What do you say...?

Life Hawk

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To all the old timers and new timers... "What do you say when you first introduce yourself to the prospect for the first time?" Not looking for the whole canned speech, but when meeting your prospect at the door for the first time (both cold knocking and knocking a lead be it DM or other) what are the first few sentences that you use? (Assuming no prior conversation.)

Think of this as a ride along and I will become your student. :GEEK:
 
Cold knocking, usually house next door, I don't have a canned speech. But I always start by handing them a business card, saying my name, then "I'm the neighborhood agent for (company name)." Then go from there depending on what I want to accomplish and their response. I sometimes give them something like a calendar or other giveaway with my contact info imprinted.

At some point in the door conversation, I often ask, "So who do you have your life insurance with?"
1) If they answer "I don't have any", I say, "Good thing I stopped by, then! I'll be back in the neighborhood on Tuesday. Would that be a good day for us to talk about it?"
2) If they answer, "I have it with (company)", I ask, "When is the last time you reviewed your coverage? I'll be back in the neighborhood....etc."
3) If they say, "I've already got plenty" or "not interested", I let them go. I say, "Well, keep my card. If you know anybody that needs to talk to me, please let me know."
 
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*My method is tailored for CA. Might be too in your face if you live in a state where people are nice*

Hi ~First name~ I'm Mike & I'm swinging by because you had filled out a request in the mail (hold up card) to get some more information on the state-regulated program to pay for the funeral expenses?? (Without pausing) And you put down your age as 71 is that right?? Okay, great. Now ~First name~, what my job is to do is to see which program you'd qualify for & I do need to see you for about 5 minutes.

Should I take my shoes off right here? (Take a step forward & lean in while saying this last sentence. Most people will naturally say "no" and move into "open" body language).
 
To all the old timers and new timers... "What do you say when you first introduce yourself to the prospect for the first time?" Not looking for the whole canned speech, but when meeting your prospect at the door for the first time (both cold knocking and knocking a lead be it DM or other) what are the first few sentences that you use? (Assuming no prior conversation.)

Think of this as a ride along and I will become your student. :GEEK:

After I knock, I always take a step back so they don't feel crowded. I just say hello(if it's cold knocking a targeted data list I say their name), introduce myself and tell them why I'm there. The important thing is to get a conversation going, then you find out if they have a need. If not you might be able to pivot to another product. I lead with Med Supp, and often pivot to FE or Dental.

Cold door knocking teaches you to think on your feet, which down the road, helps you on the phone.

I always go for the appointment NOW while I'm there and they're interested. I don't get these guys that try to set an appointment for later. If there's a reasonn why they can't talk now, I'll set an appointment for later.

Don't forget to smile. :)
 
*My method is tailored for CA. Might be too in your face if you live in a state where people are nice*

Hi ~First name~ I'm Mike & I'm swinging by because you had filled out a request in the mail (hold up card) to get some more information on the state-regulated program to pay for the funeral expenses?? (Without pausing) And you put down your age as 71 is that right?? Okay, great. Now ~First name~, what my job is to do is to see which program you'd qualify for & I do need to see you for about 5 minutes.

Should I take my shoes off right here? (Take a step forward & lean in while saying this last sentence. Most people will naturally say "no" and move into "open" body language).


I don't like to say "you filled this out". How many times does that get followed up with "I DIDN'T FILL THAT OUT!" and next thing you know you are halfway arguing over who sent the card in which is irrelevant to me at the door, I just want to get in.

New agents definitely need to take "YOU" out of their vocab.
 
Cold knocking, usually house next door, I don't have a canned speech. But I always start by handing them a business card, saying my name, then "I'm the neighborhood agent for (company name)." Then go from there depending on what I want to accomplish and their response. I sometimes give them something like a calendar or other giveaway with my contact info imprinted.

At some point in the door conversation, I often ask, "So who do you have your life insurance with?"
1) If they answer "I don't have any", I say, "Good thing I stopped by, then! I'll be back in the neighborhood on Tuesday. Would that be a good day for us to talk about it?"
2) If they answer, "I have it with (company)", I ask, "When is the last time you reviewed your coverage? I'll be back in the neighborhood....etc."
3) If they say, "I've already got plenty" or "not interested", I let them go. I say, "Well, keep my card. If you know anybody that needs to talk to me, please let me know."


serious question with no malintent, how many policies do you write a week doing this?
 
I don't like to say "you filled this out". How many times does that get followed up with "I DIDN'T FILL THAT OUT!" and next thing you know you are halfway arguing over who sent the card in which is irrelevant to me at the door, I just want to get in.

New agents definitely need to take "YOU" out of their vocab.
You are going to ruin your reputation if you keep posting posts that have value.. :yes:...
 
serious question with no malintent, how many policies do you write a week doing this?
First of all, a big part of my FE activity is Home Service. (So here's my *). About half of my income comes from servicing the block of business that I've built over several years. So, not that many sales per week with this method, but I don't do it that much either. I'm not as dependent on new sales as others might be. However, I was just at my client's house and went next door to talk to the man in the front yard. He said, "We need some life insurance, but my wife's at work right now. Can you come back later?" "Yes, I can!"

I started and built my agency with leads, but I rarely need them any more. So I cold knock when I've got a little time. In the right neighborhood, cold knocking still works. And if I'm there already, might as well try for a "twofer"!

I'd estimate that for every eight or ten answered door knocks, I'll end up selling a couple of them. Back in the day before DM leads, I taught agents a method based on "5-5-5". Knock on 5 doors to get one prospect. 5 prospects will get one $5 weekly premium sale (About the equivalent of $45 monthly in today's dollars). A little tougher now catching people at home, so you might have to knock a few more doors to make it work.
 
First of all, a big part of my FE activity is Home Service. (So here's my *). About half of my income comes from servicing the block of business that I've built over several years. So, not that many sales per week with this method, but I don't do it that much either. I'm not as dependent on new sales as others might be. However, I was just at my client's house and went next door to talk to the man in the front yard. He said, "We need some life insurance, but my wife's at work right now. Can you come back later?" "Yes, I can!"

I started and built my agency with leads, but I rarely need them any more. So I cold knock when I've got a little time. In the right neighborhood, cold knocking still works. And if I'm there already, might as well try for a "twofer"!

I'd estimate that for every eight or ten answered door knocks, I'll end up selling a couple of them. Back in the day before DM leads, I taught agents a method based on "5-5-5". Knock on 5 doors to get one prospect. 5 prospects will get one $5 weekly premium sale (About the equivalent of $45 monthly in today's dollars). A little tougher now catching people at home, so you might have to knock a few more doors to make it work.
Ours was 40/15/5.. 40 calls will result in 15 interviews which will result in 5 sales..
 
Ours was 40/15/5.. 40 calls will result in 15 interviews which will result in 5 sales..
We must have been in a tougher area! Actually, other managers were teaching that 40/15/5 formula. I just found agents would actually do it more based on the simple "5" formula. I guess because it was a smaller, easier to reach goal.
 
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