This is the best telemarketing training course on insurance. From 2003 to 2006, I bought shares internet leads and was getting burned out. This was how I was supposed gain business. Cold calling is so “1970” and doesn’t work right?
This is the age of technology, and clients should come to me. There’s one problem with all those sales books and videos from gurus about cold calling and how to drive clients to your company: This is not only for the insurance industry.
Let’s start with the basics. You won’t get enough leads if your website isn’t on Google’s first page for popular search terms.
It’s also not a good idea to start calling 200 people that you know through the “friends and families” plan. It might get you some quick deals. Sure. What then? It is not a long-term strategy for marketing.
There are two real ways to do business.
- Internet leads to purchase
- Cold calling
There are many other options, such as mailings. But that’s another topic. It is worth noting that it will require a large budget. The bidding would begin at $3,000
Telemarketing is a common failure for insurance agents. Simple. They aren’t properly trained. Agents are also given bad advice by agents who have failed.
Incorrect
Correct: I tried telemarketing, but it didn’t work …. for me”
When creating a marketing plan, don’t rely on what other people have said works. One agent is telling you what 800,000 agents are saying.
Fear kept me from diving into telemarketing and internet leads. I didn’t know what I would get. It was not a successful technique, according to my friends from insurance. I also had a family to support me. But I was determined to find a system which worked for me. It is this system.
- Do not manually dial. This technique was not recommended for me. Simply put, I wasn’t getting in touch enough decision-makers. I was calling 40 people per hour, calling for 2 hours per day (which was my emotional maximum), and landing 1 client per week. It was not worth it.
- Use an auto-dialer and not a predictive dialer. I was now dialing 120 numbers an hour. Comparing to manually dialing, I was able to get in touch with three-times as many decision makers per hour than manual dialing. A system that just dials numbers until someone answers has a positive psychological effect.
- Keep it short and direct. Your pitch should take you 15 seconds. Make sure to call as soon as possible. Do not ask them “how they are doing.” It’s disingenuous.
- Give us a reason to contact you. No, you don’t get free quotes if you call. Is there something new in your state New plans? Rates? Rates? This was both truthful and impactful.
“Hi Tom! I am calling to inform you that Maryland has new individual insurance plans that could help you save up to 30%. I would love to send you details about the new rates and plans. I only need your email address. “
This is very brief and direct. Tom may be interested in the new plans, or he might not. You can count on him not being interested and be prepared for that. I called 120 numbers an hour, spoke to 15 decision-makers and generated two to three leads. This is around 18% interest.
Don’t be afraid to present your information as long as you are generating at least two leads an hour. You don’t have to tell people everything to get them interested.
I would send Tom an email if he was interested and ask him for the ages of all the people who were going to be part of the plan. To get a quote, all I had to do was ask for the ages of anyone who would be on it. When he had approximately 15 minutes to review my new rates and plans, I would end the call.
After my call was over, I would email Tom the rates and new plans for three other carriers. It doesn’t get any more complicated than this. One deal was closed per three hours of calls. Let’s break it down a bit more
120 calls an hour
2.5 leads an hour
1 deal for every 3 hours or 360 calls, or 7.5 leads.
Here’s the problem. Agents fail. After generating the lead, it took me two weeks to submit a contract. This means that you should expect to be calling for at least 2 weeks after your telemarketing campaign begins before the business hits underwriting.
This is important because most agents give up telemarketing after five hours. They get a few leads and then stop submitting business. It is important to create a pipeline. You can forget about the initial few hours of calling once you get settled in and comfortable with calling.
