I Can't Get Out to Sell So I Need to Sell Over The Phone-Help-Any Companies?

[shonceman]

it depends on how much arm twisting the telemarketer does with the prospect

I’ve never received a FE TM call before this weekend. But yesterday I got two calls from “Senior Benefits”. They both had Indian accents. I picked up because they both came from Texas area codes. Neither one twisted my arm, but politely exited the call after just one negative response. The leads they generate should be good quality if that’s how they always do it. Do other TM agencies really lean on people to get a yes?

 

[rousemark]

I’ve never received a FE TM call before this weekend. But yesterday I got two calls from “Senior Benefits”. They both had Indian accents. I picked up because they both came from Texas area codes. Neither one twisted my arm, but politely exited the call after just one negative response. The leads they generate should be good quality if that’s how they always do it. Do other TM agencies really lean on people to get a yes?

Some do...

 

[BibH]

I wouldn't Say they "lean" on people but i'm saying many of the people have little to no interest so when you contact them if they even answer they have zero interest . If the leads were so good agents would be lining up to buy them as many places sell for $10 now. With the so many more co's offering telesales you could sell many on the phone . The bottom line the quality of the lead is far inferior than a dm or even FB lead in my opinion .Plus the shelf life is very short. I've been door knocking some 2017 dm leads i've had in my inventory for yrs and sold a few. Time is an agents most valuable asset and i'd rather work people with even a little interest that filled something irregardless if they understand what they filled out.

 

[rousemark]

I wouldn't Say they "lean" on people but i'm saying many of the people have little to no interest so when you contact them if they even answer they have zero interest . If the leads were so good agents would be lining up to buy them as many places sell for $10 now. With the so many more co's offering telesales you could sell many on the phone . The bottom line the quality of the lead is far inferior than a dm or even FB lead in my opinion .Plus the shelf life is very short. I've been door knocking some 2017 dm leads i've had in my inventory for yrs and sold a few. Time is an agents most valuable asset and i'd rather work people with even a little interest that filled something irregardless if they understand what they filled out.

I have heard them answer, "I am really not interested but I guess you can have him call" and they send that as a lead because they did give permission to call.

 

[theinsuranceman]

[QUOTE="rousemark, post: 1367731, member: 22336"]I have heard them answer, "I am really not interested but I guess you can have him call" and they send that as a lead because they did give permission to call.[/QUOTE]

To me this is a legitimate lead if the prospect said exactly what is laid out in bold. But I guess you can have him call me is what makes it legitimate to me. If an agent gets 6 applications out of 20 leads (DM), most of those 6 sales gave a little minor resistance before they said "yes". Very few buyers will say "yes, have that insurance man call me. We need some insurance" or "come on in we've been waiting for ya'll to send someone by, we need some insurance". If the sales were that easy the carriers would be paying people $10 an hour to run around signing people up.

You always ignore the first few objections as they are usually just a reflexive action and mean nothing. "I'm really not interested" is that very 1st objection by a prospect even before the agent contacts that lead.

Here's an example of a reflexive "no" that should be ignored. I'm at the mall shopping for a dress shirt. A floor salesman walks up and says "can I help you"? My reflexive answer is "no thanks, I'm just looking".

To the untrained sales person they think I'm just a tire kicker. To the trained sales person they know that my "no thanks" is completely meaningless. After all, it is very rare for a man to be at the mall, inside a store looking at different shirts in different colors and looking for his size, unless he is a buyer. And guess what? Sure enough 10 min. later I'm at the cash register buying that shirt!

That's why agents should understand that the 1st 2-3 "no's" are usually meaningless.

Notes:
_If a prospect gives me a different "no" every 2-3 min then I know that these "no's" are also meaningless. I haven't hit the real reason for their hesitation/resistance. I just need to keep fishing for the real reason for their reluctance...in a casual, conversational, consultive manner.

_If I hear the same "no" every 2-3 min then I know this is their real reason for their reluctance. Now I can focus on this one objection and push the other objections out of the way.

_"No's" come in all sizes, shapes, and colors.
....."it sounds pretty good but we need a few weeks to think it over, call us back in a couple of weeks" is a polite no. Who needs 2 weeks to decide on a $50 a month purchase? They're too nice or too weak to say they just aren't interested and sorry they wasted your time. Of course, if you know your stuff, you can hang around another 10-15 min. (when other agents would leave) and make that sale happen.

.....they slam the phone down on you or won't let you come in when they answer the door is a more direct no. They are not too nice nor weak. And they saved you a lot of time, which is good.

.....should you call this month's "no's" the following month? or maybe call the one's who said call me next month? No! If you call those "no's" back again next month, even the one's who requested you call them back, you'll be lucky to get 1 out of 15 to buy. If you work fresh exclusive leads you should get 4.5 sales per 15 leads (assuming you average 6 sales per 20 leads). Work smart and order leads. 4.5 sales per 15 leads makes a lot more profit per hour than 1 sale out of 15 "call back" leads. Those 14 "no's" out of 15 "call back" leads will really drag your profit per hour down.

I know I've rambled a lot on this post but a couple of forum bullies said, the other day, that all I do is recruit and never add any meaningful info. I'm in the process of proving them wrong...lol.

 

[Todd King]

My phrase? Not often. I agree with Louis that saying “I’m not a salesman” seems disingenuous. Whether prospects react to it the same way, I wouldn’t know, because I wouldn’t say it. I only use my own version if I’m picking up resistance early on, in an attempt to comfort them that I’m not going to badger them. If they still don’t relax, I’m probably out of there.

My point is that saying it early in every presentation doesn’t add anything, and could even be a distraction. They already know you’re a salesman. Making a statement that you’re not will do more to reinforce that you actually are a salesman. In reality it’s probably never caused you a problem because you’re a likable guy, and they respond to your personality more than your words. Also, if they’re interested in what you’re selling, they don’t actually care that you’re a salesman. In fact they expect it.

Seems disingenuous? It's a flat out lie!! Now, because he has said that...my response to him would be.... If you try to deceive me once, you will do it again.

 

[theinsuranceman]

Seems disingenuous? It's a flat out lie!! Now, because he has said that...my response to him would be.... If you try to deceive me once, you will do it again.

It's not a lie Todd. I'm not deceiving anyone. I explained up above that I use a soft close if needed, but don't do a hard close. If a hard close is required to hope for a sale, then I just leave and go to the next lead.

With legacy-assurance added into my presentation I get more sales than the days before we had legacy-assurance. You would not be able to give an honest evaluation because you can't offer legacy's savings like Sr Life agents can. You're always trying to start an argument aren't you?

I've shared some good info up here, but all you want to be is a "terrible Todd". Why are you in such a negative bad mood so often? Is your agency suffering by chance? Why don't you add some good selling info to what I've shared? Surely you have enough experience and skills to add to the good info I shared......don't you? Or maybe you don't? Show us some of your FE skills.

 

[thomasm]

All the agents at Digital BGA have been having good luck with TM leads. High conversion, high contact rate .

Good to hear the digital hustlers are back to the old tried and true! Telemarketing isn't dead yet!

 

[Todd King]

It's not a lie Todd. I'm not deceiving anyone. I explained up above that I use a soft close if needed, but don't do a hard close. If a hard close is required to hope for a sale, then I just leave and go to the next lead.

With legacy-assurance added into my presentation I get more sales than the days before we had legacy-assurance. You would not be able to give an honest evaluation because you can't offer legacy's savings like Sr Life agents can. You're always trying to start an argument aren't you?

I've shared some good info up here, but all you want to be is a "terrible Todd". Why are you in such a negative bad mood so often? Is your agency suffering by chance? Why don't you add some good selling info to what I've shared? Surely you have enough experience and skills to add to the good info I shared......don't you? Or maybe you don't? Show us some of your FE skills.

Saying you are not a salesman is lying. You may not think of it like that, but it is. You are a salesperson, period. You don't have to lie to make a sale, but if you do, then what does that say about the product? What does it say about you? This is the only part of the post that I'm talking about. I'm not talking about hard and soft closes or anything else, just the lie that you tell about not being a salesman.

 

[theinsuranceman]

Saying you are not a salesman is lying. You may not think of it like that, but it is. You are a salesperson, period. You don't have to lie to make a sale, but if you do, then what does that say about the product? What does it say about you? This is the only part of the post that I'm talking about. I'm not talking about hard and soft closes or anything else, just the lie that you tell about not being a salesman.

Sure Todd whatever you say. How does this sound: "Ms. Betty, don't worry, I'm not some pushy salesman, my job is to share this info you requested. If you see something you like fine, if you don't that's fine also. I have a lot of people to catch up with". Better? LOL!

By the way I laid out some good FE sales info in posts #95 and #58 above. When are you going to share some of your sales info up here?