A lot has been happening in the annuity market since the market crashed in March of 2008. So much has changed in annuity marketing, regulation and product development over the past two years. Rates and buyer behavior have effected the purchase of all annuity types.

The U.S. division of Sun Life Financial Inc. has made enhancements to Sun Income Riser^SM, an optional living benefit available with Masters^® Variable Annuities.

Customers who choose the Sun Income Riser can diversify their assets with a new investment category called Core Retirement Strategies^SM.

The second half of 2009 was kinder to sales of variable annuities (VA) than the first half.

According to LIMRA’s U.S. Individual Annuities quarterly sales survey, the first six months of 2009 saw a sales decline of 26 percent, but for the year, VA sales were down just 18 percent.

In this edition I want to explore creating visual pictures to get ideas across. I'm going to give you some of my key visual pictures that have proven to help make sales over and over again.