Anyone Making A Living Coldcalling?

[Frank Stastny]

Frank,

As good as you are on the phone, if I let you make only ten calls per day and I put a novice against you who made a hundred calls per day, who do you think would come out ahead over the course of a year?

At the very least, the equation is a combination of the two:

Dials (quanity) X Closing % (quality) = Sales

I would argue the failure rate in sales is more a function of quanity than a quality problem. However, that isn't to say quality isn't important.

FT

That is an interesting concept. I don't know about doing it for just one day but over the course of a year the results may be very interesting.

The point I was attempting to make is that many of the agents I talk to apparently think that they should be setting goals of X number of phone calls per hour or day. If they see the end of the hour approaching and they "haven't met their goal" they will have a tendency to rush through phone calls and lose a potential sale in an effort to achieve their "goal".

The number of calls I make per hour or day is not important to me, it never has been. Nor do I gauge my success or failure on the number of calls.

To me telemarketing is a well learned practiced art. It is so much more than just having a "script". My phone presentation is specifically designed to, within the first 60 seconds of the call, get the name of their current company, how much they are paying, I tell them how much a policy with me will cost and I ask general health questions to help me determine if they will qualify.

When I get that info some prospects are ready for me to set the appointment. Others may have a lot of questions. I will stay on the phone with them for as long as I think necessary before I will attempt to set the appointment or move them in to purchasing it.

If I set the appointment they know that the only reason I am coming to see them is to fill out an app and pick up a check. I stopped setting "appointments" to do a Medicare Review or "drop off valuable information" years ago.

If I don't think that I have at least a 90% chance of making a sale I am going to be very reluctant to set an appointment. My goal is to write one app per day. To accomplish that goal I only need one appointment per day. Some of my appointments are with a husband and wife and I get two apps.

 

[VaDwayne]

I sold 2 med. supps in December that were cold-calls, one was in May and the other was made in June. I had sent them one of my magnet cards and they called me because they were losing their PFFS plan.

I also have 16 T65's that I am determined to get this year that I cold-called in 2009 and have stayed in contact since.

The goal of cold-calling is of cousre a sale, but it is a great way to fill you pipeline for the future.

I just signed a business up yesterday for their workers comp, general liability, business auto, and I insured all of their properties. The AP was almost $13000.00 which means my renewals per year is at least $1950.00. IT WAS A COLD CALL USING THE MOJO DIALER. If he keeps it 10 years that is $19500.00 in commissions from 1 cold call.

My point is, COLD CALLING WORKS!!! It's not for the lazy that's for sure. I have cold called as much as 8 hours in a day to get 1 sale in med. supps, but how many agents are averaging 1 sale per day. You can't cold-call 1 to 2 hours a day, and expect results.

I would be glad to share with agents how I do it, or call Frank, he can hook you up.

 

[briko3]

1-2 hours is better than nothing and probably a LOT better than what most agents are doing.

 

[Full Throttle]

If an agent makes only two hours of calls every day, that agent will be very successful. The kicker, that agent needs to survive the lean beginning we all faced and may not be able if two hours doesn't provide enough activity early on.

 

[Jim Jenkins]

I sold 2 med. supps in December that were cold-calls, one was in May and the other was made in June. I had sent them one of my magnet cards and they called me because they were losing their PFFS plan.

I also have 16 T65's that I am determined to get this year that I cold-called in 2009 and have stayed in contact since.

The goal of cold-calling is of cousre a sale, but it is a great way to fill you pipeline for the future.

I just signed a business up yesterday for their workers comp, general liability, business auto, and I insured all of their properties. The AP was almost $13000.00 which means my renewals per year is at least $1950.00. IT WAS A COLD CALL USING THE MOJO DIALER. If he keeps it 10 years that is $19500.00 in commissions from 1 cold call.

My point is, COLD CALLING WORKS!!! It's not for the lazy that's for sure. I have cold called as much as 8 hours in a day to get 1 sale in med. supps, but how many agents are averaging 1 sale per day. You can't cold-call 1 to 2 hours a day, and expect results.

I would be glad to share with agents how I do it, or call Frank, he can hook you up.

As opposed to straight finger in the hole dialing. How much time are you saving by using mojo?
Example based on say whatever; 2hrs = 1 appointment, 4 hrs= 1 appointment etc.
How much time is mojo saving you to get that first appointment?

Are you using your own number on caller ID and are people calling back because of caller ID?

 

[Justin Bilyj]

i think my sanity, and the ease of of operation is certainly worth what mojo charges...

 

[ABC]

I hate to cold call....Did it when I first started. I will not do it anymore. I would rather bang my head against the wall and get dizzy.

I have also tried every other "trick" in the book. Here is what works for me:

1. Put in ad in Craigslist looking for an EXPERIENCED TELEMARKETER. Hire two of them - part time, one to work from 9-1 and one to work from 1-5. Pay them what they are worth. $10/hr is a good starting point. DO NOT LET THEM SELL, ONLY ASK IF THEY WOULD BE INTERESTED IN TALKING TO AN AGENT. Once a client is interested, all they say is "great, our agent will call you later today, or tomorrow". No pressure, no rush.

2. Get Mojo, and buy a list of small business in your state.

3. Order "aged" leads from one of your vendors. Negotiate and get a good price...$.25-$1.00 each.

4. Let the telemarketers make all your calls. Have one work Mon-Friday from 9-1 and the other work 1-5. Let them use Mojo to call the aged leads and cold call leads. They should average you about 2 leads an hour. Again, I dont want them selling or making appts, I can handle that.

5. You only deal with these "exclusive" leads they give you. You should close at least one a day.

8 hours of telemarketing costs $80 a day. Average 15 leads a day, that is $5.33 for an EXCLUSIVE lead. Or you can buy/waste your money and pay $20 for them from a vendor, and of course they are not exclusive. Anyone with basic phone skills can sell one out of 15 exclusive leads. Use web sharing software, never leave your house/office.

4 sales a week will gross you around 2500-3500 a week.

Run the numbers, and go for it...all the way. Dont half-ass it, jump in and go all the way!

Once your system is tweaked, you can make a ton of money while helping people out.

The key, find good telemarketers with experience. This is what is working for me. Best of luck to you all!

Interesting!

Do you use this for group?

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

Something else you might want to try with that system using Mojo is the live transfer button. Once the marketer finds a prospect who wants to talk to an agent just have them transfer that call.

 

[chp]

""Interesting!

Do you use this for group?""


No, but I am sure it would work, we focus mainly on individual plans. I am sure there are others that do something similar to this??

 

[VacantHomeIns]

Cold calling can only work in one instance,, if you like doing it. Yes, there are still a few people out there that look forward to their 2 full days on the phone a week and I am talking about 8 hours a day on the phone.

If you dred it and hate it, you may be able to do an hour every other day but don't make it the lifeblood or you will fail. If you get 90% of leads in other ways like google adsense, you can supplement with cold calling. Don't try to push through a wall if you are not a ghost.