Bright Idea or Waste of Money

[Jessica Durphy]

I know some on here do and don't agree with direct mailers. My boss purchased a bunch of leads a few months ago, so I wanted to put them to good use, a lot are on the 'do not call list', so the only way to contact them would be via letter or direct mailers...

... with the letters I would like to know if it would be a tremendous waste of money to insert a business card or would it be a good idea for them to see an actual business card/photo of the agent sending them the letter?

 

[magagent]

What product are these leads for? If it is Med supp or Final expense take the lead card and show up at their door. If they put their number on the lead card I believe that gives you permission to call them..

 

[Jessica Durphy]

oh goodness, I'm sorry, these leads are for Medicare Supps.... final expense soon to follow! i feel that if I can get them to trust me with their Medicare Supps, then they'll trust me enough to do a Final Expense policy with me as well.

But first of all, Medicare Supps. It was a list of names that Mr. Williams purchased from our Broker. On the list there may be 50 that have their phone numbers listed... all of the other T65's leads and leads 68-75.....just have addresses listed!

 

[GreenSky]

A list of names is not a list of leads. These people never gave you permission to call so you can only pick up the phone and call those not on the DNC list.

I hope you are not paying for that list nor giving up any commission if and when you write a policy.

Rick

 

[Jessica Durphy]

I personally didn't pay for the list, the owner of the agency did... and I haven't given up any commissions. I guess you're right, it's just a list of names.... no one has given me permission to call them... that's why I was going to try a mailer.

There is about 50 or so names on the list that do have their phone nubmers, and i've done well with getting appointments set with them! out of about 25 called, i've approximately got 11 or 12 appointments set for the week of Nov. 15th... I don't think that's too bad!!!

Below is the letter that I was working on and going to send.... Rick if you have any suggestions to help with wording it and making it more attractive, I'm all ears. My original question was "Would it be a waste of money to include my business/photo card?":

As you may well know it's that time of year again, Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) for all 2010 Medicare Advantage plans… this is the enrollment period when you can change into a new plan with very few or no medical questions.
There are many plans and options that we can choose from and I am confident that, TOGETHER, we will be able to find one that will fit your budget and benefit needs. Every company that I work with is very reputable while providing excellent service… companies such as Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, Gerber Life, UPMC, Cigna, AdvantraRx, New Era Life, and many others. I'm sure with one of these companies we can find a product that's perfect for you.
My goal in sending you this letter is to show you that there is a trusted local agent that is here to meet your Medicare health needs, rather than dialing an 800 number and getting a recording! With the Williams Agency, you will never get that! Feel free to call, even if you have questions or just want me to review your current plan. I'm able to make a current plan analysis, discuss benefits, provide premium quotes and work with you on understanding just how Medicare works.
I hope to hear from you soon regarding this letter and again feel free to call! I'll do my level best to assist you in the best possible way.

Sincerely,

Jessica Durphy

 

[Yoda]

Someone said- "What product are these leads for? If it is Med supp or Final expense take the lead card and show up at their door. If they put their number on the lead card I believe that gives you permission to call them."
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I say take those er uh leads with the 50 phone numbers and wait until about 5pm tonight and call them up. You should be able to burn through those leads in about 2 nights. Then take those leads with no phone numbers and throw them in the back of the closet and then throw them out in a few years when you get tired of having them in your way!

 

[Jessica Durphy]

Yoda, are you grumpy today?

 

[Yoda]

Im not grumpy in the slightest! Ha ha ha. Im just being a sport and giving you a heads up. Believe me I have taken so called leads and jumped into my car and went knocking at doors and made alot of money doing it. But notice I did not say "EASY" money! Knocking on doors is the hard way of doing it. The easy money for you is to take those 50 phone numbers of people turning 65 and call them up. And dont call them up right now because half of them are out working or shopping or whatever. It is much easier to wait until tonight and call them when most of them will be home. If you give me 50 phone numbers of people turning 65 on average I will sell 2 of them a supplement. Thats average sometimes it might only be 1 out of 50 or it might be as high as 4 or 5 out of 50. The main problem with calling leads of people turning 65 is that you cant get enough of them. I find in a population base of around 1.5 million you have an average of 300 to 400 people a month turning 65. Now around 50 to 60% of those people are going to be on the do not call list so that leaves you with only a 200 people a month turning 65. Selling off of lists of people turning 65 is very easy the problem is there are not enough people just turning 65. Of course you need to call those people turning 65 at 2 to 3 months before they are turning 65.
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Oh yeah and heres another golden piece of advice. When your calling those people just turning 65 pick a company they have heard of and stick with that. It is much easier to sell them a name brand company they have heard of then some company like "gerber" or "uct". After they have had the name brand company for a few years and the rates are going through the roof then you have established enough trust with them that you can get by with selling them the "gerbers" and "UCT's".

 

[Jessica Durphy]

Well thank you so much for your advice! That's what I come on here for, to learn more and get pieces of "golden nuggets" that will help me become a better agent!

 

[Tom Highway]

If these are med supps, why are you waiting until the week of Nov 15th? This may be just me, but you may be exposing yourself to a possible perceived violation. Nov 15, as you know, begins AEP for medicare advantage.
If it's perceived that you're caling without prior consent to set an appt for medicare advantage, that's a huge foul.

I'm not saying you did, but I am really hoping that you called for med supps and recorded the conversations, and if it's a MA appt, the prospect did all the bringing up of MA, not you.

Your results are outstanding, by the way. 11 appointments out of 25 calls is huge.