Insurance Agent Forum

[scrabble]

I am completely new to the small group market. Using Reference USA for a biz list, I have called for 8 hours over 2 days and set zero appointments. I haven't kept track of exactly how many gatekeepers I have gotten past but I would guess I have spoken to no less than 30 business owners.
I realize this is for the most part a numbers game, but I was curious as to what others typically expect from a session of coldcalls.

Thanks
Joe

[healthagent]

Making a living cold-calling? I know of 2 agents over 7 years.

[Frank Stastny]

I just wanted to add my 2cents for what it is worth.

I only cold call for Med Supps. Haven't purchased a lead of any kind in close to eight years.

Admittedly it probably wouldn't work well in BtoB. I tried that once and decided it was way too difficult.

[scrabble]

I notice the two previous comments are from members with products to sell.
Anyone on the groundfloor looking up have anything to contribute. I'm not looking for spam as much as I am relative experiences.
No offense, and thanks for the replies.

[VolAgent]

Originally Posted by scrabble

I notice the two previous comments are from members with products to sell.

You shouldn't be so quick to judge. One, Frank reaffirmed you that cold calling can work, just not for the product you're doing. Second, I've seen quite a few people post on here about how helpful Frank has been. To the best of my knowledge, that help isn't conditional on you buying YIO or taking a contract under him for MedSups or FE.

That said, cold calling businesses for group is going to be hard row to hoe. Will practice and coaching improve your performance, of course. Will it make a enough difference to really matter, probably not. Businesses get pounded all day long by cold calls. Your call is just one more that the gatekeeper is going to screen, or the business owner is going to ignore.

You would do much better by cold walking. If you are personable and friendly, you stand a much better chance of getting past the gatekeeper in person. In fact, you shouldn't even try that hard to see the owner the first time. Just drop in, chat up the gatekeeper, ask to see the owner and get rebuffed, then go back to chatting the gatekeeper. Let the gatekeeper see you a few times, how nice you are and how you treat her/him like a real person. Once you've won over the gatekeeper, then you'll get in.

Second, cold calling/walking is all about timing. Unless someone is particularly unhappy, nothing is going to change. You are vastly more likely to succeed if you can get referred in. Network, find centers of influence and get them to introduce you to business owners on a favorable basis. It "appears" to take longer, but the cycle will go much faster via a good referral than on a cold call. A cold call has to learn to trust you, you get to borrow trust on a referral.

Think about it from a business owner's perspective. Imagine you are sitting on your sofa watching tv one evening, and a guy calls up, trying to sell you a car. Odds are, you're not in the market. Now imagine getting 10 or more of those calls an hour. Now you're pissed and screen all your calls. Unless someone calls exactly when you're really ticked off about your current car, you're not buying.

Now imagine that your friend calls you up. Asks about your car, remembers that you haven't been terribly happy with it lately. Your friend asks if they can have someone they've done business with call you. Your friend tells you he is a pretty good guy and did right by him. The car salesman isn't very pushy, just good at his job. Odds are, you'll take that call and listen to the guy. You may or may not buy, but at least you'll listen to him.

Hopefully now you realize why cold calling is so hard. Granted, if you make enough calls to the right list, you can make a decent living. However, there are much easier ways to skin a cat.

[Frank Stastny]

Pardon me for providing you with my answer to your question. I'll not make that mistake again.

[MedicarePlanSolutions]

Originally Posted by scrabble

I am completely new to the small group market. Using Reference USA for a biz list, I have called for 8 hours over 2 days and set zero appointments. I haven't kept track of exactly how many gatekeepers I have gotten past but I would guess I have spoken to no less than 30 business owners.
I realize this is for the most part a numbers game, but I was curious as to what others typically expect from a session of coldcalls.

Thanks
Joe

There is nothing intrinsically wrong with cold calling, it could very well be a tough market, your script, or you. I've had overseas callers call businesses and out of 200 calls they'll usually find 3-5 folks that want to have a conversation with a licensed agent about health insurance.

[JustinUpright]

Scrabble I applaud you for seeing things for what they are. I do B2B cold calling mainly. That is what I was taught when I started in this business. I started with AFLAC but have expanded into other lines as there are too many AFLAC agents out there. I hit probably 20-30 businesses each day. So that is around 100-150 per week. I make about 3-4 appointments a week this way. We also generate interest in what we do and when we go back in an area and hit the businesses again we usually get a few people that weren't really interested the first time. If you have money for marketing then do what you can if you need to do this business with little money then cold calling is the only way to do that. You can either spend money or time but you have to spend something to get the business. I hope one day I can sit in my office all day and wait on phone calls but right now we beat the pavement. Personally if I had it as good as the rest of the guys here I would be fishing with the phones forwarded to the boat.

I will have to agree that Frank does have reputation for helping people here. You will find that a lot of people here will tell you something doesn't work and they haven't put it to the test long enough to find out any real results. I go door to door that is the only way to really talk to the business owner.

[OrlandoSEO]

I don't know about insurance, but I have a cold calling specialist that I have been dying to get to come work for me. He is the best I have ever seen. I know this because he sold me and I hate cold callers. Cold calling is a bit of a self fulfilling prophecy. If you are not convinced it is going to work than it won't. It is a true art form. I would take one cold call specialist who knows exactly what to do over 10 guys makes **** loads of calls any day. It is really about doing the right things. The guy I am talking about let me sit on a few call with him once. He let me talk, then laughed at my attempt. Then he did it. I felt like a school girl in a shark tank. Little things like say "John over at copytronics reffered me to you" when he got the receptionist. He would just pick the last name he called and say that. It made such a huge difference. It was as if you could not hang up on him. He didn't sound like most cold callers that talk like they trying to speed through and make more calls. He sounded like he called to help you out.

[VolAgent]

Originally Posted by OrlandoSEO

I felt like a school girl in a shark tank. Little things like say "John over at copytronics reffered me to you" when he got the receptionist. He would just pick the last name he called and say that. It made such a huge difference. It was as if you could not hang up on him. He didn't sound like most cold callers that talk like they trying to speed through and make more calls. He sounded like he called to help you out.

Nothing like starting things off with a lie. If someone is willing to lie about something so little, what are they going to do when its important? I agree, you should sound like you are calling to help, but why resort to lying?

Woe to someone who would sell his integrity and credibility for such a small price.

[briko3]

Make 26 dials this afternoon, talked to about 15 owners and made 2 appointments. Maybe it's what you're saying.

[scrabble]

Originally Posted by Frank Stastny

Pardon me for providing you with my answer to your question. I'll not make that mistake again.

Frank-

Your point was valid and I thank you for your contribution to this thread and the forum

[briko3]

Frank might be selling his software, but you can almost always take his advice to the bank.

[MedicarePlanSolutions]

Originally Posted by VolAgent

Nothing like starting things off with a lie. If someone is willing to lie about something so little, what are they going to do when its important? I agree, you should sound like you are calling to help, but why resort to lying?

Woe to someone who would sell his integrity and credibility for such a small price.

In all fairness it's entirely possible that whoever that the last person he talked did tell him to go talk to someone else. Not that I agree with it, but some of the richest folks I know in this business are also the most dishonest and biggest thieves.

[Frank Stastny]

Originally Posted by scrabble

Frank-

Your point was valid and I thank you for your contribution to this thread and the forum

Thanks Joe, I appreciate that. If I can ever help give me a call.

[somarco]

some of the richest folks I know in this business are also the most dishonest and biggest thieves.

There are different ways of measuring wealth.

Like you, I have met, and even worked with (back when I had a "real" job) folks that would lie to their mother to make a sale. But I also met a bunch of people along the way that managed to make a very comfortable living with integrity and without hype.

[ins.dave]

Originally Posted by briko3

Make 26 dials this afternoon, talked to about 15 owners and made 2 appointments. Maybe it's what you're saying.

Let us know if you had a sit with either of them?

[bill3173]

I can't make a living with small group cold calling me.

I've found small group to be the biggest time waster for me and I don't even offer it. If anyone enjoys this market and is making money, my hat is off to them.

I detest the whole process of quoting, waiting, hearing nothing back, getting a phone call two months later that they want to do an individual plan on a key employee and they are dissolving their current group.

Of course, you can make a living off of them and I do have a few, but I would have to be in it full time and I'd rather have my teeth pulled.

[somarco]

If you don't have a passion for what you are doing it is just another job. I made good money for years in large group (100 - 3000 lives) but eventually that market changed dramatically for me and I lost interest. My focus now is working with individuals and entrepreneurs offering mostly individual major med and, when it fits, small group.

All of my small group plans have one or more uninsurable key employees or dependents. These groups don't pay that well but they stay on the books for years with very little service. I would love to write a dozen or so small groups every year but so far that has not happened.

[healthagent]

To add; sales is not a numbers game. If selling health insurance was a numbers came the failure rate would be 2% not 98%.