Experienced Cold Callers

[carroll]

Cold calling is more difficult today with caller ID....I personally never answer the phone from an unavailable caller or a "Stranger." When I first started cold calling in 1990, the only people who didn't answer the phone were those that were not home. My new way of cold calling is to mail them a postcard (1-3 times) then make my "Warm" call. No more cold calling for me.

 

[GordieHowe]

Do they recognize your name when you call?

 

[TwiLight]

Cold calling is more difficult today with caller ID....

That really makes no difference.

Using a phone number that does not look like a collection company is important. 800/888/877, etc are no no's.

A local number that ends in a random ending or no pattern ... 555-1932. is perfect. Just be sure that the number is yours.

If you use a voip system, do not use the cname for your number. only the number shows without the name. You will get more pickups doing this.

Good luck to all callers. It is a GRINDER'S game....be consistent and the numbers will prove your success.

 

[carroll]

Do they recognize your name when you call?

I'm pretty sure the ones who don't answer after the 4th or 5th time I call recognize my name and thats ok, if they aren't interested it saves us both time. My favorites are the ones who say "Oh, I've been meaning to call you".....those are few and far between but sure sales.

I've also had people call me back because they saw my name on their caller ID......I've yet to sell one of those....I've tried! Frank sold a couple that way....I will in time.

And I've had people pass my postcard onto a family member who needed a med supp....those are always good as well.

 

[Pete Cormie]

carroll
My new way of cold calling is to mail them a postcard (1-3 times) then make my "Warm" call.

What does your postcard say?

 

[carroll]

carroll
My new way of cold calling is to mail them a postcard (1-3 times) then make my "Warm" call.

What does your postcard say?

Very Generic and simple: The front of the card says "Lower medicare supplement rates, compare for yourself!"

The back says "If you are paying more than $(fill in the blank) per month for a medicare supplement plan "F" call me immediately!

name and phone number

I use the smaller postcard-rates are cheaper. I also just ordered 1,000 post cards from Mutual of Omaha-free cards! They are a little nicer but more expensive to mail.....and I don't get as many calls off them but it does get my name out there.

 

[hogosuru]

Both tables below are for the month of July, from a B2B Health Insurance Lead Gen Campaign. Note that I removed "No Answers" from the first table, because with the use of a predictive dialer, "no answers" do not come through to a telemarketer... so no need to factor them in.

Call Result---|---Count---|---%
Answering Machine---|---132340---|---27.84%
Busy---|---12697---|---2.67%
Callback---|---650---|---0.14%
Corporation---|---12678---|---2.67%
Disconnected---|---10880---|---2.29%
Do Not Call Request---|---3010---|---0.63%
Drop---|---19561---|---4.11%
Group---|---7069---|---1.49%
Lead---|---6835---|---1.44%
Not Available---|---223503---|---47.01%
Not Interested---|---38149---|---8.02%
Not Qualified Age---|---8---|---0.00%
Not Qualified Health---|---1764---|---0.37%
Not Qualified Pregnant---|---48---|---0.01%
Not Qualified Spouse---|---1687---|---0.35%
Out of Business---|---4559---|---0.96%
Total Calls---|---475438---|---100.00%

Call Result---|---Count---|---%
Answering Machine---|---132340---|---15.99%
Busy---|---12697---|---1.53%
Callback---|---650---|---0.08%
Corporation---|---12678---|---1.53%
Disconnected---|---10880---|---1.31%
Do Not Call Request---|---3010---|---0.36%
Drop---|---19561---|---2.36%
Group---|---7069---|---0.85%
Lead---|---6835---|---0.83%
Not Available---|---223503---|---27.01%
No Answer---|---352138---|---42.55%
Not Interested---|---38149---|---4.61%
Not Qualified Age---|---8---|---0.00%
Not Qualified Health---|---1764---|---0.21%
Not Qualified Pregnant---|---48---|---0.01%
Not Qualified Spouse---|---1687---|---0.20%
Out of Business---|---4559---|---0.55%
Total Calls---|---827576---|---100.00%

 

[SamC3d]

I'm just getting back in the game after being away for some time. I've done some cold calling in the past but it never seemed so difficult as now to break out of call reluctance.

I started out trying to call for FE last week and had zero penetration both on the phone and door to door. This evening I'm changing my approach to offering a free policy review. Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions on the switch?

Any guidance is appreciated.

 

[chrisbeyersinut]

Few thoughts:

1) As someone else mentioned, an auto dialer will make your life a lot easier
2) The conversion rate will be dependent on the type of leads you are using. A phone book will have an awful conversion rate, but something more qualified will be obviously better. Usually the cost of the leads are commensurate with the quality as you can imagine.
3) I would focus mostly on customer acquisition cost as a metric for your success or effectiveness. The value of your time, the cost of your lead relative the number of leads you convert into customers.
4) On the leaving messages vs. not. I always leave a message, but leave myself an out to call back by saying "Hi this Chris with .................... I can be reached at XXX-XXX-XXXX. I know you are busy, so if i don't hear from you by X, I will try calling you back" (with this approach, you set the expectation that you will be calling even if you leave a message so there isn't the dilmena of painting yourself into a corner by leaving a message and waiting for a response)

 

[carroll]

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I believe this to be true! Lot's of guys want a number like 555-8000 and the like. A basic number looks more like an old friend calling!!