Rural Areas or Big Cities?

[WCMason]

Don't commit professional suicide -- Do not prospect for burial insurance in the ghetto.

This almost happened to me early on. After one year of captivity went indy. Ran a lot of urban, ghetto leads, as that's who returned the BRC in my metro area. Persistency was so bad one carrier termed me, plus the chargeback problem. Then dropped leads 100 miles away in a small town. Turned things around.

 

[Rearden]

This almost happened to me early on. After one year of captivity went indy. Ran a lot of urban, ghetto leads, as that's who returned the BRC in my metro area. Persistency was so bad one carrier termed me, plus the chargeback problem. Then dropped leads 100 miles away in a small town. Turned things around.

Thanks for the confirmation.

I don't want to necessarily empower my competition, but NOT running leads in the ghetto is probably the single-most important tactic a rank beginner can employ in order to increase their odds at early success.

*Who* you target is equally if not more important than *how* you target.

And why add any more difficulty to an already-difficult, tough business -- especially as a new agent?

 

[jdeasy]

This almost happened to me early on. After one year of captivity went indy. Ran a lot of urban, ghetto leads, as that's who returned the BRC in my metro area. Persistency was so bad one carrier termed me, plus the chargeback problem. Then dropped leads 100 miles away in a small town. Turned things around.

I know people say that but I don't get it. The projects are my people. I get more referrals in the projects and I don't any difference in persistency in the projects than I do for the rural areas.

Of course I'm working the same demographic in the woods as I am the hoods. You can't get more rural than I've been working this week. People getting their TV from antennas. No cell phones as there is no service there anyway. Wouldn't know what a computer was if you sat it on the porch. Half of them didn't have ac so we had to do business under the shade tree out front.

The kind of homes that most agents would just keep on driving by and throw the lead card away.

Those are my people. You can't tell me that those people will be more diligent in paying than the people living in the projects on the same income.

Now, if you can't relate to the people in those two extremes in the same manner then you will have problems.

Fortunately I'm at home in either place. The only difference is that I get more referrals in the black projects than in the white ones or the rural areas.

 

[xrac]

I know people say that but I don't get it. The projects are my people. I get more referrals in the projects and I don't any difference in persistency in the projects than I do for the rural areas.

Of course I'm working the same demographic in the woods as I am the hoods. You can't get more rural than I've been working this week. People getting their TV from antennas. No cell phones as there is no service there anyway. Wouldn't know what a computer was if you sat it on the porch. Half of them didn't have ac so we had to do business under the shade tree out front.

The kind of homes that most agents would just keep on driving by and throw the lead card away.

Those are my people. You can't tell me that those people will be more diligent in paying than the people living in the projects on the same income.

Now, if you can't relate to the people in those two extremes in the same manner then you will have problems.

Fortunately I'm at home in either place. The only difference is that I get more referrals in the black projects than in the white ones or the rural areas.

JD with all due respect I do not think there is any ghetto in our area that compares with the ghetto that some of these guys have. I have driven through parts of Chicago where I was scared to death just driving down the street. There is no place like that that I have ever been in our area.

 

[WCMason]

I know people say that but I don't get it. The projects are my people. I get more referrals in the projects and I don't any difference in persistency in the projects than I do for the rural areas. Of course I'm working the same demographic in the woods as I am the hoods. You can't get more rural than I've been working this week. People getting their TV from antennas. No cell phones as there is no service there anyway. Wouldn't know what a computer was if you sat it on the porch. Half of them didn't have ac so we had to do business under the shade tree out front. The kind of homes that most agents would just keep on driving by and throw the lead card away. Those are my people. You can't tell me that those people will be more diligent in paying than the people living in the projects on the same income. Now, if you can't relate to the people in those two extremes in the same manner then you will have problems. Fortunately I'm at home in either place. The only difference is that I get more referrals in the black projects than in the white ones or the rural areas.

Don't doubt you're right. I was new at it and I if I'd worked it better probably would have done better. The people I met in the projects were nice, saw the need for FE, and those who stayed on the books were great referrers. Managed to survive without that carrier.

First app I ever wrote after getting licensed was a 69 year old man living in a beat up manufactured home on the poor side of town. The house had plywood exterior walls and no AC on a 100 degree summer day. He pulled a couple of rusty metal chairs of a shed and we sat in his backyard. Turns out he was a mechanic for a company that manufactured military transport vehicles. He'd worked there more than 30 years, still employed there. The house was where he was born and he just never left (original house torn down, but same lot), but had lots of money. Wrote him life and set a "money appointment" with the agency's annuities agent. Made about $4K on that one cold call. It was a good lesson to me never to pre-judge people on appearances.

A bit of a tangent but this thread reminded me of old Bobby.

 

[jdeasy]

JD with all due respect I do not think there is any ghetto in our area that compares with the ghetto that some of these guys have. I have driven through parts of Chicago where I was scared to death just driving down the street. There is no place like that that I have ever been in our area.

I'll tell you what then. Drive down to Canal Street tonight after dark. park your car over by the basketball courts and just take a stroll around the neighborhood.

As much as those are "my people", I ain't going there uninvited or by myself after dark.

It still comes down to mindset. And I mean the mindset of the agent. If one is uncomfortable in a certain area then they won't do well there.

Newby will tell you himself that there are places he doesn't like to work. Rural or city, black or white is not the reason. They are the places where I get most of my business. Could he go there and sell just as much, or more, than I do? Yes, if he was comfortable there.

There are places that Newby sells that I can't wait to get out of there. Do I still sell in some of those places? Yes, but I'm sure I don't sell as much as I could there because those are not my people.

But, if one is going to make FE their career, they are going to see more of the people I see than the people that Newby deals with.

There is nothing wrong with not wanting to deal with that demographic. Just get into another field if you can't or don't want to handle that.

 

[xrac]

I'll tell you what then. Drive down to Canal Street tonight after dark. park your car over by the basketball courts and just take a stroll around the neighborhood.

As much as those are "my people", I ain't going there uninvited or by myself after dark.

It still comes down to mindset. And I mean the mindset of the agent. If one is uncomfortable in a certain area then they won't do well there.

Newby will tell you himself that there are places he doesn't like to work. Rural or city, black or white is not the reason. They are the places where I get most of my business. Could he go there and sell just as much, or more, than I do? Yes, if he was comfortable there.

There are places that Newby sells that I can't wait to get out of there. Do I still sell in some of those places? Yes, but I'm sure I don't sell as much as I could there because those are not my people.

But, if one is going to make FE their career, they are going to see more of the people I see than the people that Newby deals with.

There is nothing wrong with not wanting to deal with that demographic. Just get into another field if you can't or don't want to handle that.

JD, I wouldn't feel comfortable there at night and would definitely want to be packing. However, I have been to some places in Chicago where I was afraid to stop at a street light at 10:00 in the morning. I do not feel that way any place I have ever been here.

 

[Newby]

I'll tell you what then. Drive down to Canal Street tonight after dark. park your car over by the basketball courts and just take a stroll around the neighborhood. As much as those are "my people", I ain't going there uninvited or by myself after dark. It still comes down to mindset. And I mean the mindset of the agent. If one is uncomfortable in a certain area then they won't do well there. Newby will tell you himself that there are places he doesn't like to work. Rural or city, black or white is not the reason. They are the places where I get most of my business. Could he go there and sell just as much, or more, than I do? Yes, if he was comfortable there. There are places that Newby sells that I can't wait to get out of there. Do I still sell in some of those places? Yes, but I'm sure I don't sell as much as I could there because those are not my people. But, if one is going to make FE their career, they are going to see more of the people I see than the people that Newby deals with. There is nothing wrong with not wanting to deal with that demographic. Just get into another field if you can't or don't want to handle that.

I don't do well with the poorest of the poor no matter where they live. When they tell me they have no money I'm just thinking "I believe you!"

The sweet spot for FE for me is lower middle class and working poor. Occasionally a more affluent person too.

Had one this week that door knocked me (How sweet is THAT?) I was at the office but didn't even have the door unlocked (don't usually get too many unscheduled walk-ins). She was driving by, saw my sign, turning 65 needed Med Sup. Sold her that and from conversation it was obvious she had a very, very wealthy husband. But she pulled out a flyer from the credit union and couldn't understand if their life insurance offer was good or not. It wasn't.

Broke the rule that wealthy people don't need FE. Husband was very wealthy but obviously a 2nd marriage. She had kids that she definitely wanted to leave something to and she had good but not perfect health history. FE was the perfect solution even though she was not a target prospect of ANY FE agent.

Those are my favorites if I could just get more of them to bang on my door.

----------

JD, I wouldn't feel comfortable there at night and would definitely want to be packing. However, I have been to some places in Chicago where I was afraid to stop at a street light at 10:00 in the morning. I do not feel that way any place I have ever been here.

I'm with you on this. We have some baby ghettos. But I've been in ghettos in Indianapolis, Chicago, St. Louis and even Nashville and Louisville that are bad even in the daytime. I don't want any part of those.

 

[goillini52]

JD with all due respect I do not think there is any ghetto in our area that compares with the ghetto that some of these guys have. I have driven through parts of Chicago where I was scared to death just driving down the street. There is no place like that that I have ever been in our area.

Yep...it's not unusual for 40 murders in a weekend in Chicago. Drive-by shootings, innocent kids getting shot. A little different than you'll find in Ky.

 

[moonlightandmargaritas]

However, I have been to some places in Chicago where I was afraid to stop at a street light at 10:00 in the morning.

The near west side of Chicago is hell-on-earth.