Bad Day - Should I have confirmed?

[senior-advisor-indiana]

I just mailed the guy the following handwritten letter:

John:

You agreed to meet with me this morning but you did not remember. Your wife isn't interested in saving $750 per year with the exact, same coverage.

However, I made a futile 200 mile roundtrip because you told me to come to your house.

You certainly cannot make up for the 4 hours I wasted, but you sure can pay me the $30 I spent on gas.

I would appreciate it ASAP.

Rick


Let's see what the jerk does.

Oh man Rick, you are freaking hilarious!!!!!! I have wanted to send that letter numerous times. Let us know how it turns out. I might send a couple out myself. If they all give me the gas money thne I should have atleast $3,000.

I never used to confirm appointments but I do most of the time now. Especially if it is just one that is far away. If they are worth it then they won't back out on the appointment. I just call and say its me confriming our appointment at this time. But then again I am not setting the appointment , a telemarketer is. The ones I set myself I do not feel the need to confirm. Every week I run into people that set appointments with me to talk about med supps and they dont switch. Even if I can save them $100 a month. There are some that will switch for $5 and some that won't switch for $100. Some people are just idiots and I usually don't let them know how stupid they are but every now and then I unload on the DUMB SON OF A B******. Definetly relieves stress.I try not to run single appointments that way I don't waste gas. Anyway I feel your pain.

 

[midwestbroker]

Gotta love the wild world of dealing with the public.

I have noticed that since I went senior market that the no shows have decreased greatly.

However, when driving over 1 hour out, I verify the appointment.

 

[Slick]

I try not to run single appointments that way I don't waste gas. Anyway I feel your pain.

Thats good.

 

[Frank Stastny]

It's not his wife's fault he missed our meeting.

It was not her fault but she was the catalyst that contributed to him not being there. She wasn't interested in him changing to begin with, isn't that what you told me?

Part of the key to setting appointments is to try to make sure you are talking to the "decision maker". Usually with seniors I have found that more often than not, the woman is the one who handles the insurance. Most of the time when I call and a man answers the phone he tells me that he doesn't know anything about it and I will have to talk to his wife.

Most of my appointments are for "today" or the next day. I have been on the phone at 4pm talking to a prospect. They have said they have time to see me now. I tell them that I will be there in about an hour. I have done that a lot.

Changing insurance is an emotional decision for most seniors. You have to get to them as quickly as possible to make a sale. Let them "study on it" for a couple of days before you see them and most often will say, "we are going to stay right where we are". Even if you can save them money.

 

[insurance0707]

When I make the appointment, I always tell them, if something comes up and you need to reschedule that's not a problem... just call me

There's something about that sentence that lets them know they can back out of the appointment at anytime. It kind of puts them at ease or something. You might want to try that.

Also, what carrier are you using. You might want to check out United World/Mutual of Omaha. They let you mail the applications to the clients so if you don't want to drive so far, just mail them out. They have pretty good rates and the Mutual of Omaha name recognition is helpful.

 

[GreenSky]

When I make the appointment, I always tell them, if something comes up and you need to reschedule that's not a problem... just call me

There's something about that sentence that lets them know they can back out of the appointment at anytime. It kind of puts them at ease or something. You might want to try that.

Also, what carrier are you using. You might want to check out United World/Mutual of Omaha. They let you mail the applications to the clients so if you don't want to drive so far, just mail them out. They have pretty good rates and the Mutual of Omaha name recognition is helpful.

Of course I give them my phone number and ask them to call if they need to change the appointment.

Of course I could have mailed them the United World application. I don't know of any carrier that requires you to be in front of the client.

But, I find I place much more business when I see the client. I tell them "I'm old-fashioned and think it important that you meet the person who is helping you with your insurance needs." I think this type of statement really helps put the senior more at ease.

I think the best ideas I've read here are:

1) No appt. more than a couple of days away
2) Confirm any appointment more than a 30 minute drive
3) Make sure that if I spoke with the husband, his wife is okay with the meeting (and visa-versa).

By the way, I had spoken with this client about 4 times while we tried to find a time they were in town. He had called me back a few times as well. I had no clue there would be any reason to doubt he would keep the appointment. His wife told me "my husband won't be interested but you can talk with him." Again, I had no idea there might be a problem.

Rick

 

[midwestbroker]

Frank, now that I think about it, that is true. The women are the ones who normally do the insurance stuff. I have been on many appointments where the woman says, "Honey, we are going to get this" and the guy says ok.

I still like my crown royal. Just make sure you do not call them after a few drinks...

 

[bluemarlin08]

I always confirm an appointment 30 minutes or more from where I am. People forget, things happen, if they want to have an excuse to break the appointment I didn't give them enough reason to see me. If it is an hour or so away, they KNOW we are doing apps or I'm not going.

 

[midwestbroker]

All in all though, there are some situations where you will do everything right and still have a no show.

That is just the nature of the business.

 

[CHUMPS FROM OXFORD]

I only see clients in person about every three months. I'm not proud of it. I just hate to drive. Works well, although I'm sure I'm missing an app here and there.