Watching my Assistant Make Cold Calls is Painful

[SirKnight31]

Give him the main points that you'd like to hear but have him come up with his own conversation piece.

He has to be comfortable with what he is saying and believes it, he'll own it at that point.


Then like others have said it just takes time to get used to making all those calls and the rejection that comes with it

 

[smokin goose]

+1 for Sirknight and houcoogster. First of all, he may not want to cold call. If that isn't the case, he needs to believe in what he's doing.

If he doesn't believe the reason for his call is in the best interest of the prospect, forget about it. The best script in the world won't help.

Napoleon Hill said to sell anything to anybody, you first have to sell yourself.

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Yes, adjust your expectations as to the effectiveness of cold calling.

We all know you don't believe in cold calling. That doesn't mean sone people are not having success with it.

 

[xrac]

I believe it is in the book "Insurance Commander" that the author says that the first person to hire is an appointment setter. That is all they do set appointments. They do not do anything else. A CSR would be the second person to add. You may have hired a CSR when what you need worse is an appointment setter.

 

[Josh]

I believe it is in the book "Insurance Commander" that the author says that the first person to hire is an appointment setter. That is all they do set appointments. They do not do anything else. A CSR would be the second person to add. You may have hired a CSR when what you need worse is an appointment setter.

If it's for labor intensive product like P&C, it'd be a killer for a busy agency to not have a CSR.

 

[secondcreek]

I can call the same list and quote 1 out of every 6 people I speak with. I gave him the same script to use. It is not a script problem.

I have used varying amounts of cold-calling for over 5 years. I have done at least a couple of thousands of hours of cold-calling during that time. And, yes, I found it to be profitable for life, LTCi, and personal lines P &C.

My book of business has gotten to the point I can't be the one doing the cold calling. I am spending more of my time continuing to build relationships with my referral sources (mortgage and realtors).

Josh's comment that you can't be a waiter and chef I agree with. But I am not expecting him to be a chef...just a hamburger flipper would do.

There is about a 90-120 minute part of the day where there is not enough service work to keep him busy and this huge amount of people to call, so it seems natural to have him fill his down time with some cold-calling. The objective of his call is to gather enough info for me to do the quote and follow up.

I am going use the idea of having him write his own totally original script.

For those of you who knew Frank I have given him the best piece of advice Frank ever shared with me--"...you gotta make love to the phone." From the look I got I wished Frank was around to explain that to him.

I really appreciate the input/suggestions.

 

[seeknulfind]

Since I, too, struggle with cold calling, I might be the wrong person to chime in here but, I will anyway.

First, why not try recording his calls for a while? Some states are more strict about this than others but even if you only recorded his side of the conversation it may help. (Record a few of yours too for comparison.)

Second, his troubles may rest in the way he sees cold calling. I can relate as I am much stronger in retail - where people come to me, than in outside sales where I go to them. To get around this, you might try an approach that allows him to feel more comfortable i.e. have him call your list simply to introduce your agency, or take a short survey. Something to shift his mindset from "I'm calling to get these people to agree to a quote" to "I'm calling to help people get the great rates and service they deserve."

Another couple of thoughts that occurred to me - why not start with your current customer base? Either survey them to find out what they like best about your agency - you can use this information to build your approach to new customers IF you need them... however once he has them on the line... he could ask for an introduction to other potential clients. (thought number two)

I'm not sure what goals you set for him, but how about just asking him to make a certain number of calls... contacts each day. Have him keep a record of his calls (I'm sure you already do) with detailed notes on each call. Set a goal for each call. You may want to consider getting quotes a secondary goal.

If all else fails, you can forget all of this and simply find someone who excels at cold calling and let your csr continue to shine in his specialty.

Andy

 

[Bertolinoins]

If you can really quote 1 out of every 6 people you speak to, then you numbers are about 300% better than the industry average. My telemarketer averages one lead for approx every 20 contacts, she is very good and so is the list. Your expectations may be part of the problem here.

 

[scagnt83]

Have you tried alcohol? Not you, him.

A very successful agent once told me that I should have a few beers before writing down my top 50 list of prospects to call.

Seriously though, you need to find a way to get him to relax, be confident, and outgoing.

Try talking to him about it one day and find out what he feels is his biggest hurdle when cold calling. Then you can help him find a solution.

 

[tlmarketing]

Was cold calling part of the job responsibilities when you hired him?

There are a lot of great assistants out there who are terrible at cold calling...If you have that much cold calling needed, maybe outsource it, which would then generate more business and keep your assistant busy...

 

[brndn]

I'll chime in here, not sure if I'll be any help but here goes:

I've been producing for almost 3 months. I was recently hired by an agency that has an agent/producer, CSR/producer, and me. During this time, I'd say my hit ratio is about 10%. I follow a script that I can recite at the drop of a hat, and comfortably. Here's the kicker, though: I like it. One thing my agent did was came to me one day with a list of about 15 commercial customers he knew would be great to call due to previous experience. It felt good to get a couple in a row and talk to people that were easy to talk to. Make sure he enjoys it, isn't stressed about it or trying to avoid it, and boost him up a little.