the event called ‘death of the breadwinner’?”

Here, I am speaking on behalf of your widow, your orphans. Hear us well. Please do something.

Business owner prospect: “When was the last time you took the longest vacation? How was the communication? What if this time the vacation is for life, with ‘no return ticket,’ zero form of communication? How will the business run without you?”

Life insurance is risk management. Transfer the risk from a business that may not be able to take the impact of a grave loss to a company that can.

Critical illness prospect: “Do you know a loved one or someone close to you who recently suffered from a critical illness? How did the family cope with it emotionally, financially?”

Critical illness coverage doesn’t do anything to help the patient live, but it can do something to help him or her survive. Don’t let a health crisis become a money crisis.

Retirement prospect: “How prepared are you to meet the older you? Does this thought excite you or cause you dread?

Life is full of important goals. Make the rest of your life the best of your life. Retirement could be the longest holiday of your life or the longest nightmare of your life.

When I ask the right questions, I know once I hit the heart, the head will follow. My prospects don’t buy my products or my solutions. They say yes because of that encounter that warms their hearts.

Making them the hero of their life story, that “feeling good,” enables them to make peaceful, emotional decisions. It’s a “yes” to one of their most important decisions in life — their journey to a financially healthier and happier version of themselves.

When I speak the language of the heart, does this guarantee me winning the sale? Not really. But it is a miracle pill that moves my practice to a higher level of productivity.

Cristine T. Tan, RFC, LUTCF, is a 16-year MDRT member with one Court of the Table qualification. The chairman and agency leader of Synergia Insurance Agency Inc., she has more than 20 years of financial planning experience under her belt. Her team’s advocacy is to bring every Filipino home to a more secured ground.