Insurance Agent Forum

[Res_Ipsa_Loquitor]

I posted here about a month ago seeking advice as I was just getting started. Lots of good info, thanks for all the replies.

A quick refresher: im a lawyer for an energy company, used to be in priavte practice, just trying to earn some extra money and maybe eventually move out of the corporate job. Anyway, I decided to go captive with Physicians Mutual. lots of good free leads and im the only PM agent in this area.

I have a client I was doing some estate planning for, and have sold him $500k SPIA, my first sale. Practically sold itself. Anyway, I think I can mak quite a bit of money at this. My problem is that i don't think i want to spend a lot of time calling prospects so i think im going to hire someone to do it. I am going to focus more on dragging in elephants and doing estate planning "seminars"...

So 2 questions:

1. what do you think if doing estate planning seminars where i give free advice on wills, trusts. etc. and also peddle my wares?

2. what about telemarketers? anyone worth the money, whats the best way to hire someone?

Thanks in advance.

[Melmunch3]

What does PM pay on a spia? Most independent companies are about 4%.

In any case, it can be very effective to advertise about will/estate planning, but make sure that you check to see that there are no laws against combining that with insurance sales in your state.

[Res_Ipsa_Loquitor]

Originally Posted by Melmunch3

What does PM pay on a spia? Most independent companies are about 4%.

In any case, it can be very effective to advertise about will/estate planning, but make sure that you check to see that there are no laws against combining that with insurance sales in your state.

5% but I will only get $10k (there is a cap or something, I don't know all the details).

I wasn't going to advertise per se... I was thinking of doing informative seminars at churches, civic groups, etc. When I was practicing law, i had groups ask me to do this several times. My plan is to contact the groups sell them on the idea by trying to get the group put in as a beneficiary. Meet the group, give em info, sell em stuff.

[salpro22]

1. what do you think if doing estate planning seminars where i give free advice on wills, trusts. etc. and also peddle my wares?

Sign me up. I love the idea. If you were in my area we could conduct a seminar together.

2. what about telemarketers? anyone worth the money, whats the best way to hire someone?

Been there done that, LOVE the hat.

At the commission levels you are talking about you will have to do some number crunching to determine how many leads you need to reach a sale, the average sale price/commission earned, time frame for closing leads, etc. and how you will pay the telemarketers . I recommend paypal or a general bank account if you can.

Use craigslist to recruit at-home telemarketers. I initially offered a moderate $10 per lead based on MY STANDARDS plus bonuses. If money is not an option for you I suggest that once you know your numbers, MASS HIRE and let the good ones play out. I contemplated offering a base salary + bonuses after a probationary period of 30-60 days until I got my ass handed to me on training, follow-up, etc. and it impacted my daily duties. I highly encourage you to put together a 1099 contract spelling out everything!

Personally, I focus more on the deal to commission earned vs a lead/commission basis and I pay per lead.

I could care less if it costs me $200 to get enough leads if I produce $1000 in commission for that money invested. You can't beat a 5 to 1 return. When you do get a great telemarketer, be sure to take care of her. Send gift cards, cd's, dvd players, whatever she wants to keep her growing and going.

John P. has done quite well with telemarketing and has a similar approach. The key is to make sure that you have enough money to get you through the tough times starting up, have experience managing others or you can learn quickly. I never managed at home workers before and it took a few months to get a system in place that worked for me.

DON'T DO WHAT I DID AND JUMP INTO IT WITHOUT AT LEAST 2 MONTHS IN MARKETING EXPENSES SAVED UP! If you are giong to do something, you need a moderate amount of time to get the stats you need. Trying out telemarketing for 2-4 weeks is not the way to go. After 3-6 months you will have enough data to really hone in on things.

If you have any questions please feel free to PM me....

[midwestbroker]

I have a friend who is a fellow agent that has an estate attorney speak at some of his seminars. It has been a win-win for them both.

If you are wanting to sell insurance, and cannot do both (insurance and law at the same time), maybe you can do the same, have a fellow lawyer join you. Or, maybe offer a free booklet on estate planning?

[ROGCHAP57]

Hey Res
Congratulations, glad it's working out for you, sounds like you're a natural!!!

[Mr. Bill]

I have had terrible experience with telemarketers (the kind I paid, trained, etc.) and am wondering - with the "at-home" variety, did you just get a subscription to goleads and give them the password, or what did they use to telemarket?

Thanks