Ask A Telemarketer

[mfancher]

I truly don't know why no one has stepped up in the last 20 years and put together a telemarketing company for p&c . the need is there and it seem like its just a matter of getting in bed with 20-30 agencies, this should be a win win , what am I missing here?

Thats exactly why I am giving this info. out, to displace the stigma everyone has for telemarketers. I only do commercial lines because in reality it will only work for B2B when you call a residence that is a whole different ball game and the leads will suck. If you can't produce results for your clients you don't stay in business, it's really that simple. There are firms out there that are in it for the quick buck, but really do you want to always live for the short term, or just have ethics and work hard and secure a long term relationship that generates a comfortable lifestyle for your family, and you sleep good at night.

 

[mfancher]

Today's helpful fact "You have 3-5 seconds to get a DM's attention on the phone so voice inflection as well as content is extremely important. So give your opening line allot of thought before you start to dial.

 

[insurance80]

Please give us a good opening line or attention getter.

 

[mfancher]

Here you go This is what works for me. " Hi this is Mike with ABC Insurance. Are you Familiar with the agency?" This will get them to answer the question and will give you the chance to start in with your benefits and background. This has worked for me and has set allot of appointments.

 

[robtmccarthy]

I truly don't know why no one has stepped up in the last 20 years and put together a telemarketing company for p&c . the need is there and it seem like its just a matter of getting in bed with 20-30 agencies, this should be a win win , what am I missing here?

There are a few companies doing that. I've heard of Neilson being one of the best. Been meaning to give them a try, but haven't. Insurance Telemarketing Services - NEILSON MARKETING SERVICES

Heard their rates are somewhere around $35 per hr.

 

[mfancher]

There are a few companies doing that. I've heard of Neilson being one of the best. Been meaning to give them a try, but haven't. Insurance Telemarketing Services - NEILSON MARKETING SERVICES

Heard their rates are somewhere around $35 per hr.

That is a fair rate but do they outsource calls and is there a contract.
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Personal attention is what a successful tele-marketing campaign needs to succeed. The quality of the appointment must be the priority and if you are just a number to a firm you will get lost in the shuffle.

 

[Josh]

On a slightly unrelated note, I had the pleasure of speaking with Mike yesterday and I was pleasantly surprised. I'm generally of the opinion that all telemarketing firms are junk, especially if they come here to talk about what they do, but Mike seems like the exception. If anyone is looking for a commercial telemarketing firm, you should definitely check them out. I haven't used them and I don't know what the quality is like, but if the quality of the conversation was any indication of what type of lead generation they do, I'm sure it would be money well spent.

 

[djs]

I've responded numerous times in other threads, but to put it simply, at $35 an hour for a telemarketer, a personal lines insurance agent will go broke, and not slowly.

At the $10 an hour a personal lines agent can pay, a telemarketing company will go broke, and not slowly.

It's hard to find a balance in todays market when the 1st year value of a sale of a personal lines policy is so low.

Personal lines agents deal with this by using an in-house contact manager, telemarketer, seat-filler, whatever you call them. Their job is to keep the agent busy.

Dan

 

[Bertolinoins]

Advise against using NMS... Bought 200+ hours over a 6 month period and the results were pretty poor for the time they supposedly put in. We will make in profitsble over the next year but the first year ROI was negative. We brought it in house and the results have been 4-5 times better per hour in terms of appointments and X dates for a cost that is
40% lower than NMS was charging.

We work on smaller middle market accounts and have gone with two part timers... one from 7-11 am and another from 2:30-5:30. $12 he base, $20 cash per firm face to face
appointment and a monthly 10% of the commission on new business generated from their appointments. This set up has worked well for us.

 

[mfancher]

I've responded numerous times in other threads, but to put it simply, at $35 an hour for a telemarketer, a personal lines insurance agent will go broke, and not slowly.

At the $10 an hour a personal lines agent can pay, a telemarketing company will go broke, and not slowly.

It's hard to find a balance in todays market when the 1st year value of a sale of a personal lines policy is so low.

Personal lines agents deal with this by using an in-house contact manager, telemarketer, seat-filler, whatever you call them. Their job is to keep the agent busy.

Dan

That is exactly why I have stated in the past tele-marketing for personal lines will not work but will B2B if handled the right way. So for agents in the personal lines do not throw your money away.