Religion and Cold Calling - Thoughts???

I can see sooooo many reasons not to do this, but let me ask you why DO you want to present yourself in this manner?

Andy

It was just a consideration that I wanted to pose to the forum for everyone's thoughts. For me, the benefit is that I enjoy working with people that are active Christians and would like to find a way to appeal to them. It is one thing to think of yourself as a Christian and another to actually practice being a Christian and openly acknowledge your faith and belief in Jesus to others.

I agree with most that it is not a good idea. I thank everyone for their opinions and thoughts.
 
If your goal is to
"find a way to appeal to them" as you stated above

Then YES your approach of attempting to 'cloud' one's judgement by appealing to an "us'.....not 'them' approach will be effective
___________________________________

Ask Bernie Madoff

Playing the emotional and the psych game of 'us', people always works on enough people for it to be effective.
______________________________________________


Again , not offend but you asked if it'd work
and you said your stated goal was specifically
'to find a WAY to appeal to them' and truth is

the exact same 'sweet spot' you're looking to 'stroke' is exactly how and why con men are successful....

They know, what you know 'find a way to appeal to them' and USE it......
_______________________________________________

The reason (I think) you asked the question is that part of you knows darn well that this method will appeal to 'some' religious ppl b/c believers 'believe' and b/c they believe they can be lead and sometimes that means they are lead to slaughter.

And you don't want that 'dirty' feeling of con man juice on you (and I get it)
but make no mistake, you seek to use the same drum beat used by con men....I'm not judging, I'm just telling you it IS what you think it is the Bernie Madoff -way

"Trust me.....I'm ONE of you"

'Come on WE are the good people....WE can trust each other, am I right?'

'Us, people' are better and more trust worthy than ANYBODY else on Earth..... so why not TRUST me, I'm one of US not one of 'them'.

Divide and conquer....

No matter what pretty bow we want to 'sell it' under is still the same game.

Hope that clears it up!
 
If your goal is to
"find a way to appeal to them" as you stated above

Then YES your approach of attempting to 'cloud' one's judgement by appealing to an "us'.....not 'them' approach will be effective
___________________________________

Ask Bernie Madoff

Playing the emotional and the psych game of 'us', people always works on enough people for it to be effective.
______________________________________________


Again , not offend but you asked if it'd work
and you said your stated goal was specifically
'to find a WAY to appeal to them' and truth is

the exact same 'sweet spot' you're looking to 'stroke' is exactly how and why con men are successful....

They know, what you know 'find a way to appeal to them' and USE it......
_______________________________________________

The reason (I think) you asked the question is that part of you knows darn well that this method will appeal to 'some' religious ppl b/c believers 'believe' and b/c they believe they can be lead and sometimes that means they are lead to slaughter.

And you don't want that 'dirty' feeling of con man juice on you (and I get it)
but make no mistake, you seek to use the same drum beat used by con men....I'm not judging, I'm just telling you it IS what you think it is the Bernie Madoff -way

"Trust me.....I'm ONE of you"

'Come on WE are the good people....WE can trust each other, am I right?'

'Us, people' are better and more trust worthy than ANYBODY else on Earth..... so why not TRUST me, I'm one of US not one of 'them'.

Divide and conquer....

No matter what pretty bow we want to 'sell it' under is still the same game.

Hope that clears it up!

I watch the show "American Greed" on MSNBC every now and then, and I think that there is something to be learned from con men. In prospecting and relationship building they do great, imagine if they would have used their talents to do the right thing and make a suitable recommendation for their victims money instead of stolen it.
 
I am not sure about your state but in KY if you call yourself an insurance consultant you better actually be one otherwise you will end up in hot water quick. You may casually bring up religion for a cold call but the best advice I can give you if you aren't seriously that religious people will see right through you. Nothing harder than to sell something in which you aren't 100% sincere people will hear through that. Let your actions and subtle hints do the work for you. (just my two cents)
 
One recent thread gave me this idea and I wanted to get everyone's opinions...

Suppose I were to identify myself as not only a Retirement Consultant but more accurately, add my religious beliefs in and say "Christian Retirement Consultant".

CONS:
- Obviously this would not appeal to non-Christians or non-religious people so I would be limiting my market appeal.
- This may also throw up some red flags with people.

PROS:
- It may appeal to Christians and just be enough for them to stay on the phone and entertain my offer, especially since I will be cold calling for annuities.
- If I had to describe my ideal client, it would be someone with strong Christian beliefs and values.

What are your thoughts?

It is sad but in today's world of political correctness and all these regulations, I may not even be allowed to identify myself in this way. Now I certainly don't want to start a long opinionated thread and it is not my intention to offend anyone or their opinions or beliefs, sexual orientation, race, what-you-like-in-your-coffee, etc., I am just asking for your thoughts on the above approach and if you think it would be an effective technique or not. Thanks.



Sort of like Honest John's Used Cars.

I am sure a few gullible people think he's more honest than most used car dealers because he says he is but I think most people believe he might be even less honest than the average used car dealer because he feels he has to announce he's honest.
 
Sort of like Honest John's Used Cars.

I am sure a few gullible people think he's more honest than most used car dealers because he says he is but I think most people believe he might be even less honest than the average used car dealer because he feels he has to announce he's honest.


Like when my ex-brother-in-law would start a story with
"Let me be HONEST, with you........."

WTF have you been lying all day NOW you want to be 'honest with me":goofy:
 
I would say use it because it is basically a form of target marketing a niche group. And who cares about the politically correct crown? They don't have to pay your bills.
 
I happen to be a very committed evangelical Christian.
While it might sway some gullible people to "wear your religion on your sleeve" the vast majority will see right through your con, if it isn't sincere.
And even if you are sincere, it can look like a con.
(By the way, where did that expression "wear your religion on your sleeve" come from")
I met an agent years ago who didn't literally wear his "religion" on his sleeve.
He worked with an agency that sold benefits to postal workers, who happened to be predominately black.
He made a small donation to a radio preacher and got a lapel pin displaying a cross with the message "Jesus First".
When I commended him for expressing his faith he just sneered and replied: "The Ni**ers really eat that up!"
Lots of people aren't as easily fooled as you think.
And the worst part of any type of dishonesty is when you look past the people you think you are fooling, and think about what you are doing to yourself
 
"Who you are speaks so loudly that your words, I cannot hear."

One should be LIVING their religion, not promoting it in a business context.

The best and most appropriate places to discuss religious beliefs and affiliations is in a professional bio and LinkedIn volunteering. Otherwise, live by it, but don't talk about it in a professional setting.
 
Fun thread! Chiming in!

I don't think mentioning your beliefs in a professional setting is the problem. Rather, I would think the problem is in the method by which you're about to deliver this script. Spraying and praying has lower hit rates enough. Further narrowing your position without knowledge of the receiver of the script would only decrease your hit rate.

However, there is a marvelous place called Facebook (FB), where every idea in the world can validate or invalidate market appetite while dramatically decreasing the amount of sweat/blood/tears we otherwise would have cost ourselves. FB's agenda is to create the world's leading platform through which anyone can deliver their message to the world from anywhere in the world (paraphrasing from various Zuckerberg's interviews). There are many forums where people participate in which their leading characterization is that they voluntarily identify themselves as Christians.

Thus, we have 2 options in the use of FB:

1) Advertise: You can run ads for your services targeting specifically those people who openly subscribe to this faith. It's really easy to do. Drive their response (clicks) to a blog or even your agency website and give clear instructions (to call or email). Measure the response rate, then decide what to do. :)

2) Interview: Join the FB groups, then ask the members whether this would be effective to target a group like them. Listen, then decide what to do. :)

Let me know if you want to talk more.

Hayato
closingcommercial dot com
 
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