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Does anyone suggest another telemarketer out there? I googled telemarketing services and there are tons of Companies. Anyone heard about other Companies?...
So has anyone tried another telemarketer?Go to Top
Does anyone suggest another telemarketer out there? I googled telemarketing services and there are tons of Companies. Anyone heard about other Companies?
Be careful. Rates that make you say "wow" are normally off-shore; Phillipines or India. Domestic rates are very expensive. Some will allow you to actually listen in on live calls.
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Telemarketers work well in some markets, not so in others.
I have tried several over the years and not found any to be worthwhile for Atlanta. I also know folks in other industries (B2B) that have all but abandoned telemarketing. Low lead volume and even lower quality.
I agree with Somarco - it is extremely market dependent. I have solid marketers working for me who call one zip code and completely kick ass, then call me after a I give them another zip code and say "this is horrible." I know it's not them - they're the same ones cranking out 2 very high quality leads per hour week after week. Switch zip codes? Now it's a crap shoot. I sometimes have to give them 2 or 3 different areas to find one where it's banging out for them.
I personally still do phenominally well with telemarketed leads - much better than shared but obviously a LOT more effort.
I agree with Somarco - it is extremely market dependent. I have solid marketers working for me who call one zip code and completely kick ass, then call me after a I give them another zip code and say "this is horrible." I know it's not them - they're the same ones cranking out 2 very high quality leads per hour week after week. Switch zip codes? Now it's a crap shoot. I sometimes have to give them 2 or 3 different areas to find one where it's banging out for them.
I personally still do phenominally well with telemarketed leads - much better than shared but obviously a LOT more effort.
John, you mentioned on another post that you are now seeing your prospects vs making the sale via the CPU route. What do you plan to do when you run out of zip codes to call that are close enough to drive to?
By the time my marketers are calling about 30 minutes driving distance from my house they just start all over again. Then again, I live in a immensly popluated area - I'm right between Baltimore and DC.
And I do a mix now - some in-person and some on the phone.
Ok, yea, it will be awhile before you run out of numbers to dial. I lived in Howard County for a about a year. Nice area.
Being about 5-6 weeks in the Health business, I was trying to conduct everything by tel/cpu appointments... I am now mixing it up as well and can definitely see the benefit. Especially since I feel I am finally turning the corner on the learning curve for this business.
Next week I am going to telemarket for a couple hours a day 2-3 times a week just so I know what I should expect from future telemarketers I will be hiring in the future.
Thanks for all your help John, and the input of others on this forum. It has really helped.
There are some deals it's just more difficult to close on the phone. Since I get telemarketed leads right in my area it's dumb for me not to just go and see those people. I can guarantee you the HSA sale is much easier in person. Families are also easier in person. Not to say you can't close them on the phone. You can. It's just a bit more tedious.
Ok, yea, it will be awhile before you run out of numbers to dial. I lived in Howard County for a about a year. Nice area.
Being about 5-6 weeks in the Health business, I was trying to conduct everything by tel/cpu appointments... I am now mixing it up as well and can definitely see the benefit. Especially since I feel I am finally turning the corner on the learning curve for this business.
Next week I am going to telemarket for a couple hours a day 2-3 times a week just so I know what I should expect from future telemarketers I will be hiring in the future.
Thanks for all your help John, and the input of others on this forum. It has really helped.
Al
I'm not an expert in health sales, but in general, when you have a new product or line, you want to stick with in person presentations, at least for a while. You get to see the person, see how they react, and its an opportunity to learn how things you say get understood by the person who hears them. This is almost impossible to do over the phone, since you can't see their reaction. What they say isn't necessarily what their body is thinking.
For my P&C sales, while I prefer doing these in person, I've been doing them long enough that I can do the entire transaction via phone, and have a really good close ratio on the sale. For P&C, what I lose by doing it via the phone is a lot of the good upsell opportunity. Also, the customers I meet in person are much more loyal and stay with me longer.
Insurance is a relationship business. Meeting my clients is the reason I do this. Have I met them all? No. I prefer to, but it doesn't always work out. I don't compete against the e-surance, progressive, geico's of the world, or, actually, I do. People come to me to be their 'insurance guy', the one person they can call with whatever question and I'll work with them. They don't get this from an online service.
There's no argument at all that in-person is far superior than over the phone. That's not to say that you can't sell over the phone - you obviously can. But the sales process is easier and like stated, better opportunity to cross sell in person. I also do much better on HSAs in person then over the phone.
I also don't know many new agents doing well on the phone. Very experienced agents can pull off phone sales easily since they know exactly what they say and come across as absolute experts over the phone. Newbies cannot pull that off.
I simply enjoy the mix. I know at this point in my career who to meet with and who to sign up online. I get leads marketed in my area so I'm not driving far to see anyone and I do not run night appointments.
I'm not an expert in health sales, but in general, when you have a new product or line, you want to stick with in person presentations, at least for a while. You get to see the person, see how they react, and its an opportunity to learn how things you say get understood by the person who hears them. This is almost impossible to do over the phone, since you can't see their reaction. What they say isn't necessarily what their body is thinking.
Dan
I'm not an expert in Health sales yet either... but I expanded my territory for my telemarketers because I am in SC. Population not so dense here as in other parts of the country and I was not getting the number of leads I need to set myself up for success.
I have been doing life and annuity sales for some time now and consider myself somewhat of an expert in this field, and I have seen every one of my life and annuity clients in person.
Thank you for your 2 cents Dan, but its not a lack of knowledge or being lazy in any way, its just that it will be a cold day in hell before I travel 4-6 hour round trip for a health deal. I guess I am lucky, I dont need the money that bad.
And that's the beauty of phone sales. I'm not driving 4 hours round trip either. I have no problem sitting down with local familes. Single and clients far away are getting signed up over the phone.
4-6 hours? Lets see, on a bad commute day, that's about 20 miles from my office Living in a small town of 300,000 can be a real commute hassle, especially when that small town is simply a suburb in beautiful silicon valley.
Since I have a slightly different approach, cross selling is very important to me. I try to be your complete personal insurance person, home, auto, health, business, etc. This makes sitting down and building a relationship very important to me. That said, I'm learning to do a LOT more prescreening / preselling via phone upfront, so my time out of the office is more productive.
Also, having an office, a LOT of clients come to me. I write a lot more business in my office with my clients here, than I do either at their home, or over the phone. I'm amazed at this statement, but it is very true. People like the fact they know I'm a real business, with an office, and they can come to me. This is not why I got the office, but it's an interesting byproduct of having the office.
My primary line is P&C, people want to be able to stop by and make a payment, which is fine by me, I keep those clients. I have the office so I could have a staff person here to take the payments. Turns out, I write a lot of business because of it. Of course, this doesn't work for everyone, and it depends on your location.
Of course, none of this is related to the thread of telemarketing. I've hired telemarketers, in house, and via contract. I've never had much success with it. I do pretty well when I do it myself, though not great, since I'm lousy on the phone, but come across sincere in my belief in my product. I do believe that with the right telemarketer, you can do VERY well. With the wrong one, you'll do poorly.
I'm going to give contracted telemarketing another go. If you eliminate all of the lead sources that don't work, you end up with no leads at all. In the end, as John says, it's a numbers game. If you dial the phone enough times, you'll get some deals.
4-6 hours? Lets see, on a bad commute day, that's about 20 miles from my office Living in a small town of 300,000 can be a real commute hassle, especially when that small town is simply a suburb in beautiful silicon valley.
Dan
It takes you 4-6 hours to go 20 miles? I'm originally from Jersey and in the worst of times, it wont take me 4-6 hours to go from Ft Lee through NYC to Conn. Wow, the Silicon Valley must really be beautiful to put up with that kind of traffic. No wonder you need an office... good move.
But, I agree with the rest of the stuff you posted.
So, I'm wondering if any of you have tried or know any useful info on T.J. Telemarketing?
I know that they advertise in the Sales Journal and quite a few other industry specific newsletters for quite some time now, so they're not a run by night operation.
Lets disuss it. How much do they charge and what do they guarantee or offer?
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[COLOR=#000066]"Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I will remember. Involve me and I will understand." Confucius
So has anyone tried another telemarketer?
Living in a small town of 300,000 can be a real commute hassle, especially when that small town is simply a suburb in beautiful silicon valley.
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