Cold Calling

[roger_lockless]

I've seen a few posts on here about cold calling, and the general consensus seems to be that it works. I've just started trying it, and have spent an hour and a half per day for the last 2 days doing it and haven't gotten any appointments yet. I probably haven't been doing it the most efficient way, however. For the moment, I just wanted to take a stab at it and see how I did as an initial experiment, so I went through a few pages of the phone book, crossed out all the numbers that were on the DNC list, and called the rest. Several were no longer in service, and for the most part, I ended up leaving messages. I can't help but wonder how many people were actually home, but just don't pick up the phone when they don't recognize the caller. A couple guys I work with seem to think this is just cake, but they've got a combined age of about 135; when they were starting out, everybody HAD to pick up the phone 'cause they didn't know who the hell was calling until they did, and people probably weren't quite as jaded as they are now about someone trying to sell them something. I know this MUST be effective since people on here have had success, but rationally it just doesn't seem like it can work in the modern era. People don't answer their phones, and most numbers are DNC. And even when someone DOES answer the phone, they hang up on you before you can get 5 words out, so all the salesman tricks you build into your quick pitch can rarely even be attempted properly.

Did I just have a bad couple of days? Is the answer just to try more? Are the results dramatically better if you call on evenings or weekends? I wish I could do it all day long, but after an hour-and-a-half of straight calling, I have to admit I find myself somewhat burned out.

Also, what are the advantages of a scrubbed list? I realize it would save me the time of having to go through the page crossing out the bad numbers before I start making calls, but is there anything else? Are the leads qualified in any way, and are the numbers verified as actually being in service?

 

[Bob_The_Insurance_Guy]

What lines are you calling for? Health? Life? DI?

Are you calling only residential numbers? What time of the day/night are you calling.

Start calling businesses. There is no DNC to deal with.

What are you using as your opening approach?

 

[Frank Stastny]

...I've seen a few posts on here about cold calling, and the general consensus seems to be that it works. I've just started trying it, and have spent an hour and a half per day for the last 2 days doing it and haven't gotten any appointments yet. I probably haven't been doing it the most efficient way, however. For the moment, I just wanted to take a stab at it and see how I did as an initial experiment, so I went through a few pages of the phone book...

If I didn't know better I would swear you were the agent I talked to today.

We spent nearly three hours on the phone earlier today, about half that time was talking about how to effectively learn to use the phone. Discussing technique, using the proper words and the importance of the timing used to say them That it a learned, well practiced art. He agreed with everything I said.

He called me back this evening, several hours later, and said he just got through making several calls and all of them were unsuccessful. Mind you, this is after I explained to him earlier that he wasn't nearly ready to begin calling, that he needed to practice, practice practice first.

I busted his ass in a very friendly way and both of us had a good laugh about it. He said he didn't believe me and picked up the phone anyway and just tried to wing it. His wings weren't strong enough yet and I told him that is why he fell flat on his ass.

His big mistake was not knowing what to say, how to say it, how to maintain control of the phone call and how to transition it from a phone call to a relaxed, casual conversation.

He is going to do extremely well. He has the drive and enthusiasm necessary but he is like most of us, just a tad impatient.

Roger, if you would like to give me a call in the morning I will be able to explain what I am talking about and give you some examples. It isn't something I can type otherwise I would.

 

[Sam12]

With more and more people going on the DNC list and people getting rid of their landlines if favor of cell phones, cold calling using the telephone will be nonexistent in the future. We'll be seeing more and more agents going door-to-door and using the web to obtain business. I'm already starting to see an increase in door-to-door sales in my neighborhood during the last few years.

 

[Stephen]

Roger I would recommend: 1. Buying a data list consisting of the age and income of your prospects, scrubbed against the DNC. 2. Quit asking for an appointment , and simply ask if they would like to receive an "information package". I have a simple method that converts cold calls into presentations, PM me if you like. 3. Call Frank Stastney, if he is willing to take the time to help, take all that you can get. That's what I did when I started and still do everyday!

 

[TheManGoat]

When calling for life appointments what are you finding the number of calls to appointments are? I know a lot of people take the approach of not qualifying at all and try and make the appointment with anyone who isn't already deceased but how many are setting appointments with those who at least have some interest?

People hang up the phone fast enough once you move into a sales or pushy script, I can't imagine anyone agreeing to making an appointment without knowing the reason or having some conversation before.

 

[Larry Tew]

I believe in our day and time that "dialing for dollars" is dead. My biggest challenge as a manager and trainer was to help new reps get effective at obtaining "recommendations" (referrals).

Learning how to make a "personal observation" is critical. For example, if your business isn't done primarily from a telephone, what is an agent doing with all the people he bumps into throughout a normal day? One of the most successful agents I ever worked with would just be "out and about" and whenever the situation allowed, he would ask someone "Who do you buy your life insurance from?" After the person answered (and many times they aren't clear on what they have, which company, their agent's name, etc) the agent would ask them "if I could save you on your premiums or give you more coverage for the same premium, would you let me look into that for you?"

If you're in a more upscale market, you might change the question to "Who helps you with your over-all financial plan?"

Along these same lines, you need a concise "elevator speech" that allows you to tell someone what you do and who you do it for in 30 seconds.

I applaud those of you who are making a good living through unsolicited cold calls. I could not do it.

 

[Bob_The_Insurance_Guy]

The only products I still Cold Call over the phone are the employer based products: Supplements, BOE, Key Person, Group Health.

When you get to individual products, I strictly network, and work off referrals. Takes a bit longer to stir up the pot, but once they start, it's pretty steady.

I do presentations for LTC and Medicare products. I do cold call for that, from time to time, but it depends on the time of the year and the venue.

 

[TheManGoat]

Has anyone tried the Bill Good method of cold calling? It takes an easy no in cold calling and doesn't push for appointments if the client isn't interested. You record how receptive people are and eventually you'll have a warm list of people you've ben calling and will be ready to buy your product. Has anyone had success with this way?

 

[roger_lockless]

To Centralsolution:

I tried to PM you, but apparently I haven't posted often enough and the site won't let me send PMs. I was attempting to send you the following:

"I'm interested in what you said about offering to send an information package to people you've cold-called instead of asking for an appointment. In my experience, mailing materials to someone is basically the equivalent of throwing them in the trash. What is your technique for turning a mailed info package into a presentation? I would love to have a way to do that."

Please e-mail me at [email protected] at your convenience; I'm very interested to hear more about this strategy.