Bankers Life and Casualty?

[Frank Stastny]

With all due respect to your hard work and success, there is another way to look at this.

I have been doing this for 9 years and have done everything from cold calling a list to direct mail to hiring a telemarketer to buying internet leads. I have spent thousands on prospecting and leads.

You say you do not spend any money on leads. However, I place a high dollar value on my time. If I cold call, I average about 1 sale per 1.5 hours of calling. I need to cold call about 5-7 hours per week to make $2k. If I pay for 25 internet leads at $6 each, I spend $150 and make about the same $2000. Difference is, I spent 1 hour on the phone rather than 5-7 and dealt with people who took the first step with the internet leads.

I saved 5-6 hours of labor, but basically paid $30 per hour to do so. That, to me and many others who prefer alternative methods of marketing, is worth it.

So, when calculating your ROI you must factor in the valuable asset of time.

Also, I have found that when I start to get burned out with this business, the best thing to do is make a change somewhere in my marketing--just to mix things up a little bit and keep it interesting.

Kyle, I never said that the way I do it is the only way. Nor have you and I ever discussed exactly how I do it. I would venture to say that the way I cold call is substantially different than the way you do it.

You must have found a totally different source for internet leads than the ones I have tried in the past. In order for you to make $2000 per week, I assume that is annual commission, you have to be averaging around 6.5 Med Supp sales per week that stay on the books. That means that you are regularly selling a minimum of one-fourth of all leads you purchase.

Making $2,000 per week in commission is not very difficult to do, however, to do it and only spend one hour a week on the phone is almost super human. I have never known you to BS so maybe you will be willing to share how you can contact 25 internet leads in one hour, that is allowing 2.4 minutes per call, and come away with an average of 6.5 sales a week, every week.

I know agents who would kill to be able to make 6 to 7 sales a week regardless of how much time they have spent prospecting let alone be able to do that week in and week out and only spend one hour a week prospecting to be able to do it.

 

[Professor Leads]

Kyle, I never said that the way I do it is the only way. Nor have you and I ever discussed exactly how I do it. I would venture to say that the way I cold call is substantially different than the way you do it.

You must have found a totally different source for internet leads than the ones I have tried in the past. In order for you to make $2000 per week, I assume that is annual commission, you have to be averaging around 6.5 Med Supp sales per week that stay on the books. That means that you are regularly selling a minimum of one-fourth of all leads you purchase.

Making $2,000 per week in commission is not very difficult to do, however, to do it and only spend one hour a week on the phone is almost super human. I have never known you to BS so maybe you will be willing to share how you can contact 25 internet leads in one hour, that is allowing 2.4 minutes per call, and come away with an average of 6.5 sales a week, every week.

I know agents who would kill to be able to make 6 to 7 sales a week regardless of how much time they have spent prospecting let alone be able to do that week in and week out and only spend one hour a week prospecting to be able to do it.

I know you do not claim your way is the only way. But, you do admit that you think it is the best way and the best ROI. I am merely stating that when I calculate ROI I factor in time as much as money.

I use a dialer to contact my pool of internet leads and pay about $5 per week for the dialer. I spend a maximum about 2 hours per week on the phone.

Also, 5 apps a week will gross $2k for me.

 

[Vance Vader]

Banker's life agents here are notorious for flat out LYING and coming up with anything they can to somehow dupe seniors into still buying Plan J. I untangle their web of lies daily, and usually turn it into a one-call-close (1 call for me, the BL agent gave them half the info about Medicare, and usually poorly at that) once I tell them that:

1) Plan J is going away. For a reason.
2) Even if you DID want Plan J (which is fine, I leave that decision to my clients), they're not even close to being the best rate.
3) Did they try to get you to sign the app that same day the came to your house? "Gee, how did you know??" Because I've had several other clients who saw the light.

I offer every one of my clients an opportunity to have a conference call with them, myself, and the Banker's Life agent who came to their house to clear things up and expose the truth. I won't hold my breath.

And now, I'm getting Banker's Life agents actually calling me asking how F rates can be sooo much cheaper with other companies, and blah blah. I'm guessing BL recruits newbies who don't do any due diligence in the industry and swallow whatever pill they're given. BL agents sell BL. That's it.

Is that REALLY helping your client, when they should know there are far better options out there? And ignorance is not an excuse.

Just my two cents.

 

[wildcat]

Don't know about you but learning to prospect has enabled me to be totally self-sufficient. So much so that I have not purchased any leads for at least six to eight years.

Frank, when you are calling your lists, or one of your trained agents are calling, what are your production numbers.

For example; how many calls to produce an application, or how many hours of calling equals an application. I'm wondering if a Med Supp per day is possible from cold calling.

Thanks Frank.

 

[Frank Stastny]

Frank, when you are calling your lists, or one of your trained agents are calling, what are your production numbers.

For example; how many calls to produce an application, or how many hours of calling equals an application. I'm wondering if a Med Supp per day is possible from cold calling.

Thanks Frank.

I have never kept track of those numbers. It really isn't important to me. I'm in business to sell insurance and I do whatever it takes. I didn't mean for that to sound "flip". I discovered early on that I am either at the top of the mountain one day and three feet lower than whale sh*t the next. All I can add is that I have been very successful selling Med Supps using the method I came up with by making a lot of mistakes and spending way too much money on "leads".

Averaging a sale a day cold calling from a list is not that difficult if the agent does his part. Actually, I have experienced a greater rate of success calling from a list as opposed to using direct mail "leads". I have mentioned this before but in one month I sold $80,000 in Med Supp policies and got them all by cold calling, not one "lead" in the group. That is the best month I have ever had. Worked my butt off and was wasted by the end of the month. I sold a lot more than one a day that month. So yes, it can be done.

I only call people who I know are on Medicare. Everyone on Medicare believes that just having Medicare is not adequate. (In reality it is probably superior to the group coverage they had when they were employed.) That makes everyone I call an interested person. I don't have to first convince them they "need" the coverage.

I teach agents how to telemarket and if they do it correctly after a while they discover that the majority of their new clients come from their Prospects database.

I will be glad to talk about it further if you want to give me a call.

 

[pinsure]

Re: Opinion of Bankers Life and Casualty

Mr. C
Are you talking health or life or both you sell in your sweatpants?

Mr. C, could you please contact me so I can reply via email to you about this,
or let me know how to contact you.

Thank you in advance.

Pinsure Newby


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Sagamore..... go independent! You'll be able to offer your clients more, and make more money. Why are you scheduling appointments??? Get used to selling via the internet and you'll never go back to belly to belly. This past week I wrote close to $36,000 AV sitting at home in my sweat pants. Join the Association and learn how to do this.

I clicked the wrong button when replying before. This is the quote I wanted, although the other will get the point across.

Please let me know how to contact you to discuss "joining the association and learning how to do this" if it still applies.

A few years ago I was introduced to the insurance business by what I've called "the back door": working MA plans. I did this for one season, and saw how many problems there were, and wondered if the unethical agents would cause the whole thing to be shut down. Looks like that's practically happened.

In any event, I decided the insurance industry likely held the keys to my new (and hopefully last) career move. I starting shopping for insurance companies to go to work with, but didn't like a lot of what I saw. (Bankers Life was one of them. That's how I got onto this thread.)

I found a multiline agency (or FMO? I don't know the terminology) that I like the look and feel of, it's reasonable driving distance (85 miles), and I have myself ready to go there when I pull the plug on my "day job".

I still like the idea of lots of training upfront, then moving into the field. (I was just contacted by a local Mutual of Omaha office, which I imagine could offer such training.) When I started with MA plans, I met with a manager one time, he discussed what he did, then out I went. It was all OJT. That can be dangerous with something like insurance.

I'm wondering if "the association" may be an answer? And because I am comfortable with things internet and computer related, maybe sales online as well.

The questions are always better than the answers.

Thank you again,

Pinsure Newby

 

[GonePrivate]

Bankers Life & Casualty Vancouver, Washington

It looks like almost all their offices are the same, I recently quit after 2 years do yourself a favor and stay away, especially from this office, if they call you hang up, if you go to the first interview, do not go to the second.

All the managers there are TOTAL LIARS, if you want to know who to stay away from IM and I will let you know.

DO NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT fal for their lies.

You are not 1099, since they tell you when and where to be, I just sent a letter to the IRS about this.

 

[TNAgent]

bankers life and casualty sounds like the place to be. ;-)

I have to say they did not paint the picture of lies for me. They were very up front with the slides, The company says you will make $80k your first year, but I say you will have to work really hard to get to $40k in this market. Is 80k possible, yes, but do not think I am telling you it's a fact that you will. He painted the dirty work picture. But did show the stacks of leads he has for you to call. They did shower the training they have with golden sparkles. But I believe I will try Health Choice one or one of the other GURU's here and take up one of these guys on their training.

I do not think it is by accident that this many people came here to talk about their wonderful experiences with Bankers.

 

[Mike Shaw]

I just left. Today in fact.

I transferred from another office to the one here. I kept hearing the 'no, we're not trying to sell you anything. Its purely informational' line and cringed. Yeah, it may get you in the door, but...

I had more leads than I could call. Two days on the phone, 3-4 out in the field. I sold a ton of little final expense policies, but little in the way of big stuff till the last week I was in the town I left. 'Course, that $6k commission went buh-bye after the client talked to her children who said 'you don't need another annuity...' Typical problem with dealing with seniors... At least IME

AFAI can tell, the splits are lower than average based on past experience being independent.

I'm new to the area in which I'm working (the ex- is/was a traveling nurse) so I don't have the contacts needed to waltz in and start handshaking my buddies, family, etc. I figger I need help with people to talk to that asked for info... Banker's did that.

In my experience, you need lots of friends, lots of $$, or spend lots and lots of time on the phone to make it in the insurance/whatever industry. I don't/didn't have lots of $$ nor do I have a boatload of friends to schmooze. That leaves what?! I'm good on the phone out of necessity, but that don't mean I like it.

I'll second the motion that the way to make more money is becoming a field trainer or higher in the company. Overrides are good, m'kay. Like ole Henry Ford useta say: 'I'd rather have 1% of 100 men's efforts than 100% of my own.'

It IS truly a 'throw em against the wall' kind of place.

I've seen the $$ that some of the career agents are making. There's usually a few in every office. I was making enough to pay bills for most of my time there, but little more. There's some that weren't doing that. There's some new agents that hit it out of the park. The old 80/20 rule in effect.

HTH

M

 

[G.Gordon]

I

In my experience, you need lots of friends, lots of $$, or spend lots and lots of time on the phone to make it in the insurance/whatever industry. I don't/didn't have lots of $$ nor do I have a boatload of friends to schmooze. That leaves what?!

I hope you're just talking about Bankers.

I've never smoozed a friend or family to buy. Never. They know what I do and if they need my help I do my best.

Let me tell you a story. I moved 430 miles from my established client base in 12/04. By the end of 2005 I decided to go "senior"... today I have just at 600 med supps on the books. I don't buy leads. I didn't have the $$ for it then. Now I'm enjoying a residual income stream well into the five digit margin month after month just counting medsupps. Add that to everything else I've done in my insurance career and I'm doing well.


Believe in self and be willing to humble yourself and work like a sled dog.