The I Love Door Knocking "December to Remember" Christmas Extravaganza Thread (powered by bacon)

[DayTimer]

If days 1-7 are always week 1, since it's a new month, and days 22-28 are always week 4, then what do you do with the 29th, 30th and 31st, 1st, 2nd & 3rd & 4th? Are they two separate weeks? On one hand your logic would indicate the next new week starts on the 1st, and since it's a different month, it's a different week. Leaving the 29th, 30th and 31st as week 5 of the previous month. On the other hand, you pointed out earlier that there's 7 days to a week. So which is it?
Hope you enjoyed your rib eye.
-big rob

Of all things we could be talking about in this thread, it boggles my mind that this is what you have latched on to like a pit bull on a pork chop.

This is not a game of days and weeks but months. This is a December to Remember. If there is not a full week at the end of the month, then there is not a full week. But it is about a month. If you don't want to give me credit for last Saturday, then don't. But seriously, this is what you want to talk about?

 

[Markthebroker]

Of all things we could be talking about in this thread, it boggles my mind that this is what you have latched on to like a pit bull on a pork chop.

This is not a game of days and weeks but months. This is a December to Remember. If there is not a full week at the end og the month, then there is not a full week. But it is about a month. If you don't want to give me credit for last Saturday, then don't. But seriously, this is what you want to talk about?

Don't get upset when people act foolish. In my business, because I am surrounded by fools, it makes it that much easier to succeed. The worse my competition acts, the easier it is to win and retain clients. Yes it's frustrating, but it also make the business that much more profitable for the rest of us.

 

[goillini52]

If days 1-7 are always week 1, since it's a new month, and days 22-28 are always week 4, then what do you do with the 29th, 30th and 31st, 1st, 2nd & 3rd & 4th? Are they two separate weeks? On one hand your logic would indicate the next new week starts on the 1st, and since it's a different month, it's a different week. Leaving the 29th, 30th and 31st as week 5 of the previous month. On the other hand, you pointed out earlier that there's 7 days to a week. So which is it?
Hope you enjoyed your rib eye.
-big rob

Since he's measuring MONTHLY activity, why does it matter what week Saturday goes in? Saturday was the 1st day of December, and he's doing it for the month of December. Right?

 

[DayTimer]

Good Morning! It's Saturday ... a new day, a new week!

 

[rousemark]

If days 1-7 are always week 1, since it's a new month, and days 22-28 are always week 4, then what do you do with the 29th, 30th and 31st, 1st, 2nd & 3rd & 4th? Are they two separate weeks? On one hand your logic would indicate the next new week starts on the 1st, and since it's a different month, it's a different week. Leaving the 29th, 30th and 31st as week 5 of the previous month. On the other hand, you pointed out earlier that there's 7 days to a week. So which is it?
Hope you enjoyed your rib eye.
-big rob

No matter what day you decide to start your week, you are going to have weeks that begin in one month and end in the next... Then, you "monthly" production will be counted differently than your "weekly" production no matter what starting day you choose... Irregardless of how you count it, Day Timer has done one heck of a job in seven days..

 

[DayTimer]

Good Morning! It's Saturday ... a new day, a new week!

Quick update for now - I'll have some more thoughts to share later:

First door at 9 AM, last knock at 12 PM

7 Doors visited, 4 Sits, 2 Sales for a total monthly premium of $115.61

My average case size for the month so far is $58.38 ... I am very happy with that figure, as any one charge back can't hurt me too much.

 

[Reggie Hammond]

Good Morning! It's Saturday ... a new day, a new week!

Are you sure about that? According to big rob its still November....... Great week!!

 

[rousemark]

Today: 9 AM to 7:30 PM, 18 doors, 5 sits, 0 apps ... just part of the process

For the WEEK* ...

81 Doors Knocked (-27 off planned pace)
23 Sits (slightly ahead of pace)
17 apps (ahead of pace)
$993.57 in monthly premium = $11,922.84 AP (not too shabby my best WEEK ever)

Of the 81 doors:

12 were pre-set appointments, with 5 no shows, 7 sits, and 5 sales
1 was a referral from a policy delivery for 2 sales
10 sales from door knocks

The real heavy hitters in my IMO repeatedly and consistently tells us rookies that to do 5 figures in a week, the key is to sit down at the kitchen table with a minimum of 20 folks to talk about life insurance ... every week.

I had 23 this week, and did break into that 5 figure production mark.

The challenge is thus to keep the activity level high enough to get 20 or more opportunity's to do a final expense sales presentation.

First door tomorrow at 9 AM and last door at 12 noon - my wife is bringing my daughter home from college tonight, and we have some prior family plans I must attend (and wouldn't miss, quite frankly).

I decided to raise the "December to Remember Goal" to $2000 in monthly premium. I want to stretch myself farther, and let's face it: When you write that much premium, some is bound to fail to reach issue/paid status either by declines, NSF, not takens, etc. If I write $2000 in monthly premium, even if a full 10% fails to issue/paid, given my levels on the carriers I am using, I should still see close to $20,000 in deposits between 12/01/2018 and 01/31/2019 based on this months activity alone ... and if I could string a few months like that together ... I could go on the filet mignon diet


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*You may define your week's starting point and end point differently from me - but in all cases, a "week" is defined as 7 consecutive days, unless a holiday or jury duty intervenes, in which sace that day is "removed from the calendar, and the 7 day count resumes on the next field day. That's how I am doing it, at any rate.

Of the 81 knocks, was each one from a lead? Or, were some of them cold calls? How many leads did you work and what was the average cost per lead?

 

[DayTimer]

Of the 81 knocks, was each one from a lead? Or, were some of them cold calls? How many leads did you work and what was the average cost per lead?

For me, a door knock is simply showing up and making noise at the door in an attempt to get inside and meet with someone to whom I may give a final expense presentation. So whether I had a pre-set appointment bring me to that door, or my route planning software brought me to that door, or I just happened to remember that someone behind that door sent me a lead card at some time in the past so I randomly pull over to try again - the attempt to get inside that door is, for me, a door knock.

All 81 of my door knocks save for one were from direct mail leads. The one that wasn't was a referral that resulted in two sales. That referral came from a client to whom I sold a policy who had sent in a direct mail lead piece.

How many leads did I work? I made 23 sales presentations, 22 of which were to direct mail responders. So in my mind, I worked, or retired 22 leads this week. I either sold a policy to one of them or eliminated them as a qualified prospect. So I "worked" 22 leads. My appointment setter had 30 leads to call from this week and also a good number of leads to call from the previous week that were "unworked," i.e. I had not yet made eyeball to eyeball contact with that lead.

I receive between 20 and 30 leads each week (it had been a steady 30 but I recently made some tweaks to my order that have roughed up the returns temporarily). My average cost is currently $33.87/lead. This includes fixed price leads I get through the IMO as well as 1000 piece drops I do on my own,

Last week I had 30 new leads. This week I have 31 new leads. Next week I will have between 0 and 30 lol. I expect to be receiving a steady 30+ leads again soon after the New Year.

This past week has taught me me that I need to get more organized with respect to my leads. Also, there is the happy coincidence that after three appointment setters over five months, I have finally both found an appointment setter who is excellent and I have learned how properly to utilize her in my business. Let me explain:

My appointment setter focuses on this weeks leads. She can dial back through any older leads she wishes to call through, but my experience with her (and the others as well) is that she really only wants to call the newest leads, and she will dip into the previous week's leads only if she is getting a low answer rate on the freshest leads. It is rare for her to call lead more than two weeks old.

I knock any lead I want, no matter how old, except for this week's leads. I let her "skim the cream" by getting me appointments with those willing both to answer their phone and set an appointment.

While she is calling for me, I am out in the field. If I am not in front of a prospect, and I have more than 30 minutes before my next scheduled appointment, I am knocking. For many months I had a lot of "down time" for fear of knocking on a door and <Heaven forbid!> I get invited inside and miss my next appointment. Big thanks to @SPUR CITY for straightening me out on this finally. If I am 30 minutes or less from my next appointment, I go to the appointment and knock early. Activity! Activity! Activity!

When she sets appointments, she tells the prospect to allow me up to 30 minutes "grace period." So if the appointment is for 2:30 PM, the prospect knows to expect me anytime between 2:30 PM and 3:00 PM. This allows me to keep moving, and keep knocking, and if I do get a sit from a straight door knock, I have the time to make a full presentation, collect signatures and bank info, and get to my next appointment more or less on time.

Again, my goal is to generate enough activity to sit me in front of at least 20 prospects during the course of the week.

I will have more to say about leads before the weekend is out. My son is, as I type this, helping me organize all the "unworked" leads I have accumulated over the last four months or so. I have discover some surprising things and I will share them here later.

One other note: I spent 63.5 hours in the field last week. Just under 6 of those were policy delivery hours. All the rest involved me sitting with a prospect, or actively trying to get in front of the next prospect to deliver a presentation. I ate dinner only after hitting my activity goals for the day, and I never stopped for lunch (though I did fuel up with a thermos of coffee throughout the day). If I ate before dinner, it was breakfast or not at all. Those 63.5 hours do not include the time scrubbing and faxing apps at the end of each day or in the morning before I left for the field. Total hours working were just over 70.

If I could go back and truly measure my field hours each week prior to this last week, and then accurately record my productive time, i.e. time spent truly prospecting or presenting, I'd likely be embarrassed to admit the true figures to anyone ... even myself.

 

[Markthebroker]

For me, a door knock is simply showing up and making noise at the door in an attempt to get inside

Lolz, sounds like me trying to get into bars and clubs before I was of age, lol.