Insurance Agent Forum

[Agent4Life]

Hi Everybody,

I'm curious as to how many Agents have dropped their landlines and are using a cell phone exclusively as their business line ???

I am "considering" dropping the 3 landlines I currently have in my home office to streamline my operations. We have a line in the house for the family to use for personal, non-biz related phone calls, and then I have a dedicated phone line just for my Insurance Business, and another dedicated line just for the fax machine. I've got a cell phone {that I usually have the biz landline forward to when I'm not in the office}, and then my husband and daughter also have cell phones. On top of that, we have a "wired" internet service for the household, and then I've got a seperate "wireless" PC Card that I use when I am away from the office. So...with the price of gas, food, and it seems like "every little thing" going up, I'm really trying to look for ways to cut some costs out of my personal and business expenses because it seems like we are spending an awful lot of money on just phone lines and internet service.

I've been pondering this for a while, and I'm thinking that I could drop all of the landlines and the wired internet service and:
1) Get a PALM or Blackberry Phone that I could use as my official business line in my home office as well as in the field when I'm out conducting business away from the office {assuming that I can maintain good phone call quality while conducting business from my home office}
2) Add 3 additional phone lines to the same wireless plan so that everybody in the family still has a phone to use for their personal non-biz related phone calling {I think you can get a bundled package of 4 lines and 4000 shared minutes for about $149.00}
3) Drop the wired internet service and just use the PC Cards which will only slighly increase the "bundled" price mentioned above
4) Get an eFax service for my faxing needs at $4.95/mo

So what do you'all think ??? Is anyone else out there doing business this way ??? What about VOIP ? I also gave that some consideration, but I've heard that the call quality is not that great or consistant, plus there is sometimes a delay or lag as the communication travels over the internet.

[somarco]

First thing I would do is ditch the fax line. Services like eFax or MaxEmail are lower cost alternatives. I dropped my dedicated fax line years ago in favor of MaxEmail.

I still have a fax machine, connected to my office land line, for times when I need to fax something out.

I have looked at the package plans (DSL + phone) but haven't bit the bullet yet. Folks I know who have Comcast phone & DSL are SOL when the DSL goes dead.

I have DSL thru Bellsouth (now AT&T) and POTS. There are times when I cannot access the internet but my phone still works.

You won't get that with the combo plans thru your cable provider.

I also have the AT&T voice mail service. Works even when the phone line (or power) goes out.

There are advantages to ditching the landline altogether but I have not made that jump yet. There are places in my home where my cell phone loses the signal or starts to break up. Also, my business model does not require me to be tethered to the phone, so having mobile only is not an option.

I also use a wired headset (with a wireless backup) for clear quality. I would not be able to have the same with a totally wireless set up, including mobile with Bluetooth.

If you do decide to go wireless, consider flat rate plans (if available in your area). Metro PCS has unlimited local & long distance for $40 per month. In some areas you can get similar deals from Virgin or Cricket.

[djs]

Bottom line to me is that call quality on a wired line is much better than call quality on a cell phone. I'll pay the bit extra for the better sound. In a phone business, this makes sense to me.

Now, I do P&C, I'm on the phone about 27 hours a day. I'm a bit of a stickler on sound quality, so this is somewhat a personal thing, but if you think about it, you know when someone calls you on a cell phone vs when someone calls you from a landline. It's not the difference it used to be, but it is still very real.

My internet hasn't gone down in 10 years, I'm not to worried about that. A good voip line (such as comcast or vonage) with solid internet service can save you some money over AT&T, and still deliver good quality sound (sometimes better than AT&T). If it's not setup right, this will sound like garbage though.

I talk on the phone more than you. 4000 minutes might make it for me alone for the month, never would make it for the family and me, if we lost the landline.

If I could talk my wife into it, we would drop the landline for the house. Useless. I dropped my fax line sometime ago, I still do a lot of outbound faxing, using myfax, which gives me a papertrail of the faxes as well, and is cheaper than a fax line.

I'd keep the wired line for the office.

Dan

[joshril]

Definitely ditch the fax line!

Most cell phone carriers offer an unlimited plan if you want to go the cell phone route. You could also use voip phone lines. I have 2 land lines that cost only $24.99/mo each with Vonage. I'm very pleased with them thus far.

[tryan326]

Originally Posted by joshril

I have 2 land lines that cost only $24.99/mo each with Vonage. I'm very pleased with them thus far.

Is the voice quality the same as a standard line?

[Agent4Life]

I thought that Vonage was wireless VOIP - which means that the voice quality would be similar to what you would get on a cell phone... Is that correct ??? If so, why not just use a cell phone ??? {NOTE: I'm really not very familiar with Vonage or VOIP - so please clarify if I have it all wrong (and please excuse my ignorance - I'm just not very familiar with how either of those technologies work)}.

[Expat]

[quote=tryan326;73787]Is the voice quality the same as a standard line?[/quote

I have vonage and the quality is exactly the same as an AT&T land line.
However you need a good internet provider and must leave the modem on, otherwise you lose your phone service and all calls go the voice mail.
Also if your internet service goes down, calls are automatically routed to your cell phone (assuming you set vonage up for this)
I used to have AT&T with a business phone number and also their internet service. With voice mail etc the cost was $176 per month.
Now Time Warner cable = $39 month and vonage is $30 (including tax)...Big savings, same service.
I use "My Fax" ($10 per month) which allows me to receive faxes and to send faxes (In any format) via email.

[Dave020]

Originally Posted by somarco

First thing I would do is ditch the fax line. Services like eFax or MaxEmail are lower cost alternatives. I dropped my dedicated fax line years ago in favor of MaxEmail.

I use e-fax, works great and runs about $17 a month with unlimited free incoming faxes

Originally Posted by somarco

I still have a fax machine, connected to my office land line, for times when I need to fax something out.

So far we are exactly the same...kind of spooky Bob!

Originally Posted by somarco

I have looked at the package plans (DSL + phone) but haven't bit the bullet yet. Folks I know who have Comcast phone & DSL are SOL when the DSL goes dead.

I have DSL thru Bellsouth (now AT&T) and POTS. There are times when I cannot access the internet but my phone still works.

I have it set up with Verizon (our local provider here) for landline and attached DSL. So far 2 years no problems at all.

Originally Posted by somarco

There are advantages to ditching the landline altogether but I have not made that jump yet. There are places in my home where my cell phone loses the signal or starts to break up. Also, my business model does not require me to be tethered to the phone, so having mobile only is not an option.

I also use a wired headset (with a wireless backup) for clear quality. I would not be able to have the same with a totally wireless set up, including mobile with Bluetooth.

If you do decide to go wireless, consider flat rate plans (if available in your area). Metro PCS has unlimited local & long distance for $40 per month. In some areas you can get similar deals from Virgin or Cricket.

Same here, headset to landline, best quality for talking. My cell has problems in the house as well, so it makes a very bad business phone.

What a lot of people do is have the landline as the main office phone and forward to the cell phone when they are out and about.

I just feel that cell phones, while great, sound like cell phones and I can always tell when someone calls me from a cell phone. I would think anyone trying to do business with me that way, I would find someone else. Same for people who insist on talking on speakerphone.

[robliano]

Try ring central, an 800 # VOIP with faxing right from the laptop, will forward to about ten numbers if necessary, also plays music on hold, can add a nice big company sound to an indie agent or small agency. I've had several agents ask "what is that?"

[somarco]

I'm on the phone about 27 hours a day

My guess is you are one of those guys who also gives 110%.

You guys amaze me.

I like to sleep once in a while.

And fool around with the wife.

kind of spooky Bob

Who are you calling spooky Bob?

I am Krusty Bob.

Spooky was George Gobel's wife.

[joshril]

Vonage voice quality is better than cell phone... the same as a land-line. It is recommended to have a reasonable speed on your interenet connection.

It's much cheaper than a cell phone/land line as well. My home office costs less than $250.00/mo to run

Vonage: $57 (including taxes-2 lines)
MyFax: $10 (800 number)
RingCentral: $30
Cable Internet: $45
Norvax: $100
Web Hosting: $7 (21 sites)
SugarCRM: $0

Total: $242/ mo.

This business has a ridiculously low overhead if you do some research.

[padthaiforlunch]

I use ring central for my fax, cable internet and a cell phone for everything else. T-mobile has unlimited calling for $99/mo.

True, the quality isn't always as crisp as a land line, but do I really want the type of clients who wouldn't give me their business if I call on a cell phone. OMG! If they are that sensitive, imagine what else they cry about.

Dave: please don't take that as an attack on you. I respect you opinion on insurance matters -- and I agree with the speaker phone thing. I just find it hard to believe that a sensible person would use a cell phone call as a reason not to do business. And while people like that probably exist, I suspect they are also litigious and immune from logic when claims don't process as they want them to.

[Dave020]

I was speaking generally. It really depends on what business you are in. Some businesses a cell phone would indicate the wrong thing, with insurance it really does not matter much. My problem is the dropouts, reception in general and quality esp when talking to seniors. Certainly more convenient, but I hate having to ask them to repeat because of noise, static, or dropout on the call. Plus cell phones for some reason are really good at picking up all of the background noise.

For non-business I do use my cell exclusively and have no landline for home. Makes way more sense to use the cell.

[djs]

Originally Posted by padthaiforlunch

True, the quality isn't always as crisp as a land line, but do I really want the type of clients who wouldn't give me their business if I call on a cell phone. OMG! If they are that sensitive, imagine what else they cry about.

There is a lot more to the issue than just quality of talking on the phone, though that alone is huge.

There is the perception. Different markets, different products, and different people will see this differently.

In my case, I pay to have a nice office (not outlandish) so clients can come to me. I want to provide the perception that I've been doing this for a long time (and I have), I'm well established, they know where to come if there is a problem, etc. Most clients have never been to my office, but they know they can if they choose.

That perception of stability, the comfort of knowing that if they ever have a problem, I'll be here for them, gets me a LOT of business. This is part of the reason I don't work out of my house anymore.

Calling people on a cell phone, when they know it's a cell phone, doesn't give the perception of stability. It gives the perception of just getting started. Not always true, but perceptions usually aren't reality.

Many of my clients call my cell phone, they are welcome to do that. But when they do, they know they are calling my cell phone, not my office.

Of course, my office phone, 8-5, is answered by a person in my building. I have an answering service to do this so if I'm not here, or on the line, it sounds like a larger company. Since they are in the building, they can answer basic questions, such as he just stepped out for lunch, be back in an hour, or he's on the phone, he'll call you back in 20 minutes.

It's all about perception.

Dan

[padthaiforlunch]

Dave & Dan, you both have valid points.

I am fortunate to have good reception in my home, where I do most of my work from. The PITA is error connection about every 20 dials. And I have been considering a land line to hook up to a cheetah, as I think it will pay for itself with increased production. I need to find a computer geek that can hook up my cell phone to a speed dialer. Hmmm, as I write this, I'm talking myself into a land line.

Regarding perception, I need to think about it some more. Cell phone are so ubiquitous that I doubt it puts many people off. Perhaps if I was in the senior market I would use a land line.

Most of my clients know I relocated after Katrina, so I was addressing the stability issue with some regularity; but I ooze sincerity and integrity and easily establish rapport and trust with my clients.

[TimLett]

I'm not saying that this is what you should do, but here is what I do.

$30 Vonage for home office phone and outgoing fax.
$17 E-fax for incoming and forwarding pdf files.
$200 AT&T Family Plan for Wireless with 850 Anytime Minutes, Unlimited N&W, and Unlimited Messaging.

$247 Total telephone/fax communication expense

[Frank Stastny]

Originally Posted by Dave020

I just feel that cell phones, while great, sound like cell phones and I can always tell when someone calls me from a cell phone. I would think anyone trying to do business with me that way, I would find someone else. Same for people who insist on talking on speakerphone.

I totally agree. It only costs a little more to go "first class". It's called "the cost of doing business".

I have always found it interesting that it so many agents I have talked to are always looking for the cheapest way of doing things instead of the best and most professional way. It's as though they don't consider selling insurance as a real business, just a way of making money.

I always ask someone who is using a speaker phone to pick up the handset. I think that is extremely rude unless there are several people in the room and all need to participate in the call.

[somarco]

I'm with you Frank.

One of my pet peeves are folks who put me on hold to take another call. If it is an emergency, fine. I have done that a few times on family issues but never when another client is calling.

I also hate those phones that play 3 minutes of music before you go to voice mail . . . and then give you 5 seconds to record your message.

[Bob_The_Insurance_Guy]

We have a landline. I also have RingCentral. I also have a cell phone.

When I make outgoing calls, I use a headset with my land line, but always use my RingCentral number as the call back number.

The land line is clearer, and using the headset allows me to use my hands when I speak (sorry, it's the Toastmaster in me). The RingCentral also acts as my fax number, so there is only one number for anyone to remember to either get hold of me, or to fax me something.

When I make outgoing calls, I put my cell phone on silent (I am working from home, and my Ring Central number is forwarded to my cell number - this way I am not disturbed when I am talking on the land line).

Ring Central costs me $15 a month
Land Line costs me $28 a month
Cell Phone (with 4 phones - one for each member of our family and 1600 minutes, which we never use up) costs me $100 a month.

My two cents.

[healthagent]

To back up what's been stated:

In many cases doing business by cell has an unprofessional ring to it. I know when I'm talking to someone on a cell and yes, to me that insinuates instablity.

Maybe it's an outdated or old fashioned business concept but I beleve in using a land line. For those of you using cells - we can tell it's a cell.

The problem is this: you don't know how much business you lose since those are the people you simply don't get back in touch with. And it's not like you can call 'em back on down the road and ask "hey...why didn't you do business with me?"

I see a lot of agents struggling, yet you call them - they never answer - never; 10am - 3:30, 5pm - you hit their VM.

They are "call screeners" and would rather stare at their caller ID then simply answer their phone.

Professional message? No - you hit things like:

"the voicemailbox of the person you are trying to reach is not set up"
"this voice mailbox is full"
"Hey, this is Brian - you know what to do."

Etc.....