Insurance Agent Forum

[BiggitySwat]

I am not very good at telemarketing. But with the Christmas season rolling around...I get more clients asking me about child-friendly insurance/securities products for gifting purposes than for life insurance. What do you think about my cold calling scripts?

VUL SCRIPT:
Hi there, my name is Biggity with Biggity Securities. Is this a bad time?

I'm calling you tonight because I wanted to tell you about a special program the firm is running this month. We are presenting a special kind of cash value insurance for your child that can be used for college planning or even future retirement. Do you have something like this yet?

BLUE CHIP SCRIPT:
"Hi there, my name is BiggitySwat with Biggity Securities House. Is this a bad time?

I'm calling you tonight to see if you had bought the gift that lasts a lifetime for a young person in your life: a share of a blue chip stock, like Kraft Foods. Have you got your blue chips yet?"

COLLEGE SAVINGS SCRIPT:
Hi there, my name is Biggity with Biggity Securities. Is this a bad time?

I'm calling tonight to set an appointment with you. I work with many parents to help prepare for their childrens' education, and with Christmas coming soon, it's a great time to set up a college savings plan. Do you have a 529 savings plan or a Coverdell?


I am wondering if there are any suggestions to these scripts before I start taking them out onto my list. My past telemarketing campaigns always have a ton of rejection in the form of "I'm not interested" or "that doesn't interest me." I am trying to avoid that....

Also, I tried the High Probability Selling script: when I asked "Is this something you want?" The answer is always "no."

[Golden Jet]

Oh, my God. Painful.

[Markingriffin]

Originally Posted by BiggitySwat

I am not very good at telemarketing. But with the Christmas season rolling around...I get more clients asking me about child-friendly insurance/securities products for gifting purposes than for life insurance. What do you think about my cold calling scripts?

VUL SCRIPT:
Hi there, my name is Biggity with Biggity Securities. Is this a bad time?

I'm calling you tonight because I wanted to tell you about a special program the firm is running this month. We are presenting a special kind of cash value insurance for your child that can be used for college planning or even future retirement. Do you have something like this yet?

BLUE CHIP SCRIPT:
"Hi there, my name is BiggitySwat with Biggity Securities House. Is this a bad time?

I'm calling you tonight to see if you had bought the gift that lasts a lifetime for a young person in your life: a share of a blue chip stock, like Kraft Foods. Have you got your blue chips yet?"

COLLEGE SAVINGS SCRIPT:
Hi there, my name is Biggity with Biggity Securities. Is this a bad time?

I'm calling tonight to set an appointment with you. I work with many parents to help prepare for their childrens' education, and with Christmas coming soon, it's a great time to set up a college savings plan. Do you have a 529 savings plan or a Coverdell?


I am wondering if there are any suggestions to these scripts before I start taking them out onto my list. My past telemarketing campaigns always have a ton of rejection in the form of "I'm not interested" or "that doesn't interest me." I am trying to avoid that....

Also, I tried the High Probability Selling script: when I asked "Is this something you want?" The answer is always "no."

[COLOR=black]Try and not sound like you are reading a script to them. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=black]On a college saving script you could use this.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=black]You could say something like, I know in these yard times the last thing you want to think about is how you are going come up with the money to send your child/children to college, but I have found a way to help you with this.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=black]I would like to come out and show you how I plan on helping you with this problem.[/COLOR]


[COLOR=black]Mark Rosenthal[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]markcrosenthal@aol.com[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]www.realfastservice.com [/COLOR]

[moonlightandmargaritas]

Originally Posted by Golden Jet

Oh, my God. Painful.

I'm not sure this comment is strong enough.

Here' a conceptual tip: [COLOR=Red]STOP[/COLOR] trying to sell products. [COLOR=SeaGreen]START[/COLOR] looking for problems that can be solved by owning your products.

There's a BIG difference...

[Markingriffin]

Originally Posted by moonlightandmargaritas

I'm not sure this comment is strong enough.

Here' a conceptual tip: [COLOR=red]STOP[/COLOR] trying to sell products. [COLOR=seagreen]START[/COLOR] looking for problems that can be solved by owning your products.

There's a BIG difference...

I agree with you 100% on this.

[COLOR=black]Figure out what the client’s problem is and try to find a way to solve it with what you are selling. [/COLOR]

[LGilmore]

Isn't this something you should be running by a compliance officer at your BD? Asking us is a waste of your time. You have to have your BD approval and file your script.

I would agree with the others here though that your "script" is painful.

[Salary_Guard]

Why do you say "Is this a bad time" in every opening line? You are giving them an out, right from the start.

If you called and said that, I would say "yes, it is" then hang up.

It wouldn't matter if you had the best product in the world that was going to save me thousands of dollars. Your opening statement gave me an excuse not to talk to you, I didn't even have to make something up to get off the phone.

[BiggitySwat]

Originally Posted by LGilmore

Isn't this something you should be running by a compliance officer at your BD? Asking us is a waste of your time. You have to have your BD approval and file your script.

I would agree with the others here though that your "script" is painful.

I create the script first, then I file it with the CCO. When it comes to telemarketing it's alot of common sense in knowing what you can and can't say. Where alot of my cohorts are getting into trouble of course is promising that their penny stock is the next Google and you have to buy it today to find out.

If my script has too much pain, how about this approach:

Hi, this is Biggity from (B/D name). I am a local financial advisor in the neighborhood, and I advise parents on their different options for funding their childrens' education. What I wanted to do is sit down with you and show you some of the options and get your thoughts. How does that sound?

Or

Hi this is Biggity from (B/D name). The Daily Tribune last month reported that the price of college is going to nearly triple by the time our young ones are going to enter school. I advise parents like yourself on how to start saving money for their childrens' future. Is this something you want?

PS: I like asking "Is this a bad time?" from the get-go because if I am interrupting their dinner I don't want to hold them captive on the phone while their families are waiting....virtually all of the time though when I ask the question the prospect responds by saying "no no, what's up?" or something to that effect. Of course, I also don't want to sound like too much of a pushover....

Originally Posted by Golden Jet

Oh, my God. Painful.

I welcome your criticism, but can you at least provide some kind of recommendation. "Ohmyawdpainful" doesn't tell me what exactly you think I'm doing wrong or how it can be improved.

[moonlightandmargaritas]

Originally Posted by BiggitySwat

Hi, this is Biggity from (B/D name). I am a local financial advisor in the neighborhood, and I advise parents on their different options for funding their childrens' education. What I wanted to do is sit down with you and show you some of the options and get your thoughts. How does that sound?

PS: I like asking "Is this a bad time?" from the get-go because if I am interrupting their dinner I don't want to hold them captive on the phone while their families are waiting....virtually all of the time though when I ask the question the prospect responds by saying "no no, what's up?" or something to that effect. Of course, I also don't want to sound like too much of a pushover....

First off, if you are interrupting their dinner, or it's a bad time, they'll let you know. No need to ask. Assume it's a GOOD time.

Second, and more importantly why would you cold call like this?

How do you know they have kids? Why should they want YOUR "advice"?

When you offer to "sit down with them", you've got to realize that most people would rather schedule a root-canal appointment! It sounds like Amway for crissakes.

"What I wanted"? The DON'T CARE what you want, they care what THEY WANT.

As soon as they hear "financial" - you're done.

Lemme ask you this: would you be prone to take "advice" from somebody that has to resort to cold calling like this?

It screams DESPERATE.

Better idea: do some kind of a seminar (there's no shortage of school groups, PTAs, etc. that look for speakers) on college funding...

Call it something like, "Three Biggest Mistakes People Make When Trying To Scrape Up College Money For Their Kids". Schedule one-on-one appointments with anybody interested.

Your current approach (cold-calling) is not only ineffective, even worse, it's boring.

Try some marketing - you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Good luck!

[LGilmore]

I think I would ask more simple questions..

Note: It is nice that you identify yourself from the get go.. good following of the rules.

"I am a local "financial advisor" (might not pass CO) in the neighborhood, and I advise parents on their different options for funding their childrens' education
Have you given much thought or had any discussions on how you are going to help fund college for your child(ren)?
Yes/no

No... well most people find the time goes much faster than anyone would like and before they know it, college is here. Would you like to begin to learn your options the pro's and con's of each?

Yes, what options have you looked into?

And so on...

I would do more to draw the person into the conversation. I think you're asking for a sit down in a hurried manner.. prequalify a bit more.

If you are looking for a trump card for a life product ask the person if they've heard of FASFA?
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[JacquesWerth]

[COLOR=black]Your first "Telemarketing Script" (above) is 65 words long. Very few people will listen to more than 45 words and not get turned off. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=black]Prospecting is not "telemarketing." [/COLOR]

[COLOR=black]Good prospecting is presenting an offer that requires an immediate "Yes" or "No," response. That way, you can easily average 60 prospecting calls an hour. So, you can make twice as many calls per hour and find the High Probability Prospects - those that want what you are offering. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=black]Start your prospecting offer with "This is FirstName Lastname." [/COLOR]

[COLOR=black]Is "Biggity" you real name or a pseudonym? If it isn't, give your real name. You should also give your last name for both authenticity and compliance. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=black]"Hi, there..." signals that you are about to hit them with a sales pitch. [/COLOR]

[COLOR=black]"Is this a bad time" or "Is this a good time" is confirmation that a sales pitch is coming.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=black]"I'm calling you tonight because I wanted to tell you about a special program the firm is running this month." It is a waste of 20 words, because it leaves the prospect in the dark.[/COLOR]

Your satement: "We offer a special kind of cash value insurance for children that can be used for college planning or future retirement." is clear and concise.

If you add something about low payments or tax benefits, you have a good prospecting offer.

[David C]

Do yourself a big favor, take Moonlight's advice.

[BiggitySwat]

Originally Posted by moonlightandmargaritas

Second, and more importantly why would you cold call like this?

How do you know they have kids? Why should they want YOUR "advice"?

Just to give you a bit of background: the lists I buy are pretargeted to recent parents. The prospects are definitely *recent* parents. I cold call to supplement my other marketing efforts, which are Direct Mail Annuity response cards and referrals. Right now, I don't have a seminar system, website, or speaking engagements set up, but that's definitely in the future.

Direct Mail definitely doesn't keep me busy all day long as there are not enough responses. I fill up the rest of the day with cold calls.

FYI: Alot of my cold calling efforts have been based on info I read from John Petrowski's cold calling for health insurance leads, the core belief being to quickly generate a warm lead for a follow-up. Not sure if it can be applied the same way to generating securities leads/financial planning leads.

Originally Posted by JacquesWerth

[COLOR=black]Start your prospecting offer with "This is FirstName Lastname." [/COLOR]

[COLOR=black]Is "Biggity" you real name or a pseudonym? If it isn't, give your real name. You should also give your last name for both authenticity and compliance. [/COLOR]

My real name is not Biggity, it's just a nickname I use online. During live cold calls, I definitely use my first and last name as well as the name of my securities firm/RIA.

Your statement: "We offer a special kind of cash value insurance for children that can be used for college planning or future retirement." is clear and concise.

If you add something about low payments or tax benefits, you have a good prospecting offer.

Welcome to this board, Jacques. I bought two copies of your book, High Probability Selling, and I'm about 75% the way done with reading it. Great read so far.....

How about:

Mr. Prospect? This is BiggitySwat from Biggity Securities. I am calling you tonight because we have a special kind of college planning service available which can help prepare your children for higher education. What kind of plan do you have right now for your kids? (Is this something you want?)

Mr. Prospect? This is BiggitySwat from Biggity Securities. I am calling you tonight because we offer a special kind of cash value insurance for kids that can be used for college planning or future retirement. There are many tax advantages to our plans for you the parent. Is this something you want?

[moonlightandmargaritas]

Originally Posted by BiggitySwat

FYI: Alot of my cold calling efforts have been based on info I read from John Petrowski's cold calling for health insurance leads, the core belief being to quickly generate a warm lead for a follow-up. Not sure if it can be applied the same way to generating securities leads/financial planning leads.

If you ask John, I'm sure he'll tell you that his telephone approach is based on info that he got from me. He has posted on it extensively.

To suggest that you can call people up to "warm them up" for something like college funding vs. a "demand" type product like health insurance (or P&C) is comparing apples to oranges...

You can beat your head against the wall making cold calls, but doing some seminars/speaking engagements is not only more effective, but easier too.

Why do it the hard way?

[BiggitySwat]

Originally Posted by moonlightandmargaritas

If you ask John, I'm sure he'll tell you that his telephone approach is based on info that he got from me. He has posted on it extensively.

To suggest that you can call people up to "warm them up" for something like college funding vs. a "demand" type product like health insurance (or P&C) is comparing apples to oranges...

You can beat your head against the wall making cold calls, but doing some seminars/speaking engagements is not only more effective, but easier too.

Why do it the hard way?

Like I said, cold calling is just supplemental. I do agree with you that a Financial Planner can possibly get more leads and credibility from public speaking. However, that system is not set up right now (we're working on it) and in the meantime, I would still like to keep busy with new clients. That's the reasoning behind the cold calls.

I get your point though about demand products vs. services. Do people NEED to plan for their child's education.....I like to think so, but many would disagree. Then again, do people NEED health insurance.....yup.

Let me ask you this, then: if not cold calls, and seminars are still underway.....what now? Dump more money into my direct mail?

[Salary_Guard]

Direct mail is a good proven way to generate fairly qualified leads. As long as your initial data is fresh and accurate.

[Delta76]

Hi, this is Biggity from (B/D name). I am a local financial advisor in the neighborhood, and I advise parents on their different options for funding their childrens' education. What I wanted to do is sit down with you and show you some of the options and get your thoughts. How does that sound?

Let's say they say yes and you sell a $300 per month 529 plan. How do you make any money?

$300 X 5% = $15 per month GDC. That's before the haircut! I would liken selling 529s to selling dental in this business. You would go broke trying to lead with it, but if someone wants it while selling the health, it's an easy add on.
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Good prospecting is presenting an offer that requires an immediate "Yes" or "No," response.

I disagree, a good script allows you to get a prospect talking conversationally about their situation.

[Golden Jet]

Originally Posted by Delta76

Let's say they say yes and you sell a $300 per month 529 plan. How do you make any money?

$300 X 5% = $15 per month GDC. That's before the haircut! I would liken selling 529s to selling dental in this business. You would go broke trying to lead with it, but if someone wants it while selling the health, it's an easy add on.
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I disagree, a good script allows you to get a prospect talking conversationally about their situation.

I'm familiar with Mr. Werth and he teaches a good system called "High Probability Selling." Getting a yes or no, immediately, tells you whether or not you have a HP prospect. We all know that low and medium probability prospects will have conversations with us. If you get them to say yes, a conversation will follow and you will be spending time with someone who has a high probability of buying from you.

[BiggitySwat]

Originally Posted by Delta76

Let's say they say yes and you sell a $300 per month 529 plan. How do you make any money?

$300 X 5% = $15 per month GDC. That's before the haircut! I would liken selling 529s to selling dental in this business. You would go broke trying to lead with it, but if someone wants it while selling the health, it's an easy add on.
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I disagree, a good script allows you to get a prospect talking conversationally about their situation.

Delta,

I use the 529/Coverdell/VUL opener because it seems to generate less sales resistance and nastiness on the phone than when I previously prospected for life insurance/mortgage protection.

Once I sell the 529 and have them added to my book of business, they are added to my newsletter list (with their permission) and client-only appreciation events. The endgoal with these clients is to take over their entire book of business (except P&C insurance).

So, from the 529/Coverdell/VUL/IUL, I then ask for:
1) Mortgage protection (term life)
2) Disability/CI (if not had from work)
3) Retirement planning (Roth IRA, VULs, etc)
4) General investments for mid-life goals (equities, commodities, aggressive growth securities). Investing money to aid in generating capital for the downpayment on a house, for example, etc.
5) Referrals. I can help their parents with final expense planning, their brothers and sister with their business, and so on. Also can set up group 401K/403b plans for business owners.

Has this been working so far? Kind of. Some of the prospects I convert to clients eventually turn over their entire book to me, others don't.

Not disagreeing with you at all by the way....if I just get the 529 sale and they don't want me to touch their other business, it does really screw up my ROI. So this is a flawed approach but one that I've been familiar with. That's why I'm here to get ideas

But going back to my initial problem - my WEAKNESS is prospecting and keeping costs down. Once I meet a prospect, my closing ratio is high....but that means nothing if I can't get the appointment! After reading of all the successes with cold calling on this forum, I thought that it may be worth pursuing in addition to MoonlightMarg's suggestion of hitting the seminars and public speaking engagements.

[Delta76]

I'm familiar with Mr. Werth and he teaches a good system called "High Probability Selling." Getting a yes or no, immediately, tells you whether or not you have a HP prospect. We all know that low and medium probability prospects will have conversations with us. If you get them to say yes, a conversation will follow and you will be spending time with someone who has a high probability of buying from you.

Actually, the more I thought about my approach, I actually do go for a yes or no, then the conversation develops: "I've talked to a lot of business owners lately who are frusterated with their premiums and I wanted to find out if that's a concern of yours?"

If I get a "no", I'm on to the next call, if "yes", I start more questions and get to the conversation. I'll take back my initial comment.
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Once I sell the 529 and have them added to my book of business, they are added to my newsletter list (with their permission) and client-only appreciation events. The endgoal with these clients is to take over their entire book of business (except P&C insurance).

If it's working for you, don't change it. I just know that I made some stupid mistakes starting out and chased people for Roth IRA contributions and when I tracked some down, the other business often didn't develop.

If I wasn't focusing on health, I would probably lead with life insurance. Most people are not adequately covered and you get paid for your efforts immediately. You could still use the same approach as you currently do to collect more lines.