First day with the Telemarketer

[k1s1h1]

We hired a telemarketer to make calls from our office. Today was her first day. She made about 180 calls to day and got 2 leads. We are using a dialer to make the calls and she is calling B2B for health insurance leads. It was her first day and it took her a wile to get started but I hope it picks up tomorrow. I will be using her 20 Hours a week. The script is as follows:

Hi this is Ashley; I’m calling from Louisiana Health Solutions. We are a local company that could save you 30% or more on your health insurance plan. We offer free quotes for all the top carriers. Do you currently have a group or individual plan?”

I made the script off of some ideas i got off this forum. She is calling business from 1 to 4 employee's. She said she is getting a lot of "the owner is not in" should she ask for the owner are should she go right into her speech.
Thanks for the help in advice.
Keith

 

[JDB]

I'm interested in getting replies from board members too, as I have just started my own telemarketing with a dialer. My results are not as high as I'd expected, with a similar script.

Here are my results for today:

410 calls
194 no answers or fax, etc.

216 calls answered
6 leads - 2.8%
48 messages - 22.2%
86 not interested, group, DNC, etc. - 39.8%
5 requested follow ups - 2.3%
29 owners not avail - 13.4%

(the remainder of the calls were answered but with no audible voice response)

So, 6 leads in 197 minutes = 1 lead / 32 minutes


I feel like I'm pretty comfortable on the phone, but I expected to get at least 4-5 leads an hour.


Any thoughts?...

 

[moonlightandmargaritas]

We hired a telemarketer to make calls from our office. Today was her first day. She made about 180 calls to day and got 2 leads. We are using a dialer to make the calls and she is calling B2B for health insurance leads. It was her first day and it took her a wile to get started but I hope it picks up tomorrow. I will be using her 20 Hours a week. The script is as follows:

Hi this is Ashley; I’m calling from Louisiana Health Solutions. We are a local company that could save you 30% or more on your health insurance plan. We offer free quotes for all the top carriers. Do you currently have a group or individual plan?”

I made the script off of some ideas i got off this forum. She is calling business from 1 to 4 employee's. She said she is getting a lot of "the owner is not in" should she ask for the owner are should she go right into her speech.
Thanks for the help in advice.
Keith

Keith,

This approach will generate "leads", but they will be of very poor quality. You'll do a lot of quotes, and then chase them around. No comittment.

"Save 30%" tends to make people suspicious - they're afraid they are buying something inferior. Some people (believe it or not) just aren't interested in saving money, or they don't believe you.

More effective:

Hi this is Ashley Smith (ALWAYS use a last name, it builds more trust) with Loozeeanna Health Whatever. We've recently released a special report that reveals the 3 biggest mistakes that business owners make when buying health insurance...and we'd like to email you a free copy...what is your email address?

Write a report (keep it educational, not salesy), make a pdf, email it to them.

Keep a file of the the names/numbers/addresses. Call 'em back to see if they have any questions on the material. Keep drippin' on 'em (email, postcard - just as long as it's CONSISTENT.

When the time is right, they'll call you.

Good luck!

 

[somarco]

I expected to get at least 4-5 leads an hour.

Based on what?

Did someone tell you it is possible to get 4 - 5 leads per hour or did you just pull this out of the air?

 

[moonlightandmargaritas]

What is a "lead"? How are we defining that?

 

[J.R.]

I'm interested in getting replies from board members too, as I have just started my own telemarketing with a dialer. My results are not as high as I'd expected, with a similar script.

Here are my results for today:

410 calls
194 no answers or fax, etc.

216 calls answered
6 leads - 2.8%
48 messages - 22.2%
86 not interested, group, DNC, etc. - 39.8%
5 requested follow ups - 2.3%
29 owners not avail - 13.4%

(the remainder of the calls were answered but with no audible voice response)

So, 6 leads in 197 minutes = 1 lead / 32 minutes


I feel like I'm pretty comfortable on the phone, but I expected to get at least 4-5 leads an hour.


Any thoughts?...

Keeping track of your numbers is great! What do you consider a lead to be? IMHO, a lead to me is a situation where a prospect and I agree to spend 10 minutes to discuss the opportunity to work together. I call this step a "first-in appointment."

2 leads an hour is very good. I wouldn't worry about getting 4-5 leads an hour because that is more or less a rarity than anything that can be sustained for a prolonged period of time. You show me somebody who can get 5 leads an hour, 8 hours a day and I'll show you somebody who is either born to dial or FOS.

2%-5% is the average return you can expect from TOTAL numbers dialed. You are averaging 2.8% based on 216 answered or 1.5% on total numbers dialed. I'd recommend you keep doing what you're doing for a minimum of 15-20 hours before you change your pitch. You will get better with experience and remember to take a 5-10 minute break every hour to breath.

I'm impressed you were able to talk on the phone for 3 hours using a dialer. Judging from the number of calls you made I assume you're using an auto-dialer. I'd like to know what happened to the 42 calls you missed because of not having any sound. Divide that number by 2 and multiply by 1%-2% and there are a few extra leads! Keep up the good work and remember to keep track of your numbers on a daily basis.

 

[retread]

I started "dialing for dollars" this week, too. Several disconnects, some no answers, a couple of answering machines, some "not interested...hang-ups", but a couple of good responses, but no appointments.

Basically, I have been working the kinks out of my dialer and my script (generic Medicare). Tech support for the Cheetah has improved. I found out they have recently completed a government project that absorbed a lot of their attention, and now re-visiting this consumer product. I have been told that most of the short-comings of the unit I have is being addressed in a soon-to-be released new version. (As a matter of fact, an update came out today!) In the meantime, I have developed a couple of "work-arounds" that allow me to sort my dialing lists by county, etc. The program is designed for B2B, not to individuals, but I am using fields such as "company" to store "county", and it works!

I have a thorough script to cover most objections, but haven't really put it to full test yet. I am going to give it a try again tomorrow.

 

[J.R.]

I started "dialing for dollars" this week, too. Several disconnects, some no answers, a couple of answering machines, some "not interested...hang-ups", but a couple of good responses, but no appointments.

Basically, I have been working the kinks out of my dialer and my script (generic Medicare). Tech support for the Cheetah has improved. I found out they have recently completed a government project that absorbed a lot of their attention, and now re-visiting this consumer product. I have been told that most of the short-comings of the unit I have is being addressed in a soon-to-be released new version. (As a matter of fact, an update came out today!) In the meantime, I have developed a couple of "work-arounds" that allow me to sort my dialing lists by county, etc. The program is designed for B2B, not to individuals, but I am using fields such as "company" to store "county", and it works!

I have a thorough script to cover most objections, but haven't really put it to full test yet. I am going to give it a try again tomorrow.

I'm glad to hear the software is working out for you. I had to call some friends over at NASA to help me figure out how to use that program.

 

[warrenins]

K1 Here is my .02 cents. I made the first years of my agency grow with "cold calls." There are books, magazines, articles, etc... on how to make cold calls "-strategic, effective, happen, work for you, blah, blah...
In my humble, and I do mean humble, opinion, the secret is...there is no secret! If you are calling on business owners be quick, to the point, and ask the question. I don't mean to sound flip about this but the fact is, there isn't a magic bullet. The harsh reality is, it's a numbers game. Call enough and be honest and straightforward and you will get the opportunity to make the sale. My script was plain and straightforward. "Mr/Ms my name is Mike Warren. I work with some of the business owners in your (or, I'm calling on the business owners in your) area to see if we might have the opportunity to quote your group health insurance when it renews." Then you shut up and let them answer. They may not have group insurance, they may hate their agent, they may be thinking about getting insurance etc...at this point it doesn't matter, you have opened the discussion, let them respond.
At one point in my agent career I went to work with the "local big agency" and I wrote several quality accounts and they asked me time and time again what I was doing to get the accounts. I honestly think they were expecting some miracle answer. They got the same explanation I just told you about. It seems so many telemarketing scripts encourage you to make the business owner sound stupid if they don't take advantage of the "offer" you are making. Maybe it works for some, but again it's only my 0.02 cents worth.

 

[CHUMPS FROM OXFORD]

I hate to give away secrets...but what the heck. I'm retiring in 12-15 years anyway.

I hired a telemarketer last year. She calls small businesses in Ohio.

Here's her pitch: (assuming she is talking to the owner)

"Hi. This is Jane Doe from XYZ Agency right here in Ohio. May I ask...are you happy with your current health insurance plan?"

That's it. If they are, she thanks them and is off to the next call.

She has steadily averaged 3.3 leads per hour. A lead is a person (or persons) that have no major health problems and want a quote via email or hard copy.

At $11 per hour...she is well worth it...even (WARNING WARNING...COMMENT COMING ABOUT OHIO'S LOW RATES) with our low rates here.

Try it. It might work for you.