Power Dialer

[Frank Stastny]

Frank Stastny, did I miss something here? Are you going to tell yourself or is there another Frank on this thread?

Just another feeble attempt at humor. He put in his post, "don't tell Frank" as though I wasn't going to see it. That was his attempt at humor. Probably better than mine.

As I said in another thread, I'm just messing around today. It's Friday and I've had all the fun I can handle working this week.

I think I will go and play with my new John Deer and feed my goats.

 

[arnguy]

Frank, is that John Deer the 4-legged kind? I thought the machine is John Deere, but then again I am a city slicker.

 

[Frank Stastny]

Frank, is that John Deer the 4-legged kind? I thought the machine is John Deere, but then again I am a city slicker.

We'uns wht liv en duh cuntry du thins diffrnt thn u'ns cety foks.

I knew that. It's been a long week.

 

[senior-advisor-indiana]

Frank, could you post a carbon copy of your last 2 posts?

 

[Delta76]

Frank-

I'm fine with it if you disagree, however, it does speed up the process for me. As far as who can dial faster, me or the dialer, it's about the same. The advantage the program has is I just click "get next record" and the next contact is up, then I hit "dial", and make the call. The call ends, I click one of 8 buttons to record the result, "Not interested, voicemail, not available, ect." and then click "get next record." In a two hour time frame, it would suprise you how much time is used to look at the list, punch the number, and write down the result. I have been cold calling often for two years now the old fashioned way and I'm much more productive now with the power dialer. The other side is the added convience you talk about, I hate spending three hours punching buttons and it's much more enjoyable not having to do that now. Take it or leave it, the $300 was worth it to me for the "toy."

 

[J.R.]

Frank-

I'm fine with it if you disagree, however, it does speed up the process for me. As far as who can dial faster, me or the dialer, it's about the same. The advantage the program has is I just click "get next record" and the next contact is up, then I hit "dial", and make the call. The call ends, I click one of 8 buttons to record the result, "Not interested, voicemail, not available, ect." and then click "get next record." In a two hour time frame, it would suprise you how much time is used to look at the list, punch the number, and write down the result. I have been cold calling often for two years now the old fashioned way and I'm much more productive now with the power dialer. The other side is the added convience you talk about, I hate spending three hours punching buttons and it's much more enjoyable not having to do that now. Take it or leave it, the $300 was worth it to me for the "toy."

Do you have to use a headset plugged into your computer and use the computer to dial the numbers or can you use a standard plantronics headset?

 

[Frank Stastny]

Frank-

I'm fine with it if you disagree, however, it does speed up the process for me. As far as who can dial faster, me or the dialer, it's about the same. The advantage the program has is I just click "get next record" and the next contact is up, then I hit "dial", and make the call. The call ends, I click one of 8 buttons to record the result, "Not interested, voicemail, not available, ect." and then click "get next record." In a two hour time frame, it would suprise you how much time is used to look at the list, punch the number, and write down the result. I have been cold calling often for two years now the old fashioned way and I'm much more productive now with the power dialer. The other side is the added convience you talk about, I hate spending three hours punching buttons and it's much more enjoyable not having to do that now. Take it or leave it, the $300 was worth it to me for the "toy."

I think it is great for you, I really do.

I use a computer program to bring up the people I call. During the phone call I ask them specific questions and then log the answers in their record. If they say that they aren't interested I ask more questions, not just go on to the next one. I'm sure I make less phone calls than you, mainly because I try to engage them all in conversation.

If I was doing it your way, to call as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time, I feel I would be missing a lot of people who I could eventually sell insurance to.

This is not a smart ass comment but prospecting isn't a contest with me to see how many people I can call in a given time. It more of a "contest" to see how much information I can get before ending the conversation.

I recycle all of my leads. Just because they say they aren't interested today, doesn't mean that they won't be "tomorrow". I sell a lot of insurance to people I originally contacted in the past.

Obviously it is just one way of doing it. Yours is another.

 

[Alsky]

"I recycle all of my leads. Just because they say they aren't interested today, doesn't mean that they won't be "tomorrow". I sell a lot of insurance to people I originally contacted in the past."

Frank, when calling internet leads from lead companies, I have had many I am never able to contact by phone. I have been logging these people in my CRM for email contact at later dates but I sometimes think it is a waste of my time. My question, do you enter these contacts in your YIO also? Thanks.

 

[James]

Frank, is that John Deer the 4-legged kind? I thought the machine is John Deere, but then again I am a city slicker.

Simplicity mower is the way to go, plus more suburban in nature.

 

[Frank Stastny]

"I recycle all of my leads. Just because they say they aren't interested today, doesn't mean that they won't be "tomorrow". I sell a lot of insurance to people I originally contacted in the past."

Frank, when calling internet leads from lead companies, I have had many I am never able to contact by phone. I have been logging these people in my CRM for email contact at later dates but I sometimes think it is a waste of my time. My question, do you enter these contacts in your YIO also? Thanks.

As you know, I work the senior market so things may be different than in the MM market.

I use to buy internet leads. Everyone of them went into YIO. I don't understand the concept of paying money for a lead and then throwing it away or not continuing to follow up. I have "leads" in YIO that it has been two years after I received it that a sale was finally made.

I very seldom followed up with e-mail for my internet leads. I always call. E-mail is too easy for them to blow off. I have found e-mail very ineffective.

When I buy a list, it is sent to me in Excel format. I expand an empty column for notes and make my initial contact while the person is still in Excel. Once I get what I determine is or could be a qualified buyer then I put that person in YIO. However, I leave them in Excel until I can actually talk to them.

If they are a no answer, I will wait a month and call again. I may do that several times. I work a list very throughly. Over the years I have found that it pays off not to "blow through" a list and then discard it. Many times it may be two to three months later that I make contact with them.

Is they say they aren't interested, I don't end the conversation there. I have a lot of people in my clients database who initially said they "weren't interested", probably most of them. I can usually at least get the name of the company they currently have insurance with. That is really the main piece of info I need before ending the conversation. To me that is a qualified buyer and goes in YIO.

The prospects database has a field for that info and a report can be printed. If the person told me they had United Teachers and I see United Teachers had a huge increase 14 months later, I print a list for everyone I talked to that told me they had United Teachers and give them a call.

Knowing they just got an increase and the high probability that they have Plan F, that call usually results in an appointment and sale.