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Hi guys,
I figured it’d be useful to do a write-up on final expense direct mail leads for the current year, and show newer agents and those considering getting into final expense sales what their options are for final expense direct mail leads.
Topics I’m going to discuss include:
Why you MUST use direct mail final expense leads if you’re serious about success.
I’ve been a member of this forum since I started selling final expense insurance in 2011.
There has always been conversation about final expense lead generation from the point I started. And certainly there have been many battles over “which leads are best?”
Here’s what I’ve discovered in my due diligence to decide whether or not I wanted to enter the final expense market.
I remember reading John’s (JDEasy) posts in 2011 back when he was with EFES.
He spoke at length how he’d only purchase 15 leads weekly and from that production, write north of $4000 in premium each week.
I also found other producers, like Travis (HoosierDaddy on the forum), Andrew with EFES out of Atlanta, all basically doing the same thing.
It became obvious to me, as Brian Tracy says, that “success leaves clues.”
And success seemed to come from a consistent flow of direct mail final expense leads.
Why is this the case?
You may wonder why direct mail final expense leads work so well compared to other options like telemarketing leads.
While that is a good question, I can tell you the ONLY thing that matters… is the PROOF is in the PUDDING. And since virtually ALL top final expense producers across the nation use direct mail leads…
...Why even consider doing ANYTHING different?
Here’s another way to look at it.
All recruiters on the forum recruit with the same premise that direct mail is king. And the reason is that recruiters almost always make their money when you make a sale.
Basically, recruiters have a built-in bias to engage agents with lead programs that will ultimately benefit the recruiters with override business. This alone is evidence enough as to why virtually all serious final expense agencies push direct mail leads. Because what’s good for the goose, is good for the gander.
Bottom line, if you’re new to final expense, just TRUST the process and buy direct mail leads as you’re told to. Trust me. I along with many others have tried a multitude of other strategies to generate high quality leads for face-to-face final expense business. And nothing has topped direct mail.
Fixed Price Leads Versus Per Thousand Leads - Which Is Best?
You have two choices when buying direct mail leads:
The pros of fixed-price direct mail leads is that you know EXACTLY what you’re paying per lead, and can never pay a penny more.
The cons of fixed-price direct mail leads is that you may pay MORE than what you could have with a per-thousand direct mail campaign.
Here’s my recommendation.
All agents should start with a fixed-price direct mail lead campaign. Why? Guaranteeing your expenses ahead of time provides peace of mind, eliminating the risk of poor response rates.
Check the video out below I did a few years back. I explain the economic cost of a poor response rate on a per-thousand campaign, compared to a fixed-price lead campaign, and what I could have potentially made, had I purchased fixed-price direct mail leads.
Long-term, once you get going, you can always consider doing a per-thousand drop to see how things go. But since for most new agents your cash is limited on the front-end, I’d save any experimenting until much later.
Should I care what the direct mail lead says?
Here’s another example of a common discussion new and experienced producers will have:
“Should I care what the final expense direct mail lead piece says?”
Since 2011, my opinion on this has steadily changed.
Originally, I ONLY supported leads that included the words “life insurance” in the body copy. Preferably with “pennies a day” language included as well.
But, after training and working with agents, I soon realized that it’s not necessarily T-H-A-T important what the lead says… it’s more important to have an agent that actually WORKS, sees the people, and leverages the opportunity presented to him (the leads) to his maximal extent.
Point being, a hard-working final expense agent shouldn’t care too much about what the lead says.
Regardless, I prefer leads that say “life insurance” when I personally produce final expense business, and I do think newer agents do better with leads that say “life insurance” somewhere on the card.
Pricing For Direct Mail Leads
The only downside to investing in a direct mail lead campaign is that it’s a serious investment.
Depending on which final expense agency you work with, you’re looking at anywhere between a $3000 to $5000 initial investment over the course of a month, assuming you want to start full-time on a recurring weekly basis. Some recruiters recommend having closer to $10,000 to start. And that doesn’t include covering your costs of living, either.
There are several alternatives to funding a proper direct mail lead campaign if adequate funding is an issue:
What if you don’t have enough to start with an alternative set-up?
If you are worried about paying the minimum start-up, here’s my recommendations:
Parting Thoughts
The main reason I wrote this post is because of the importance of selling final expense the RIGHT way.
Too many agents compromise, thinking cheaper alternatives are good to start with, and just as good in getting results similar to direct mail leads.
Any recruiter on this forum SERIOUS about your results will tell you that this is NOT the case!
So… don’t shortchange yourself… BEFORE you even get started.
Listen to all the top final expense producers and recruiters…
Direct mail is KING.
So just do it!
Direct Mail Resources:
-www.NeedALead.com offers fixed price direct mail leads.
-Most major final expense marketing organizations actively participating on the Forum offer fixed-price direct mail leads.
I figured it’d be useful to do a write-up on final expense direct mail leads for the current year, and show newer agents and those considering getting into final expense sales what their options are for final expense direct mail leads.
Topics I’m going to discuss include:
- Why If You’re Serious About Success In Final Expense, You MUST Use Direct Mail.
- Fixed Price Leads Vs. Per Thousand Leads - Which Is Best?
- Does It REALLY Matter WHAT The Direct Mail Lead Says?
- Price To Pay To Get Started
- What To Do If You’re Worried About Not Having The Money To Start?
Why you MUST use direct mail final expense leads if you’re serious about success.
I’ve been a member of this forum since I started selling final expense insurance in 2011.
There has always been conversation about final expense lead generation from the point I started. And certainly there have been many battles over “which leads are best?”
Here’s what I’ve discovered in my due diligence to decide whether or not I wanted to enter the final expense market.
The VAST majority of successful face-to-face final expense producers EXCLUSIVELY generate leads via direct mail means.
I remember reading John’s (JDEasy) posts in 2011 back when he was with EFES.
He spoke at length how he’d only purchase 15 leads weekly and from that production, write north of $4000 in premium each week.
I also found other producers, like Travis (HoosierDaddy on the forum), Andrew with EFES out of Atlanta, all basically doing the same thing.
It became obvious to me, as Brian Tracy says, that “success leaves clues.”
And success seemed to come from a consistent flow of direct mail final expense leads.
Why is this the case?
You may wonder why direct mail final expense leads work so well compared to other options like telemarketing leads.
While that is a good question, I can tell you the ONLY thing that matters… is the PROOF is in the PUDDING. And since virtually ALL top final expense producers across the nation use direct mail leads…
...Why even consider doing ANYTHING different?
Here’s another way to look at it.
All recruiters on the forum recruit with the same premise that direct mail is king. And the reason is that recruiters almost always make their money when you make a sale.
Basically, recruiters have a built-in bias to engage agents with lead programs that will ultimately benefit the recruiters with override business. This alone is evidence enough as to why virtually all serious final expense agencies push direct mail leads. Because what’s good for the goose, is good for the gander.
Bottom line, if you’re new to final expense, just TRUST the process and buy direct mail leads as you’re told to. Trust me. I along with many others have tried a multitude of other strategies to generate high quality leads for face-to-face final expense business. And nothing has topped direct mail.
Fixed Price Leads Versus Per Thousand Leads - Which Is Best?
You have two choices when buying direct mail leads:
- Purchase direct mail leads at a fixed-price per lead, or
- Buy 1000 mailers at a time and work whatever leads come back.
The pros of fixed-price direct mail leads is that you know EXACTLY what you’re paying per lead, and can never pay a penny more.
The cons of fixed-price direct mail leads is that you may pay MORE than what you could have with a per-thousand direct mail campaign.
Here’s my recommendation.
All agents should start with a fixed-price direct mail lead campaign. Why? Guaranteeing your expenses ahead of time provides peace of mind, eliminating the risk of poor response rates.
Check the video out below I did a few years back. I explain the economic cost of a poor response rate on a per-thousand campaign, compared to a fixed-price lead campaign, and what I could have potentially made, had I purchased fixed-price direct mail leads.
Long-term, once you get going, you can always consider doing a per-thousand drop to see how things go. But since for most new agents your cash is limited on the front-end, I’d save any experimenting until much later.
Should I care what the direct mail lead says?
Here’s another example of a common discussion new and experienced producers will have:
“Should I care what the final expense direct mail lead piece says?”
Since 2011, my opinion on this has steadily changed.
Originally, I ONLY supported leads that included the words “life insurance” in the body copy. Preferably with “pennies a day” language included as well.
But, after training and working with agents, I soon realized that it’s not necessarily T-H-A-T important what the lead says… it’s more important to have an agent that actually WORKS, sees the people, and leverages the opportunity presented to him (the leads) to his maximal extent.
Point being, a hard-working final expense agent shouldn’t care too much about what the lead says.
Regardless, I prefer leads that say “life insurance” when I personally produce final expense business, and I do think newer agents do better with leads that say “life insurance” somewhere on the card.
Pricing For Direct Mail Leads
The only downside to investing in a direct mail lead campaign is that it’s a serious investment.
Depending on which final expense agency you work with, you’re looking at anywhere between a $3000 to $5000 initial investment over the course of a month, assuming you want to start full-time on a recurring weekly basis. Some recruiters recommend having closer to $10,000 to start. And that doesn’t include covering your costs of living, either.
There are several alternatives to funding a proper direct mail lead campaign if adequate funding is an issue:
- Do a one-time mail drop of 40 to 50 leads. This should run around $1500, give or take. Take the proceeds from your sales, and reinvest into a recurring direct mail lead order.
- Start with 10 or 15 leads weekly. Over 5 weeks, this will incur a $1200 to $2000 cost. Plus you’ll have recurring weekly leads to work.
What if you don’t have enough to start with an alternative set-up?
If you are worried about paying the minimum start-up, here’s my recommendations:
- Man up. You may be just plain scared of taking a chance and afraid of failure. Get over it! We all faced the same fears when first starting. And while there’s no way to guarantee your success, involving yourself in a quality final expense lead program potentially reduces the chances of failure, since you are starting off the RIGHT way with the BEST leads.
- Sell your shit. Doug (AgentGuy5) sold off his gun collection to get started. He was THAT serious about success, so much so that he parted with something he loved. Now he’s Security National’s number one agent, and has killed it on the personal production side for years. Wouldn’t you agree selling his stuff was worth it? So clean out your junk, and sell some of that crap on Ebay.
- Borrow. Create a business plan and sell your family member on the upsides of what you could accomplish selling final expense. Your family hopefully wants you to succeed, and deep down, would love the pride that comes along with being a helping-hand in getting you started. Thus, a prepared business plan like this will gain their trust, and likely help with funding.
- Get a part-time job. Work part-time bartending, Uber-driving, waiting tables, anything to make money. Put it ALL away into a savings account for six months. Likely you’ll have more than enough to pay for your direct mail leads. No worries, final expense will still be here, and you’ll have the benefit of starting in this business the RIGHT way.
Parting Thoughts
The main reason I wrote this post is because of the importance of selling final expense the RIGHT way.
Too many agents compromise, thinking cheaper alternatives are good to start with, and just as good in getting results similar to direct mail leads.
Any recruiter on this forum SERIOUS about your results will tell you that this is NOT the case!
So… don’t shortchange yourself… BEFORE you even get started.
Listen to all the top final expense producers and recruiters…
Direct mail is KING.
So just do it!
Direct Mail Resources:
-www.NeedALead.com offers fixed price direct mail leads.
-Most major final expense marketing organizations actively participating on the Forum offer fixed-price direct mail leads.
