Setting Appointments ByCold Calling

[Guest]

So, I'm a new agent and on the other side of the state that my division office is located at. In a way I felt like I was strapped with a parachute and pushed out of the plane and afterwards they forgot when to tell me to pull the cord. My manager tells me that I need to set 12 appointments a week. And I'm finding it very difficult to do. The few appointments I do get are orphaned counts without an agent. Is there a better method of getting appointments from calling out of the phone book or the lists that I'm occasionally given? The calling and lack of appointments has me literally freaking out and on the verge of calling it quits. Any advice?

 

[tins]

So, I'm a new agent and on the other side of the state that my division office is located at. In a way I felt like I was strapped with a parachute and pushed out of the plane and afterwards they forgot when to tell me to pull the cord. My manager tells me that I need to set 12 appointments a week. And I'm finding it very difficult to do. The few appointments I do get are orphaned counts without an agent. Is there a better method of getting appointments from calling out of the phone book or the lists that I'm occasionally given? The calling and lack of appointments has me literally freaking out and on the verge of calling it quits. Any advice?

This business may not be the right fit for you. Or, you may be better suited for another area of insurance. Or, you could just pay money for others to set up those appointments for you (if it's in your budget).

 

[Josh]

So, I'm a new agent and on the other side of the state that my division office is located at. In a way I felt like I was strapped with a parachute and pushed out of the plane and afterwards they forgot when to tell me to pull the cord. My manager tells me that I need to set 12 appointments a week. And I'm finding it very difficult to do. The few appointments I do get are orphaned counts without an agent. Is there a better method of getting appointments from calling out of the phone book or the lists that I'm occasionally given? The calling and lack of appointments has me literally freaking out and on the verge of calling it quits. Any advice?

What type of insurance?

You probably don't want to be calling from a phone book.

Are you doing b2b or b2c?

If b2c, you need to make sure lists are scrubbed against the DNC list and it helps if you zero in on prospects based on filters (bias here because I'm a list broker).

If you're calling on businesses you might have luck, many small businesses won't be found by looking through the yellow pages.

 

[Guest]

Mostly life, med supp, DI, CI, and annuities. I use the GryPhon network to call when I'm not using pre-screened lists. So DNC really isn't an issue. It just seems that I can't set enough appointments with these methods.

 

[Josh]

Mostly life, med supp, DI, CI, and annuities. I use the GryPhon network to call when I'm not using pre-screened lists. So DNC really isn't an issue. It just seems that I can't set enough appointments with these methods.

What do you mean when you say it isn't a prescreened list? Everyone needs to be DNC compliant if it's to consumers.

What pitch are you using? You may need to be more specific with the product you're pitching.

 

[Guest]

The lists I get are pre-screened against DNC. I use gryphon when I'm using the phone book. It's like a filter, I dial the number and it won't place the call through if the number is on DNC. I don't use a specific pitch because I don't want to be too salesie. My goal is to get the appointment and discover the needs from there.

 

[ineedhelp]

The lists I get are pre-screened against DNC. I use gryphon when I'm using the phone book. It's like a filter, I dial the number and it won't place the call through if the number is on DNC. I don't use a specific pitch because I don't want to be too salesie. My goal is to get the appointment and discover the needs from there.

How much does this service cost? Where do I find more info. on it/

Thanks

 

[Josh]

The lists I get are pre-screened against DNC. I use gryphon when I'm using the phone book. It's like a filter, I dial the number and it won't place the call through if the number is on DNC. I don't use a specific pitch because I don't want to be too salesie. My goal is to get the appointment and discover the needs from there.

Gotcha, that makes more sense.

If you're not going to use a specific pitch then you're not going to get consistent results, even if you do walk into a few deals now and then.

Why are they going to agree to an appointment with you if you can't even tell them what it's about? Just a generic meeting to discuss insurance?

If you're going to cold call, pick a specific group and go after a specific product. Call seniors about Medicare, call seniors about final expense, call homeowners about auto and homeowners, call small businesses about health insurance, you get the idea?

The overwhelming majority of new agents fail. Most of them fail because they don't have a viable method of getting in front of people. It sounds like you need to go back to the drawing board about how you're doing this, because calling straight from the phone book isn't really a viable prospecting method.


On a different point, what made you decide to get into selling insurance? Do you have any other marketing strategies?

 

[Guest]

How much does this service cost? Where do I find more info. on it/

Thanks

It costs about $.20/min. You can check it out by googling gryphon networks, or gong to gryphonnetworks.com
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Gotcha, that makes more sense.

If you're not going to use a specific pitch then you're not going to get consistent results, even if you do walk into a few deals now and then.

Why are they going to agree to an appointment with you if you can't even tell them what it's about? Just a generic meeting to discuss insurance?

If you're going to cold call, pick a specific group and go after a specific product. Call seniors about Medicare, call seniors about final expense, call homeowners about auto and homeowners, call small businesses about health insurance, you get the idea?

The overwhelming majority of new agents fail. Most of them fail because they don't have a viable method of getting in front of people. It sounds like you need to go back to the drawing board about how you're doing this, because calling straight from the phone book isn't really a viable prospecting method.

On a different point, what made you decide to get into selling insurance? Do you have any other marketing strategies?

That makes a lot of sense. I guess in my effort to try not to sound too sales-ie I just ended up hurting myself more.

The few marketing strategies I do have in mind would be seminars, we have a large concentration of small businesses in our downtown area which i could see face to face, social media and e-mail.

I got into insurance kind of by accident. I was looking for a new job and posted a résumé on monster. A recruiter from MoO contacted me and I met with the district manager a week later. I like the business because I feel that I am helping people more than I was as a paralegal. But to be truly honest, the flexibility of schedule, pretty much being my own boss, and making good money. I do have a family to look out for.

 

[iceco1d]

How many dials a day are you doing?