First day cold calling a FLOP

[MikeLevy]

"We will send you some medicare supplement leads, for free"

Mike...are you willing to offer some individual health leads for free? It would be a great opportunity for you to clear your name from all of the bad press your company has recieved.

Make that same 30 lead offer to 3-5 brokers on this Forum and the results will be published. It is a risk. But the potential reward is substantial.

Chumps-

Are you referring to giving those leads to new agents who "need a hand" or agents who are "old hands" who need to be giving new agents "a hand?"

Jody is a NEW agent starting in Atlanta with no experience FULL TIME, with no other source of income. That's the same thing I went through in January of 1991 and gas in Atlanta wasn't at $2+ a gallon and the traffic was the fifth worst in the country and not the first. As for the competition, it hasn't gotten any better over the last 18 years or so here in Atlanta - or anywhere for that matter. Jody is trying to climb Mr. Everest without oxygen or a sherpa. Somebody needs to give him a tank and a guy with strong legs and the knowlege to point in the right direction.

I'm all for helping for the sake of helping those that need help. If that is what you are referring to, then the answer is yes. But there needs to be more to it than that.

My point in making the offer was not just to give him a source of leads in and of itself. Other people in that thread were offering their advice, that's training. Proper Training + Good Leads = Success. Take either of those two components out of the equation and the equation fails. Leads are just leads. It is good salesmanship that turns a lead into a sale.

Others offered what they had to offer. I offered what I had to offer.

My name will be cleared in the end because in the end the truth always comes out. Giving away leads has nothing to do with it.

As always, I'm open to suggestions. What do you think the next step should be?

-Mike

 

[GreenSky]

My name will be cleared in the end because in the end the truth always comes out. Giving away leads has nothing to do with it.

Whether or not your name will be cleared is immaterial. Based upon my experience and what others have said, your leads are really worth nothing and you are a poor business to work with. But it's a nice gesture on your part.

But Chumps is right. Even if the court clears you which is highly doubtful, the damage done to your company seems terminal. You should be doing anything and everything to try to prove you're not a cheat.

How's that for a positive post?

Rick

 

[HomeService]

all this talking around here -and I don't even know if jody is still around to read it

 

[Guest]

There's one of the best points ever. You have to earn your commission by working and closing sales. Other wise you can just go get a salary somewhere else.

A cold call day can seem like freezing in July. Two years knocking on doors as a missionary (LDS - Austria) did not make it easy to face locked doors and bad lead addresses. Sales commissions are high to make it worth the trouble to earn them -- keep at it!

Insurance is the free enterprise means of preserving people's dignity.

 

[MikeLevy]

Whether or not your name will be cleared is immaterial. Based upon my experience and what others have said, your leads are really worth nothing and you are a poor business to work with. But it's a nice gesture on your part.

But Chumps is right. Even if the court clears you which is highly doubtful, the damage done to your company seems terminal. You should be doing anything and everything to try to prove you're not a cheat.

How's that for a positive post?

Rick

I give it a C, but your showing improvement. At least there were no obscenities in this one and you managed to say one nice thing amongst the multiple not nice things. Now for my response, which will not be in any way an attack on you:

Mr. Bronstein was a customer of MostChoice briefly in 2004. He has done no business with MostChoice since that time period. He has no connection to MostChoice and no way of having any first hand knowledge of whether MostChoice is "terminal," which it is not. Mr. Bronstein's is entitled to his opinion. However, MostChoice states unequivocally that his opinions are in no way based in fact. MostChoice has never been accused in any court of being a "cheat." MostChoice has been in business for 10 years, is a member of the Inc 5000, and provides over 1000 agents at any given time with quality Search Engine Only Generated insurance leads. For more information that refutes Mr. Bronstein's position on our insurance leads, please visit or web page on Insurance Leads.
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all this talking around here -and I don't even know if jody is still around to read it

There is always a Jody out there. The question is how to start an effective independent program to help them.

I saw a figure out there once that was shocking. For every 100 people that get a life and health insurance license, 2 years later only 2 are still in the business. That's a 2% success ratio. To put that in perspective, 3% of people who try out to be Navy SEALs make it past their 2nd year of training. Statistically, your odds of successfully becoming a Navy SEAL is higher than becoming a successful life and health insurance agent. I don't know how accurate those numbers are. I never made any attempt to verify them. But accurate or not, it illustrates one thing we all know, the odds of making it as a life and health agent are too low and that is a failure of the system.

There is no structured support system out there for new independent agents. That's a real problem for the industry and an even bigger problem for the "Jody's" out there that try to become agents each year and fail.

 

[Frank Stastny]

There is no structured support system out there for new independent agents. That's a real problem for the industry and an even bigger problem for the "Jody's" out there that try to become agents each year and fail.

That definitely is an important part of the reason so few new agents succeed. However, it is only one part of the equation.

I think at least as important is that there are no requirements to become an insurance agent. Literally anyone who is still breathing can wake up in the morning and decide that they want to be an insurance agent. Even those who cannot spell insurance.

We see it here all the time. Posts like, "I heard there is a lot of money to be made in insurance. How do I go about becoming an agent? Oh, I also want to work from home and not have to go on appointments. Where can I get the best leads?"

For the most part life and health agencies and companies will contract with anyone who applies. No interview, no qualifications and no experience needed.

Several years ago I spent three days in St. Louis interviewing and trying to hire agents. I told them exactly what to expect and what I would require them to do. No smoke, no mirrors, no false promises. After spelling it out for them in detail most decided they weren't interested.

Most of the ones I gave the opportunity to were gone in the first two months. When they found out that a "lead" was not someone sitting at their kitchen table with their checkbook in one hand and a pen in the other waiting for them to show up, they were gone.

I put them all through an intense week of training before they ever spoke to a prospect. Many didn't come back after the first day or two.

I found most of them totally unmotivated or ready to make any kind of commitment. Their work history was sketchy at best and they appeared to have trouble holding a job for any length of time.

They were drawn to insurance because they heard it was easy and they could make a lot of money. And, they didn't have to report in the morning at the work site and they would be on their own working from home. That translates to no one "checking up on them".

I have heard every excuse imaginable, at least twice, as to why they didn't sell anything during a given day or week. Their feeble excuses boiled down to, they were not working or even trying. When I offered to go with them on their appointments the next day they didn't have any.

I wasn't running a nursery school, I was running a business and looking for self motivated, ethical, determined people who wanted to build a career.

I had no interest in people like the woman who would not go on an appointment if the temp was above 85 degrees because she didn't want to get sweat stains on her silk blouse. Or the guy who wouldn't drive more than 20 miles from home to go on an appointment. These were real people.

Believe it or not!

 

[MikeLevy]

That definitely is an important part of the reason so few new agents succeed. However, it is only one part of the equation.

Sounds like someone's managed agents before...

I think at least as important is that there are no requirements to become an insurance agent. Literally anyone who is still breathing can wake up in the morning and decide that they want to be an insurance agent. Even those who cannot spell insurance.

Technically, you do need to be able to sign your name, but an "X" will do.

And no test is needed for 6 months in Georgia. You can pay $75 and get a temporary license. You can then extend it again for another 6 months! When the time comes to take the test, I think it is all of 30 questions.

We see it here all the time. Posts like, "I heard there is a lot of money to be made in insurance. How do I go about becoming an agent? Oh, I also want to work from home and not have to go on appointments. Where can I get the best leads?"

And we talk to them every day at MostChoice. My most experienced salesmen have learned to ask for a referral to the manager or the more experienced agent that recruited them, than waste everyone's time and their money on leads. That's why we ask for the number of years of experience on the information form.

Insurance sales is hard work. Even the best leads won't change that. There are two levels of difficulty in insurance sales: "Hard" and "Harder." "Easy" is not one of the levels.

I would rather set up a program to give away some leads to the "Jody's" provided they had a structured training program (meaning a trainer) to go with it. The trainer would also serve as a vetting process. A good trainer can quickly tell if someone has the work ethic and the ability.

For the most part life and health agencies and companies will contract with anyone who applies. No interview, no qualifications and no experience needed.

And yet the Property and Casualty industry recognized a long time ago that they couldn't afford to take just anyone. P&C agents have to apprentice for at least a year just to get appointed with an insurance company. Ironically, which is the harder of the two insurance types to sell? Which one is largely required to be purchased by law and which one is optional?

Several years ago I spent three days in St. Louis interviewing and trying to hire agents. I told them exactly what to expect and what I would require them to do. No smoke, no mirrors, no false promises. After spelling it out for them in detail most decided they weren't interested.

And that was because you were going to take the time to train them and didn't want to waste anyone's time. Unfortunately, insurance is sold almost like a MLM. Most people aren't ethical enough to tell them the straight story.

Most of the ones I gave the opportunity to were gone in the first two months. When they found out that a "lead" was not someone sitting at their kitchen table with their checkbook in one hand and a pen in the other waiting for them to show up, they were gone.

The sad part is, even if they showed up and by sheer luck the lead was standing there with checkbook ready to go, they'd still screw it up.

I put them all through an intense week of training before they ever spoke to a prospect. Many didn't come back after the first day or two.

That is 7 days more than 95% of the new agents get.

I found most of them totally unmotivated or ready to make any kind of commitment. Their work history was sketchy at best and they appeared to have trouble holding a job for any length of time.

Two words: "Criminal Record."

They were drawn to insurance because they heard it was easy and they could make a lot of money. And, they didn't have to report in the morning at the work site and they would be on their own working from home. That translates to no one "checking up on them".

They can't be managed by a manager, yet they think they can manage themselves.

I have heard every excuse imaginable, at least twice, as to why they didn't sell anything during a given day or week. Their feeble excuses boiled down to, they were not working or even trying. When I offered to go with them on their appointments the next day they didn't have any.

They had to actually make a phone call to set an appointment. That's way too hard for most of these guys. Some of them think they can just send out emails and Apps come back! They expect the computer to say: "You've got Sales!"

I wasn't running a nursery school, I was running a business and looking for self motivated, ethical, determined people who wanted to build a career.

How completely unreasonable of you!

I had no interest in people like the woman who would not go on an appointment if the temp was above 85 degrees because she didn't want to get sweat stains on her silk blouse. Or the guy who wouldn't drive more than 20 miles from home to go on an appointment. These were real people.

Believe it or not!

He was willing to drive 20 miles? Now that's a keeper!

 

[jody108]

sorry friends, i've been gone for most of the week. I've been reading what is written and it's been very helpful.

I've not done anymore cold calling. Not because I didn't want to but because I found a local agent here that has offered to take me in and stand by my side while I learn the business.

I'm just in it to get rich quick so I need a boost ......... just joking.

To set the record straight .... I'm a Male and I'm from Atlanta but I now live in TX ... in a small town called rockport on the water. Very nice place but not a place that provides jobs that pay more than 9 bucks an hour ... i can't support my family on that ... therefore, i ventured into insurance ... since there are a million seniors in this area, I decided to go into the senior market .... yada yada yada ..

I first went with Bankers for a day, then Physicians Mutual for 5 days and then realized that Independent was more competitive and better for the customer .... however, i'm not ready to be indenpendent totally so I latched on to a guy that is going to help me.

I spent wed, thursday and some of friday with him ... in that time, he sold 7 policies (he sold 3 the day before). the guy is Kick a**!!! Great greeting, easy presentation, smooth close ... everybody is smiling when he leaves and he has a check in his hand. He is making 110% on each sale and with over 5k in sales ... cha ching!!! He does this well every week. I saw his plaques for every month. In july, he did 40K.

Anyway, you can probably see why I'm holding hands with this guy. Praise the Lord.

In fact, all his hard working agents are keeping up with him ... he trains them to do it eactly like he does.

to say the least, I'm excited and ready to rock and roll.

This forum has been awesome. I don't think I would even be trying this career without it. The information .... the experience ... the phone conversations ... this is a great resource. You've got all your insurance needs in one place: leads, organizations, Organizational software, IMOs, FMOs, etc ... who ever created this site ... hats off to you.

 

[burlewd]

First day cold calling a FLOP

Well at least they did not slam the door in your face,
It is a numbers game. if you make enough calls some one will say yes, seniors get over loaded with information by mail.
Offer to help the seniors with information only.If you come off as a INSURANCE AGENT you can scare them off. They need part D as well, My last clients sent me home with a bag of homemade candy and a signed application.
Dave

 

[Russ]

Holding hands can only last so long. It's different when you're doing it...you have to develop your own technique. I found getting away from a trainer after awhile was the only way I could sell. Learn everything while you can and good luck in your future.
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First day cold calling a FLOP

Well at least they did not slam the door in your face,
It is a numbers game. if you make enough calls some one will say yes, seniors get over loaded with information by mail.
Offer to help the seniors with information only.If you come off as a INSURANCE AGENT you can scare them off. They need part D as well, My last clients sent me home with a bag of homemade candy and a signed application.
Dave

I wrote a 90 year-old a med-supp and PDP plan the other day and I gave her a hug when I left. Had a lady give me a huge bag of shelled pecans last winter and had my wife make several pecan pies for me over the next few months.


Seniors can be extra nice...and the referrals they give you