Could you please put a hand in the air if you’ve ever had a client ask you to cancel a policy? Could you please put your other hand in the air if you’ve ever had a client ask you to reduce a policy?

I’m guessing if we have 8,000 people here today, there are currently 16,000 hands in the air!

So, what do you say when you get that call, and the client says, “Could you please cancel my policy?” or “Could you please reduce my sum assured?” Some of us have been taught to respond with a question, something like, “May I ask why you want to do that?” or “Has something changed that led to that decision?” Others will have learned to restate the value of the cover: “Do you remember why we arranged this cover?”

Then it comes down to whether they tell you to do as they’ve asked or you tell them to keep it.

Typically, though, most people have a good reason to ask for a cancellation or reduction, and their mind is usually made up, and the business is lost.

I’d like you to all try something different the next time you get that phone call. The next time you get that call, put a big smile on your face, because people can hear that smile through the phone, and say, “No, I can’t do that.”

Let’s practice that together. Please say after me, in your own language, “No, I can’t do that.”

Can we try it one more time? “No, I can’t do that.”

I always leave a little break here to hear the reaction. And the reaction doesn’t really matter because it’s what you say next that’s important.

I say, “I’m not going to do that because I have no idea about what’s going on inside you right now. And what will you do if there is something bad happening inside you that you don’t know about, and in six months’ time you realize that what you just asked me to do was the worst financial decision you will ever make?”

I say, “Before we make any changes, I want you to have a comprehensive medical. This will do two things. First, something might be found. It might be catastrophic, or it might not be too bad, but it gives you the opportunity to make the decision knowing all the facts and possible consequences. Second, if all is well, it allows you to make your changes knowing you’ve done the right thing.”

Sometimes, though, it will do a whole lot more. I’d like to share with you the story of my friend, Cam.

Cam called one day and said, “Guy, my trauma insurance is costing too much. I want to reduce it from the current $720,000 to $250,000.” So I responded with “No, I can’t do that.” He said, “Why,” and I explained it to him. Cam is a clever man, and he understood it was good advice, so he said, “OK, I’ll call when I get the all-clear.”

About three weeks later I got a text on a Thursday from Cam saying, “I don’t have cancer. I’m booked in for an ECG next Monday, and then we can reduce the cover.” I texted back, “Great news. Tell me how the ECG goes.”

On Monday evening I got another text. All it said was “My quadruple bypass is scheduled for Wednesday.”

I called him in his hospital bed, and he told me he’d been on the treadmill for about 45 seconds when they shut it off, sat him down and said, “This isn’t good.” After a few more tests, they told him they had no option but to operate and wheeled him straight into a bed in the adjoining hospital.

So Cam got his wish to have his premiums reduced. His premiums and cover both disappeared, and a short time later we arranged for $720,000 to be transferred into his bank account.

And why did all this happen? Because I said, and please say it with me, “No, I can’t do that.”

But do you know what the real reward was? Cam took me for a nice lunch, and that was good because someone with that much money in their pocket buys really tasty wine and lots of it.

At the end of the lunch when we were both pretty mellow, Cam said, “Guy, there’s something I haven’t shared with you. The surgeon told me that if I hadn’t had that ECG, within six months I would have been dead.”

How cool is that? I got him lots of money and saved his life.

None of us are in this business to just sell insurance or investments. We’re here to look after our clients. They lean on us.

So, the next time someone says to you, “I want to cancel my insurance” or “I want to reduce my insurance,” what are you going to say?

“No, I can’t do that.”

Guy Munro Mankey is a 16-year MDRT member with two Court of the Table and eight Top of the Table qualifications. As founder and CEO of PAX Financial Group, he has worked with personal and corporate clients since 1979. He has received the national Practice and Adviser of the Year honors as well as the CEO award for industry contributions. Mankey has workshopped his innovative ideas to advisors throughout the world including MDRT’s Main Platform and Top of the Table.