Voicemail Appointments

[AnthonyDiMarzio]

Has anybody tried just booking appointments via voicemail? I purchase leads (some new, some older) on a regular basis, and in addition to some door knocks I'm considering leaving messages with an appointment time. Basically, "I received your request and I'll be out in your area tomorrow. I'll be by between 5 and 7pm. If that time isn't ideal for you, please call me and we'll find a better time."

Thoughts?

 

[moonlightandmargaritas]

When you show up for the "appointment", you're gonna find a lot of people not home...

 

[AnthonyDiMarzio]

Thanks for the feedback. Just trying to come up with some ideas. I am way better in front of people than I am on the phone. I'm willing to continue working on my phone approach, but I need to eat in the meantime. Is door knocking with no call at all a better idea, or is the whole thing a waste and I should just continue struggling through the phone work?

 

[1963]

Do both, but with a more structured approach. moonlight is dead on; lots of no shows waiting on you through voicemail approach. My advice would be to set 4 or 5 appointments per day. Make them the kind that occur when you actually spoke with someone who is a prospect, and there is no law that says they have to be phone calls; any contact you have an opportunity to speak to may become an appointment. Allow enough time between them so that you can t-canvass each area where you have an appointment. By doing this, you can build your referral pipeline and have enough prospects to keep you in the game. By setting up your day in this manner, you can easily achieve enough activity to generate 15-25 contacts per day(wide range due to some days yielding more sales than others; usually not as many contacts on those days). You can pick up contacts in many settings; in the grocery store, at the gas station, at sporting events, casual conversations anywhere, at church. Even with all that, there is one thing I think would help you in a major way; you need to develop centers of influence. Think of someone who has a huge impact in your community that you may know. Establish a rapport with them, and get involved with them in community events. Yours will become a familiar face, and your opportunities will increase. Hope this helps! Good luck!

 

[goillini52]

Thanks for the feedback. Just trying to come up with some ideas. I am way better in front of people than I am on the phone. I'm willing to continue working on my phone approach, but I need to eat in the meantime. Is door knocking with no call at all a better idea, or is the whole thing a waste and I should just continue struggling through the phone work?

I agree with M&M. You're giving them a warning to not be there. If you set the appointment with a phone call, at least they committed to it. Even then you'll have no shows.

If you're not good on the phone, it would be a good idea to still spend a little time practicing, but in the mean time it would be way better to just show up and door knock rather than do the voicemail thingy.

There are several on here that door knock. I prefer knocking over calling...but the more you call, the better you'll get at it.

 

[AnthonyDiMarzio]

Thanks once again for the advice. I searched the forums for the idea of setting voicemail appointments and couldn't find anything. I suppose now I understand why. I'm certainly willing to try some door knocking as well. I'm actually on crutches with a broken leg at the moment, so maybe I'll receive some pity...

I'd imagine most door knocking is done during daylight hours, yes? Most of what I'm dong is mortgage protection, so many of those folks work during the day and aren't home until evening. Any thoughts on that?

 

[1963]

Besides mortgage protection, what other products do you have available to you?

 

[AnthonyDiMarzio]

Term, whole life, UL, annuities. A reasonable arsenal. The leads are all mortgage protection, though.

 

[goillini52]

Thanks once again for the advice. I searched the forums for the idea of setting voicemail appointments and couldn't find anything. I suppose now I understand why. I'm certainly willing to try some door knocking as well. I'm actually on crutches with a broken leg at the moment, so maybe I'll receive some pity...

I'd imagine most door knocking is done during daylight hours, yes? Most of what I'm dong is mortgage protection, so many of those folks work during the day and aren't home until evening. Any thoughts on that?

Sorry about the broken leg...I can feel your pain, I had both in casts at the same time.

I knocked some doors after dark back in the 70's, but times have changed and I would recommend that you don't! Times have changed and you might get shot.

The crutches are temporary. This might be a good time to get practice on the phone. Good luck!

 

[1963]

Okay. You have a common situation - leads you obtained do not necessarily match the bulk of your portfolio. There are several ways to approach the situation; each of them must be flexible to yield positive results.
My approach would be to call during the week to set two appointments from those leads for Saturday mornings; I would not call before 6 or after 8p.m., since this seems to be the time you might catch most of the leads at home. Also, I do not set an appointment before 10 or after noon on Saturdays; this is a leisure day for most families. During the day I would work the phones for an hour each day M-F; I would call some of those leads during the day. I would then spend 2-3 hours cold calling and T-canvassing a specific area (different from the prior day). My goal has always been to contact 15-20 people each day; if you make the contacts, you WILL close some sales! Work those contacts to determine what product(s) best apply to the prospect; don't lock in on a product BEFORE you learn what their need is. During the day, you will find you have 2-3 hours of what I call "flex time"; this is time that can be used to: handle tasks that need to be addressed; prospecting; cold calling, calling on centers of influence, etc. The main point: DO NOT GET CAUGHT DOING NOTHING!!! Also, you can label the lead or the coverage what you may; the same product that offers mortgage protection offers final expense coverage, senior coverage, children's coverage, and many other coverages. We all know it as LIFE insurance; as an agent, use it to solve whatever problem the client has! Good luck, and I hope this helps!