First day cold calling a FLOP

[moonlightandmargaritas]

I have gathered from all your posts that you don't like cold calls. I'm curious though, why such the aversion?

I'm sure your much more experienced than I. I just happen to like cold calling and am wondering your thoughts.

A recent (this week) case study:

On Tuesday (12/2) I received a notification that someone had visited my website seeking information. I called, left her a message, and sent an email. I didn't bug her further by making incessant "follow-up" calls on a daily basis showing that I was anxious and desperate.

She called me back yesterday (Fri 12/5) afternoon.

We chatted about her situation. Turns out she had received a cold call about health insurance.

It raised her consciousness. Problem was, since the cold caller had no status or credibility with her...she felt like she wanted to do a little more investigation. No trust.

She went online and checked out ehealth.com. Too confusing. She dug a little deeper on the internet and found my site.

She was able to read about my background, philosophy, and read comments from some of my clients - all with NO PRESSURE. She filled out the brief form and submitted it. Turns out my recommendation was the exact same thing that the cold caller had recommended.

No stupid "closes" required. Her: "I'm ready to do this."

$1,316.37 first year commission. Finished submitting it about 9:30 this morning...

 

[Russ]

A recent (this week) case study:

On Tuesday (12/2) I received a notification that someone had visited my website seeking information. I called, left her a message, and sent an email. I didn't bug her further by making incessant "follow-up" calls on a daily basis showing that I was anxious and desperate.

She called me back yesterday (Fri 12/5) afternoon.

We chatted about her situation. Turns out she had received a cold call about health insurance.

It raised her consciousness. Problem was, since the cold caller had no status or credibility with her...she felt like she wanted to do a little more investigation. No trust.

She went online and checked out ehealth.com. Too confusing. She dug a little deeper on the internet and found my site.

She was able to read about my background, philosophy, and read comments from some of my clients - all with NO PRESSURE. She filled out the brief form and submitted it. Turns out my recommendation was the exact same thing that the cold caller had recommended.

No stupid "closes" required. Her: "I'm ready to do this."

$1,316.37 first year commission. Finished submitting it about 9:30 this morning...

Nice work. Yeah...it's best to leave them alone in a situation like yours.

I've got a case now where I saw a lady last Monday that had an MA plan. I presented her an alternative MA plan that she wasn't really interested in...her doctor isn't on their network. I then discussed a med-supp for her, including rates. She called me back the following day(Tuesday), saying she was seriously wanting the med-supp but needed a week and then would call me. I think there's a great chance she'll call. She's wanting to pay the med-supp by the year and has to get the money out of her savings. The MA plan she has now leaves her well short(if she needs medical treatment), when she goes out-of-state to stay with a sister that needs to be seen after. She's wanting the med-supp because it covers her everywhere. Plus I can write her a PD plan with AdvantraRX that will save her $20 a month on a co-pay vs. what her co-pay is now.

I'll leave her alone and wait on a call....most folks will never call back. I think this lady will, in her situation....plus her MA plan has zero hospitals in her county she lives in, on her network.

 

[360]

She was able to read about my background, philosophy, and read comments from some of my clients - all with NO PRESSURE. She filled out the brief form and submitted it. Turns out my recommendation was the exact same thing that the cold caller had recommended.

No stupid "closes" required. Her: "I'm ready to do this."

$1,316.37 first year commission. Finished submitting it about 9:30 this morning...

The power of content, testimonials and a little SEO...nice!

 

[padthaiforlunch]

Ok Jody....

It's time for you to start posting your daily goals and numbers.

Let's see dials/contacts/appointments.

You are set up to track and count those at the end of the day, right?

 

[OHInsAGNT]

A recent (this week) case study:

On Tuesday (12/2) I received a notification that someone had visited my website seeking information. I called, left her a message, and sent an email. I didn't bug her further by making incessant "follow-up" calls on a daily basis showing that I was anxious and desperate.

She called me back yesterday (Fri 12/5) afternoon.

We chatted about her situation. Turns out she had received a cold call about health insurance.

It raised her consciousness. Problem was, since the cold caller had no status or credibility with her...she felt like she wanted to do a little more investigation. No trust.

She went online and checked out ehealth.com. Too confusing. She dug a little deeper on the internet and found my site.

She was able to read about my background, philosophy, and read comments from some of my clients - all with NO PRESSURE. She filled out the brief form and submitted it. Turns out my recommendation was the exact same thing that the cold caller had recommended.

No stupid "closes" required. Her: "I'm ready to do this."

$1,316.37 first year commission. Finished submitting it about 9:30 this morning...

If you can generate enough leads on your own website to float the business, that's great. I'd prefer that to cold calling. I don't have the traffic though.

But, you also mentioned that you buy leads on another post. I do the same, to a small extent. But, the ROI from cold calling is much higher than with buying leads. I just buy them to shake up my routine a bit. I wouldn't call internet leads a "favorable basis". They are no more effective than a well targeted list with a good cold caller.

Now, I tend to only cold call on the upper market. I'm well educated and have a breadth of financial experience. I've never had credibility issues. Of course, I only start the sale over the phone. I sit down with the client to close.

Have you ever done much cold calling?
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If you can generate enough leads on your own website to float the business, that's great. I'd prefer that to cold calling. I don't have the traffic though.

But, you also mentioned that you buy leads on another post. I do the same, to a small extent. But, the ROI from cold calling is much higher than with buying leads. I just buy them to shake up my routine a bit. I wouldn't call internet leads a "favorable basis". They are no more effective than a well targeted list with a good cold caller.

Now, I tend to only cold call on the upper market. I'm well educated and have a breadth of financial experience. I've never had credibility issues. Of course, I only start the sale over the phone. I sit down with the client to close.

Have you ever done much cold calling?

I know we're not going to agree on this subject. I just always see you telling new agents cold calling is a bad idea. For a lot of them, particularly those with limited resources, it is the only way they'll make it.

A lot of things aren't as effective as cold calling, if you are good at it. That is just my contrarian perspective.

 

[moonlightandmargaritas]

But, the ROI from cold calling is much higher than with buying leads.

I wouldn't call internet leads a "favorable basis". They are no more effective than a well targeted list with a good cold caller.

I just always see you telling new agents cold calling is a bad idea. For a lot of them, particularly those with limited resources, it is the only way they'll make it.

A lot of things aren't as effective as cold calling, if you are good at it. That is just my contrarian perspective.

Golly, where to start...

OK what has your ROI been from cold calling? I see lots of posts about how "effective" it is - but nobody seems to quantify it.

Internet leads "no more effective" than a cold call? Are you serious? At least an internet lead has shown some sort of interest in the subject matter...a cold call is looking for a needle in a haystack.

If someone has "limited resources" they ought to think hard, and then think again before going into this business, or any other. UNDERCAPITALIZATION is still the number one cause of business (of any kind) failure. If you have to, beg, borrow or steal some money to buy some marketing.

Your viewpoint isn't contrarian. It's conventional wisdom, and one of the leading reasons why the insurance business has had such a high washout rate for so long.

 

[Russ]

Nice work. Yeah...it's best to leave them alone in a situation like yours.

I've got a case now where I saw a lady last Monday that had an MA plan. I presented her an alternative MA plan that she wasn't really interested in...her doctor isn't on their network. I then discussed a med-supp for her, including rates. She called me back the following day(Tuesday), saying she was seriously wanting the med-supp but needed a week and then would call me. I think there's a great chance she'll call. She's wanting to pay the med-supp by the year and has to get the money out of her savings. The MA plan she has now leaves her well short(if she needs medical treatment), when she goes out-of-state to stay with a sister that needs to be seen after. She's wanting the med-supp because it covers her everywhere. Plus I can write her a PD plan with AdvantraRX that will save her $20 a month on a co-pay vs. what her co-pay is now.

I'll leave her alone and wait on a call....most folks will never call back. I think this lady will, in her situation....plus her MA plan has zero hospitals in her county she lives in, on her network.

I'm fixing to go write this lady a med-supp by the year + an AdvantraRX value Medicare part D prescription drug plan.

An MA plan with Wellcare is biting the dust.

 

[OHInsAGNT]

OK what has your ROI been from cold calling? I see lots of posts about how "effective" it is - but nobody seems to quantify it.

Cold calling WILL NOT work for everyone. I'm just making a point that it can work well for some.

ROI - I pointed out the numbers earlier. I can quote 1 out of 5 people with which I speak. I can close 1 out of 4 quotes. This is an average over time. Obviously, it fluctuates day-to-day. So, 20 contacts = 1 sale. I spend $1,000 a year on a database. The average commission exceeds $1,000. My ROI is driven by how much time I invest, but can easily be 12,000%. Although, ROI is really not a sensical way to measure cold calling revenue.

Internet leads "no more effective" than a cold call? Are you serious?

I'm very serious. I can close 5% of my cold call contacts. Most people close 5-10% of their internet leads (including me). The difference is, I didn't spend 50% of my commission on "marketing" to get in touch with the cold call. Therefore, ROI is going to be higher.

At least an internet lead has shown some sort of interest in the subject matter...

Often a pop up that says "Save $782 on XXXX Insurance" spurred that interest. I do the same thing when I call; I just don't give the lead to 7 other agents. I look more professional not being in a pool of people pleading for their business.

cold call is looking for a needle in a haystack.

Correct, if you don't have a marketing background. I came from statistical database marketing in corporate financial services. I use targeting to decide what groups have the highest propensity of need for my products before I call.

Even at the corporation with which I worked (where we spent millions on direct mail), our telemarketing call centers tracked well above the direct mail on ROI.

I'm not going to post about it again. I'm not some Joe who knows nothing about marketing. I do. I just want you to consider my viewpoint on cold calling. It works. Some people have call reluctance. It isn't for them.

I doubt you'll agree with me on it. But, that is what I know. Just take it as another professionals opinion.
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I'm done with the subject. Thanks for the spirited debate.

 

[moonlightandmargaritas]

Although, ROI is really not a sensical way to measure cold calling revenue.

For a business owner, ROI is the ONLY sensical way to measure ANY marketing.

If you're in it for the money that is...

 

[Frank Stastny]

I have read the discussion between OHinsAGNT and moonlightandmargaritas with great interest. However, I am really surprised at the position Paul has taken. He is a well respected member of this forum and one who I thought was more open minded than this thread indicates. He may just be trying to "make his point". I think we all do that sometimes.

There is more than one way to work efficiently, yes I said efficiently as well as effectively, in this business. I'm sure Paul has the system he is most comfortable with and the one he believes that gives him the greatest degree of success. However, I think he has lost sight of the fact that each agent/person is unique unto himself. No two people follow the same exact path to success, nor is there just one path to follow.

I agree totally with OHinsAGNT. Cold calling is tremendously effcetive and has been the main thrust of my marketing emphasis for the last fifteen years. I have tried telemarked leads, internet leads, hiring a telemarketer, newspaper ads, direct mail, joining groups for lunch meetings, giving seminars, knocking on doors and stopping strangers on the street and saying "you don't want to buy any insurance do you"? Well maybe not the last one, but almost.

Each time I tried one of those methods to secure new clients I saw a healthy percent of my profits going out the window which meant that I had to sell at least twice as many purchased "leads" to make the same money that I would have if I had done my own marketing. That just didn't make sense to me. I'm greedy but I'm also good. I want to keep "all" my money.

I believe that OHinsAGNT pointed out that "they are no more effective than a well targeted list with a good cold caller". I think there in is the main difference in what OHinsAGNT is talking about, "well targeted" and "a good cold caller". Most agents I have worked with are not using a "well targeted list" nor are good at cold calling.

I'll go even further. I have targeted lists and I would not trade them for free internet leads.

In my experience of hiring and training agents a truely "good cold caller" is a very, very rare commodity. They almost don't exist today.

When cold calling is isn't about ROI it is all about numbers. How many calls, how many conversations and how many sales. My ROI, if I tried to compute it, would be "off the charts".

In my opinion the numbers really aren't worth keeping track of. I pick up the phone, make a few calls sell some insurance and put the money "in my pocket". That is all I need to know.

Cold calling, for me, is it is the easiest most effective, least time consuming, most profitable way of everything I have tried to secure new clients. But, I "give extremely good phone" and use only well targeted lists.

For those who don't there are always companies ready to take their money to help enable them to sell a policy. There is nothing wrong with that, I just think it is a waste of perfectly good money.