[toc3]

I am currently asking for any advice regarding cold calling on businesses. Mostly small employers. Please add to or rip apart the following.

Phone: Good Morning, my name is xyz, I am a local independent Life and Health insurance agent. I represent abc company, we specialize in lump sum cancer and heart attack plans for small groups. Do you currently have a benefit plan in place for your employees? If so would you be open to looking at what I can add to your plan?

Please all seasoned agents, don't be afraid to criticize. This is why I am here asking for advice. Thanks.

[Delta76]

Try it and see how it works, then improvise and adapt. My guess is you're going to get a lot of "we don't need anything like that", "we already have health insurance and can't afford anything else", or "we have or already looked at AFLAC". Not trying to discourage you, just giving you the reality. The best way to sell supplemental, in my opinion, is to find the savings on the health sale and use it to fund the supplemental policies.

[moonlightandmargaritas]

Originally Posted by toc3

Phone: Good Morning, my name is xyz, I am a local independent Life and Health insurance agent. I represent abc company, we specialize in lump sum cancer and heart attack plans for small groups. Do you currently have a benefit plan in place for your employees? If so would you be open to looking at what I can add to your plan?

OK, you asked for it -- this is not only awful, but you won't get any results!

Nobody cares about anything in your verbiage. As soon as they hear insurance, you're done.

Think about this: folks care NOT about what it IS, but what it DOES...

Better: "This is xyz. I apologize for the intertuption - I specialize in helping small business enhance their benefits - at no direct cost. Do you currently have benefits for your employees?"

[toc3]

Originally Posted by moonlightandmargaritas

OK, you asked for it -- this is not only awful, but you won't get any results!

Nobody cares about anything in your verbiage. As soon as they hear insurance, you're done.

Think about this: folks care NOT about what it IS, but what it DOES...

Better: "This is xyz. I apologize for the intertuption - I specialize in helping small business enhance their benefits - at no direct cost. Do you currently have benefits for your employees?"

Ok, I like that. Lets go further. Assume I am the employer. and I say yes we do have benefits for our employees.

[moonlightandmargaritas]

"Tell me a little about them..."

Your goal is to get into a conversation.

[Delta76]

You just got some great advice, the key to any cold call is simply to get into a conversation as soon as possible.

[mcleanbr]

One step further:

I'm xyz from xyz and I help business owner like yourself improve their business by reducing taxes 10% or reducing medical cost 30%. Please forgive me if I am interrupting and I will be brief not to waste your time. Do you have 10 minutes or can we set up an appointment?

Put yourself in their shoes and be a business owner. Do not sell stuff or waste their time. What's in it for them. Time is money. Good luck and be professional.
Bruce

[moonlightandmargaritas]

Way too much...way too soon!

A very tired approach, and not at all effective...

[djs]

One bit of advice - don't think the business owner doesn't know that you want to sell something. Thats pretty much a given. You have to make it a believable reason for them to want to proceed.

To me, the line of reducing tax by 10% or reducing medical costs by 30% may get them involved in a conversation, but they will approach it from the point of view that you lack credibility (remember, their agent already used this line). How can you do this when no one else can?

This works better with consumers than it does businesses, at least in my experience.

The other line -

"This is xyz. I apologize for the intertuption - I specialize in helping small business enhance their benefits - at no direct cost. Do you currently have benefits for your employees?"

gives them 2 important pieces of information in 10 seconds:
- You specialize
- No direct cost (which is always heard as no cost)

Now, I would switch "have benefits" to "offer benefits" but beyond that, I think this is a much less confrontational approach.

Both methods will work, I'd be a lot more comfortable with the 'specialize' pitch. It does have to match you and your approach though.

Dan

[xrac]

Originally Posted by Delta76

You just got some great advice, the key to any cold call is simply to get into a conversation as soon as possible.

Hey Delta I like the avatar! What gives with sandwichs?

I do not consider myself to be a really good cold caller but what about scripting it like this:

"Mr. Big Wig, my name is xyz, I specialize in helping small employers provide additional supplemental benefits to their employees at no out of pocket cost to the employer resulting in a savings for both the employer and employees. Do you see how benefits like that could help your business?"

[Delta76]

Hey Delta I like the avatar! What gives with sandwichs?

I figured that if M&M had the Big Mac represented, it was only fair to make sure the Whopper was given the same opportunity.

[padthaiforlunch]

Originally Posted by Delta76

I figured that if M&M had the Big Mac represented, it was only fair to make sure the Whopper was given the same opportunity.

LOL. I saw the burger in posts 2 and 3 and just assumed it was m&m both times.

[Winter]

Originally Posted by toc3

Phone: Good Morning, my name is xyz, I am a local independent Life and Health insurance agent. I represent abc company, we specialize in lump sum cancer and heart attack plans for small groups. Do you currently have a benefit plan in place for your employees? If so would you be open to looking at what I can add to your plan?

Oh, thank you for calling and sharing that information. I am Juliette the cleaning lady. Everyone is away at a conference this week and I just picked up the phone in case it was my husband telling me what kind of pizza to bring home.

(ps. find out who you are talking to but also dont turn down any chance to chat with juliette about what they have and dont have assuming she is not a contract worker)

Winter

[mickeyma]

Do NOT start with you are an insurance agent. Say you show businesses how to increase their employee benefits without costing a lot of money. You would like to meet with him for 10 minutes to discuss this.

[tentel]

Cold calling is tough and no matter what you say, you probably won't get much different results. It might be best to focus your efforts on effective marketing strategies so that you can get qualified prospects to contact you instead. Do you have a website? That's an inexpensive and easy way to get yourself visible on the net so that people looking for what you have to sell can find you. Do a little reasearch and search the web for more ideas about how to market and make yourself visible to business owners.