New Agent
Field Playbook
Everything you need to run a clean home appointment — from the door to the close. Study it before training, keep it in your back pocket in the field.
Get seated, build trust, become a real person in the home.
Gather health, coverage, resources, and policy details accurately.
Use the Specialist Call, present options, apply, and finish cleanly.
How to use this guide
- Read each step in order. Every step explains what to do, the exact words to say, and what to avoid.
- Use the “Say this” blocks. The gold blocks are your actual scripts. Practice them out loud.
- Test yourself. Hit “Show answer” on each Quick Check only after you've answered in your head.
- Track your progress. Mark steps complete and tick the checklists. The bar on the left fills as you go.
Before You Knock
Prepare yourself so the first few seconds at the door are calm and controlled. The appointment starts before the client opens the door. A new agent who walks up settled and organized already looks like a professional before saying a word.
How to run it
- Review the name and lead to make sure you're at the right address.
- Make sure your phone is charged and your Specialist is reachable before you knock.
- Approach with calm body language. Do not rush, fidget, or shuffle papers on the porch.
- Your first objective is simple: get seated. Do not run the presentation at the door.
- Trying to explain the whole appointment at the door.
- Sounding weak or apologetic instead of calm and professional.
- Letting a small hesitation from the client make you overtalk.
You are at the correct door, your material is ready, and you know the name or household you are visiting.
Before field day, stand up and walk through your opening with your folder in hand. The words should come out naturally before you knock your first door.
Door Approach
The door approach is not the full presentation. Your purpose is to identify yourself, explain the reason for you being there, and move to a seated location where the real conversation can begin.
“Hey maybe you can help me, I'm looking for [Name]. Okay good! Well Mr./Mrs. [Name], my name is [Agent Name] and I am the Benefits Coordinator that got assigned to go over this request you sent us in the mail. It takes us a few minutes, where would you like to sit?”
“Hey maybe you can help me, I'm looking for [Name]. Okay good! Well Mr./Mrs. [Name], my name is [Agent Name] and I am the Benefits Coordinator that got assigned to you, to go over your 2026 State Benefit Programs. It takes us a few minutes, where would you like to sit?”
How to run it
- Keep your voice calm, casual, and confident.
- Do not ask if they want to meet. Assume you are there to help and move toward sitting down.
- If they hesitate, shorten the explanation rather than adding more details.
- Once seated, slow down and begin the connection part of the appointment.
- Talking for two minutes at the door.
- Asking, “Is now a good time?” when you have not earned the conversation yet.
- Explaining products, prices, or insurance before sitting down.
- Standing too far away, looking unsure, or sounding like a solicitor.
You and the client are seated, or moving to a place where you can sit and start a conversation.
Practice the door approach 20 times out loud. Your goal is not speed, it is accuracy and confidence. Call your coach to make sure your door approach is airtight.
FORT
FORT helps the client get comfortable with you before you move into personal information. Your goal is to become a real person in the home, not to interrogate the client. People open up to someone they like and trust. Likability and trust doesn't just happen, it is created through being a decent human.
How long have you been here? Do you have family nearby? Do you get to see your children or grandchildren often?
Are you retired now? What kind of work did you do? How long did you do that?
What do you like to do for fun? Do you still get out much? What keeps you busy these days?
“Alright Mr./Mrs. [Last Name], well like I said at the door, I told you it would only take a few minutes to go over and I want to be respectful of your time. I also have a lot of people to talk to today, so I'm going to go ahead and jump on into it.”
How to run it
- Pick the questions that fit the client and the home. You do not need to force every category.
- Listen for something genuine to connect with. Follow the conversation when it is productive.
- Keep your posture relaxed. Do not stare at your paper while they answer.
- If the client is quiet, don't immediately skip connecting. Be perceptive and try to figure out what they like or what is important to them.
- If the client talks too long, use the transition to protect the appointment flow.
What to capture
- Family decision-makers who may matter later.
- Financial stress, health limitations, or recent life changes mentioned casually.
- Clues about trust level: open conversation, short answers, resistance, or distraction.
- Turning FORT into a checklist interview.
- Talking more than the client. You have two ears one mouth, keep that heavily in mind during FORT.
- Staying in FORT so long that the appointment loses direction.
- Making fake connections or forcing personal stories.
The client has relaxed enough for you to transition to the presentation, or when you've spent about 5-8 minutes connecting. Try to not exceed 10 minutes.
Role-play FORT for five minutes without looking at a script. Practice moving from casual conversation into the transition without sounding abrupt. Do it with your coach at least once before your first field day.
Presentation Opening
The opening tells the client who you are, why you are there, and why the next questions are relevant. This gives structure to the appointment and earns you the right to ask personal questions.
“So again, my name is [Agent Name], and I am your Benefits Coordinator licensed with the [State] Department of Insurance.”
Show your license here.
“My job today is to identify any gaps or vulnerabilities in your situation and make sure you're getting every Freebie, Refund, Entitlement, and Discount you're owed, as a [State] Resident.”
“So the first thing I'm going to do is ask you a couple questions about your health to see how I can help you.”
How to run it
- Speak clearly and do not rush the credibility statement.
- Do not overpromise specific savings or any refund.
- Move directly into health questions after the transition.
- Sounding like you are there only to sell insurance.
- Overexplaining every possible resource before you know the client's situation.
- Skipping credibility and jumping straight into sensitive questions.
The client understands your role. Then just jump straight into it. Mr./Mrs. [Last Name], how old are you today?
Practice the opening until it sounds conversational, not memorized. The client should feel guided, not pitched.
Health Review
The health review exists for one reason: to build a complete, accurate picture that your Specialist can underwrite from the screenshot you send. You are not the underwriter. You do not need to know which carrier takes which condition. Your entire job here is clean capture, so the Specialist never has to make you go back and re-ask in front of the client.
Don't write a drug name by itself. Always ask what they take it for and write it down next to the name. If the client doesn't know, that's okay. However, you should TRY to get the reason it's taken every time.
When were they diagnosed, when was the last event, when was the last treatment or hospitalization? “About when did that happen?” is the most important question you will ask all day.
How to run it
- Ask about current conditions, major diagnoses, dates, recent hospital stays etc.
- Write down every medication and what it is prescribed for.
- Ask about tobacco use, height, weight, recent hospitalizations, surgeries, pending tests, oxygen, mobility issues, and home health care when applicable.
- Slow down and capture extra detail when the client mentions cancer, heart issues, stroke, COPD, diabetes complications, dialysis, dementia, ADL assistance, or unresolved testing.
- If a medication can be used for several conditions, ask what the client takes it for.
What to capture
- Dates: when diagnosed, last treated, last event, last hospitalization.
- Functional limits: oxygen use, wheelchair or scooter, help bathing, dressing, or eating.
- Medication purpose: always try to get the reason, but it's okay if the client doesn't know.
- Rushing medications or writing a name with no reason.
- Assuming what a medication is for.
- Trying to reassure the client that something is “fine” for underwriting. That is the Specialist's call, not yours.
- Skipping dates because the conversation feels uncomfortable.
You have the major conditions with dates, the full medication list with purposes, tobacco status, build information if needed, and any red flags. In short: a completed health chart. All the questions are on there, fill them out. Then once it's filled out, screenshot it and send it to the Specialist.
Practice the two follow-ups until they are automatic: “What do you take that one for?” and “About when did that happen?”
“Okay I've got a good understanding of your health. Who do you have for your health insurance?”
Health Insurance Review
This section connects the health conversation to real out-of-pocket costs. It also creates the natural reason to show the resource guide, because the client has just told you where they are spending money.
How to run it
- Ask who their health insurance is with right now.
- Ask if they are happy with it overall.
- Ask whether they pay anything monthly for it.
- Ask about prescription costs: If they pay out of pocket for any meds, especially if it's over $10/months for all of them combined.
- Ask about vision costs: glasses, contacts, or eye exams.
- Ask about dental costs: cleanings, dentures, extractions, or other work.
- Ask about hearing costs: If they need hearing aids or have had to get some in the past.
What to capture
- Monthly premium or plan cost.
- Pain points: dental, vision, hearing, prescriptions, specialists, or copays.
- Whether they are confused, frustrated, or satisfied with current coverage.
- Skipping vision, dental, and hearing because they feel small. These are exactly where the resource guide helps.
- Promising that a resource will make everything free. It's a discount, not a an insurance plan.
You understand their carrier, satisfaction level, monthly cost, and the main out-of-pocket areas that matter to them.
“Okay, now I'm going to show you some resources that are free to you, and can help you a lot. ”
Essential Senior Resources
The resource guide delivers real value before the life insurance conversation. This is often the part of the visit that earns the client's trust for good, because you are helping them with everyday costs whether or not they ever buy a thing from you. You are not running a long resource appointment. You are showing the categories that fit what they just told you.
How to run it
- Physically show the TAG Essential Senior Resources guide.
- Point to the categories that match what the client just told you in the insurance review.
- Spend more time on resources that fit and less on categories that do not apply.
- Rushing through the resource guide like it does not matter. For many clients this is the most useful part of your visit.
- Spending so long on resources that you lose the appointment flow.
- Overpromising eligibility, savings, or results.
- Failing to connect a resource back to something the client actually mentioned.
The client has seen the relevant resources and you have delivered real value without bogging down the appointment.
“Like I said earlier, I like where you're at with your health insurance, I always say if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I will still leave you the free resources I mentioned, just in case you need them in the future.”
Life Insurance Review
The life insurance review determines what the client currently has, what they believe they have, and whether there are gaps. You are the client's ally reviewing their situation, not someone attacking their current policy.
“That's it with your health insurance, who do you have for your life insurance? ”
“Can you do me a favor and grab that policy for me?”
“Have you been looking around for life insurance, or had any in the past?”
How to run it
- If they have coverage, ask to review the actual policy when available.
- Document company, coverage amount, policy type, premium, cash value, loans, riders, and beneficiary.
- If they cannot locate the policy, complete a phone policy review when appropriate.
- If they do not have coverage, ask if they have been looking for some. The Specialist will still close, don't try to do it yourself.
- Stay positioned as the client's ally. Your job is to understand the policy, not attack it.
What to capture
- Whether the policy is whole life, term, universal life, IUL, accidental, group, or another type.
- Whether the client knows what they have, or is unsure.
- Premium strain, decreasing benefit, term expiration, accidental-only coverage, loans, or cash value.
- You want to fill out your policy review form fully.
- Screenshot it and immediately send it to the Specialist once it's completed.
- Arguing with the client about their current policy.
- Calling a policy or a company bad.
- Trying to make a replacement decision without the Specialist.
- Skipping policy details because the client says they are “covered.”
You know whether they have coverage, what type it appears to be, what they pay, what riders there are, and it has been screenshotted then sent to the Specialist.
“Okay, I think I've got a pretty good understanding of your situation. What I'm going to do now is call one of our product specialists to make sure I leave you in the best spot possible.”
Specialist Call
The Specialist Call is the placement and product-direction checkpoint, and it is the heart of how a brand-new agent can write good business on day one. You are not expected to know carriers or underwriting, or even know how to close. Your job is to hand the Specialist a clean, organized summary so they can direct the case fast.
Send your health questionnaire and policy-review notes to the Specialist before or as you call, so they are reading the same picture you are looking at. This also helps the Specialist look the part because they come prepared.
If your capture in Step 5 was clean, this call is easy. If it was sloppy, this is where it shows.
How to run it
- Introduce the Specialist to the client respectfully.
- Give the client's name and a concise situation summary.
- Walk the health conditions, dates, medications, and medication purposes top to bottom.
- Cover tobacco status, build, recent medical activity, and any red flags.
- Go over the information gathered about their health insurance and life insurance.
- Let the Specialist guide carrier direction and next steps.
- Write down the quote direction the Specialist gives you so you can present options.
What to capture
- Carrier direction.
- Pull up that carriers quote tool and write down 3 options.
- Which quote structure makes sense for the client.
- Giving a scattered summary that makes the Specialist re-ask everything.
- Arguing with the Specialist in front of the client. Text the Specialist if you disagree or don't understand something.
- Presenting quotes before the direction is clear.
When the Specialist has finished giving his recommendation and you know what route to take.
Practice this 60-second summary out loud: age, health conditions with dates, medications and purposes, tobacco, current coverage, budget concern, coverage goal, and any replacement issue.
Quote Presentation
The quote presentation should make the decision simple. Three options prevent confusion and let the client choose based on coverage need and budget.
“Okay Mrs. [Name], you heard Mr./Mrs. [Specialist], we're going to try to get approved for [Carrier]. I've pulled up three options for you.”
A brief option explanation is fine. However, do not go mess up the flow.
“Out of these three options, which one would you like to try to get approved for?”
Then stop talking. Let the client answer first.
How to run it
- Use the Gold, Silver, and Bronze format from TAG's benefit options sheet.
- Present options that fit the client's situation and budget.
- After the option question, pause and let the client answer.
- When they choose, move directly into qualification.
What to capture
- Which premium feels comfortable or uncomfortable.
- Whether they are choosing on budget, coverage amount, or family concern.
- Hesitation that should go back to the Specialist rather than be argued through.
- Talking after you ask the option-close question.
- Overexplaining every option until the client is confused.
- Quoting options obviously outside the client's budget.
- Arguing if the client hesitates instead of clarifying or using the Specialist.
The highest coverage option that still fits the conversation. Most protection, highest premium.
The middle ground. Usually matches their current coverage. A balance of meaningful coverage and a comfortable premium.
The most affordable option. Lowest premium, but lowest coverage.
The average we write is around $15,000. Frame the tiers around that when a client is planning a traditional burial.
The average we write is around $5,000 to $10,000. Size the tiers down accordingly when the client wants cremation.
Always size to what they want. Whether it's a burial, 15k-20k, or a cremation, 5k-10k.
The client has selected an option they want to try to get approved for. If they say anything other than choosing an option, do as follows. "I want to think about it" Okay Mr./Mrs. [Name], I understand that. I'm going to call [Specialist Name] back and let him know we're not going to be submitting the application today.
Practice presenting three options in under two minutes, ending on the option-close question and a pause.
Application Process
The application is framed as qualification, not pressure. Accuracy matters more than speed. Every answer you record needs to match what the client actually told you, because the application is a legal document.
“Perfect. Let's see if we can get you approved for that.”
How to run it
- Read every application question exactly as written and record answers accurately.
- Utilize the health chart you've already filled out. Confirmation of conditions is fine.
- Keep the client calm if an application pends or needs more review.
- Screenshot and text or call Specialist with any application questions that are confusing.
- If you are unsure, ALWAYS check with Specialist. Never guess.
What to capture
- Address and contact information.
- Make sure you're marking tobacco usage if applicable.
- Bank draft date, payment information, and beneficiary details.
- Coaching the client's answers. Never do this.
- Making a pending application sound like a decline.
- Just talking too much. This is the final step to close, just finish it.
Review the company, coverage amount, premium, and draft date. Then complete the before-leaving checklist.
Explain that additional review is required and that you will follow up once a decision is received. Keep it calm and routine.
The application is submitted or pended, and the client understands the current status.
After the Application / Before Leaving
This section protects the client relationship and reduces post-sale confusion. Do not rush out after the application. Finishing cleanly is what turns a sale into a client who keeps the policy and refers you.
“Before I take off, let me go over a few important details with you so you know exactly what to expect from here.”
How to run it
- Leave a written record of company, coverage amount, premium, and draft date when approved.
- Make sure beneficiary information is correct and remind the client to keep it updated.
- Save the client's number, and have the client save your number, before you leave.
- Tell the client the policy typically arrives within 10 to 15 business days and should be kept somewhere safe.
- Tell the client to call you with any questions and reinforce that you are their point of contact.
- Leave appropriate carrier and TAG materials when applicable.
- Leaving before the client understands the draft date.
- Failing to exchange phone numbers.
- Not explaining policy delivery expectations.
- Forgetting the beneficiary reminder.
- Leaving the client unsure who to call.
The client knows the company, coverage, premium, draft date, delivery expectation, your contact information, and what happens next.
Replacement Case Workflow
Replacement cases carry the most risk of anything a new agent will touch, both for the client and for your license. A replacement means cancelling existing coverage and putting new coverage in its place. Done right it can genuinely help a client. The rule is simple: never run a replacement on your own. The Specialist directs every one.
If the client stops paying the old policy and the new application is declined or pends, they can be left with no coverage at all. The old policy stays active until the new coverage is approved, issued, and confirmed.
If the old policy has built cash value, or has a loan against it, that has to be handled correctly. Do not ignore it and do not guess. Surrender paperwork and cash-value handling go through the Specialist and the carrier's process.
How to run it
- Confirm with the Specialist that a replacement is actually appropriate before going further. This is the Specialist's call.
- Complete the required replacement forms for the carrier and state. These are mandatory, not optional.
- If the old policy has cash value and replacement is appropriate, follow the proper surrender paperwork through the carrier.
- Help the client understand how any available cash value may be handled if a surrender is completed.
- Only after the new coverage is properly in force should the old policy be addressed for cancellation.
- Keep copies, notes, and carrier instructions organized.
- Follow up to confirm both the new policy status and the old policy handling after submission.
- Telling the client to cancel old coverage before the new coverage is properly in force. This is the single most damaging mistake you can make.
- Missing or skipping required replacement forms.
- Ignoring cash value or loans on the existing policy.
- Making emotional claims about the old policy instead of reviewing the facts with the Specialist.
- Running any part of a replacement without the Specialist's direction.
Replacement paperwork, surrender paperwork if applicable, draft handling, cash-value handling, and follow-up expectations are all clear, documented, and directed by the Specialist.
Door Objections
These are not meant to turn the appointment into an argument. Keep them short and calm. Your goal is to keep moving toward sitting down.
After the Price: The Handoff
Once the client has seen a price, the close is not your job as a new agent. You have one move, and it is a clean one: surface the stall and hand it to the Specialist. The Specialist knows the products and knows how to help the client make a decision. Trying to freelance a close you are not trained for is how new agents lose otherwise-good cases.
If the client stalls after the price, you do not push. You make the call. Surface what the client said, get the Specialist back on the phone, and let them work it. Then get out of the way.
How to run the handoff
- Stay calm and friendly. A stall is normal and is not a no.
- Acknowledge what the client said without arguing against it.
- Tell the client you will get the Specialist back on the line, and make the call.
- Hand the phone or put the Specialist on speaker and let them take it from there.
- If the client lands on a genuine no, respect it. Thank them, leave them the resource information, and leave the door open.
“Okay, no problem at all. Let me get [Specialist] back on the line real quick so they're not left waiting on the application, and they can answer anything still on your mind.”
Then call the Specialist. Let them work the conversation.
- Do not try to close the client yourself with pressure or a rebuttal you are not trained for.
- Do not talk the client in circles. Make the call instead.
- Do not treat a real, firm no as something to keep pushing against.
- Do not leave without making sure the client still got value from the resources you showed them.
Scenario Practice
Real appointments don't go in a straight line. Work through each situation and pick how you'd respond — you'll get feedback on every choice.
Put the Steps in Order
The order is the system. Put these in the correct door-to-close sequence — drag them on a computer, or use the up/down arrows on a phone or tablet — then check yourself.
Field Readiness Quiz
No peeking. Answer each one, then check why. You're aiming to get these automatic before your first door.
Readiness Summary
Here's where you stand. Aim to complete every step, ace the quiz, and clear your weak spots before your first door.
Keep going
Work through the steps and come back to see your readiness.
New Agent Readiness
You're ready for the field when you can do all of these without reading from the page. Tick them off as you get there.
Door-to-Close Cheat Sheet
The whole appointment at a glance. This is the one to screenshot and keep on your phone.
Run the process: build connection, ask the right questions, gather clean information, use the Specialist Call correctly, and finish professionally. Help the client honestly and the rest follows.