Cold Calling 101: Professor Richard Deckard

Good work Richard. I for one appreciate you sharing your experiences and "not offended" by your teaching style.

QUESTION: Are you using a dialer...if so which one?

Thanks very much and keep up the good work!

PS. Some of us appreciate what you are sharing and are NOT offended.
;)
 
Good work Richard. I for one appreciate you sharing your experiences and "not offended" by your teaching style.

QUESTION: Are you using a dialer...if so which one?

Thanks very much and keep up the good work!

PS. Some of us appreciate what you are sharing and are NOT offended.
;)

Another hard one to accept for many will be the fact I DO NOT use a dialer. The agency I am with does not go after the X-Dates like I do. Nobody in the office with a 2-20(7-8 at least) will pick up the phone and make cold calls, not a single one. I don't say that to impress anyone but rather to impress upon you just how big an edge you might get by mastering the process until you can grow your book out.

I actually use the old method of dialing each number by hand, luckily we don't use rotary phones at work :laugh: but still it's not fun having to dial them manually. But also understand I am using the first 6-12 months for proof of concept all the way around. I think I can make hay by doing something others will not, we'll see if I really can now. Since I have produced numbers thru a licensed agent i was teamed up with, I cannot imagine I will not be able to close my own leads I generate.

Just a few quick notes and I apologize if this is a repeat but some folks cannot read long passages and need a more bullets point list so here goes.

1. Be very specific in who you are targeting and what list you are using. Understand that the purpose of the cold call is simply to gauge interest and not close them on the spot. I am mostly talking to newbies that work as Independent Agents.

2. Commit to an exact time or allotted time per day and stick to it. It's easy to make 10 calls, nobody picks up so you throw your hands up or you veer off track and start daydreaming about that hot mama in the tight yoga pants you saw the other day...STAY FOCUSED!!!

-A caveat to what I just wrote, you must have confidence in yourself and know your limitations. Try to be a little better you/person every day. That can mean many things but I try and learn something everyday that will help me better service my clients. I don't need a lot of heavy sales training, I need good solid information so I don't sound like an ***.

3. Limit the cold calling to about 2-3 hours a day/night, 50-100 calls, 2-3 solid leads a day, 8-10 a week and then spend the rest of your time working small commercial accounts during the day when homeowners are least likely to be home.

Today is the first day of the rest of your cold calling life :yes:
 
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Rick....
...whats your hook for commercial accounts?

How long does it take you to get through your commercial list?
Im sure everyone picks up the phone since its a business...so how many names do you need to have a full 3 hour cold call session?

Ill probably be starting in the next week...its a little daunting thinking about doing this when im brand new in the biz and my insurance knowledge is minimal.

but as Nick Murray "Game of Numbers" says, you must focus on prospecting when youre brand new.
 
Rick....
...whats your hook for commercial accounts?

How long does it take you to get through your commercial list?
I'm sure everyone picks up the phone since its a business...so how many names do you need to have a full 3 hour cold call session?

Ill probably be starting in the next week...its a little daunting thinking about doing this when I'm brand new in the biz and my insurance knowledge is minimal.

but as Nick Murray "Game of Numbers" says, you must focus on prospecting when you're brand new.

Great question, allow me to unwrap that a little for you. What I hear is "OK Deckard, you got the homeowner/personal lines down but what about Commercial?"

I'm going to tell you what I have written down in my mastermind book of notes I have scribbled down from places like this and other resources I have investigated and studied. YOU CAN"T SELL COMMERCIAL OVER THE PHONE!

-Believe me if there is a way I am going to find it but on the whole you really have to go belly to belly and even more so than when you cold call, you are going to need a good story. Allow me to try and help but understand the words you use and how you say them will have a lot more impact if they are real, relate-able, and you believe the words coming out of your mouth...

I really should not share words that I have not actually tested much yet but initially I am getting amazing feedback from my story...my story is that I have been teaching Middle School Math for the last 3-4 years in Dade and Palm Beach, lots of business owners have kids and we immediately start talking about the plight of the American Education System...my personal beliefs are not as important as what I know rings true with them.

-I tell them the reason I left teaching is because my message of "Work Hard, don't be a victim and don't wait for others to give you anything"...that message don't work with a lot of other teachers but parents and business owners love it. I hit hard on how the youngsters of today would rather text across the room from each other than actually speak...you know these stories and you can make your own up. But my goal is to separate myself from others any way possible.

-I have another thread on Commerical with Premiums $10k-$50k, it's up in the P&C Forum, please check in there, think you will like where I was going with it.
 
Rick....
...whats your hook for commercial accounts?

How long does it take you to get through your commercial list?
Im sure everyone picks up the phone since its a business...so how many names do you need to have a full 3 hour cold call session?

Ill probably be starting in the next week...its a little daunting thinking about doing this when im brand new in the biz and my insurance knowledge is minimal.

but as Nick Murray "Game of Numbers" says, you must focus on prospecting when youre brand new.

Furly, to answer your question you can never have enough names, only not enough. To put a number on it..I'd say you'll want 20-30 per hour of calling.

When I was calling I would aim for about 50 new calls (not follow ups) a day and averaged 20/hour. Also keep in mind it is probably your 3rd, 4th or 5th call that actually gets you somewhere on the commercial side.

As a generalization Rick is correct that you can not SELL commercial over the phone BUT it is the first step toward selling. Phone call gets the meeting, meeting gets the info and then you decide if you're walking down the path with the prospect hand in hand or shoving him down a hill and making a break for it.
 
Furly, to answer your question you can never have enough names, only not enough. To put a number on it..I'd say you'll want 20-30 per hour of calling.

When I was calling I would aim for about 50 new calls (not follow ups) a day and averaged 20/hour. Also keep in mind it is probably your 3rd, 4th or 5th call that actually gets you somewhere on the commercial side.

As a generalization Rick is correct that you can not SELL commercial over the phone BUT it is the first step toward selling. Phone call gets the meeting, meeting gets the info and then you decide if you're walking down the path with the prospect hand in hand or shoving him down a hill and making a break for it.

Coincidentally I just purchased your service.

As a newbie...I should be prospecting like crazy...but if im focusing on only a couple of niches I would be able to call just about every person in those niches in about a month (those with revenue > $1 Million).

At that point...is the game just following up and getting in front of those businesses I called in the first month?

I was reading some old post from VaDwayne and he said that all he did his first year was cold call...
...how do you not run out of numbers to call that way?
 
If this is the case it wouldn't hurt to expand your net a bit. I would start with size..nothing wrong with walking in to an account a bit above your comfort zone once in a while. Maybe they like you and you get a real shot down the road.

As far as industry, if you are tapped out b/c of your markets' appetite then there is not much you can do. If not, it's another way to expand your net. Quantity over quality is a good way to learn and gain experience. I would define 'newbie' as a blank slate, so you're still finding that niche.

Also, if you are following up 3-5 times as you come full circle it should keep you pretty busy. A lot of the doors I got in to my second year were from first year's effort.

Shoot me an email later and I'll elaborate a bit...think I have a tip for breaking the searches down by priority too.
 
Furly, to answer your question you can never have enough names, only not enough. To put a number on it..I'd say you'll want 20-30 per hour of calling.

When I was calling I would aim for about 50 new calls (not follow ups) a day and averaged 20/hour. Also keep in mind it is probably your 3rd, 4th or 5th call that actually gets you somewhere on the commercial side.

As a generalization Rick is correct that you can not SELL commercial over the phone BUT it is the first step toward selling. Phone call gets the meeting, meeting gets the info and then you decide if you're walking down the path with the prospect hand in hand or shoving him down a hill and making a break for it.

Excellent post, right on the money. I think I can use my phone skills to arrange meetings with business owners, very narrow scope I had going there.

Love the Log In Handle :laugh:
 
I don't think any of us are in a position to NOT accept free advice. I certainly am always open to criticism and any type of advice. For me cold calling is something that I avoid like the plague. I hate it, I suck at it, and I'm willing to realize that fact. I've found every conceivable way to drum up business besides having to go that route, and so when things get really slow, as they are now, and I have no other place to turn, I hate myself for not being better at cold calling. There's hangups, there's people cursing at you, etc etc.... I hope that oneday I'll be better at it. :laugh:

Brother Johnny,

My sentiments EXACTLY. I would rather suffer serial root canals than face the dreaded assclown on the other end of the phone.

Rick is a great guy and willing to help out. He has given me salient advice that I coupled with this:

http://www.lifehealthpro.com/2008/0...e-to-the-prospecting-cold?slreturn=1490616339

. . .especially after if get the objections down. I believe it is lack of knowledge and the know how that it holding us back.

Good guys like Rick, as well as forming a loose knit Mastermind group. . . so we can hold each other accountable might just do the trick!

Good huntin'

Tevis
 
I think the main point here, is to make the call. There is no best script, best time, best day to make the calls. Most get hung up on this and never follow through. It's proven that you make 50 calls, you'll get 2-5 good leads. Just create a discipline, and pick up the phone.

Very well said!
 

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