Setting appointments

Wait a minute, JR, I thought you charged everyone $4,000 for your "Secrets of Successful Marketing." I want a refund of my 4k!:goofy::goofy::goofy:

HaHa, I'm not up to a level yet where I could honestly and ethically charge $4000 for my program. When I retire I'll be more than happy to share everything for the low low price of $100,000.
 
Salpro, I really like this script and I would like your permission to share it with my agents (crediting you of course). I will happily put in any information you like as to the source, so if that is all right with you, please pm me with how you want to be cited. Many thanks.

What markets and products to you target? I'm guessing Florida, but I could be wrong.

There is no need to cite me as most of that material came from various sales books I've read combined with discussions with other sales pros, and my own personal style. Anybody is more than free to thank me by going to my blog and purchasing me anyone of the books I have listed :) There are about 120 or so on my list to choose from.
 
Last edited:
What markets and products to you target? I'm guessing Florida, but I could be wrong.

There is no need to cite me as most of that material came from various sales books I've read combined with discussions with other sales pros, and my own personal style. Anybody is more than free to thank me by going to my blog and purchasing me anyone of the books I have listed :) There are about 120 or so on my list to choose from.


Salpro,

I registered with your site over a week ago and since then I purchased the book Question Based Selling from Amazon. It is very good...no question.

Hey, regarding the script you created above, how would you word it if the prospect was straight off a general list? In other words they have not been prequalified at all. What questions would you ask and how do you think you could ask them in such a way that you would not offend them? The "bad time" line is great.

I am trying to figure out a tactful way to get these folks to open their minds enough to consider the option of an MA if they have a Med Supp. I know in many cases the MA will NOT be the best thing for them, but if they have been in great health and used their Med Supp once in 3 years and they are paying $140/month and I can offer them a $0 premium MA (Today's Options), they might actually like it....IF they would open up their minds enough to even consider it. Most of the folks I speak to do not even know that they have the option of choosing Medicare Advantage. They do not even know what Medicare Advantage is even though it is explained fully in the Medicare and You booklet. I just desire to show them what their options are.

How would you try to get across to someone "cold" that you are only trying to help them? If the MA is not going to benefit them I will usually know that when I speak to them on the phone and I will explain that I think they are in a great place.

Here is the script I am using now:

"Hi, this is ______ with ________ and we are contacting Medicare recipients in _________ County like you to make you aware of your options under the the new Medicare Part C plans now available in 2008. Did I call at a bad time?

OK, well what I am doing is showing folks other options they have as far as how they can choose to receive their Medicare benefits. I don't know if you would benefit or not so I need to ask you a couple of quick questions....is that OK?

Are you currently enrolled in Medcare parts A and B?
What do you have to help take care of what Medicare does not cover?
When you go to the Dr., what cards do you show them besides your Medicare card? " (Medicaid filter)
"How is _________ " (whatever they currently have) "working for you?
How often have you used it?
How much do you pay a month for that?
What would you change about it, if you could?
Are you the only one in the household enrolled in Medicare?
How familiar are you with Medicare Part C, or Medicare Advantage?

Well, here's the thing, Mr/Mrs_________, with the possibility of a recession....and interest rates coming down...retirees like yourself on a fixed income may need to find ways to cut expenses without risking higher health care costs. Would you agree?

If I could show you how we've helped other Medicare recipients get great benefits and often even more benefits than they had...and it saved them a lot of money....and they still have peace of mind....would it be worth investing a half an hour at your convenience to see if you could benefit too?

OK, well I am going to be in ________ tomorrow helping other concerned Seniors. How about I stop by around ________? Do you have your Medicare and You book that the Government sends you? Great, would you find that and have that out for me? Fantastic. I'll see you around______. If I am running a little late I'll call you and let you know. "

End of script

----Some folks will stop me after the intro and tell me they are not interested. I say..."That's fine have a great day". Others will stop me and say, "I already have..........and I am well taken care of". I will usually then ask them what they have and they usually tell me and I'll pick up the script from there. I'll let them go if they sound absolutely uninterested. In other words I only go through the questions with folks that let me get that far so it is not with everybody.

But by far most just do not want to even consider changing no matter what. That's OK because I do not want to waste my time or theirs and that is the reason for the "worth your time" section. But I want to make sure that they are not just closing me out due to open ended resistance from the beginning of the call.

What do you think?

Thanks in advance. :)
 
I registered with your site over a week ago and since then I purchased the book Question Based Selling from Amazon. It is very good...no question.

Thank you.

Hey, regarding the script you created above, how would you word it if the prospect was straight off a general list? In other words they have not been prequalified at all.

The aforementioned script is what I use for generating my own leads that have not been prequalified. I ALWAYS give people the option on the first call to either schedule a 10 minute discussion to see if we have the potential to do business or we can go over things right then and there. Not many people I know approach it that way because they still think that you shouldn't give a prospect an out even though he or she can either BS somebody or just ignore you. I still get the no-shows, ignores, etc. but my happiness level and energy has gone up since taking the new approach.

What questions would you ask and how do you think you could ask them in such a way that you would not offend them? The "bad time" line is great.

What do you mean specifically? I'd have to know what you are trying to find out before I can say how I would ask a question. Are we talking about health insurance, life, medications, etc. etc.

In general, I talk to people in a way that doesn't come off arrogant or selfish. I constantly think about ways to incorporate a "how can I help you" approach with the questions I ask vs. a "How can I make more money."

I am trying to figure out a tactful way to get these folks to open their minds enough to consider the option of an MA if they have a Med Supp. I know in many cases the MA will NOT be the best thing for them, but if they have been in great health and used their Med Supp once in 3 years and they are paying $140/month and I can offer them a $0 premium MA (Today's Options), they might actually like it....IF they would open up their minds enough to even consider it. Most of the folks I speak to do not even know that they have the option of choosing Medicare Advantage. They do not even know what Medicare Advantage is even though it is explained fully in the Medicare and You booklet. I just desire to show them what their options are.

Are you captive? Please forgive my ignorance as I only recently starting researching Supps and Advantage plans, etc. People aren't going to open up unless they FEEL comfortable. It is up to you to find out ethical ways to make somebody feel comfortable with YOU.

The last line caught my attention..." I desire to show you what your options are!" That is a great starting point and could easily be changed to, "I would like the opportunity to show you all of your options, so you will have the information that you need to take advantage of recent changes.......I don't know if I can help you right now or not, but I will give you an unconditional guarantee that I will let you know one way or the other once we're able to spend about 10 (come out to see you, whatever, etc.) or so minutes going over some information so I can be 100% sure." Then just wait for them to speak and figure out the next step based upon a yes or no.

How would you try to get across to someone "cold" that you are only trying to help them?

Some people are cold for a variety of reasons that are best left up to the authors whom have already written books on personalities. If the aforementioned approach doesn't work, which it should because I get a response (may not be a yes) 100% of the time, I'd ask them if they know of any good places that sell a jacket because this conversation feels really cold!

If the person cannot laugh at that corny joke move on as you don't want a client without a personality or that is bitter and negative. He's the type of guy who would tell the doctor that he doesn't need any lubrication during the colonoscopy test and then either brag about that to his friends or complain how much it hurt. Move on, those people are not worth your time.


If the MA is not going to benefit them I will usually know that when I speak to them on the phone and I will explain that I think they are in a great place.

If the person is being honest and you're are being honest I wouldn't change a thing. Some people respect that, while others are rude and inconsiderate.

Here is the script I am using now:

"Hi, this is ______ with ________ and we are contacting Medicare recipients in _________ County like you to make you aware of your options under the the new Medicare Part C plans now available in 2008. Did I call at a bad time?

Ok, here's how I would respond if I receive this call.

"Great, so you're contacting everybody in my county and somewhere I'm classified as a Medicare recipient. Is there some database with my information in it? WOW, I feel really special now! How about you just call me J.R. since you obviously don't respect me or yourself enough to apologize when you butcher my name. What do you want to tell me in 10 seconds before I hang up on you?"

I have no patience for rude people and I get really pissed off when somebody mispronounces my last name and cannot apologize because they weren't taught manners. I'm using my last name as an example, since that is usually the 1st test I use to help me decide whether or not I should take time out of my schedule to talk with a caller.

You need to change your pitch to make yourself sound more sincere and less robotic. You're talking about 20ish seconds before the person even gets one word in. Everybody else is doing that and wondering why people are getting angry and cannot figure out why their lead count is so low. If somebody calls me, they better show respect, be nice and use a proper introduction or else I'm going to have some fun with them. To me, a proper introductory script outline is as follow.

1) My full name. My name is John, but I use J.R. as an introduction because a) it's a unique name and b) it's friendly and warm, and c)6 out of 10 times I hear the who shot J.R. statement and that comment right there tells me a lot about a person and opens the door to a discussion and not a pitch.
2) My company name
3) Apologize for the interruption (be nice) I got this from Moonlight (Paul) and it has been working great! It took me some time to get comfortable with this one.
4) Is this a bad time? (show respect)
5) Value statement, hook statement.
6) Prospect feedback.

Well, here's the thing, Mr/Mrs_________, with the possibility of a recession....and interest rates coming down...retirees like yourself on a fixed income may need to find ways to cut expenses without risking higher health care costs. Would you agree?

Hmmm, get rid of "here's the thing" unless you normally say that when talking with friends. I don't like the word 'retirees" unless I know the person is retired (hint hint) and I also don't like to hear "fixed income" unless the person indicates they are one a fixed income, budget, financial plan, etc.

If I could show you how we've helped other Medicare recipients get great benefits and often even more benefits than they had...and it saved them a lot of money....and they still have peace of mind....would it be worth investing a half an hour at your convenience to see if you could benefit too?

Everything is good here.

OK, well I am going to be in ________ tomorrow helping other concerned Seniors. How about I stop by around ________? Do you have your Medicare and You book that the Government sends you? Great, would you find that and have that out for me? Fantastic. I'll see you around______. If I am running a little late I'll call you and let you know. "

It's better to ask the person when their available to gauge their interest level and show respect. Then you can say you're going to be in the area if that is actually the case.

End of script

----Some folks will stop me after the intro and tell me they are not interested. I say..."That's fine have a great day". Others will stop me and say, "I already have..........and I am well taken care of". I will usually then ask them what they have and they usually tell me and I'll pick up the script from there. I'll let them go if they sound absolutely uninterested. In other words I only go through the questions with folks that let me get that far so it is not with everybody.

But by far most just do not want to even consider changing no matter what. That's OK because I do not want to waste my time or theirs and that is the reason for the "worth your time" section. But I want to make sure that they are not just closing me out due to open ended resistance from the beginning of the call.

What do you think?

Overall, I think you're doing a good job and there is some room for improvement. Resistance is normal and is something we all have to accept. Try the things I recommended for a minimum of 20 hours and then look at the new stats and compare them to the old stats. If it's working, keep on trucking, if it's not working, find out what you need to change and take action.
 
I am everywhere... like the air ...(Is that mysterious enough for you?). No, actually you are correct, I am in Florida but I market to most of the 48 continental states. Currently represent about 90 carriers, but honestly focus on a dozen or so. Thanks for the info, I'll check out your books :)
 
You originally said that the last line in bold is something you'd like to implement, but I asked you what you're currently saying. Did I miss something?

Here's a modified version.

"Is Mr. Jones available please? This is (my name) and I'm calling on behalf of (FMO). Did I catch you at a bad time? (show respect and be courteous). The reason for my call is to follow up with you about the conversation you and (marketer-Jennifer in this case-ALWAYS use the name to personalize things) had on (date) pertaining to (insert lead topic here). Jennifer mentioned that you're interested in (reducing your XXXXX, saving money on XXXX, pissed of at your current agent/ carrier, whatever you got use it here.) and I'd appreciate it if you would tell me more about that... What are you currently doing about XXXX?

Then shut up and pay attention, take notes and close with the following.

"I have everything I need, but I'm not sure at this point if I can help you out or not about (insert issue from above here). Would you mind if I ran a risk-free inquiry to find out about your options? Great, If I can help you with XXXXXXXXX what will you do?"

Pin them down in a polite way.

"If you're in the green, say this, "When would be a good time within the next couple of days where we could spend 20 or so minutes to go over the information in detail so you know what's available? If for any reason you cannot make the appointment I'd appreciate it if you would let me know and I'll do the same. Do you have something to write with?"

You get the point.

Immediately send an e-mail as a friendly reminder about the appointment.

If you can book the appointment do it. If not, be honest and say so and find something that accommodates both your schedule.

The I'll be in your area is so old and I would not recommend you use it because take a guess about who used it before you? That's right, the person you're trying to see.

I've personally gotten my ass handed to me more times than I can count using that line UNTIL I realized something and told the prospect the "reason" why I'm in the area.

If I'm legitimately going to be in the area I will use it, but that is a rarity.

Hope this helps.


CLOSER. a closer with a smile and an ethical one. Man, I just love the 21st Century.
 
Back
Top