Questions About Cold Calling Residences - Life Insurance

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I recently started with a company that offers the spectrum of financial products, but I’m currently only licensed to sell life insurance and annuities so those are my focus for the time being. As such, I got a list of whole life and annuity leads to cold call (residences, not businesses) with the goal of scheduling a time for me to come by to do an analysis of their financial situation and then attempt a needs-based sale. I’m pretty comfortable on the phone, but I have some questions and would appreciate general tips as well.

1 – What are the best days and times to call people at their homes?
-a. How late is too late?
-b. What’s the general consensus on Friday and Saturday cold calling (yay or nay, and best times)?

2 – I use my cell phone for all calls and have a different area code than the local one… is this likely to have an effect on the percentage of people who answer my calls?
-a. On average, how many answers should I expect out of every 100 calls?

3 – What’s a decent ratio of appointments set to people spoken to? (not numbers dialed, but rather decision makers who heard my spiel)

4 – Any general tips regarding scripts for my situation? (i.e., cold calling houses, goal is to set an appointment, company offers all financial products but my focus is on life insurance and annuities)

I know there were some other things I wanted to ask but that’s all I can think of for now.

Thanks for any help!
 
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Are you by any chance working with Primerica?

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A list of residential leads to cold call, sounds surprising like the phone book?

Before you pick up the phone, have you checked these against the DNC?
 
No I don’t work with Primerica, and no, actually, a list of individuals that have been deemed likely candidates for particular products and organized into various consumer segments based on the findings of a financial research company sounds nothing at all like a phone book… not to me, at least. And of course it has been scrubbed against the DNC list. It wouldn't be much of a lead list otherwise, in my opinion.

So is there anyone who has experience cold calling consumers that could help out with the questions in my original post?
 
There are a LOT of variables. Let me start with some basics for you though and keep in mind, your answers will be your answers, not what someone tells you.

Best time to call: Quit reading this and pick up the phone. Best time to call is right now.

How late is to late? I don't call after 8:00.

Best time to reach them at home? Call them NOW and ask. If they don't answer, call them later.

You'll see a trend emerging in my answers. Most people ask these questions as a way to avoid calling certain times. If you have 15 minutes or more, start dialing.

The number of people who answer the phone will depend on the list you are calling. It's amazing the difference when I call an aged lead list vs when I icey cold call (dnc scrubbed) lists. Aged lead lists have a higher contact ratio.

Out of 10 dials, figure you will talk to 2 people. My numbers run slightly better than this, but it does depend on the list, when you call, etc.

Appointments set compared to people spoken to? No idea. This is where it becomes all about you, the list you have and how targeted it is and how good your spiel is. The words of your script matter, but not as much as your tone and phone personality.

Once you are comfortable with your opening dialog, you'll get a feel for some minor tweaks you can make to improve the response rate. Till you are comfortable, its a matter of practice, practice, practice.

Now for some advice. In todays world, people don't answer their phone as much as they used to for numbers they don't recognize. What area code you use doesn't seem to matter as much as the once upon a time dream of many. Heck in my area (San Francisco Bay area), there are so many area codes people can't keep them straight anyway.

To beat the odds, you have to do more dials. Once you are comfortable, use a dialer to make more dials in the same amount of time. You'll be amazed at why you were worried about the best time or best day to call. Just make the calls.

Also, get off the cell phone for telemarketing. Put your best foot forward when initiating contact and the sound quality of a cell phone is NOT your best foot. Don't handicap yourself needlessly. Don't tell me you have a great connection. Cell phones, by design, don't have great sound quality, though granted, on a good day, aren't terrible.

So whats your next step? PICK UP THE PHONE AND DIAL!

Dan
 
I 2nd everything Dan said. Just dial - forget about ratios, best time to call etc. It's different for everyone, no need to get hung up on those.

Get a dialer and don't let that sucker stop dialing until you get your appointments.
 
I Am Totally Greatful For The Info Here. My Company Also Furnishes Leads, Scrubbed Against The Dnc List. We Get Everything From T-65, Life Leads, Hhc Leads, And Non-responders. I Have A Very Hard Time With The T-65 Leads Mostly Because Everyone In Our Office Has Access To All Zipcodes And The Most Common Response When I Get A Contact Is That 4-6 Other Agents Have Already Called From This Office, The Answer Is No, Or Please Remove Me From Your List. I Have Tried To Talk To Mgmt. About The Overlapping, But I Can See That's A Dead Horse. The Thing I Can't Figure Out Is Our Sister Office 1 Hr Away Is Calling Our Area (not Their Assigned Area Mind You) And They Are Kicking Our Butts In Appointments, And More Importantly Sales.
Help Me Out....
What Suggestions Do You Have To Offer...also New Agents Tend To Get The Leads That Have Been Worked Over By 6-13 Month Agents. I Do However Have Luck From Time To Time With That, Their Time Wasn't Right, But Sometimes Now Is The Right Time.
 
If you're not in front of a potential client you should be on the prospecting wagon making calls. I've always had better success in reaching clients on Saturday mornings, but that doesn't mean I don't call throughout the week. See my first sentence.
 
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