Insurance Agent Forum

[Alston]

Does anyone know of a company that sells Internet-generated Medigap or long-term care leads?

I've sold auto and health leads to companies like NetQuote and iLeads. They of course, resell the leads to agents. However, I haven't been able to find a company that works with Medigap.

Any help will be appreciated.

[retread]

I note that no one has posted a response for you on this and your other recent request that would be sufficient for your needs. I feel your pain. Very few have responded to my request also.

I can't help you with any other comment except to ask if you have tried a google search on "Medicare Internet Leads". I think you will get quite a few hits.

[maryjd123]

One of the reasons maybe that noone has posted -- I have never found a good one...
I find that the best lead source would be your local pharmacies in town...
Get to know them -- bring them donuts in the morning and make friends..
Thats where i get most of mine besides referrals -- also I know i have posted this before but i get some also from Medicare Supplement Insurance Service.. they are out of Georgia -- i signed up with them for a couple of companies and they provide me leads -- for Wyoming i get about 5 to 10 a week now -- and for this rural state its pretty good..

[Frank Stastny]

I must agree with Mary. If it existed I would only spend my days writing apps, wouldn't have to hardly prospect at all. Developing a network, the kind she it talking about, is a big added plus but you need more than that to make six figures in this business.

I have said this before and I'm sure a lot of you are tired of hearing it, but a "lead" is nothing more than a name, address, phone number and birth date of someone who filled out the card or the info on a website because it was there. I can almost guarantee you that a couple of days or a week later they won't even remember it.

Take anything you can get, "leads", lists, referrals and log them all into your computer and keep them and have them organized. Recycle them about every six months. Just because someone isn't ready to buy today doesn't mean that their situation isn't going to change in the next few months or next couple of years.

The guy/gal who is blissfully happy with their Med Supp today may get a big increase a year from now and will be tickled to death to hear from you. Even send a cab for you if you can give them a better deal.

Build a strong Prospects database and you won't have to worry about where your next leads are coming from.

Stay in touch with your clients by sending them birthday letters, information and just a genreal news letter, give them awesome service and you will get lots of referrals.

Buy lists and call the people. Build your own leads. It's a lot of work but no one said selling insurance was a "piece of cake". How do you think telemarketers get the "leads" they sell to people?

[Melmunch3]

I think that Glenn from www.americaninsurancebroker.com was working on generating some of these leads together with some hub websites. You might want to see if he knows where you can buy some.

Great advice Frank...all you need is a name and phone number in this market. I have cut out paying for any leads at all...even though my last direct mail campaign brought me a 3% response. The bottom line is I was just getting those names and numbers...but I still had to call them. I also found that when I got lead responses back that I started limiting myself to calling those leads. I would call a lead 10 times until I finally gave up on nobody answering the call. Do that with 100 lead response cards and instead of calling 100 I could have called 1000 new people.

My hang up with cold calling has always been having a good reason to call. I could never bring myself to call and say, "I got this card you sent in" when they never sent in a card.

So here is my new technique.
Every Monday I am mailing out 250 custom made postcards advertising ME...with my toll free phone number on it. This alone should generate 8-10 sales per month. Then every Monday I will start calling those that I mailed to the previous week. I now have a reference point when calling..."Hey this is Kyle Henson...did you get the postcard I mailed you last week?" Yes. "I didn't get a call from you and I was just wondering why?"

[cadylou]

Kyle - has the postcard idea worked for you? Or is this a future strategy. I do like it and have considered doing something like that for myself, so I'd be interested in your thoughts.

I have used postcards with success in the past...with about 1% response but almost 100% closing ratio on those. Calling after mailing postcards is something new I am trying but based on cold calling experience I known it will work well. My goal is 5 apps per week (I know I'm lazy) and this should be fairly easy to do with this approach.

[Frank Stastny]

Originally Posted by Kyle Henson

So here is my new technique.
Every Monday I am mailing out 250 custom made postcards advertising ME...with my toll free phone number on it. This alone should generate 8-10 sales per month. Then every Monday I will start calling those that I mailed to the previous week. I now have a reference point when calling..."Hey this is Kyle Henson...did you get the postcard I mailed you last week?" Yes. "I didn't get a call from you and I was just wondering why?"

Awesome idea Kyle,

It is the best one I have heard since I sold my first Med Supp policy. I'm sure it is going to beat the hell out of paying $300 for a company to send out a card to 1,000 people that you may get as little as a 1.5% return on.

What I usually do is get the list of the people the company has mailed the cards to and then I call everyone on the list. I know they did receive the card so I can ask them about it. They aren't going to remember but at least I can use that as an opening.

I like your personal touch better. We are selling "us", not insurance. If they will buy "us" they will buy the used microwave in my trunk or any thing else I have. LOL

Thank you Frank...The best idea since...I won't ask when you sold your first policy. I know you are no spring chicken

Now my expectations are really high for this idea...we will see. John and the Insurance Guy dont know it but they helped design my card for me.

[sman]

Originally Posted by Kyle Henson

Thank you Frank...The best idea since...I won't ask when you sold your first policy. I know you are no spring chicken

Now my expectations are really high for this idea...we will see. John and the Insurance Guy dont know it but they helped design my card for me.
[IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/KYLEHE%7E1/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.jpg[/IMG]

Kyle,

How about reposting that link so we can see the card.

Got an error msg that the file is too big...how do you post a screen shot on here?

[Frank Stastny]

Originally Posted by Kyle Henson

Thank you Frank...The best idea since...I won't ask when you sold your first policy. I know you are no spring chicken

Sold my first Med Supp policy in 1993. I could have started in this business when I was 18 years old. I may not still be a "Spring" chicken but I'm still able to lay eggs though.

[retread]

Kyle,

I don't necessarily want to throw a wet blanket on your enthusiasm, but be careful of the advice you give here.

Granted, I am a newbee, but I am a studious newbee, and I have read the Medicare Do Not Call Act, and have noted that several states have recently begun coming down on those who are ignoring this and other CMS regs. To wit, just last Tuesday an article in the New York Times told of how Oklahoma is all over Humana about compliance issues. Granted, they were also using unlicensed agents to sell plans, but the point is that they are holding the companies liable for compliance by their agents, and the investigations are growing, state by state.

Texas has indicted Lead Concepts for deceptive advertising because their lead solicitation did not conform to the law. If I were you, I would make sure my postcard complied with all state and federal requirements. It is not difficult.... the regs are short and to the point. All you have to do is follow the directions. I printed out the lawsuit and will use it as a guideline for the draft of my own mailer, checking it against my state's laws.

Basically, you can send out a mailer asking for a response with your phone number, then return that call within the rules for outbound telemarketing (times, do not call list, etc.) and make an appointment. You cannot enroll over the phone, but you also cannot tell them you have to have a face-to-face to explain the plans. If they want info, you are required to give it to them, and if they don't want to see you or have you call again, you have to respect that. Then you can't call them again for six months.

It is further stipulated that your contact with prospects requires that you disclose that you are an insurance agent, and you are compensated by the companies you represent. You then have to tell them who those companies are, and discuss in detail the plan you intend to present before you meet them. Ostensibly, these rules are there to allow them to say no, and refuse your offer. If they are truly interested, they will set an appointment. I don't see anything wrong with that. It will save a lot of wasted time and gasoline.

It appears simple enough for me to understand. I intend to follow the rules. I do not want to jeopardize my license.

Note: this is not a complete list of the guidelines. See the CMS website for further guidance. It wouldn't hurt to read your company's guidelines for marketing, also.

[sman]

Originally Posted by retread

Kyle,

I don't necessarily want to throw a wet blanket on your enthusiasm, but be careful of the advice you give here.

Granted, I am a newbee, but I am a studious newbee, and I have read the Medicare Do Not Call Act, and have noted that several states have recently begun coming down on those who are ignoring this and other CMS regs. To wit, just last Tuesday an article in the New York Times told of how Oklahoma is all over Humana about compliance issues. Granted, they were also using unlicensed agents to sell plans, but the point is that they are holding the companies liable for compliance by their agents, and the investigations are growing, state by state.

Texas has indicted Lead Concepts for deceptive advertising because their lead solicitation did not conform to the law. If I were you, I would make sure my postcard complied with all state and federal requirements. It is not difficult.... the regs are short and to the point. All you have to do is follow the directions. I printed out the lawsuit and will use it as a guideline for the draft of my own mailer, checking it against my state's laws.

Basically, you can send out a mailer asking for a response with your phone number, then return that call within the rules for outbound telemarketing (times, do not call list, etc.) and make an appointment. You cannot enroll over the phone, but you also cannot tell them you have to have a face-to-face to explain the plans. If they want info, you are required to give it to them, and if they don't want to see you or have you call again, you have to respect that. Then you can't call them again for six months.

It is further stipulated that your contact with prospects requires that you disclose that you are an insurance agent, and you are compensated by the companies you represent. You then have to tell them who those companies are, and discuss in detail the plan you intend to present before you meet them. Ostensibly, these rules are there to allow them to say no, and refuse your offer. If they are truly interested, they will set an appointment. I don't see anything wrong with that. It will save a lot of wasted time and gasoline.

It appears simple enough for me to understand. I intend to follow the rules. I do not want to jeopardize my license.

Note: this is not a complete list of the guidelines. See the CMS website for further guidance. It wouldn't hurt to read your company's guidelines for marketing, also.

retread,

I think you may need to read Kyle's posts again. He is not marketing MA or PDP plans with his postcard or phone calls. Since he is marketing Medicare Supplements, the only things he needs to make sure he is in compliance with is if he mentions any specific product it must meet that carriers guidelines, and of course, the Do Not Call list. Other than that, he's good to go. The rules you mentioned pertain to MA and PDP plans.

Originally Posted by retread

Kyle,

I don't necessarily want to throw a wet blanket on your enthusiasm, but be careful of the advice you give here.

Granted, I am a newbee, but I am a studious newbee, and I have read the Medicare Do Not Call Act, and have noted that several states have recently begun coming down on those who are ignoring this and other CMS regs. To wit, just last Tuesday an article in the New York Times told of how Oklahoma is all over Humana about compliance issues. Granted, they were also using unlicensed agents to sell plans, but the point is that they are holding the companies liable for compliance by their agents, and the investigations are growing, state by state.

Texas has indicted Lead Concepts for deceptive advertising because their lead solicitation did not conform to the law. If I were you, I would make sure my postcard complied with all state and federal requirements. It is not difficult.... the regs are short and to the point. All you have to do is follow the directions. I printed out the lawsuit and will use it as a guideline for the draft of my own mailer, checking it against my state's laws.

Basically, you can send out a mailer asking for a response with your phone number, then return that call within the rules for outbound telemarketing (times, do not call list, etc.) and make an appointment. You cannot enroll over the phone, but you also cannot tell them you have to have a face-to-face to explain the plans. If they want info, you are required to give it to them, and if they don't want to see you or have you call again, you have to respect that. Then you can't call them again for six months.

It is further stipulated that your contact with prospects requires that you disclose that you are an insurance agent, and you are compensated by the companies you represent. You then have to tell them who those companies are, and discuss in detail the plan you intend to present before you meet them. Ostensibly, these rules are there to allow them to say no, and refuse your offer. If they are truly interested, they will set an appointment. I don't see anything wrong with that. It will save a lot of wasted time and gasoline.

It appears simple enough for me to understand. I intend to follow the rules. I do not want to jeopardize my license.

Retread,
What part of my method violates CMS regulations?

I always:

• Identify myself as an agent
• Follow all DNC regulations--including operating with my SAN#
• Keep my postcards generic...advertising me, not a product
• Enroll in person unless requested otherwise by the client

I am well versed on Medicare compliance and am not giving any advice here that violates those regulations.

Oh, and I also publish my full name on my postcards...as well as on this forum. Nothing to hide.

[retread]

Okay, Okay!

I am not condemning Kyle's method. I am just trying to warn everyone to look before they leap. It is meant to help, including Kyle.

As far as compliance being only required of MA plans, I should think that if one keeps his guidelines focused on the more narrow rules for MA plans, he/she will not slip up whether selling Med/Sups or both. I think you will agree that if you relax your guard when marketing med sups and then have an occasion to present an MA plan, you will fall victim to your own neglect.

I worked in an industry for over 33 years dealing with strict government regs. My company had more restrictive rules than the government just so that we would not get in a bind with government compliance issues. I think that is a good strategy.

[retread]

Kyle,

Since I have not seen a reproduction or explanation of what you put on your cards until your recent post, I only offered a broad warning. I did not critique your cards, because I had no idea what was on them. Thank you for your information. I hope the best for you!

Originally Posted by retread

I am just trying to warn everyone to look before they leap.

Kind of like what we have been trying to do with the UTC Lead thread where you said,

"Hey, Senior... pipe down a bit! I think Mary is offering her comments for discussion, not to be assasinated. As a matter of fact, I have been considering this product myself. There are some who think this is a smart way to cover the expense of the Medigap policy should they go into the hospital. Kinda like the duck says, " it pays you cash, which is just like money!"

Thank you for your warnings. It's good to look out for one another indeed.

[retread]

Yes, I know. But it is all in the attitude expressed. I realize it is very difficult at times to convey an attitude of helpful concern without being taken as a overbearing critic, but there are times when it is obvious as the hands on a clock! I try to step back and view my posts so that I don't offend. If I have failed to do that, I apologize.