Best Route to Take. ...

[bboman23]

Looking for ideas.
Let's say an agent has experience and good contracts (all 110 or higher) and is willing to work hard and even travel. That agent has 10k to put into this business to get going. What's the best route? (Strictly fe)
Start dropping direct mail? If so how many per week?
Buy telemarketing leads?
Hire an assistant to cold call off of lists with a dialer to generate leads?

Looking for some advice but also posting so any newer agents starting out will see some good options as well.

 

[Rearden]

With $10,000 and final expense sales experience, I would do the following:

-Buy enough mail to get 30-35 leads weekly.
-Hire and train an appointment setter.
-Possibly hire a very part-time back office person to do customer service, follow-ups, fill-out and submit apps.
-Keep the other half of your investment in the bank to weather chargebacks.

I would work 4 to 5 days in the field with the goal of setting 20 appointments a week and closing 10 apps per week.

Don't sink dollars on hotel expense and work closer to home.

Spend would be $3000 to $4000 monthly on leads -- I would only buy non-subsidized leads at retail and nothing else, $1000-1200 monthly on appointment-setter to ensure 15 to 20 appointments and on back office support to do the grunt work, and $500 monthly on gas.

6000AP on 10 apps weekly is doable...

 

[rousemark]

Dave gave the answer that would be expected but the real answer is sit back and do nothing until the 10K runs out, then get up and go to work..

 

[bboman23]

Dave gave the answer that would be expected but the real answer is sit back and do nothing until the 10K runs out, then get up and go to work..

That sounds so much better!

 

[Agentguy5]

After completely failing in my first year under EFES... I realized exactly what I was doing wrong.. Working in the MIDDLE of DOWNTOWN Ft. Lauderdale... I knew that the areas I was working were just over worked and tough to sell in..

I sold my gun collection and started dropping MAIL on my own about 1.5 hours outside the city.

Gun collection = $2,500

After the investment in the mail drops, I turned my financial problem around and now get to enjoy a very nice life selling Final Expense Insurance 2 days a week...

Going independent was the best thing I ever did!

The training I got from EFES was helpful but I only realized what I was doing wrong when I drove out of town to ride with one of the managers... and realized that he was meeting with Lay-downs compared to what I was dealing with.

That was when the light came on!

 

[bigjake]

The biggest question is: Are you already making any money? If not, you need to support yourself for the 60 -90 days it takes to implement a good DM system. That is assuming two things:
1) you are already appointed and have all the product info ready and available
2) those products will actually be competitive in your market.

The biggest problem with lead generation is timing. You have to have results to guage how much you should spend. Spending 400/1000 to only net 1600 AP will not cut the mustard, so to speak. But neither will spending 10X that in same market if you have good prospects and the wrong product mix.

You have to start small on about 2000 mailers in one to two areas first. Time is your enemy at this point. Some areas become saturated too, so returns fall well below 1%. I am averaging .8%. Sould you find a demographic or zip code that produces greater than 1.2%. That is where I would spend a few thousand bucks and see what happens.

As far as internet leads go, go small and keep your money.

Appointment setter? Good luck. Best to find another agent, share costs, and commissions, sell complementing products. Maybe give contract with override to each other. For instance, find a Medicare agent who would just as soon send FE business to you in exchange for your FE clients. Cross selling works - it is just to hard to close with same agent (client has too much to think about). If you cannot find a synergistic relationship with someone else whose motivation is to make money, just go at it alone.

BUT IF YOU ARE ALREADY MAKING MONEY, SAVE YOUR MONEY. Reinvest your commissions and in a year or two, you will be MILES AHEAD with money in your pocket.

 

[rndz7]

Interesting question. Quality answers . Keep em coming.

Don NJ


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After completely failing in my first year under EFES... I realized exactly what I was doing wrong.. Working in the MIDDLE of DOWNTOWN Ft. Lauderdale... I knew that the areas I was working were just over worked and tough to sell in..

I sold my gun collection and started dropping MAIL on my own about 1.5 hours outside the city.

Gun collection = $2,500

After the investment in the mail drops, I turned my financial problem around and now get to enjoy a very nice life selling Final Expense Insurance 2 days a week...

Going independent was the best thing I ever did!
The training I got from EFES was helpful but I only realized what I was doing wrong when I drove out of town to ride with one of the managers... and realized that he was meeting with Lay-downs compared to what I was dealing with.

That was when the light came on!

Great info. I have a question ? What is a lay down ?

 

[bigjake]

Definition of lay-down (n)
Bing Dictionary
lay-down
easy victim: an easy target or victim

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I guess Target or Victim, depends on premium

 

[rndz7]

Thanks Big Jake. I feel you...The town I live in has a med income of 80 k.
The retirement villages, low end demographics are 15k to 25 k. So they are probably exhausted. I will know soon enough. Anyway, I am a pathfinder, ever since childhood. I have located lay down suspects about 1 .5 hrs away. I am going to confirm the county, and invest in 2000 leads, over a period of time. Please let me know what that period is ? Example...2 weeks or 4 weeks or 2 months.
Am I picking up on what your putting down ?

Don NJ

 

[rousemark]

Thanks Big Jake. I feel you...The town I live in has a med income of 80 k.
The retirement villages, low end demographics are 15k to 25 k. So they are probably exhausted. I will know soon enough. Anyway, I am a pathfinder, ever since childhood. I have located lay down suspects about 1 .5 hrs away. I am going to confirm the county, and invest in 2000 leads, over a period of time. Please let me know what that period is ? Example...2 weeks or 4 weeks or 2 months.
Am I picking up on what your putting down ?

Don NJ

How did you come to the conclusion these are "lay down" prospects?