Direct Mail Marketing for Mortgage Protection Sales

[Deadlily]

I got one week ,9 leads, that were varied ages, heavy on the overage but not 90% over age 65. This was the first week. I sold 5 policies on the 9 leads and all but one have been issued. That one had a mistake in his medical records that is in the process after being corrected. Those 5 sales produced $4200 in first year commission at their sucky 60% commission rate. Not too shabby for my first week. Then the leads tanked down to the oldsters and I still placed another $1000 first year commission in week 2.Then the leads went down to 0 in the under age 65 group and Im stranded. 3 of the last 9 A leads were not even in Florida when I called them. Back home up north.

Debra - What you are experiencing is not unusual. SFG's business model is all about "recruit, recruit, recruit" and as the number of agents increase, the amount of MP leads in each area do not. There will only be a finite number of MP leads every month and SFG will distribute them to their top producers first. Based on what you've shared, it appears SFG (or your up-line) had 9 good quality A-Leads left over your first week and you were willing to buy them.

If I'm understanding your info correctly, you've spent $729.00 on leads and had $2340.00 deposited into your bank account from the carriers. That equates to an approx. gross income of $780.00 a week (prior to lead expenses, travel expenses, taxes, etc). That is assuming 100% of your Issued/Paid policies remain on the books for 9 months. I think SFG advises that 65% to 70% should remain on the books.

Here are the stats on one of SFG's Top Agency Director's team production for this year. We are looking at nearly 3 months production and out of 62 Agents, ONLY 5 Agents have submitted $30,000 or more in business!

SFG tells newbies they should see 4 to 5 sales each week, which would = an average of $4,000.00 to $5,000.00 in submitted business each week. That means agents should have $48,000 to $60,000 in submitted business by this point in 2017, however this agency has ONLY three agents (that's correct ONLY 3) who have submitted $48K or more in new business.

Here is what the balance of their agents have experienced thus far this year:
5 have submitted between $20K and $29,999 in business
7 have submitted between $10K and $19,999 in business
10 have submitted between $5K and $9,999 in business
AND 35 have submitted LESS than $5,000 in business in 3 months!

60% commission is extremely low in the life insurance industry, however it is part of the MLM model that SFG, NAA, Equis Financial, InVida, etc. have adopted. For that reason, very few newbies actually make it @ SFG (or any of the other MLM IMOs).

Hopefully, you will be assisgned better quality leads in the future, which will increase your financial opportunities. One thing to understand is the SFG culture. The up-line trains that the SFG Business Model is perfect and if it isn't working for you, it's you, not SFG. They're all drunk on SFG kohl-aid and that isn't gonna change.

 

[Justin Bilyj]

How do you feel about cold door knocking new home buyers? Are you a pleasant person?

 

[Debrabrkr941]

LOL. I know I havent sounded like it, but yes.

 

[Deadlily]

...CUT...

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I am realistic about lead quality but they are leaving me with gristle and bone. Even with my closing skills it will just barely be possible to pay $400 weekly lead cost. I believe that I was given better leads the first week to keep me trying and enough 70 and under leads to keep me hooked into buying the leads in weeks 2 and 3 to keep me paying and in the lead program. In 4 weeks I have only recieved 4 leads in the target range.

I think you may be right. SFG tells agents that they "don't make money" on leads, however that is simply not true. They sell the same leads countless times every year and the money they collect really adds up. They also claim to "own" their own mail houses, which is yet again another false claim.

 

[Debrabrkr941]

OK. So Im in Florida and I know the dm response will be low..1%. I know i should prospect away from the big cities, I know i need a couple of grand to get going but heres the question...with symmetry holding me hostage where do I go to get my contracts? Which are the best mail houses for MP? I have used Kramer but they dont do MP.

 

[Deadlily]

OK. So Im in Florida and I know the dm response will be low..1%. I know i should prospect away from the big cities, I know i need a couple of grand to get going but heres the question...with symmetry holding me hostage where do I go to get my contracts? Which are the best mail houses for MP? I have used Kramer but they dont do MP.

Hopefully, you didn't contract with very many carriers through them. SFG, like many IMOs will not release you from your contract with them. For that reason it's best to only contract with approx 3 carriers (MP, FE & GI) in the beginning, because if things don't work out, you'll have to wait it out for six months before you can recontract with them.

The standard return for MP DM is approx 1%, regardless of the area. Some run a bit higher.

Do you want to contract with an IMO that provides MP leads or do you want higher contracts and you'll order your own leads through a mail house?

ETA: This guy is on the forum. I think he goes by Skipper or Twilight. I only know of him through his posts I've read, so I don't know if his agency would be a good fit for you or not...
Legacy Agent

 

[Debrabrkr941]

After having tried Senior Life Sales and Symmetry I no longer trust IPOs that have a direct mail program. I know how to do direct mail but I wanted the comraderie of working with a company and not being truly independent. I have a weird mixture of being a really experienced agent and a new agent. I started at age 23, came from an insurance family{Parents met at Prudential}, had major success as young woman, was running a region before my 30th birthday but got out of the business 20 years ago. Since getting my license 1 year ago I have floundered.The learning curve has been incredible but Im pretty close to where i need to be. I just wanted to be part of a team but it seems to come with a heavy price. I know how to do it on my own but I love insurance men, my Daddy was one, but everybody is full of lies. I was able as a young woman, in the Mississippi Delta, in the 80s when women were few and far between, with half of the men in the office chasing me like wolves to be very successful. But since I have come back its been all empty promises. The biggest change seems to be that since the do not call list there seems to be an entire industry revolving around profiting off the leads at the agents expense. That combined with a decrease in dm response have left me alone and sad.

 

[FinalExpenseDojo.com]

After having tried Senior Life Sales and Symmetry I no longer trust IPOs that have a direct mail program. I know how to do direct mail but I wanted the comraderie of working with a company and not being truly independent. I have a weird mixture of being a really experienced agent and a new agent. I started at age 23, came from an insurance family{Parents met at Prudential}, had major success as young woman, was running a region before my 30th birthday but got out of the business 20 years ago. Since getting my license 1 year ago I have floundered.The learning curve has been incredible but Im pretty close to where i need to be. I just wanted to be part of a team but it seems to come with a heavy price. I know how to do it on my own but I love insurance men, my Daddy was one, but everybody is full of lies. I was able as a young woman, in the Mississippi Delta, in the 80s when women were few and far between, with half of the men in the office chasing me like wolves to be very successful. But since I have come back its been all empty promises. The biggest change seems to be that since the do not call list there seems to be an entire industry revolving around profiting off the leads at the agents expense. That combined with a decrease in dm response have left me alone and sad.

You can get street level contracts (110-120% FYC) about anywhere and get fixed cost leads from many vendors for around $29 each. They're Final Expense leads but most agents will agree that FE is a lot easier of a sale than MP. Here's my lead vendor comparison.

 

[TwiLight]

You need and have not received a good mentor in MP that can actually explain MP. I have been labled as the modern father of the MP market as I have been personally selling in that market for 30 years and most people use my selling system for direct mail that I have used since the 90s.

The big issue is you need to take control of your marketing so you are not dependent on an IMO any longer. You need to also have street contracts for both SI term and SIWL. Half of your sales will be SIWL and you need to know how, when and why to pivot to SIWL.

MP direct mail targets boomers and seniors because that age group still looks at mail and returns lead cards. Our average age is 58-60 and 80%of leads are in that group. Now it is a good group and high premiums. Our typical agent does 7x ROI. But they also have 100-115% contracts. Not going to get that where you are.

To target ages 30-50, you will need alternate marketing, such as Radio, Social Media and direct to consumer via the realtor.

Legacy has a program that uses the Realtor for Mortgage Protection and I have used it for 30 years with great success. That has been my primary marketing method for Mortgage Protection. Direct Mail is used by our agents the first year until they establish the program in their local market.

Skipper

 

[FinalExpenseDojo.com]

OP, if you're really wanting to stay in the MP game I would definitely talk with Skipper. He is a really sharp guy & will teach you how to not stay a "Lead Junkie".