TJ Telemarketing

[Bwell86]

Has anyone used TJ Telemarketing for leads? Some guys in a sister agency spent $900 for 25 leads. Their first lead led to an $8K AP life case.
They haven't actually had another appointment off the other leads, but claim they were interested just busy for now.
Out of 8 leads received so far, only one has flat out said he wasn't interested.

I'm thinking of trying them, but I'm worried that the first one leading to a huge case was just a fluke. Any thoughts?

 

[mickeyma]

I've tried several telemarketing firms and have been extremely disappointed in all of them, including TJ Telemarketing. My experience has been the phone solicitors create lousy, unqualified leads. Even when the prospect says "not interested," the phone solicitors will convince them to talk to the agent. They then tell the agent they told the solicitor they were not interested and the agent gets charged a fee (usually $35).

The companies swear they record all calls and have listened to the conversations and the lead is good. But, enough prospects have told me they did not request a call from me or they told the phone solicitor they weren't interested so I don't really believe the companies.

Direct mail is the only way to go. And, YOU call for appointments. That way, you know what is being said and what is really happening on the other end of the phone.

 

[djs]

I've never used TJ Telemarketing, but, they have been around for a VERY long time in the telemarketing business. They must do something right.

They are definitely a bit expensive, but that doesn't mean its not a good investment. If you can turn a good ROI with their leads, then who cares what it cost?

Dan

 

[Josh]

Most telemarketing companies doing preset home appointments at the $35 price point are going to give you inconsistent results. It's not a surprise, it's just the math. Dozens (if not hundreds) of companies have tried, but no one can consistently deliver telemarketed leads that meet the criteria the majority of agents are looking for at that price point. Folks that have the ability and skill to hire and train their own telemarketers tend to make it work, but there isn't a way for most residential lines to be outsourced.

I had a company that I was working with do it for a while and they did alright, but the quality dropped through the floor so I started my own shop. From there things worked well, so I picked up some other agents to do it for in non-competing markets with the idea being to help them and more importantly, help my business. Great idea on paper, in application it was a match made in hell. I would run four appointments myself, have four no shows and then write the other two and call it a good day. Most agents would have demanded a full refund on the no shows and complained that the other two had no money and didn't know why I was coming. It took some finesse at the door with one and the other had no money, but they both needed the product and I wrote something like $1k in premium. I'd lose money delivering those leads at $35/lead and refunding no shows and anything an agent didn't feel was a legitimate selling opportunity, but the ROI for me was great. My solution? Screw it, I'll just keep everything in-house.

 

[CALTCAgent]

I've never used TJ Telemarketing, but, they have been around for a VERY long time in the telemarketing business. They must do something right.

What do you think they must be doing right?

Being around a long time does not mean the must be doing something right for the agent, IMO. I can think of quite a few other examples.

 

[Tampa Bay Rep]

Most telemarketing companies doing preset home appointments at the $35 price point are going to give you inconsistent results. It's not a surprise, it's just the math. Dozens (if not hundreds) of companies have tried, but no one can consistently deliver telemarketed leads that meet the criteria the majority of agents are looking for at that price point. Folks that have the ability and skill to hire and train their own telemarketers tend to make it work, but there isn't a way for most residential lines to be outsourced.

I had a company that I was working with do it for a while and they did alright, but the quality dropped through the floor so I started my own shop. From there things worked well, so I picked up some other agents to do it for in non-competing markets with the idea being to help them and more importantly, help my business. Great idea on paper, in application it was a match made in hell. I would run four appointments myself, have four no shows and then write the other two and call it a good day. Most agents would have demanded a full refund on the no shows and complained that the other two had no money and didn't know why I was coming. It took some finesse at the door with one and the other had no money, but they both needed the product and I wrote something like $1k in premium. I'd lose money delivering those leads at $35/lead and refunding no shows and anything an agent didn't feel was a legitimate selling opportunity, but the ROI for me was great. My solution? Screw it, I'll just keep everything in-house.

You make some very good points. Here your own shop was setting the appointments for you so you knew that they were legitimate leads and yet you still ran into those issues. As you point out with the no shows, didn't know why you were coming to their house and no money (not a qualified prospect), these are legitimate complaints any agent would have about the leads so it definitely would be a very difficult business to be in and have happy customers due to all the issues.