Preset Appointments- BEWARE

[gerano]

Dated August 31,2018

Well, it's just another poor start with a lead company and I hope it doesn't end like all the others. The leads whether they be live transfer leads, avatar leads, or preset appointment leads never arrive on schedule and it's always a struggle to get a return call. This time, however, it's even more exasperating. This time the representative who answers the phone for the lead company wants me to schedule every return call as though I've just called the White House and asked to speak with the President. By the way, their scheduled calls are usually 30 minutes late as if to teach me a lesson or as if to say that they're too busy for us.

Am I the only agent who's frustrated with such pretentious behavior? How wonderful it must be to have people paying you in advance for work not yet done. Perhaps I'm growing cynical or perhaps I've grown tired of the far too many changes that have devastated my wonderful industry. I just wish that when a company takes your money that they'd send you a damned thank you email and a receipt. Is it too much to ask?

I ordered the leads on Monday and the funds were paid to the lead company in a relative instant (within an hour). I was told that I would start receiving the leads in 2-3 days and that was fine with me. Hell, I'd have been fine with a week or 10 days if they'd just told me that it was going to be a week or ten days and the leads started arriving in a week to 10 days but it's always a struggle to get the leads no matter how wide they open that lead window. I've never had leads arrive on schedule. I don't know why I'm complaining, the leads are almost always trash anyway. The only leads I've ever enjoyed were the direct mail leads. I've been an agent for 37 years and the lead return was in excess of 6%. 20 years ago the lead return rate was in excess of 4% and that was exciting, too. However, the numbers in Delaware have been under 1% in the last 10 years and those leads were usually from the people who demanded something in the mail or they never seemed to be home. I then started going directly to the house with the lead in hand and that fared better but some of the people preferred to get something in the mail. Sales did occur but it's hard to get excited with 3 sales after spending $480 or more and then there's the considerable time spent with the driving, the prospects, and the policy deliveries (I'm old school, I believe that every client is worthy of a policy delivery including the policy details).

I'd prefer not to disclose the lead company because it's a lead company known well by many of you. I just wish they'd demonstrate some good customer courtesy. It goes a long way and I had really hoped that I'd found "my" lead company. Perhaps there's still time to salvage this business relationship.

Isn't there just one lead company that's worthy of high praise?

I'll post more on Monday or Tuesday. It all depends on how this is resolved.

This is my update regarding my latest order for preset appointments dated August 31, 2018. The leads were purchased on Monday, August 27th and the posting was placed on August 31st.

Today is September 4th, 2018 (7 days after my order). I still have received no return call from the owner of the lead company even though he assured me that I would begin to get quality leads in about three (3) days from the date of my order. He and I had a rather lengthy discussion about my many past disappointing experiences regarding live transfer leads and avatar leads prior to my order on that very same day. The only positive experiences I've ever had were with direct mail leads more than 10 years ago.

He, the owner, is in the Insurance Forums quite often. He constantly states that he understands the plight of the final expense agent and that he (allow me to paraphrase) delivers on his promises.

Today I waited until after 12:30 PM hoping that he would return my calls from Friday the 31st but no such luck. I went into this hoping that his membership and participation in the Insurance Forums meant that he was true to his stated reputation. After all, I was intent on using his services regularly if the experience was a positive experience. After waiting until after 12:30 PM I decided to try his personal number but that voice mailbox is still filled to capacity and unable to store my message. I then called the main number and I received a response from an unknown. She was hardly apologetic. It's as though this was not her first such call. It took her several minutes to find my name and order. Even when she said she found it she still misspelled my name. After some additional discourse she told me that I should be getting leads soon. I closed by making clear my disappointment and then terminated the call.

I'd like to give just a little advice. I've been an insurance agent for 37 years and I really enjoyed the business many years ago when we were free to call people at home on their landlines and a single morning of calls would secure a week's worth of appointments. If you're going to try using preset appointments, try not to let them make the appointments more than one day in advance. If the appointment is made two or more days in advance there may be a good chance that the prospect will not be at home when you arrive. If you call them to remind them of the appointment then you're allowing them an opportunity to cancel the appointment. This is just some friendly advice.

I'll let you know of what happens next.

 

[fed up]

Have not liked Preset appointments since getting burned 5 years ago. Most of the phone help is hired through Craigslist ads and are calling from home. You might get someone in Kansas calling South Carolina and homeowners are getting savvy on not answering an out of state call. This mess is often compounded by phone reps not getting paid for their successes in making contacts and an appointments so they spend the rest of the time on the phone with an attitude and this results in no appointments. Or the caller spends 20 minutes on your list and switches off to someone else's list for 20 minutes. The quality of the caller is suspect. Or they worked on your list until the boss says"work this list so the customer won't leave" so your 1100.00 contact list is now sitting. Good luck

 

[gerano]

Thanks, fed up.

I appreciate it. This will certainly be my last attempt with leads of any sort.

Does anyone know of a good source?

 

[VolAgent]

I'm really curious who this is you've been ordering from.

 

[rousemark]

Thanks, fed up.

I appreciate it. This will certainly be my last attempt with leads of any sort.

Does anyone know of a good source?

Say what? If your last experience is certain to be last attempt with leads of any sort, why are you asking for a new source?

 

[VolAgent]

I had the pleasure of listening to a sales trainer the other day, one that has truly started from nothing and grown to do quite well. He was talking about when people have had a bad experience in the past. He compared it to dating.

He said he had dated more than his share of "crazies" over the years. But did he give up on dating and women? No, he acknowledged that they are still good women out there and got back out into the dating scene. And now he is happily married with a young child.

The point being, just because you had a bad experience, are you going to shut down and refuse to ever try again? Because if so, you won't get very far in life. Life is full of bad experiences, the key is to learn from it and find the good ones.

 

[fed up]

Don't give up on leads. If they are new to you they are NEW. It shouldn't matter how recent the actual information is. You work it just as hard as the last and the next. Leads are simply names, addresses, and phone numbers. I am just very leery of preset appointments. My experience was with GTN quotes, read RIPOFF REPORTS for more skinny. I DID get my money back.

 

[walleye]

Thanks, fed up.

I appreciate it. This will certainly be my last attempt with leads of any sort.

Does anyone know of a good source?

He wants to know of a good source but doesn't want to let us know the name of the bad one?
Anyone see anything wrong with that?

 

[gerano]

Say what? If your last experience is certain to be last attempt with leads of any sort, why are you asking for a new source?

I mean a new type or variety of lead. Never again with presets and live transfers.

 

[gerano]

I had the pleasure of listening to a sales trainer the other day, one that has truly started from nothing and grown to do quite well. He was talking about when people have had a bad experience in the past. He compared it to dating.

He said he had dated more than his share of "crazies" over the years. But did he give up on dating and women? No, he acknowledged that they are still good women out there and got back out into the dating scene. And now he is happily married with a young child.

The point being, just because you had a bad experience, are you going to shut down and refuse to ever try again? Because if so, you won't get very far in life. Life is full of bad experiences, the key is to learn from it and find the good ones.

I wish it was just one experience but it's years of bad experiences and they continue to worsen. This is not like dating. I, too, have had many women in my life and, though some were bad experiences, not all were bad experiences. With dating you're not being robbed. Leads have become a form of ill-gotten cash transfer, in other words...theft by deception.