Oh I agree Rick, but it's a whole lot easier to cherrypick when you've got a 10, 20 or 30 year book of business...
I don't think a new agent, or someone building a senior book, has the luxury of not pursuing T65s, Medicare Advantage, PDP and the like.
They've got to grab new clients any way they can. When you leave out the above...there ain't much left!
Not sure what the book of business has to do with NEW leads.
A new agent should not be picky as to who they solicit. We both agree on that.
But from my experience, the low hanging fruit is not the T65 group. Maybe you have discovered a better way to reach this people and differentiate yourself. If so, that's great. I would love to see it because my best success is when I speak with those who are already "aged."
Seriously, I am looking forward to my copy of the ebook which of course, you promised to send me for free.
Rick
------------------------------------ ILIAA
Training, Community, Support, and Success Independent Life Insurance Agents Assn rick@iliaa.org
Not sure what the book of business has to do with NEW leads.
A good size book of business gives you breathing room, no? You don't have to prospect quite so hard, and you can be pickier about what you do, and whom you do it with.
I've got a special, "limited-edition" copy just for you.
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[COLOR=blue]Don't steal - the government hates competition.[/COLOR]
A good size book of business gives you breathing room, no? You don't have to prospect quite so hard, and you can be pickier about what you do, and whom you do it with.
I've got a special, "limited-edition" copy just for you.
There is no way to measure how much Frank's training is worth. What I do know, it is worth a lot more than the price of YIO.
[COLOR=blue]I'm very glad to hear that Frank's counsel has been so valuable for you![/COLOR]
I sold 8 med supps in the first 9 days. As a matter of fact, Lats week I wrote four apps sitting at home in my shorts and flip flops
[COLOR=blue]That's a great start - keep it up. You have a few months in the business now? The challenge will be to meet the test of time - the sternest test of all.[/COLOR]
Just joking, I hate Florida
[COLOR=blue]I know what you mean, I don't care much for Virginia.[/COLOR]
You see, the problems I see with your plan:
[COLOR=blue]The problems I see with your observations[/COLOR]:
1. If you are doing 50 dials an hour, you aren't spending enough time with the prospects gathering information for future use
[COLOR=blue]Might be helpful to re-read the prior posts. The test was only designed to see how many people actually answer the phone.[/COLOR]
2. If you are talking to 9 people for every 100 dials, then you are calling at the wrong times, or maybe I live in an area where people simply sit around the house all day, but you are way off.I would say that the number should be20 or so; I will track it tomorrow to see for my self.
[COLOR=blue]The difference here: I have data, and you have a guess. [/COLOR][COLOR=blue]As I posted, the calls were placed at different times between 8AM and 8PM Monday through Friday.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=blue]Tracking it for one day is a recipe for bad data. We made 2000 dials, spread over about forty hours, and five days. [/COLOR][COLOR=blue]When you've got that level of data, come back and tell us the results.[/COLOR]
I have never set an Med-Supp appointment using his script and not sold it. My closing ratio is 100%, believe it or not.
[COLOR=blue]A percentage can be misleading. I could be at 100% too - if I'm 1 for 1. But yet I've only got 1! How many are you talking about? When you get to about 50 - you'll have something to talk about.[/COLOR]
God has been so good to me!!!!!
[COLOR=blue]Has He been running on appointments with you?[/COLOR]
Last edited by moonlightandmargaritas : 07-14-2009 at 04:19 PM.
[COLOR=blue]I'm very glad to hear that Frank's counsel has been so valuable for you![/COLOR]
[COLOR=blue]That's a great start - keep it up. You have a few months in the business now? The challenge will be to meet the test of time - the sternest test of all.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=red]I agree with you 100%, and with God's help I will stand the test of time because of my work ethic and desire to learn this business, oh yeah, a mortgage and 2 kids push me everyday too. [/COLOR]
[COLOR=blue]I know what you mean, I don't care much for Virginia.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=red]Cool, one less person to breath my fresh mountain air.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=blue]The problems I see with your observations[/COLOR]:
[COLOR=blue]Might be helpful to re-read the prior posts. The test was only designed to see how many people actually answer the phone.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=red]I did read and those numbers are way off based on my experience. Can't explain it, just know that it's true.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=blue]The difference here: I have data, and you have a guess. [/COLOR][COLOR=blue]As I posted, the calls were placed at different times between 8AM and 8PM Monday through Friday.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=red]Finding out if a person has Medicare takes about 10-12 seconds at the most especially if you are using a dialer where you can push a button and move on, and it gives you the opportunity to ask them about their life and LTC insurance. I took a Final Expense app today, doing it this way. Under your system, they would have never received a phone call.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=blue]Tracking it for one day is a recipe for bad data. We made 2000 dials, spread over about forty hours, and five days. [/COLOR][COLOR=blue]When you've got that level of data, come back and tell us the results.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#0000ff][COLOR=red]I don't track it for just one day. As the saying goes "Yesterdays home run doesn't count in todays game" My dialer tells me how many dials, how many contacts, how many people who asked to be put on my DNC. Yesterday I had 319 dials and 87 contacts, 103 answering machines(no message left).[/COLOR] [/COLOR]
[COLOR=blue]A percentage can be misleading. I could be at 100% too - if I'm 1 for 1. But yet I've only got 1! How many are you talking about? When you get to about 50 - you'll have something to talk about.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=red]You again are correct, my number is 17 apps. I also have standing appointments to see 5 people after November 15th. It's amazing what that little video on Youtube of President Obama saying that he wants to get rid of MA will do for one's career. I will remain in contact with them until that time, but I figure that I will get 3 of those, but I would like to get them all.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=blue]Has He been running on appointments with you?[/COLOR]
[COLOR=red]YES, He goes everywhere I go. Thank you for asking!! Oh by the way, he's there with you right now too.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff0000]We will all be different in our approach to business and I doubt that any of us have it exactly right. I do agree with you that you can't put all of your eggs in one basket.I am willing to learn from anyone who is willing to teach I just don't believe that compiling numbers and statistics is necessary to having a great sales career. I will stick to my formula:[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff0000]find prospect, work prospect like they may be your last, sell your product, follow-up regularly. [/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff0000]I still have people that every so often will call me to purchase a vehicle from me. These are customers that I have followed-up with since the mid-90's and they call me to buy again. I couldn't send them a letter telling them what I am doing now, because that is on the hard drive of a crashed laptop. [/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff0000]"I did read and those numbers are way off based on my experience. Can't explain it, just know that it's true."[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]I've found over the years that business decisions are better made with facts, as opposed to "can't explain it, just know that it's true."[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff0000]"I don't track it for just one day."[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]I must be confused, didn't you post this just in the last day or two?[/COLOR]
[COLOR=red]"I will track it tomorrow to see for my self."[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]God doesn't like it when you fib.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#ff0000]"You again are correct, my number is 17 apps. I also have standing appointments to see 5 people after November 15th."[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]A nice, solid start, but 17 apps and a couple of months is really not enough to have more usuable knowledge than someone with many years of successful experience. [/COLOR]
Here's an indicator:
[COLOR=red]"I also have standing appointments to see 5 people after November 15th."[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]What's the compensation paid for "standing appointments" four months into the future? 0%! 3 out of the 5 could be dead by November! The other two won't even remember they talked to you! If I had a nickel for every "standing appointment" four months out that I've seen over the last 18+ years - I'd be retired and living in Fiji![/COLOR]
What percentage of your "I'll be backs" in the Honda business did you ever see back on the lot?
[COLOR=#ff0000]"I do agree with you that you can't put all of your eggs in one basket. I am willing to learn from anyone who is willing to teach. I just don't believe that compiling numbers and statistics is necessary to having a great sales career."[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]Wow. I hope you come to your senses before it's too late and you're back hustlin' plastic at the Honda dealer! The numbers and statistics are the ONLY thing that can guide how effective your effort is.[/COLOR]
If the numbers and statistics aren't important, why is it that you can tell me you've done 17 applications, and why are you counting your "5 standing appointments"?
Just wondering. Do you ever post anything that is either positive or encouraging?
You tell us you have all the answers but you never post anything but criticism of what others are doing. How about posting something that will actually provide help to others?
It's MY job to tell people they're idiots, not yours.
Just wondering. Do you ever post anything that is either positive or encouraging?
You tell us you have all the answers but you never post anything but criticism of what others are doing. How about posting something that will actually provide help to others?
It's MY job to tell people they're idiots, not yours.
Just wondering. Do you ever post anything that is either positive or encouraging?
You tell us you have all the answers but you never post anything but criticism of what others are doing. How about posting something that will actually provide help to others?
It's MY job to tell people they're idiots, not yours.
Rick
Until I met M&M, I didn't know where I was going or what I was doing. Now, I have a house to live in, my wife goes to lunch with her friends, and I can pay the bills on time.
M&M's training does work.
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No Government can be long secure without a formidable Opposition.
Until I met M&M, I didn't know where I was going or what I was doing. Now, I have a house to live in, my wife goes to lunch with her friends, and I can pay the bills on time.
There is more than one person on the board doing med supps exclusively with success. The last time I opposed the "one-method only approach", I was accused of BS'ing my results with other methods. I do not care if anyone accepts my advice...I offer it for free to reasonable people.
Now, I do not have 16 years in the business...but I do have 9. That should be enough to give me some idea of what works and what does not work.
The bottom line is that many approaches work. I spent the first 2 years exclusively cold calling...it worked. I spent the next 4 years doing direct mail...it worked. I spent the next 2 years designing my own postcards...it worked. I have spent the last year combining those with internet leads...it works.
The beauty of this business is that it is yours. You run it how you want to. If you want to spend 10-15 hours a week on the phone cold calling (because that is what it takes if that's all you do) then go ahead...it works. I would shoot myself if I had to do that every week. I would rather spend $1500/month on marketing so that I do not have to cold call. I have earned the capacity to do so.
I do not hate the phone...I hate routine. I have found that when I start hating this business I can change my marketing and it gets interesting again. As of late, internet leads are 100% of my business. Am I married to internet leads? No. When I get tired of paying for "no answers" I will stop it for a while and do something else.
As long as I continue to get at least a 400% return on my investment in any marketing technique, I will pay for it! That's what I get on internet leads, postcards, and direct mail. If something else comes along that will give me the same return--bring it on. I am willing to spend that much to stay in business and keep my sanity.
Every business owner has to discover on their own what works for them, their budget, and their personality. Why do we want to rob anybody of discovering for himself what works for him? It is part of the fun of being a small business owner--being creative in your marketing. And please don't feed us the garbage of wanting to save others from the headaches and mistakes you made. Character, toughness and good business acumen are had through adversity.
There...and I'm not selling any agency management system (although I own YIO) or e-book (although I would buy it to see if there is something I can learn--even someone brand new in this market can teach me something I'm sure).
[COLOR=black]Originally Posted by[/COLOR] arnguy: [COLOR=black]Nam, if some of the agents on this forum speak English the way they write it, you have nothing to worry about.[/COLOR] [COLOR=black][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]Thanks, if I could speak English like the way I speak Vietnamese, I am a social star. On the contrary, I am running way from a socialist (communist-like) country. Language barrier is one of biggest disadvantage to newly & life-long immigrant as for my experience. It creates lot of misunderstandings, frustrations and makes life a lot harder than it already is due to the fact that we are immigrant, shy, lack of language skill. It is almost impossible for me to relate to a native English speaker due to the lack of conversation and thereof. It only leads to disadvantage for me and many others like me. I see this type of problem almost anywhere within different communities. [/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]Originally Posted by [/COLOR][COLOR=black]moonlightandmargaritas[/COLOR][COLOR=black][/COLOR] [COLOR=black]A good size book of business gives you breathing room, no? You don't have to prospect quite so hard, and you can be pickier about what you do, and whom you do it with.
I've got a special, "limited-edition" copy just for you.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]Yesterday while having coffee with other Vietnamese-Americans, I heard the similar story too. They were complaining that the Vietnamese-Americans are worked too hard, over worked in order to get contracts in the Patent & Trade Office, and they leave “no breathing” room for others. For example: The standard quota in Patent & Trade Office is examining 10 contracts per week. When the Vietnamese-Americans came in, they raised the quota up to 15 or more. [/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]I cannot speak for others and it is not so smart for them to do that. You raise a very good point regarding the “breathing room”. It all depend on their common senses, being knowledgable, knowing or not knowing which essentially we can go back to our language skill and exchange of knowledge in conversations.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black][/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]The bottom line is “get-rid of the language barrier”. Wait until the day I graduate from that.[/COLOR]
Free? Hardly, I couldn't drive it, so I had to pay for a round trip ticket to Florida. He charges a flat fee for 2 days - $2800 1/2 up front and the rest on departure, whether you use them both or not, so I had to spring for a hotel room.
Btw, if you want directions or info. on anything, before you leave, don't wait til you've paid him. It's basically fu there's the door at that point.
Since I began my career as an Insurance Agent (5 whole months now), I have been given lists that, at best, were 10% callable. The remainder were DNC, clearly stated on the list.
We were taught to go through the list regardless as the phone system we were on would not allow DNC calls to go through, but at times the DNC would expire and the call would go through. This left me with an uncomfortable feeling as if the phone system knew the number's DNC was expired, why wasn't the list updated with that same information ?
So, for me, setting appointments on the phone was never the issue, it was the amount of opportunity for me to actually speak with someone. My primary market is 65+, but I've split my lists into two categories: T65 and 66+. In the area I primarily work in, most T65's are still working, so I've resorted to door knocking.
Using my GPS and online geocoding software, I am able to create very efficient door knocking driving routes. [COLOR=blue]Geocoding is the process of taking an address an obtaining the latitiude and longitude needed for the GPS[/COLOR]. I can also see every address I've imported while driving, so if an appt ends early or is a no show, I can easily add door knocking into my routine. While the current process I have to take my "address list" and convert it into a format acceptable for online geocoding takes time, the hour or so of upfront preparation makes me more efficient while working in the field. I have refined this process where I have my "routes" organized to have 2-3 zip codes.
I mention this because the purpose of the door knock is to schedule an appt. If I can't schedule an appt, I always ask for a phone number and ask if it would be okay to contact them within a few weeks to see if things have changed. This eliminates the DNC issue for 90 days.
While I hate the phone, it is for a different reason: damn DNC makes my list's primary use to be a door knocking resource. Aside from this, I do enjoy not knowing what type of response I'll get after I punch the 10th digit.
There's very little doubt that the telephone as a prospecting tool is challenging, and will continue to get worse.
It's just hard to get many to answer - especially residential!
As you said, the DNC list, in addition to answering machines/voice mail, caller ID, cell phones, people with no landline, etc. are all adding up to turn it into a dinosaur.
Smart agents are finding alternative marketing methods - before it - and they - become extinct.
Re: I Hate The Phone
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