Cold calling script with veteran angle?

[TIMOTHY SEBASTIAN]

I'm new here and I'm probably going to be cold calling in southeastern Kentucky. I'm a veteran and I was thinking about adding something about being a veteran business owner in my cold calling script. Does anyone know if this has been done before? I don't want it to be too wordy, I was thinking something like:

Hello Mr. Prospect? Hey my name is Tim and I'm calling because I just started my own veteran own small business that services your area. I was just wondering, would you all be interested in helping a veteran with his new business? I only have a few questions it'll take like a minute of your time. (hopefully nobody says no to that)
Great! I specialize in senior healthcare products, and the cost of Medicare supplements has been rising the past few years for people like you. Have you been effected by this at all? (yes/no)
Well what I'm doing is i'm showing people how to lower their cost for their medicare supplements. I could bring some information over to you that could save you and your family hundreds of dollars a year. What would be the best time to get this out to you tomorrow, morning or afternoon? (afternoon)
Great I just need to know if you guys are in good health and what you're paying for your current medicare supplement.

What do you all think?

 

[somarco]

Hello Mr. Prospect? Hey my name is Tim and I'm calling because I just started my own veteran own small business that services your area. I was just wondering, would you all be interested in helping a veteran with his new business? I only have a few questions it'll take like a minute of your time. (hopefully nobody says no to that)
Great! I specialize in senior healthcare products, and the cost of Medicare supplements has been rising the past few years for people like you. Have you been effected by this at all? (yes/no)
Well what I'm doing is i'm showing people how to lower their cost for their medicare supplements. I could bring some information over to you that could save you and your family hundreds of dollars a year. What would be the best time to get this out to you tomorrow, morning or afternoon? (afternoon)
Great I just need to know if you guys are in good health and what you're paying for your current medicare supplement.

Interesting angle (Veteran). Can't say I have seen this before, especially insurance and cold calling.

I go out of my way to use Veteran owned businesses if I can.

Let's see what we can do with this puppy. Strike the italicized, add the bold. Just suggestions to make it flow better and get to the point.

Hey my name is Tim and (I'm calling because I just) I started my own veteran (own) small business. (that services your area).

(I was just wondering,) Would you all be interested in helping a veteran with his new business? (The last part of the sentence is redundant because you stated so in the prior sentence. I could probably work on this more but short on time. You need to reference the business so they don't think you are calling for donations).

I only have a few questions it'll take like a minute of your time. (hopefully nobody says no to that) I violate traditional rules and always ask "permission" by saying "Is this a good time?" or "Do you have just a minute?". On occasion some will say they are busy so I interject "just one question" . . . .
Are you currently looking . . .
When was the last time you . . .
or the classic Do you think you are paying too much for . . .

They will almost always acknowledge the question, answer, and give me a chance to call back. If they say they will call me I chalk that up as a NO SALE and move on.

If they tell me to call back at a specific time they are usually interested.

Once I set the hook I ask permission to send them something by email. That usually softens them up and gives me an opportunity to throw out more chum to get them interested.


I specialize in senior healthcare products, and the cost of Medicare supplements has been rising the past few years for people like you. Have you been effected by this at all?

Try this instead.

My clients are on Medicare or soon will be. Most are completely confused before we talk and often paying too much. No one wants to pay more than they have to, right?

All I ask is this.

Give me 10 minutes on the phone to answer your questions. If you feel my advice is helpful then we can talk some more. If not, we part as friends. Never any pressure to buy.

I call this my "offer you can't refuse".

All my sales are by phone but this approach can be used for F2F.

You are just trying to get your foot in the door and pave a way to talk later. This approach is disarming and almost always results in a follow up conversation. And most of those produce a sale.

Once you start talking price you are dead. What you have to do is create VALUE. Show them you are more than just a pretty price.

BTW, I use my "gimmick" too. Not the veteran angle but tell them up front I am on Medicare. You may not be able to use that approach but I can tell you it is golden.

 

[dbab]

I would and do gladly support any veteran business owners, but when people use their veteran status as a selling point it really annoys me. That's just me personally though, it might work great in your script.

As far as your script goes, you might think about putting the emphasis on the prospect instead of yourself. You start off talking about yourself and not what you can do for the prospect.

Hello Mr. Prospect? Hey my name is Tim and I'm calling because I just started my own veteran own small business that services your area. I was just wondering, would you all be interested in helping a veteran with his new business? I only have a few questions it'll take like a minute of your time.

If I get a call that starts out with that here is what I think:

This guy is new he needs help with his business.
If he needs help with his business it might be because he isn't very good.
If he isn't good, I don't want him anywhere near my insurance and money.
On top of all of that, I have to answer questions to help him out??

Maybe try something like this:

Hey Mr. Prospect, this is Tim from Good Insurance Co. I've been helping people in [city/suburb name] lower their medicare supplement cost. Is paying less for medicare supplements something you're interested in?

If they say "yes", then you can casually mention how you're a veteran. Maybe something like:

Ok great! I can bring some information over to you that shows how to save hundreds a year. As a veteran, I still have the habit of writing everything down. As I'm finding my calendar to write your name down, when would be the best time to get this information to you? Tomorrow, morning or afternoon?

Also, I've cold called in the past but not for insurance so these suggestions might not be good.

 

[TIMOTHY SEBASTIAN]

I would and do gladly support any veteran business owners, but when people use their veteran status as a selling point it really annoys me. That's just me personally though, it might work great in your script.

As far as your script goes, you might think about putting the emphasis on the prospect instead of yourself. You start off talking about yourself and not what you can do for the prospect.



If I get a call that starts out with that here is what I think:

This guy is new he needs help with his business.
If he needs help with his business it might be because he isn't very good.
If he isn't good, I don't want him anywhere near my insurance and money.
On top of all of that, I have to answer questions to help him out??

Maybe try something like this:



If they say "yes", then you can casually mention how you're a veteran. Maybe something like:



Also, I've cold called in the past but not for insurance so these suggestions might not be good.

The idea behind leading with the veteran thing is to stop them from slamming the phone down as soon as they hear the word insurance. I agree the phrasing that I need help might not be the best. Maybe something along the line of "I'm looking for new clients in your area, I only have a few questions for you it'll take like a minute" or "I'm looking for people who support veteran owned businesses by using veterans for things they get from other sources anyway"

 

[somarco]

FWIW most T65 males ARE Veterans. Don't know that leading with the Veteran idea would work with females.

 

[DHK]

I'm new here and I'm probably going to be cold calling in southeastern Kentucky. I'm a veteran and I was thinking about adding something about being a veteran business owner in my cold calling script. Does anyone know if this has been done before?

Do a search for "affinity fraud". While it's primarily for religious association, it can apply to anything.

You need to explain what you DO, not what you SELL.

 

[dbab]

The idea behind leading with the veteran thing is to stop them from slamming the phone down as soon as they hear the word insurance.

Yeah, that certainly makes sense but follow that line of thought to one of its logical conclusions.

If someone is going to slam down the phone once they hear the word "insurance" but doesn't solely because you say you are a veteran, do you want to waste your time on that call in hopes that they might actually change their mind and become interested in insurance or would it be better to take the slammed phone, save the time, and get to the next call which might be someone interested in actually saving money and not just being polite because you're a veteran?

 

[producer1]

Tim -- first and foremost, thank you for your service! Although I'm licensed to help consumers in both health & life insurance decisions, it is not my main focus. My current practice is working primarily with businesses and business owners. We help their businesses to be more profitable, and we do it on our dollar. It's a very unique value proposition that we have. Oh, we do help them with insurance stuff as well. Yes, business owners need insurance too!

Your script is pretty good, but with "somarco" suggested tweaks it becomes very engaging and unique. Insurance is a commodity market so selling on price is not going to get you very far. Being that you are a veteran, did you know that you come with a very high tax credit ($9,600) for any prospective employer out there who might hire you if you were to look for a 9-5 job?

 

[DHK]

FWIW most T65 males ARE Veterans. Don't know that leading with the Veteran idea would work with females.

Unless you're showing up in uniform? Women love men in uniform!

 

[TIMOTHY SEBASTIAN]

FWIW most T65 males ARE Veterans. Don't know that leading with the Veteran idea would work with females.

Not selling a medicare supplement to a guy with VA health insurance anyway.