Is my Telemarketer Doing a Good Job? Or Flubbing the Numbers?

Greetings Mr.Hall,

-You hit something on the head that cannot be quantified when you said "The Agent/Producer" vs the TM and their success. I feel strongly that a lic agent will have more success on cold calls and by that I mean turning them into actual deals because there is an internal flame/ability to close/ability to think quickly on your feet...all this helps move a cold call to a warm call much faster, a basic TM is not going to have the knowledge that a lic agent has.

-And when you actually do gain interest from the person on the other end of the phone...how much momentum is lost trying to get that person to remain interested from TM to Agent...that's the real secret sauce if there is even such a thing.

Please come back and don't be a total stranger, your feedback and posts are valuable information.

-Thanks!

An independent agent or agency should operate like a doctor's office for maximum efficiency.

You won't see a doctor doing any prospecting for new patients. He doesn't handle any of the intro. as a new patient comes into the office (the nurse does the initial vitals & paperwork).

If the agent/agency is spending the bulk of their time prospecting (cold calling) they are losing out on time that could be spent selling. If an agent is spending time on customer service issues - again this is time that could be spent selling generating money.

As a brand new agent - it might actually be a great idea to handle the entire process yourself. You will learn your craft quicker while building up your bank account to begin spending money on marketing and other possible expenses.

If you continue to do everything yourself your entire career - it is my opinion that you are limiting your growth and income potential. You only have so much time to spend working each week and it should be spent maximizing selling opportunities.
 
An independent agent or agency should operate like a doctor's office for maximum efficiency.

You won't see a doctor doing any prospecting for new patients. He doesn't handle any of the intro. as a new patient comes into the office (the nurse does the initial vitals & paperwork).

If the agent/agency is spending the bulk of their time prospecting (cold calling) they are losing out on time that could be spent selling. If an agent is spending time on customer service issues - again this is time that could be spent selling generating money.

As a brand new agent - it might actually be a great idea to handle the entire process yourself. You will learn your craft quicker while building up your bank account to begin spending money on marketing and other possible expenses.

If you continue to do everything yourself your entire career - it is my opinion that you are limiting your growth and income potential. You only have so much time to spend working each week and it should be spent maximizing selling opportunities.

You're a very well intention and quality poster, it's obvious and you have brainwashed yourself into being this walking PSA for newbies and others but let me breakdown some of this post because it's mostly sales jargon, spin, and quite frankly someone else's information, nobody is this robotic in nature.

-Sure, if a salesman is spending their time prospecting it limits their time to actually sell but I think you are specialized in a lot of insurance where there is a real "Sales Cycle" happening. For most folks in P&C you simply try and beat what they have or present something infinitely better for about the same price or a little more. You can argue with me but it's the truth.

-Can you answer the question about what a sales man or sales woman should do when they enter the business? because I feel strongly an 18-24 month SELLOUT of going as fast and hard as possible into the lead generating cycle. I personally do not know a single Insurance Rep who is having success on a large scale calling internet bought leads which require a good deal of capital and there is no guarantee they will work.

-Sales people by nature are lazy...not the folks who seem to be good students in here but imagine the millions of people in insurance and then count up the actual producers who make things happen and make money. 80/20 rule for me, 20% of the agents in the industry make 80% of new sales, my opinion for sure. New folks should be encouraged to do what others will not. The faster you dive into a cold market the faster you can turn it into a warmer market.

I think it's insulting to sales people and the folks who have years of sales training and degrees within sales like the Psychology/Business with an emphasis in sales...you can be the best sales person on the planet but without leads you're nothing.

I welcome discussion on this but I have to say the post is pretty insulting to real sales people who have had success. Of course one can shoot ducks in a barrel when leads are limitless and there is no competition...let's get out of the clouds and into the real ground attack here.

Ground n Pound, not forever but in the beginning.
 
You're a very well intention and quality poster, it's obvious and you have brainwashed yourself into being this walking PSA for newbies and others but let me breakdown some of this post because it's mostly sales jargon, spin, and quite frankly someone else's information, nobody is this robotic in nature.

-Sure, if a salesman is spending their time prospecting it limits their time to actually sell but I think you are specialized in a lot of insurance where there is a real "Sales Cycle" happening. For most folks in P&C you simply try and beat what they have or present something infinitely better for about the same price or a little more. You can argue with me but it's the truth.

-Can you answer the question about what a sales man or sales woman should do when they enter the business? because I feel strongly an 18-24 month SELLOUT of going as fast and hard as possible into the lead generating cycle. I personally do not know a single Insurance Rep who is having success on a large scale calling internet bought leads which require a good deal of capital and there is no guarantee they will work.

-Sales people by nature are lazy...not the folks who seem to be good students in here but imagine the millions of people in insurance and then count up the actual producers who make things happen and make money. 80/20 rule for me, 20% of the agents in the industry make 80% of new sales, my opinion for sure. New folks should be encouraged to do what others will not. The faster you dive into a cold market the faster you can turn it into a warmer market.

I think it's insulting to sales people and the folks who have years of sales training and degrees within sales like the Psychology/Business with an emphasis in sales...you can be the best sales person on the planet but without leads you're nothing.

I welcome discussion on this but I have to say the post is pretty insulting to real sales people who have had success. Of course one can shoot ducks in a barrel when leads are limitless and there is no competition...let's get out of the clouds and into the real ground attack here.

Ground n Pound, not forever but in the beginning.

Do you live and work in a small town? Do your main carriers have a very limited appetite or are you calling on very large commercial accounts?

Otherwise, there are vastly more prospects than you realize. I won't get into the points you and Glen both made as there are valid ones in both. However, I really get the feeling you think there are far fewer prospects than there are.

The thing that really helps an agent/agency take off is realizing there are more prospects than they could ever talk to and then implementing systems to deliver a steady stream of them. If you find yourself calling a lead for the countless time to try and convert it, you don't have enough leads and you need more/better lead generating systems.
 
Do you live and work in a small town? Do your main carriers have a very limited appetite or are you calling on very large commercial accounts?

Otherwise, there are vastly more prospects than you realize. I won't get into the points you and Glen both made as there are valid ones in both. However, I really get the feeling you think there are far fewer prospects than there are.

The thing that really helps an agent/agency take off is realizing there are more prospects than they could ever talk to and then implementing systems to deliver a steady stream of them. If you find yourself calling a lead for the countless time to try and convert it, you don't have enough leads and you need more/better lead generating systems.

-I live in a smaller section/area of a pretty big populated surrounding area. I cold call all around the state however.

-Your 2nd point about # of prospects, hey I'm learning and hoping you are 100% correct. I feel like you are but I don't have the insurance knowledge that some of you have. I do have a lot of sales experience and I will say that the most money I made at one time was in the mortgage business where I was handed stacks of leads and that entire lead generation was handled outside of my office. I totally get where you folks are coming from but guess what? It didn't last, unsustainable what happened in 2003 thru 2005/2006.

-"Implementing steady streams"...tell me more good man, tell me more...Pretty Please. I'm trying to learn as quickly as I can.
 
You're a very well intention and quality poster, it's obvious and you have brainwashed yourself into being this walking PSA for newbies and others but let me breakdown some of this post because it's mostly sales jargon, spin, and quite frankly someone else's information, nobody is this robotic in nature.

-Sure, if a salesman is spending their time prospecting it limits their time to actually sell but I think you are specialized in a lot of insurance where there is a real "Sales Cycle" happening. For most folks in P&C you simply try and beat what they have or present something infinitely better for about the same price or a little more. You can argue with me but it's the truth.

-Can you answer the question about what a sales man or sales woman should do when they enter the business? because I feel strongly an 18-24 month SELLOUT of going as fast and hard as possible into the lead generating cycle. I personally do not know a single Insurance Rep who is having success on a large scale calling internet bought leads which require a good deal of capital and there is no guarantee they will work.

-Sales people by nature are lazy...not the folks who seem to be good students in here but imagine the millions of people in insurance and then count up the actual producers who make things happen and make money. 80/20 rule for me, 20% of the agents in the industry make 80% of new sales, my opinion for sure. New folks should be encouraged to do what others will not. The faster you dive into a cold market the faster you can turn it into a warmer market.

I think it's insulting to sales people and the folks who have years of sales training and degrees within sales like the Psychology/Business with an emphasis in sales...you can be the best sales person on the planet but without leads you're nothing.

I welcome discussion on this but I have to say the post is pretty insulting to real sales people who have had success. Of course one can shoot ducks in a barrel when leads are limitless and there is no competition...let's get out of the clouds and into the real ground attack here.

Ground n Pound, not forever but in the beginning.

I can tell from your post you are fairly new to the business. I will do my best to answer your questions to the best of my robotic abilities (Beep bop boop beep beep bop boop).

- I have no first hand knowledge of the P&C sales cycle - I will be the first to admit that. I have a hard time believing though that there is no "Sales Cycle". What happens when you talk to a prospect who is interested but is not ready to pull the trigger? You just move on and forget about them? Never follow-up, first call closes only? I wonder why the CRM industry is a multi-billion dollar industry ...

- There are many different paths to success when it comes to starting out in this industry. I actually covered 111 FREE Lead Generation Ideas in a recent blog post. I personally gave up over half my commission when I got started contracting with a local agency to receive aged leads, discounted new leads, and limited training. At the time it seemed like a great offer but hindsight being 20/20 I think I could have made more money and learned just as much if I had been completely independent from the start. 50% (or more) of my commission was a VERY expensive price to pay.

- You specifically mentioned internet leads - I'm not sure if that is because you think I offer internet leads or if it is because you think that is the best lead option available. To be honest, I am not a fan of ANY internet leads unless you generate them yourself. Shared internet leads typically piss off the prospect more than they help and true exclusive internet leads are usually too expensive (If they even are actually "exclusive"). The forum is littered with reviews from agents on different internet lead companies so you can make that decision for yourself.

- Millions of people in insurance? I think you might be surprised at how many insurance agents exist who actually have current licenses. I don't know the exact number but I have a feeling its less than what you think.

- "...but without leads you're nothing." This confused me? My initial response to you was in favor of buying leads rather than doing the prospecting yourself ...

-"...insulting to real sales people who have had success"
I'm sorry - are you familiar with my sales experience? I have sold my fair share of premium, maybe not the most annual premium out of any agent in my niche but I would say I have earned the label 'successful'.

Uh oh ... my battery is running low. I need to go plug myself in so I can recharge and continue insulting all these "real sales people" on this forum. (Beep bop boop beep boop):goofy:

robot.jpg
 
Last edited:
Hey Glen,

You're funny and I could have sent a PM but I would rather buck up and be honest. How awesome is that post one up from this?

-I knew we were not on the same page P&C and that shows I know little about the industry beyond P&C right now. There is a cycle but nobody is pulling Tom Hopkins Sales books off the shelves to sell home and auto...life, FE, medical...I bet you need the Grandmother's Close, the Backdoor Comparison close and the Last Call close where you beat any quote by $100 assuming your boss allows it.

-111 Free lead generation...I have got to click on that after I am done here.

-The rest I can understand based on what I posted.

We are on different pages about leads, I don't believe any that you pay for are worth much, all of them are sold and resold...let me share what type of business I owned between mortgage and insurance adventures...Moving Company. We used internet leads a lot and it wasn't until I rigged/stacked it my way that we got success, let me share...

Lead generated, sent out to 4-5 moving companies, all of them owned many so it went to 20-25 almost instantly, if they couldn't capture the business, they figured one of their others would...so I contacted the tech folks at these lead generators and managed to talk them into sending me a Text with the Lead information 5-10 minutes ahead of when they hit the general pool, most of the time we were first thru the door and our sales increased a lot once I made this happen.

-I have been reading that by 2018/2020, something like 25-33% and perhaps higher of current lic agents who are going to retire or disappear basically. That seems like big news to new agents over the next few years.

Mr Shelton, I do respect you more than you think and I know you wouldn't even waste your time replying to me if you didn't feel the same or see some potential there so I take your entire post as another quality bit of info I can carry with me outside of here.

I have a feeling you and I are gonna be posting a lot in the same threads. I am looking forward to learning as much as I can from you.
 
Hey Glen,

You're funny and I could have sent a PM but I would rather buck up and be honest. How awesome is that post one up from this?

-I knew we were not on the same page P&C and that shows I know little about the industry beyond P&C right now. There is a cycle but nobody is pulling Tom Hopkins Sales books off the shelves to sell home and auto...life, FE, medical...I bet you need the Grandmother's Close, the Backdoor Comparison close and the Last Call close where you beat any quote by $100 assuming your boss allows it.

-111 Free lead generation...I have got to click on that after I am done here.

-The rest I can understand based on what I posted.

We are on different pages about leads, I don't believe any that you pay for are worth much, all of them are sold and resold...let me share what type of business I owned between mortgage and insurance adventures...Moving Company. We used internet leads a lot and it wasn't until I rigged/stacked it my way that we got success, let me share...

Lead generated, sent out to 4-5 moving companies, all of them owned many so it went to 20-25 almost instantly, if they couldn't capture the business, they figured one of their others would...so I contacted the tech folks at these lead generators and managed to talk them into sending me a Text with the Lead information 5-10 minutes ahead of when they hit the general pool, most of the time we were first thru the door and our sales increased a lot once I made this happen.

-I have been reading that by 2018/2020, something like 25-33% and perhaps higher of current lic agents who are going to retire or disappear basically. That seems like big news to new agents over the next few years.

Mr Shelton, I do respect you more than you think and I know you wouldn't even waste your time replying to me if you didn't feel the same or see some potential there so I take your entire post as another quality bit of info I can carry with me outside of here.

I have a feeling you and I are gonna be posting a lot in the same threads. I am looking forward to learning as much as I can from you.



You do realize, that you just responded to a robot.:twitchy:
 
My product is voluntary supplemental benefits to businesses up to 50 employees.

I furnish a targeted list that I put together myself, and pay one individual $25 per sitting appointment, instead of by the hour, and then $25 per sale.

She works three days per week. (Tues-Thurs, and sets her own hours) Last Tuesday, she worked two hours - made 36 calls - contacted 18 (half) and made 6 appointments. Five kept the appointment, and I sold three.

So, two hours, 36 calls, 18 contacts, and 5 sitting appointments. For the two hours, she made $125 ($25X5 sitting appointments) and another $75 ($25X3 sales) for a total of $200 for her two hours on the phone for that day. Oh yeah, we have a sliding scale for fan additional bonus depending on monthly sales.

My experience has been - if a phone person is 'worth their salt' you don't have to pay them by the hour, or 'keep your thumb' on what they are doing.
That sounds like a solid plan..The incentive is encouraging..
 
Back
Top