The best clients an agency can have are the ones who stay. Establishing a long-term relationship isn’t automatic, but it should be the goal of every advisor-client interaction. That’s why a high persistency rate is one of the six criteria for the MDRT Culture of Excellence Awards. 

Persistency is much more than a bottom-line accounting number. It's a key indicator of client satisfaction, advisor effectiveness and overall agency health. The following MDRT Center members qualified for a Culture of Excellence Award based partially on meeting the persistency criterion — achieving an agencywide, 13th-month persistency rate of 90% or greater. 

This year’s winners took different approaches to reaching high persistency. Some held specific training on the topics, while others focused more on general best practices that are likely to lead to persistency.  

Collectively, their responses reflect a consensus: Persistency is influenced more by ethical, client-focused practices and long-term relationship building than by short-term sales tactics. Examining these responses, it becomes clear that persistency is not just about preventing policy lapses, but also about creating a business model and culture that naturally lead to long-lasting client relationships. 

Read on to learn specific strategies. 

The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.      

Emphasize relationships 

Right from the get-go, when we onboard a new advisor, we tend to give them a big-picture approach to the career. We help them understand that to be able to build a successful practice, you want to build good-quality business with, say, 250 clients. 

Instead of going for transactions or a person's actions, we reposition that to building relationships, which results in a lot of repeat business coming from the client. 

Because of that, I think the agents understand that they need to do full fact-finding. They need to be able to justify their recommendations. They go through a more laborious approach to the business, which tends to keep the persistency very high. 

Vincent Gan, ChFC, CLU; Singapore; Platinum Agency; vincentgan@thevinceproject.com 

Outline client cash flow 

When we do planning for our clients, No. 1, we talk about sustainability in terms of premiums. We look at long-term strategic planning. Are they able to pay continuously for the next 10 to 25 years? Most of my clients are paying 25-year premium plans. 

Therefore, we start with cash flow. After paying off liabilities, taxes and expenses, how much does a client have as disposable income? Within that, how do we allocate effectively for the client to make sure that they have good wealth protection? How much can you then save and invest? If the clients see that they have a surplus, persistency will not be an issue. 

Jaslyn Ng, CLU, ChFC; Singapore; Platinum Agency; jaslynng@pruadviser.com.sg 

Make ethical choices 

High persistency is normal at our agency. It fluctuates 1% or 2%, but in general, we have persistency over 90%. I think it boils back to training. I think it’s part of culture, too. We're not churning. We're not out there doing bad business. We're doing good, sound, ethical business. When you do needs-based selling, the coverage has a purpose, so people aren't going to cancel that. They're not going to have buyer’s remorse because it's needs-based but budget-minded. That way, you didn't overspend the client, and they're not going cancel the policy.   

Chris Stark, FICF, CLTC; United States; Platinum Agency; chris.stark@kofc.org                      

Educate clients 

When we look at persistency in our agency, the sales cycle is an education cycle. We're educating clients on a need. If they agree to that need, our company has some pretty great products. Our products will sell themselves if that education process is there. 

If we're asking the right questions, the right product is going to be promoted for that individual. When we tailor a product to a person as opposed to blanketing them with coverage, the chances of that staying on our books is much higher.   

Mark Stice, FIC, CLTC; United States; Gold Agency; mark.stice@kofc.org 

Stay connected to clients 

After sales service, after policy service, we come back to our clients every three months to update and to see them. We plan social activities. We have movies for clients and their families. We have dinners. We do a lot to engage with clients and to help them, which makes us different from other advisors in the country. That's why most of the clients love to continue their policy — because they love our service, the best service to our clients.  

Another thing: Every morning, I have a summary of market investments that I send to all the advisors in my group. It's very easy to complete and send out. The advisors, in turn, send it to all their clients. Some clients read the report and respond with, "It's a good message for my health,” or “It's a good message for the investment in the market." Then the advisor can say, “If you are free, come see me to upgrade or update your policy.”  

Pornprapa Sukreepirom; Thailand; Platinum Agency; wealthy-group@hotmail.com     

Take a client-centric approach 

Fundamentally doing the right thing and selling ethically leads to greater persistency. Strategically, good persistency comes from having a client-centric approach. In our agency, we focus on helping our advisors target the right audience and building relationship-engaging activities and communications. I think that helps in a way holistically — not just selling — but at the same time keeping up with the relationship over the long term, turning clients into good policyholders, and turning the relationship toward friendship and a partner in life. 

Tricia Tan, CLU, ChFC; Singapore; Gold Agency; triciatan@pruadviser.com.sg 

Do comprehensive planning 

First, I always tell everyone who joins me that we need to plan properly for clients. And that we’re in this all the way until we retire. That means we will do fact-finding first as a standard thing and must make sure that they have the budget to plug in whatever gaps they have. Then, we come up with a recommendation. If you’re doing this right, and you’re doing it for the client and not for your own commission, then your persistency naturally will come into place because clients will not lapse their plans. 

Nobody does product selling. We don't just go and sell one plan. We do comprehensive planning. It's not done just in one sitting either. It always begins with a yearly review with the client. From there, when there's additional income or an additional amount they can set aside, that's where we plan more, and we build their portfolio. Clients appreciate that. They know they won't see me just for this year. They’ll see me next year and the year after.  

Jaden Wang, ChFC/S; Singapore; Platinum Agency; jadenwang@apaofficial.sg