Cold Doors 2020 - Discussion Thread

[DHK]

For California, Med Supp was only for Northern California, not SoCal.

We learned a "4-block" presentation - essentially an outline of benefits that led to a conversation about: life insurance, DI, critical illness, or accident policies.

 

[shonceman]

So, if I just do the shuffle, you're not letting me in. But if I do the wave and the shuffle, then we're soon sitting at you kitchen table, right?

I do use the wave when running FE leads. I use it when I see the shadow behind the peep hole, or the rustling of e blinds or curtains. I've never done the shuffle, but I have no doubt it can be effective. As far as I know none of us here on the forum can claim to trained up a sales force that can hold a candle to what Mr W. Clement Stone developed. He worked the wave and shuffle for a few billion dollars, right?

Also, when I'm cold knocking, I'm not trying to get in right there. I'm not looking for an FE sale. I'm trying to get an appointment, and I prefer if I can get them to come to the office rather than me come to their home. I don't use the wave when cold knocking. I have a different attitude when I'm cold knocking and there are 250 more doors in the subdivision to go knock on, than when I am running leads for which I paid $20-$30 a pop and I might have a 20 to 30 minute drive to my next lead.

When cold knocking, if they come to the door they come to the door. If not, it cost me nothing, I can always knock again, and my next "lead" is just 10 or 20 yards away.

I'm pretty sure I'm knocking in much lower income neighborhoods than you are currently. But, like you, I'm not really trying to get in right then. I'm not making specific appointments like you, though. I'm just getting permission to stop by again on a particular day, like I said earlier.

I'm also not looking for a FE sale in particular, although in those neighborhoods FE or debit is the main thing I'm writing. But what I'm really after is to uncover needs for which I can provide solutions. So I place a LOT of "burial insurance", because that's usually the main need for low income seniors.

But just because people choose to live in the inner city, doesn't necessarily mean they're poor or unsophisticated. I've run across retired professionals who moved in with their aging mom to take care of her. I've run into middle class people who bought an inner city house because they grew up there and want to live near family and friends. And these days, my core neighborhoods are becoming popular with younger millennials who enjoy fixing up an old house and living close to downtown. (Some people call that "gentrification". I call it redevelopment.)

So, I'd better be prepared to talk about more than just FE or debit. IMO, many FE agents could serve their clientele a little better just by asking one or two extra questions while they're in the home. If my memory serves, I think it was Alan Benedict who related that after packing up from an FE sale, he would often pivot to a Columbo-like "By the way, where do you have your nest egg?" Sold a lot of annuities that way.

 

[theleadingagent]

Well some people want quick answers and set their para meds up quick and everything runs quickly. I assume the quickest it could be done and ready for underwriting is 2 weeks.

Idk. I've only done 1 medically Underwriten and it was pretty fast

 

[Tahoe Ray]

Well some people want quick answers and set their para meds up quick and everything runs quickly. I assume the quickest it could be done and ready for underwriting is 2 weeks.

Idk. I've only done 1 medically Underwriten and it was pretty fast

I was just busting chops but that is not the norm.

If the person is really healthy and there is no APS required AND they set their exam quickly, then sure, you could get a fairly quick offer.

It's just that for most of us who write fully underwritten as the majority of their business, that is rarely the case.

I have a DI case right now where the carrier ordered records and the facility takes 30 days to process the records. At the end of the 30 days, they wanted a special HIPAA. So...30 more days, AFTER that got signed.

Some no-exam "fully underwritten" stuff can take longer than expected too. Also, not all clients will have a sense of urgency (setting up/taking exams, doing phone interviews, signing ppwk, etc.), even if they end up seeing the process all of the ways through.

You need to have a really full pipeline if you're going to be doing fully underwritten as the majority of your business. The average life case from app to issue is something like 43 days (I read that a while ago but it's pretty accurate).

 

[DayTimer]

You need to have a really full pipeline if you're going to be doing fully underwritten as the majority of your business. The average life case from app to issue is something like 43 days (I read that a while ago but it's pretty accurate)

Agree 100% ... even non-underwritten business, e.g. annuities is not quick when the funds are coming from a Wall Street broker and not the client's checking account.

 

[FIA_Guy]

It is known as the "Combined Shuffle".

First I have heard of Mr. Stone teaching the wave..

Wasn't Combined Insurance Mr. Stone's company?

 

[Tahoe Ray]

Agree 100% ... even non-underwritten business, e.g. annuities is not quick when the funds are coming from a Wall Street broker and not the client's checking account.

Annuities can be especially bad because nothing can happen until you're in good order. At least life/DI you can order requirements while missing stuff.

My favorite with annuities is when the provider (normally 403b 401k) has their own ppwk and when you send it in they refuse to tell you if they even got it.

 

[WinoBlues]

I was just busting chops but that is not the norm.

If the person is really healthy and there is no APS required AND they set their exam quickly, then sure, you could get a fairly quick offer.

It's just that for most of us who write fully underwritten as the majority of their business, that is rarely the case.

I have a DI case right now where the carrier ordered records and the facility takes 30 days to process the records. At the end of the 30 days, they wanted a special HIPAA. So...30 more days, AFTER that got signed.

Some no-exam "fully underwritten" stuff can take longer than expected too. Also, not all clients will have a sense of urgency (setting up/taking exams, doing phone interviews, signing ppwk, etc.), even if they end up seeing the process all of the ways through.

You need to have a really full pipeline if you're going to be doing fully underwritten as the majority of your business. The average life case from app to issue is something like 43 days (I read that a while ago but it's pretty accurate).

/^^^^^\ That!

Last year I did a FU million dollar case on a 65 year old. It was done in lightning time. 4 weeks. I have had others that were something like 5 or 6 months. Fortunately most were issued placed. But not all.

 

[DayTimer]

It was done in lightning time. 4 weeks.

So fast like it never even happened.

While I am a relative newcomer to the FU world, just as has been the case recently with some of the FE Carriers, underwriting is tightening up. Some celebrities may celebrate their morbidly obese bodies, but they're table 8's/declines in the eyes of the actuaries.

 

[WinoBlues]

While I am a relative newcomer to the FU world, just as has been the case recently with some of the FE Carriers, underwriting is tightening up.

Very true.

The SI options are tightening up or going away. Sure you can find small policies in the $25,000 range. While that is OK for burial coverage it does little else.

Not just medical underwriting. Lexus Nexus has been a pain in the ass lately as well. How the hell do you field underwrite that?