Leads Per Week

[ZackMorris]

That depends entirely on where you are working. AN agent working in Chicago will have a very different amount of zip codes and counties he needs to work than an agent working in Bugtussel, IL.

Figure your area by population. Get out a map and figure out exactly where you would like to work. Now research how much population there is in that area. Assume they are mailing 1,000 mail pieces to generate 10 leads. Now take however many leads you want per week and convert it to 1,000s. So 25 leads per week would be 2,500 mail pieces per week.

If these numbers are true for you, you would need 30,000 homes (in your age and income brackets) to generate 25 leads per week and take 90 days to get through your market area. It's best if you have more.

Your up line with RGI can help you with all this. It can also be a problem if too many agents are already working in the area you want to work in. So far that has only been a problem for one agent with us and he was unwilling to work in any county but one. (He was definitely NOT in beast mode.)

I don't know what you mean by stacks coming in mixed. Do you mean do they completely mail one zip code before moving to the next one? Yes, and they mail the zips in the order that you put them in. Direct mail will usually keep you in a tighter area than tele-leads but it's not like they are all next door neighbors either. You still have to optimize your route.

But you will always have scraggler leads too. If you worked 47788 5 weeks ago and are three zip codes away now, you will still get a late arrival from 47788 this week. That happens with any mail house.

I've gotten two leads this year from a mail house I haven't used in over a year and a half ago. Some people just hang on to them.

When I say mixed, I mean if I'm dropping X amount of zips, let's say 5, then I should receive back a mix of said 5 zip codes in my weekly lead flow, correct?

As it sits, I've been ordering whole zips and working them as they come in. My first five orders produced more than expected but the lack of effectively working through them left me with some carryover lead debt. Subsequent orders didn't produce like the first. Delays and lack of work when counts come in less than expected has left me with too much downtime and new work paying off new + old debt.

 

[Newby]

When I say mixed, I mean if I'm dropping X amount of zips, let's say 5, then I should receive back a mix of said 5 zip codes in my weekly lead flow, correct?

As it sits, I've been ordering whole zips and working them as they come in. My first five orders produced more than expected but the lack of effectively working through them left me with some carryover lead debt. Subsequent orders didn't produce like the first. Delays and lack of work when counts come in less than expected has left me with too much downtime and new work paying off new + old debt.

Ideally your leads come in one zip code and then the next and then the next. But in reality you will be working in several zips very quickly and all over your area you selected eventually.

I'll repeat that the beauty of the RGI lead system is that it evens out your leads. You get them all on Friday. You generally will get the same number each week.

That helps the agent make a clean break each week from his old leads and move on to the new. You don't shred last weeks leads that you never got in front of. Those are your own collection of rainy day B leads. But if you break clean and work enough brand new leads each week your sales will sky rocket.

I did my own lead drops for years. It works. But you have to mail routinely EVERY week to repeat something like a RGI or similar weekly lead program. Most agents don't place that order every week. Then you find yourself in that slump with no leads that takes three more weeks to get out of. It's the roller coaster that we have all experienced.

 

[rousemark]

When I say mixed, I mean if I'm dropping X amount of zips, let's say 5, then I should receive back a mix of said 5 zip codes in my weekly lead flow, correct?

As it sits, I've been ordering whole zips and working them as they come in. My first five orders produced more than expected but the lack of effectively working through them left me with some carryover lead debt. Subsequent orders didn't produce like the first. Delays and lack of work when counts come in less than expected has left me with too much downtime and new work paying off new + old debt.

I have never worked a lead system through an IMO before but I don't understand building up lead debt.. First of all, I would think an agent should pay for the leads upfront. However, if they do order them without paying upfront, I would think the lead payment would take priority over everything else and you pay off the leas as a business expense before you take any money out to pay your regular bills or anything else.. If you did that, you would never have lead debt.

 

[Newby]

I have never worked a lead system through an IMO before but I don't understand building up lead debt.. First of all, I would think an agent should pay for the leads upfront. However, if they do order them without paying upfront, I would think the lead payment would take priority over everything else and you pay off the leas as a business expense before you take any money out to pay your regular bills or anything else.. If you did that, you would never have lead debt.

100% agree. The worst thing an agent can do is have someone financing your leads. I am just opposed to having debt anyway. But on leads if your sales and lead program are not working for you, it will take you longer to recognize that if you aren't feeling the pain of paying out the money without your commissions covering it. Never in a million years is that a good thing.

With our program (and most others that I know of that are similar) you get your leads before you pay for them BUT then you have to pay them in full promptly each week. You get them on Friday. You have to pay them in full by Sunday night if you pay by credit card. If you pay by bank draft that will hit your account Monday or Tuesday. You never carry lead debt from week to week.

Companies that finance leads to agents look attractive to broke agents. But they are NOT doing you any favors. If you need to finance your own leads to get started, do it with your own credit card. And if you need to finance them long term, your FE business is NOT working. You will sink if you do that.

 

[ZackMorris]

Ideally your leads come in one zip code and then the next and then the next. But in reality you will be working in several zips very quickly and all over your area you selected eventually.

I'll repeat that the beauty of the RGI lead system is that it evens out your leads. You get them all on Friday. You generally will get the same number each week.

That helps the agent make a clean break each week from his old leads and move on to the new. You don't shred last weeks leads that you never got in front of. Those are your own collection of rainy day B leads. But if you break clean and work enough brand new leads each week your sales will sky rocket.

I did my own lead drops for years. It works. But you have to mail routinely EVERY week to repeat something like a RGI or similar weekly lead program. Most agents don't place that order every week. Then you find yourself in that slump with no leads that takes three more weeks to get out of. It's the roller coaster that we have all experienced.

Well, RGI is who I've been getting leads through. Just not in a weekly fashion. More of a "lets order this" then 5+ weeks later (or longer..) it shows up. I was told by my upline that they have not had consistent results with RGI providing enough leads per week. Maybe they didn't set it up effectively. I've been lurking on here for over a year now seeing other agents swearing up and down by fresh weekly work with RGI obviously mentioned more than once.

I have never worked a lead system through an IMO before but I don't understand building up lead debt.. First of all, I would think an agent should pay for the leads upfront. However, if they do order them without paying upfront, I would think the lead payment would take priority over everything else and you pay off the leas as a business expense before you take any money out to pay your regular bills or anything else.. If you did that, you would never have lead debt.

Is financed the right word? I'm not paying interest on them or something wacky. I pay for them out of my commissions. Debt repay is taken as a % out. Either way, when I first started doing this, my first lead order ended up with something like 500+ DM Cards, which I didn't work effectively nor could I afford to pay for that outright which really put me behind.

100% agree. The worst thing an agent can do is have someone financing your leads. I am just opposed to having debt anyway. But on leads if your sales and lead program are not working for you, it will take you longer to recognize that if you aren't feeling the pain of paying out the money without your commissions covering it. Never in a million years is that a good thing.

With our program (and most others that I know of that are similar) you get your leads before you pay for them BUT then you have to pay them in full promptly each week. You get them on Friday. You have to pay them in full by Sunday night if you pay by credit card. If you pay by bank draft that will hit your account Monday or Tuesday. You never carry lead debt from week to week.

Companies that finance leads to agents look attractive to broke agents. But they are NOT doing you any favors. If you need to finance your own leads to get started, do it with your own credit card. And if you need to finance them long term, your FE business is NOT working. You will sink if you do that.

Well, at 25 leads a week of fresh work I'm sure I would cover that cost in new business. Writing business hasn't been an issue when I have work. Aside from when I first started.

I've had to play catch up once or twice on chargebacks as well due to lack of work.

 

[rousemark]

Is financed the right word? I'm not paying interest on them or something wacky. I pay for them out of my commissions. Debt repay is taken as a % out. Either way, when I first started doing this, my first lead order ended up with something like 500+ DM Cards, which I didn't work effectively nor could I afford to pay for that outright which really put me behind.

I wasn't criticizing you personally Zack.. I was just wondering how it could happen since for those that run leads, leads should be a routine business expense which should be paid for before anything else. If you do it any other way, you are asking to be put behind the eight ball as you have learned the hard way.

The primary reason most small business fail is that they are under capitalized from the beginning. If you start a business and you are having to "finance" every day expenses such as rent , utilities, telephone, etc. you are in trouble before you even get started and the reason people do it is because they are using the money that should be paid for their expenses to support their lifestyle. It is no different with the insurance business. If can't pay for your leads as you receive them and are having to put your auto expenses on a credit card that you do not pay in full every month (or week), you are in great financial danger. You need to do something to turn that around even if it means you have to spend more hours in the field obtaining prospects by cold calling or being "that guy". Maybe even getting a job outside the industry to increase your cash flow while working in sales part time. Rearden is a great example of having done that and is now experiencing great success in the business.

The bible says to, "Build your business before you build your house". Sure would have saved me and a lot of others a lot of grief and stress if we had taken that advice from the beginning.

Again, this is not aimed at you personally but is for the benefit of fledgling agents that are thinking of getting into the business full time so broke they have to "finance" their leads. Can be done but most fail at it.

 

[Newby]

Well, RGI is who I've been getting leads through. Just not in a weekly fashion. More of a "lets order this" then 5+ weeks later (or longer..) it shows up. I was told by my upline that they have not had consistent results with RGI providing enough leads per week. Maybe they didn't set it up effectively. I've been lurking on here for over a year now seeing other agents swearing up and down by fresh weekly work with RGI obviously mentioned more than once.



Is financed the right word? I'm not paying interest on them or something wacky. I pay for them out of my commissions. Debt repay is taken as a % out. Either way, when I first started doing this, my first lead order ended up with something like 500+ DM Cards, which I didn't work effectively nor could I afford to pay for that outright which really put me behind.



Well, at 25 leads a week of fresh work I'm sure I would cover that cost in new business. Writing business hasn't been an issue when I have work. Aside from when I first started.

I've had to play catch up once or twice on chargebacks as well due to lack of work.

Zack, RGI is the mail house. There are many agencies using them and they all run the program differently. I think I can read between the lines and know which agency you are under (a very large one) and they don't do anything like we at Fex or Brad at 360 does. What I know about that agency (if I am thinking of the right one) is that it is not a good place to be for the selling agents.

Your problems do not stem from RGI but from the agency that has designed and runs your whole system. From what I know (and I could be wrong) but they don't have the agents on set weekly orders but drop tons of mail all at once. Then the managers dish out the leads as they see fit. And the agents are on lowered contracts based on "who got here first" and everyone over riding everyone else.

If my assumptions are correct you might just want to take a look around. Speak to other agents on and off the forum. There are a lot of good places to be. If you are with Fex, 360, EFES or any of the agencies that has a good reputation on the forum, you can get on a lead program that is fair to you and works well UNLESS you just happen to be in a terrible area (not likely unless you are in Georgia or parts of Florida.)

But if you insist on having lead financing (never works in favor of the agent) you will always be struggling with those same problems. You want CLEAR billing on GOOD leads and then pay the bill in full each week. That's the only way it could possibly work properly for everyone.

 

[Glen Shelton]

Zack, RGI is the mail house. There are many agencies using them and they all run the program differently. I think I can read between the lines and know which agency you are under (a very large one)

Why beat around the bush? Who do you think he works with?

 

[ZackMorris]

Zack, RGI is the mail house. There are many agencies using them and they all run the program differently. I think I can read between the lines and know which agency you are under (a very large one) and they don't do anything like we at Fex or Brad at 360 does. What I know about that agency (if I am thinking of the right one) is that it is not a good place to be for the selling agents.

Your problems do not stem from RGI but from the agency that has designed and runs your whole system. From what I know (and I could be wrong) but they don't have the agents on set weekly orders but drop tons of mail all at once. Then the managers dish out the leads as they see fit. And the agents are on lowered contracts based on "who got here first" and everyone over riding everyone else.

If my assumptions are correct you might just want to take a look around. Speak to other agents on and off the forum. There are a lot of good places to be. If you are with Fex, 360, EFES or any of the agencies that has a good reputation on the forum, you can get on a lead program that is fair to you and works well UNLESS you just happen to be in a terrible area (not likely unless you are in Georgia or parts of Florida.)

But if you insist on having lead financing (never works in favor of the agent) you will always be struggling with those same problems. You want CLEAR billing on GOOD leads and then pay the bill in full each week. That's the only way it could possibly work properly for everyone.

Well, I'm in one of those "terrible areas" you mentioned. And yes, it's a fairly large agency. Not sure what the arrangement is but the dropping all the zips at once is dead on. I'm the only one in my immediate area. Shouldn't have any issues receiving leads as they see fit however.

 

[Newby]

Why beat around the bush? Who do you think he works with?

One of the biggest. But much smaller than in their hay day. He can tell you if he wants to.