Health Internet Leads

[STIBROKER]

Scott

I signed up with them and their rates went up. Too early to judge but their filters catch next to nothing. But...they have given me credit for all of requests.

filters are for suckers and I am still at $5.50 a lead....whats the prob.....

 

[TXINSURANCE]

Filters are a complete waste of money if the provider has a half way acceptable return policy.

In general filters are a complete waste of money - here is why....

You can only reach X% of leads via phone.

Filtered or non-filtered that X% is fixed.

So even the best filtered leads at $XX per lead and you only read 30% of them or $X per lead you still only reach 30% of them

...just an example of course...

 

[CHUMPS FROM OXFORD]

filters are for suckers and I am still at $5.50 a lead....whats the prob.....

Not all of the time. Some filters work better than others. When all credits are honered, that helps.

That 30% is your number. Not mine.

This "sucker" still does pretty well on "filtered" leads.

 

[CHUMPS FROM OXFORD]

honored. Sorry. I was not able to edit.

 

[sunmed]

I like the age filters, because that helps to eliminate a bunch of 18 year olds looking for a comprehensive health plan for $25 per month. a;lso, the family filters means family discount for them and a higher premium per app to help offset lead costs. I agree that the credit policy has to be there as well.

Question: Would you say that it is best to call the leads as soon as you receive them like most other agents do or wait about 3 or 4 days when their phone cools off. I get a lot of mixed reviews on this. I have found that when I call in the first hour, the prospect seems a little tierd and frustrated from all the agents calling. I think maybe if you are the first to call, that may be the optimum psition. Thoughts, ideas...

 

[Frank Stastny]

I like the age filters, because that helps to eliminate a bunch of 18 year olds looking for a comprehensive health plan for $25 per month. a;lso, the family filters means family discount for them and a higher premium per app to help offset lead costs. I agree that the credit policy has to be there as well.

Question: Would you say that it is best to call the leads as soon as you receive them like most other agents do or wait about 3 or 4 days when their phone cools off. I get a lot of mixed reviews on this. I have found that when I call in the first hour, the prospect seems a little tierd and frustrated from all the agents calling. I think maybe if you are the first to call, that may be the optimum psition. Thoughts, ideas...

I really don't think it matters if you are the first to call or the last. At the end of the day the prospect is going to be so fed up and tired of talking to insurance agents that they may just say to hell with it for now. I have never liked working shared leads for that reason.

Put yourself in the prospects place. You make a request for information and immediately five insurance agents call and each one talks fast, has the "best deal", wants you to act now and tells you that he/she is the only one who you should listen to.

That "lead" is just contact information from a person who was thinking about insurance at the time or from someone who was bored and just screwing around. Most of them are crap for that reason.

I can get more real leads by buying a list of 1,000 names, addresses and phone numbers and calling them myself than any telemarketer can get from that same list. I can also specify the age, income and location so I am only getting the contact info for the people I am targeting.

I don't understand he concept of spending thousands of dollars a year for the same information one can get for a fraction of the cost by buying a list. In the past I have purchased leads, direct mail, internet, telemarketed and almost all of them were as described above. Crap!

 

[CHUMPS FROM OXFORD]

First call is the best. Second is OK. Third or fourth can be frustrating to the insured.

Waiting a few days isn't a bad idea as long as you have emailed a non-threatening estimate of rates and explained why you are different then the others.

I always tell them to NEVER call or talk to anyone who calls them from outside of the area. It works a fair amount of the time. If they don't recognize the area code, I tell them not to answer the phone. About 15% actually do just that.

 

[Frank Stastny]

I always tell them to NEVER call or talk to anyone who calls them from outside of the area. It works a fair amount of the time. If they don't recognize the area code, I tell them not to answer the phone. About 15% actually do just that.

Do you give them the area code for Tyre, Lebanon? Do you get a lot of leads for that "area"? LOL

Good suggestion, I will have to use that.

I tell something similar to my clients. I tell them if another agent calls and wants to sell them a policy to tell them that I am your agent and give them my phone number.

I will discuss it with them and if in fact he does have a better policy that I will call them, my client, and discuss it with them.

Do you know that agents have actually called me and tried to convince me that I should tell my client to drop the policy they have with me and take a policy with him, the agent who called me?

I've been to two county fairs and a tractor pull and thought I had seen and heard it all. LOL

 

[fostever]

I really don't think it matters if you are the first to call or the last. At the end of the day the prospect is going to be so fed up and tired of talking to insurance agents that they may just say to hell with it for now. I have never liked working shared leads for that reason.

Put yourself in the prospects place. You make a request for information and immediately five insurance agents call and each one talks fast, has the "best deal", wants you to act now and tells you that he/she is the only one who you should listen to.

That "lead" is just contact information from a person who was thinking about insurance at the time or from someone who was bored and just screwing around. Most of them are crap for that reason.

I can get more real leads by buying a list of 1,000 names, addresses and phone numbers and calling them myself than any telemarketer can get from that same list. I can also specify the age, income and location so I am only getting the contact info for the people I am targeting.

I don't understand he concept of spending thousands of dollars a year for the same information one can get for a fraction of the cost by buying a list. In the past I have purchased leads, direct mail, internet, telemarketed and almost all of them were as described above. Crap!

Frank, Where do you get lists for cold calling that are reliable and reasonalby priced?

 

[Frank Stastny]

Frank, Where do you get lists for cold calling that are reliable and reasonalby priced?

There are numerous places that sell lists, however, I have discovered that all lists are not created equal. Some companies make a concentrated effort to up date their lists on a regular basis, some apparently don't in my experience. I have purchased lists where the person died 5 years ago, hasn't lived there for a number of years, etc.

Although you will run into that occasionally with all companies, Lead Concepts' lists seem to be the ones that I consistently get the best information from. I pay around $100 per thousand for the parameters I request.

You may find other companies that you think do a better job.