How many years do you call back?

[ABC]

I have prospects that I have been calling on for over 5 years now. Is there ever a time you call quits with those prospects?
Should I put a 10 year mark on it and then call it quits?

After 5 years the prospect knows I am persistent
so its a current relationship that is me keeping out.

I have already thrown out the prospects that took my plan design and gave it to their current lazy broker.

Right now I have about 16 groups I have been calling on over 5 years.

Feedback?

 

[David C]

If they do not see you as an unwelcome visitor I would not cull them. That being said, I would want them to know that I'm still dropping in because I want to do business with them at some point.

 

[moonlightandmargaritas]

After 5 years the prospect knows I am persistent so its a current relationship that is me keeping out.

Right now I have about 16 groups I have been calling on over 5 years.

Looks like you may be confusing persistence with results.

 

[Guest]

What I do with older leads is ask the "Cleansing Question". I don't remember where I got it, but because I am too lazy to type the whole thing out, here is a link to it:

Ask the Cleansing Question

It works. Give it a try.

Dan

 

[somarco]

FWIW, I never go out of my way to contact old prospects, but if it is convenient I will.

When I lived in Birmingham I called on a guy who was a referral from a close friend. Initially I was more diligent but eventually dropped it when it seemed he was not going to make a change any time soon.

After moving to Atlanta I had occasion to go back to Birmingham from time to time on business. Each time, if I was in the neighborhood, I would stop by unannounced just to reconnect.

We usually talked about some mutual friends but I always asked if he was ready to make a change. I never spent more than 10 - 15 minutes and he would always thank me for stopping by.

This went on for 15 years or longer.

One day I stopped in as usual and he surprised me by saying he was glad I came. He was totally pissed at his current carrier and ready to throw them out. The guy had 9 companies, all with the same carrier but all on different plans.

I ended up writing all but two of them.

I earned $5k a month off those cases and kept all of them for 4 years before they started to dribble away. Some were businesses he sold while others were lost to a more competitive offer.

I finally lost the last case 3 years ago but not without earning a nice bit of change over 8 years. Calling on him over 15 years led to about $250,000 in commissions.

That was unusual but shows that sometimes persistence pays.

Or maybe it was just my own stubbornness.

 

[xrac]

FWIW, I never go out of my way to contact old prospects, but if it is convenient I will.

When I lived in Birmingham I called on a guy who was a referral from a close friend. Initially I was more diligent but eventually dropped it when it seemed he was not going to make a change any time soon.

After moving to Atlanta I had occasion to go back to Birmingham from time to time on business. Each time, if I was in the neighborhood, I would stop by unannounced just to reconnect.

We usually talked about some mutual friends but I always asked if he was ready to make a change. I never spent more than 10 - 15 minutes and he would always thank me for stopping by.

This went on for 15 years or longer.

One day I stopped in as usual and he surprised me by saying he was glad I came. He was totally pissed at his current carrier and ready to throw them out. The guy had 9 companies, all with the same carrier but all on different plans.

I ended up writing all but two of them.

I earned $5k a month off those cases and kept all of them for 4 years before they started to dribble away. Some were businesses he sold while others were lost to a more competitive offer.

I finally lost the last case 3 years ago but not without earning a nice bit of change over 8 years. Calling on him over 15 years led to about $250,000 in commissions.

That was unusual but shows that sometimes persistence pays.

Or maybe it was just my own stubbornness.

Great story! Just shows the importance of being in the right place at the right time. Unless I felt someone was someone I didn't want to work with or told me to get lost I would keep on calling and drip marketing them.

 

[ABC]

Good feedback
I like the Cleansing Question. That is good.

Marco nice close on that case. Those are the kind of stories that keep me calling prospects back year after year.

These cases are between $3,000-$5,000 commish annually.

I have met with all these prospects at one time or the other and quoted out their group health plans.

The big problem that I am faced with in my city is Anthem has its corporate head quarters here. So this is their back yard and no carrier can compete with them under 500 lives.

So I have all these small group prospects that are with anthem and I am unable to move them and save them money. So its too a point where there is not competition in my city. Its very frustrating.

 

[ABC]

I called on a group that I met with back in 2002.
The current agent just sold his agency and bam I am back in the door. I was just getting ready to throw the file away and thought well one more try.

 

[Executive Benefits]

I have an "agent loyalty" file, as soon as a prospect tells me they are "friends with their broker" or had the broker for years, I back off immediately, due to the fact that we all have clients that wouldn't move unless it was death or retirement. LOL However I do follow up every year close to their renewal date, but make it quick and friendly. Asking if there broker is still taking care of them, if they say yes I move on...... but keep them neatly tucked away.

However I once meet with a prospect I knew I would not close before I walked in the door. BUT we liked eachother very much and she even gave me referrals of other businesses. Later in the year she got a letter from her current broker stating that her agent left the agency so she AOR ed me immediately. She is now a very close friend of mine, and my biggest client at the moment with over 280 employees YA NEVER KNOW!!

Sometimes No just means NOT Now

 

[ABC]

I have an "agent loyalty" file, as soon as a prospect tells me they are "friends with their broker" or had the broker for years, I back off immediately, due to the fact that we all have clients that wouldn't move unless it was death or retirement. LOL However I do follow up every year close to their renewal date, but make it quick and friendly. Asking if there broker is still taking care of them, if they say yes I move on...... but keep them neatly tucked away.

However I once meet with a prospect I knew I would not close before I walked in the door. BUT we liked eachother very much and she even gave me referrals of other businesses. Later in the year she got a letter from her current broker stating that her agent left the agency so she AOR ed me immediately. She is now a very close friend of mine, and my biggest client at the moment with over 280 employees YA NEVER KNOW!!

Sometimes No just means NOT Now

280 employee is OUTSTANDING

Nice work