Will These Numbers Work in FE

[jdeasy]

I thought you meant actual appointments not all leads received. I was just trying to do some quick math in my head and trying to figure out what was going on. Seemed like if you weren't "really really good" you were SOL.

I don't see how you guys run so many appointments in a day. I was on an appointment today and was there for 2 hours. Last week I was on one for almost 3 hours. I need to speed it up. I tend to talk too much.

My goal is to run 6 in a day. I schedule an hour and a half apart. Sometimes they take more than an hour an a half when it's a couple and you have to do 2 POS interviews. If it does I'm just late for the next one. I had a day recently where I was so behind by the last one that I called them and postphoned. But, you can be running behind and then have a no show and you are back on track. I usually go to my next one early if I have a no show.Dealing with seniors they are usually there. Never had an issue with anyone for being early.

There are some agents that scedule on the hour. I don't see how they do it.

 

[0b1kanobee]

There are some agents that scedule on the hour. I don't see how they do it.

They probably don't.............either running early or late most of the time. LOL

Maybe take a lesson from the cable company.........."we'll be there between 9 AM and NOON."

 

[jdeasy]

They probably don't.............either running early or late most of the time. LOL

Maybe take a lesson from the cable company.........."we'll be there between 9 AM and NOON."

Yeah, that always pisses me off. I just told the cable company that I can't work that, tell people I will be there in a four hour window.

It would work for us if people felt they needed insurance as much as they need their cable.

 

[nfl72]

Posted by Reardon,

"Like I said, I'm moving away from focusing too much on numbers.

I close around 30%.

I focus on making sure I maximize my gross for each lead, and close the leads that should be closed. Bottom line is I don't want to leave money on the table after closing a deal.

Had a guy who just had purchased $160-a-month worth of FE insurance 3 weeks before I came a-knocking. He bought another $60-a-month from me".

"The guy who was in prior to me should have closed the whale a little higher. I don't want to be that guy -- I want all that I can get while still being able to keep them on the books."



I know where your coming from but not sure I agree 100%. This aint the car business. The deal isnt a done deal when the car hits the curb or you see tail lights. These people only have to come out of the either and stop paying and your screwed.

Most of the leads I work are not that bright and they can be manipulated to spend way more than they can afford. If you do that on a consitant basis you can set yourself up for high chargebacks. There is a fine line when it comes to pushing too hard.

Also I am thinking why didnt you rewrite the whole thing if it was a new policy for $160 a month? Its much easier for his beneficiary to only have one policy to deal with rather than 2. It's half the paperwork. Thats how you maximize your profit.

It appears as if you may have left about $1,500.00 on that table.

 

[jdeasy]

Posted by Reardon,

"Like I said, I'm moving away from focusing too much on numbers.

I close around 30%.

I focus on making sure I maximize my gross for each lead, and close the leads that should be closed. Bottom line is I don't want to leave money on the table after closing a deal.

Had a guy who just had purchased $160-a-month worth of FE insurance 3 weeks before I came a-knocking. He bought another $60-a-month from me".

"The guy who was in prior to me should have closed the whale a little higher. I don't want to be that guy -- I want all that I can get while still being able to keep them on the books."



I know where your coming from but not sure I agree 100%. This aint the car business. The deal isnt a done deal when the car hits the curb or you see tail lights. These people only have to come out of the either and stop paying and your screwed.

Most of the leads I work are not that bright and they can be manipulated to spend way more than they can afford. If you do that on a consitant basis you can set yourself up for high chargebacks. There is a fine line when it comes to pushing too hard.

Also I am thinking why didnt you rewrite the whole thing if it was a new policy for $160 a month? Its much easier for his beneficiary to only have one policy to deal with rather than 2. It's half the paperwork. Thats how you maximize your profit.

It appears as if you may have left about $1,500.00 on that table.

It's easy to judge in hindsight. Eash situation is different. I might have went for the whole thing or I might have done exactly what he did. Or, I might have done less.

I recently followed a Columbian Life agent that had written an $80/mo. on a lady for a $17,000 face. At first I was looking at an easy $80/mo sale to replace it with more coverage. As we discussed it further she was "sold up" and resented it. She didn't need the $17,000 and certainly couldn't afford it. She was looking to drop the whole thing. I replaced it with a $40/mo.. She still has it. I said recently, it was about 6 months ago.

Now, some might look at it after the fact and say I left money on the table. You never know unless you are there. It's hard to exaplin that stuff on a message board.

 

[0b1kanobee]

Also I am thinking why didnt you rewrite the whole thing if it was a new policy for $160 a month?

Sometimes it is better to have two policies VS. one big one because if money gets tight. at least they might be able to hang onto one of them. In this case, if this whale decides no to be a whale anymore or whatever, he just may cancel the bigger policy if money gets tight.

I know when we write a ROP annuity, sometimes write two of them and divide it up. Had a recent case where an agent friend of mine wrote a close 500k ROP annuity a little over a year ago and client exercised ROP and he was charged back over 20k. If he would of split it up, that might have been avoided in that particular case.

 

[Frank Stastny]

Most of the leads I work are not that bright and they can be manipulated to spend way more than they can afford. If you do that on a consitant basis you can set yourself up for high chargebacks. There is a fine line when it comes to pushing too hard.

That is so true! I know from personal experience.

I discovered that I was "too good" at getting them excited about a benefit amount that was, not more than they needed, but more than would comfortably fit in their budget.

I'm sure I take a much different approach than most agents. I'm not nearly as concerned about "leaving money on the table" as I am showing them a premium amount that they can afford. I'm much more concerned about them having buyers remorse and cancelling the next month.

I always start with a low premium amount and then increase it. Yes, I know all of the arguments and reasons for starting high and then coming down until you find a premium they like. I don't sell FE that way.

Once they say "no" to the higher amount they develop a negative mind set and sometimes it is almost impossible to get them to change. I help them choose an amount they can afford, not try to sell them based on the amount of commission I want to make.

I will try to start at a premium amount that I think they can afford, show them the face value, if they don't baulk at that amount then it is very smooth to say, "for an extra $10 (possibly $15 or $20) per month you could have a benefit of $XXX, do you think an extra $10 per month would fit in your budget?".

If they say yes I write the app for that amount, if they say no then I begin writing the app for the original amount that I showed them.

When I started going from low to high and asking the "will that fit in your budget" questions my persistency increased dramatically. I'm sure I may have "left money on the table" in some instances but I would rather do that than get eaten alive by charge backs.

 

[nfl72]

If the guy has $160 and wants another $60 you can be an order taker and write the $60 or be a salesman and go for the whole enchilada. There is a huge difference in that payday. I have to believe most salesmen would agree and think it would be worth the risk.

If a guy wants a $50 and you bump him to a $60 the difference isnt nearly that great. Is it enough to go for the bump, especially if it puts him out of his comfort zone? Who knows. Sometimes some is better than none.

Its like in the mortgage business. If a guy comes to you and has a $125,000 first mortgage and wants a $50,000 2nd mortgage you can be a clerk and write the 2nd and make a little or convert him to a bigger first and make a lot. Nobody gets rich writing 2nds in the mortgage business and the sooner the loan officer learns that the better off he will be.

.

 

[jdeasy]

That is so true! I know from personal experience.

I discovered that I was "too good" at getting them excited about a benefit amount that was, not more than they needed, but more than would comfortably fit in their budget.

I'm sure I take a much different approach than most agents. I'm not nearly as concerned about "leaving money on the table" as I am showing them a premium amount that they can afford. I'm much more concerned about them having buyers remorse and cancelling the next month.

I always start with a low premium amount and then increase it. Yes, I know all of the arguments and reasons for starting high and then coming down until you find a premium they like. I don't sell FE that way.

Once they say "no" to the higher amount they develop a negative mind set and sometimes it is almost impossible to get them to change. I help them choose an amount they can afford, not try to sell them based on the amount of commission I want to make.

I will try to start at a premium amount that I think they can afford, show them the face value, if they don't baulk at that amount then it is very smooth to say, "for an extra $10 (possibly $15 or $20) per month you could have a benefit of , do you think an extra $10 per month would fit in your budget?".

If they say yes I write the app for that amount, if they say no then I begin writing the app for the original amount that I showed them.

When I started going from low to high and asking the "will that fit in your budget" questions my persistency increased dramatically. I'm sure I may have "left money on the table" in some instances but I would rather do that than get eaten alive by charge backs.

I agree. You and I have talked and it does seem that we do things in a similar fashion even though we market different products.

That's why I said earlier that this premium manner of selling FE that become quite the rage is not for me. There are agents having wild success with it, but it just doesn't fit my style.

As part of my presentation I tell them it's better to start small and add to it later than to call me in 4 months and ask if I can stop the draft because they can't afford it.

To each his own in this business. I wouldn't ever call the premium selling thing wrong. It just doesn't fit everyone. I'm one that it doesn't.

 

[0b1kanobee]

Its like in the mortgage business. If a guy comes to you and has a $125,000 first mortgage and wants a $50,000 2nd mortgage you can be a clerk and write the 2nd and make a little or convert him to a bigger first and make a lot. Nobody gets rich writing 2nds in the mortgage business and the sooner the loan officer learns that the better off he will be.

Yeah but in the mortgage business, they don't come back and cancel on you. Something about pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered.