Help & Support Topics
Click on the topic link below for help with that topic:
Training & Support on the Thrive® Software
Understanding the Thrive® Solution Process
Training on the Thrive® Sales Method
Frequently Asked Questions
You can find a list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) on the Home page under FAQ. The FAQ provides a robust list of over sixty common questions based on the experiences of many users. The FAQ questions are arranged into the following topic areas:
- Help & Support
- Computer Hardware & Software
- Thrive® Software Application
- Accessing Cases and Scenarios
- “Buckets” and Quotes
- Results & Proposals
- System Availability
- Historical Documentation
You should take a few minutes to review the Index of Questions found in the first 3 pages of the FAQ. This will familiarize you with the specific questions for which you can find detailed answers in the FAQ.
Getting Started with Thrive®
There are two key documents found under Getting Started on the Home page that will help you get started with the Thrive® application:
- Overview of the Thrive® Process – This is a 3-page overview of the six steps you go through for every Thrive® case, from Client Fact Finder to producing a Thrive® Proposal.
- Thrive® Software Quick-Start Illustrated User-Guide – This step-by-step, illustrated guide is ideal for the new Thrive® user and explains screen-by-screen and field-by-field: how to login-in, enter a new case and scenario, request a preliminary quote and enter the quote details, then produce results and a Thrive® proposal.
Thrive® Software Features
To get detailed context sensitive help for every screen and every field, button, tab and icon on every screen in the Thrive® system, click on the Show Help link on the middle of the right hand side of the screen. The Show Help feature is under development and we appreciate your patience.
Training & Support on the Thrive® Software
In addition to the resources indicated in the help sections on FAQ, Getting Started with Thrive® and the Thrive® Software Features, you can find a wealth of resources in the Training & Support section of the Materials menu. This includes an in-depth video training module that you can watch in your quiet-time to help you get quickly up to speed and master the software.
Understanding the Thrive® Solution Process
You can find help and an overview of the Thrive® Process in the topic called Getting Started with Thrive®. In addition, here is some additional information on certain aspects of the Process:
- Thrive® Client Fact Finder – You can download the Fact Finder from the Marketing section of the Materials menu.
- Understanding the Thrive® 3-Bucket Method – Download this 3-page explanation of the 3-bucket method that is used by Thrive® to determine the combination of income annuities which are used to solve the client’s after-tax income gap. The document is found in the Training & Support section of the Marketing menu.
- Annuity Quotes – Please see the help topic Annuity Quotes in this help section for a discussion of this topic and the role annuity quotes play in the Thrive® process. You can also find a considerable amount of detailed help on the topic of annuity quotes in the Buckets and Quotes section of the FAQ.
- Results & Proposals – You can find considerable detail on this topic in the Results & Proposals section of the FAQ.
- Top 10 Objections – You can download this document from the Marketing sections of the Materials menu. It will provide you with a handy discussion of the ten most frequently heard objections from advisors and clients. The Thrive® solution provides a methodology for allocating a portfolio to income annuities and accumulation products in a manner that is entirely consistent with the needs of the consumer as expressed in the Thrive® Client Fact Finder. Naturally, one may expect that there may be legitimate questions about how the details of the Thrive® solution. This document will help you answer these commonly asked questions.
Annuity Quotes
Annuity quotes are an integral part of the Thrive® Process. For some producers, this may be an area where there is less expertise relative to other annuity topics. Annuity quotes deserve special discourse here, especially regarding how they are incorporated into the Thrive® system.
The Thrive® system presents you with a Preliminary Quote Request screen when it is in the middle of solving the results for a scenario and just before calculating and presenting those results. It arrives at this point because it needs to receive certain data regarding the cost of guaranteed income streams that are utilized in its computations regarding the characteristics and definitions of various Wheat buckets.
The Thrive® system is not directly connected to any carrier’s annuity quote engines, but is connected to the industry-standard Cannex income annuity qote platform through Crump. The Cannex platform does not provide quotes for all annuity carriers but there are several carriers whose quotes may be available. You will see the Get Cannex Quote button on the quote request screen just above the quote input fields. You simply click on that button to get instant quotes from Cannex.
The Thrive® system therefore stops at the Quote Request screen to provide you with the option of either using the instant quotes available from Cannex or to request quotes for the carrier(s) whose income annuity products you wish to sell if that carrier is not available on Cannex. In the latter case, you must input quotes manually into the system. You will get to the quote request screen, typically immediately after completing all of the inputs for a scenario.
You must request the quotes from the Crump annuity sales desk or use the Cannex quotes. You should not guess at this information. You must have real quotes from real carriers in order to produce legitimate Thrive® results.
We have made the process of requesting quotes as easy as possible for you in cases where you want quotes that are not available from Cannex. There is a View Quote Form button on the quote request screen. You should use this button to obtain a PDF version of the screen. You can print the request to fax it or you can email it to the Crump annuity desk. You can find the contact information for Crump on the Contact Us link found on the bottom of each screen of the system.
Just remember that after you enter the carriers’ quotes you receive from Crump or from the Cannex window, the results are presented in the next step. The quote screen is not the final result; it is an intermediate result only. Some users contact their Crump wholesaler to say that the Quote Request screen does not appear to solve the scenario – this screen does not represent the solution – it is not until you get to the Results screen that you will find the solution for the scenario and you will also be able to produce a proposal. In addition, all quotes needed on the quote request screen are for $1000 per month … the system automatically scales the quotes up or down for the actual amount of income needed in the solution … there is no need to call the Crump annuity desk to indicate that your client needs more or less than $1000 per month!
Thus you must first enter all the requested quote information exactly as specified on the quote request screen in order to get to the Thrive® solution on the Scenario Results screen or to obtain the Thrive® Proposal!
If you need detailed help while you are on the Quote Request screen, just click on the blue question mark (?) symbol and a pop-up help screen will appear.
Sales & Marketing Materials
You can find all of the compliance-approved sales and marketing pieces in the Marketing section of the Materials menu. You should explore this section to become aware of the extensive list of materials that are available for your use.
Training on the Thrive® Sales Method
You can find all of the available compliance-approved training and support resources in the Training & Support section of the Materials menu. You should explore that section to become aware of the extensive list of resources that are available for your use. This includes materials, PowerPoint decks, videos, success stories, case studies and other training and support formats. You should also explore Curtis’ Corner under the Materials menu where we will provide up to the minute tips about Thrive® techniques, gleaned from the most successful advisors.
Administration of Your Thrive® Account
One of the first things you should do when you login to the Thrive® system is to review the details in your profile. All of the information in your profile is maintained at Crump. If you need to change any of the information in your profile, contact Crump and make the changes on the Crump system. We automatically update your Thrive® profile with the changes the next time you sign on.
You can review your profile by clicking on the link for your login ID which is at the top right-hand corner of the screen. When you access your profile, be sure that your email address is correct since we may need to send you important notifications from time to time.
You should also ensure that your name, firm name and address information are spelled correctly because this information is printed on the client proposals you create.
Note that we automatically create the “full name” for you by using your first name, followed by a blank space, followed by your last name. Do not change this field as it will be replaced by the full name automatically generated by the system whenever you sign on.
Except for time zone which is set to EST as the default, do not make changes directly to your profile because those changes will be replaced by the information maintained at Crump, each time you sign on.
Help & Support
You can obtain help in one of four ways depending on the nature of the help you are attempting to obtain:
- Use the Help & Support link that appears on the bottom of every screen. You will be able to get help on a variety of general topics. These general topics will point you in the direction of more specific help and resources.
- Use the Show Help link on the right hand side of the screen. This will provide you with very detailed information about the screen you are viewing at the time you click on the link.
- If you are looking for sales materials, marketing materials, or training on the software or the sales methods, explore the information in the Materials menu. It is quite extensive and very well organized.
- If you can’t find what you need via the other three approaches, simply click on the Contact Us link which appears on the bottom right of every screen. Then contact Crump or Thrive®, as indicated, with your questions or concerns.