Question for List Users

[Larry Tew]

I had an agent ask me a question today I didn't know how to answer. He bought (or was given) a list of 50 names showing incomes to be 150k and up, ages 50 to 75, addresses and phone number. Checked against DNC.

The list provider said these people had annuities with surrender charges that were at or near maturity. Provider didn't say these people asked for information or how they made the list. Here were the questions he asked me that I thought some of you might be more experienced at answering:

1. Do I just call them cold?

2. Do I send them a pre-approach letter?

3. What do I tell them if they ask why I'm calling or how I got their name?

4. Should I leave a message or just keep calling?

I looked at the list, and I recognized many of the streets as being pretty affluent, so I told him the list looked pretty accurate based on what he was told, but I don't have enough experience working these lists to know what to tell him.

I also thought that maybe these are land lines that they never answer ( I did recognize them as being older Raleigh exchanges) and my other thought was why in the world would these people NOT be on the DNC? Experts, weigh in!

 

[Josh]

I'd be very skeptical of anyone claiming to have that type of a list because there isn't really a good way to source it. I know some list providers will just model what they think might be people that fit into specific categories and then make those claims, but the best way to source that info now is surveys (which aren't very reliable for obvious and less obvious reasons). Do you think banks and/or other financial institutions get their clients permission to give out that information? I couldn't imagine why they would want to do that or that many consumers would volunteer to give away that kind of privacy, but that's what it would take for a list like that to be accurate.

Ignoring the above, let's talk about working the list:

1. Just picking up the phone and calling them can be effective. Usually we don't lead in with their name and the basic formula for our scripts is "Hi, how are you doing today?" then respond to what they say by saying "I'm glad/sorry to hear that" and then rolling right into "I'm calling you today because..." No matter what we've been calling on, insurance or otherwise, that tends to be the most productive framework for a script. We don't ask their name because it doesn't really matter and it opens up a can of worms in the first seconds of the call. "Hi, is this Bob", "No, who are you?". That right off the bat puts you in a bad spot.

2. I've never seen the merit in using a pre-approach letter. That doesn't mean there isn't any, but usually it's just adding an extra step.

3. If they ask where you got their name that means they were using it to begin with. That's never a pleasant conversation, but some folks say "it was in our records" or a more invasive "you were identified as someone that may benefit from our services".

4. Leaving a message generally isn't productive. I know of one agent that does leave messages and he gets action out of them, but he's the only agent I know of that does.


You're talking about such a small list here you're probably better off just picking up the phone and spending two hours burning through it. As far as the DNC goes, most folks are on the DNC, but that doesn't mean everyone is.