Advice on Med Supp Appointment Setter

[blackandyellow]

I never have hired an appointment setter before. I have recently been referred to someone who is also calling for other agents in different fields but has 6 open hours a week. The cold calling has been done mainly by myself, business is picking up, which is great. But, it doesn't allow me as much time on the phone to set new appointments. This appointment setter charges $20/hour and then for every sold app he wants $50. From what I've read on these forums it seems a little steep. But, since I have no experience with this I thought I would ask for help? Any feedback appreciated.

 

[tins]

That is very steep.
Paying hourly, $10-$15 per hour is average. Most don't pay bonuses for writing apps, but it could be a good idea to encourage better work. I wouldn't go over $20 per app.

 

[medsuptage]

It's totally up to you and what your willing to put forth. For someone who does a good job it might be worth it for you.

It does seem a bit steep but if he has you running quality appointments. I could see it making sense.

Can he fill your entire week up in those 6 hours?

 

[blackandyellow]

Thanks for the feedback. The appointment setter says he can get atleast 2 appointments an hour which would be atleast 12 a week. I know its always "you get what you pay for" in this business, but I think it's worth a trial run. It's not the initial $120 i'm hesitant about its the time wasted going to these appointments if they don't pan out.

 

[russelltw]

With insurance marketing, it's all trial and error. Some things work well for others and not so well for me and vice versa.

 

[Medigap]

Seems as though you could ask the person who referred you to this person as to the quality of their work.

 

[Josh]

If he says at least 2 an hour then tell him $10/appointment and if he does any better than 2 an hour he's making out great.

$50/sale isn't a commission split in your state? That'd be illegal in most states.

Med Supps are fairly easy to generate leads for and in the volume you likely want to be doing, why not train someone yourself? Even if they only generated an appointment ever two hours at $10/hour you'd still be ahead of the game and not on the hook for any commission splits.

 

[Frank Stastny]

The cold calling has been done mainly by myself, business is picking up, which is great. But, it doesn't allow me as much time on the phone to set new appointments.

It sounds like you are learning to use the phone. There definitely is a learning curve to doing it successfully. I've been cold calling successfully for Med Supps ever since I have been an agent, more than a couple of years ago.

Are you busy doing appointments to do a Medicare Review or writing applications? If it is doing Medicare Reviews then you may want to review the qualifying questions you ask on the initial phone call.

I agree with Josh. Hire and train your own phone person. I'm afraid that you are going to be very disappointed with the appointments that are set for you.

Do you know what kind of qualifying questions he/she will ask? That is going to be the key to making this cost effective for you.

Feel free to give me a call if you would like.

 

[eharriett]

Good thread. Our appointment setter of 4 years told us she is starting to burn out, so we've got to begin looking for a new one too, which we're disappointed in because she's been very good. We need to decide everything over again: how much do we pay, is this a time to change the job description, etc.

One thing we have learned the HARD way: hire a person. Be an employer, not a marketing client. It could have just been our past experience, but when we hired a marketing company to make appointments for us, they did a TERRIBLE job. We struck gold once we entered an employer/employee relationship. And we could train the employee how to follow the scope of appointment laws and get those forms out promptly and back 48 + hours in advance. Marketing companies won't do that.

 

[Daytona_Guy]

One thing we have learned the HARD way: hire a person. Be an employer, not a marketing client. It could have just been our past experience, but when we hired a marketing company to make appointments for us, they did a TERRIBLE job. We struck gold once we entered an employer/employee relationship.

I completely agree. Hiring someone in an office setting where you can hear them has been a great experience. They pick up things not only on the outlines you provide them, but what they hear you saying, regarding qualifying questions, etc. Now, the only people I speak with are those that are qualified to make a change, disturbed at what they're currently paying, know what the new rate is, and are ready to go on an application.

80% of them are done over the computer so they can then see my quick presentation on the screen in real time, see me on the camera, and then watch over my shoulder as the application is filled out and submitted (correctly the first time) right before their eyes. This lowers the trust wall immensely and sparks referrals because it is so unique to what they've experienced before - and they see proof immediately rather than waiting for mail to come and go.

Having a telemarketer/screener do the heavy lifting has been a tremendous boon for my business.. essentially I've been able to clone myself on the front end, spending all my time now just writing applications each day... much better result on the time investment. After all, that's really all we have.