Appointment Process

rizzle

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FL
I've been working on polishing my f2f appointment process to make it more structured. question on inquiring about the budget. I was thinking of writing the budget amounts on the paper and ask them where they are most comfortable.
for those that use that approach do you always use the same numbers or do you vary it based on the prospect category?
JD I know you mentioned you start at the 10k pricing so you must have different numbers for the most part. so is this something you do after you figure what they would qualify for?
thx
 
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I've been working on polishing my f2f appointment process to make it more structured. question on inquiring about the budget. I was thinking of writing the budget amounts on the paper and ask them where they are most comfortable.
for those that use that approach do you always use the same numbers or do you vary it based on the prospect category?
JD I know you mentioned you start at the 10k pricing so you must have different numbers for the most part. so is this something you do after you figure what they would qualify for?
thx

Once I've decided what company they qualify for and I'm ready to make a recommendation I will put down what ever the average funeral cost is in that area, $7000, $7500, $8000, whatever it is. Then I put $10,000 down and then usually $15000. Sometimes I will add a 4th of $25,000.

The only times I do differently is if the average funeral price works out to less than $40/mo. I won't start at less than $40/mo premiums.

Except in the case of younger folks. If $10,000 is less than $40/mo then I will always put down $10,000.
 
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I ask if they want a funeral or cremation.
Once they choose I write 7- 10-15 for funeral
Or 5-7-10 for cremation.
I do like the 40 minimum tho.

Also the five is a bit sketchy because you don't have any room to go down.


The other method is to ask how much they can spend. I recently had a deal where they said they had been thinking about it and they both wanted 10k but had decided not to spend over $200/month.

I wrote 2 policies totaling 195. One was 15k the other 25k

The moral of the story is try not to limit their coverage or over extend their budget.
 
New Agent question,

Should one call a lead and set an appointment knowing it is an elderly or just show up?
 
I've been working on polishing my f2f appointment process to make it more structured. question on inquiring about the budget. I was thinking of writing the budget amounts on the paper and ask them where they are most comfortable.
for those that use that approach do you always use the same numbers or do you vary it based on the prospect category?
JD I know you mentioned you start at the 10k pricing so you must have different numbers for the most part. so is this something you do after you figure what they would qualify for?
thx

I vary my numbers based on the demographic of the prospect. I'll typically provide three pricing bands, showing the prospect a low range that covers cremation/basic funeral expenses, a medium range to cover a full funeral, and a larger amount for those who wish to leave something behind after funeral costs. For older folks, those ranges will be tight (like a $2k-5k policy face for the low and $6k-9k for the middle, then $10k+ for the top end), while people in their 50s will get a wider range up to around $40k-50k depending on your carriers. They'll give pretty quick feedback on what range seems comfortable, and when they pick one, I zero in on the premiums THEY choose.

There are plenty of situations where you really don't want/need to go under $10k... a 55F could get $10k for 20-something bucks a month. No reason to give an opening price less than that.

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New Agent question,

Should one call a lead and set an appointment knowing it is an elderly or just show up?

Just one man's opinion, but...
Best practice: Give them a call and see if they'll set an appointment, and if they blow you off, just show up later. There's a good chance they forget the phone call.
 
I've been working on polishing my f2f appointment process to make it more structured. question on inquiring about the budget. I was thinking of writing the budget amounts on the paper and ask them where they are most comfortable. for those that use that approach do you always use the same numbers or do you vary it based on the prospect category?

A strategy that seems most comfortable and effective for the clients is to draw out from them the amount they are comfortable spending.

Travis Tubbs and Tim Winders have been using and teaching this for some time. Example for a couple:

"If I could design a plan for you , that you qualify for, would $200 a month be reasonable and comfortable for you in your budget?"

Oh my, no we could never do that....

"That's ok, Ms Jones, this is not going to cost you $200 a month.

But if I could design a plan for you that was say $175 or &150 a month, would that be reasonable and comfortable in your budget?"

Generally by the second or third suggestion they will either pick one or tell you what is comfortable for them. Then when they say or commit to a number, confirm it with them:

"Well that's good, Mrs.Jones, we can work with that. So, $75 a month is reasonable and comfortable for you?" At that point I will write that amount down on the page I'm going to lay out the quote on.

JD calls this a "money presentation". What I like about this is that they take the money objection off of the table for us.

If they later say, "well $75 a month is too much", the response of " that's ok, would it be better for you to start at $35 a month and maybe add to it in a year or two?"

If they say, what I really wanted was $25,000 to leave some to my kids..., you can easily reference the budget they have given you and then tell them that they could get the $25,000 program for $225 a month - would that be comfortable for you? Generally, but not always, they will go back to the lower amount and the business will stay on the books.

Sent from my iPhone
 
While I don't doubt this method will work from time to time, it is not something I would want to use very often. This is why.


If I start a guy out at $200 per month and then end up lowering the amount $25 to $30 per month, until I eventually get down to $35.00 a month. How many drops does it take before the average FE client will realize what your trying to do. Your trying to milk them for all you can.


This sales approach is just about the same as the " bounce them off the ceiling approach" or the "up to but no more than" sales approach F&I managers are taught to use when the client throws out a monthly figure they can afford. Yes, this approach works quite well in the car business, but FE isn't the car business.


In the car business once the taillights have hit the curb it is a done deal. In FE all they have to do is stop making payments and your looking at a big chargeback. It is easy to coax the typical FE buyer to agree to pay much more than they can afford. It is just as easy and probably easier for them to come out of the ether and cancel the transaction all together, a month or two after you leave the home.


I hear and see the numbers that some agents are able to turn using this approach and I have even tried it from time to time. Very rarely will a client volunteer, to what they are able to afford. The vast majority of the time for me they want to have some kind of idea what it is going to cost.


My main focus is by using the approach that "people buy from those they like". Once the client figures out your using the "bounce them off the ceiling approach", I find they tend to like me less.
 
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While I don't doubt this method will work from time to time, it is not something I would want to use very often. This is why.


If I start a guy out at $200 per month and then end up lowering the amount $25 to $30 per month, until I eventually get down to $35.00 a month. How many drops does it take before the average FE client will realize what your trying to do. Your trying to milk them for all you can.


This sales approach is just about the same as the " bounce them off the ceiling approach" or the "up to but no more than" sales approach F&I managers are taught to use when the client throws out a monthly figure they can afford. Yes, this approach works quite well in the car business, but FE isn't the car business.


In the car business once the taillights have hit the curb it is a done deal. In FE all they have to do is stop making payments and your looking at a big chargeback. It is easy to coax the typical FE buyer to agree to pay much more than they can afford. It is just as easy and probably easier for them to come out of the ether and cancel the transaction all together, a month or two after you leave the home.


I hear and see the numbers that some agents are able to turn using this approach and I have even tried it from time to time. Very rarely will a client volunteer, to what they are able to afford. The vast majority of the time for me they want to have some kind of idea what it is going to cost.


My main focus is by using the approach that "people buy from those they like". Once the client figures out your using the "bounce them off the ceiling approach", I find they tend to like me less.


I agree with you and that why I don't use that method. It just doesn't fit me, my personality or my style.

But, having said that, you can't argue with the success that agents like Tim W and travis using this method. Still, Tim has taught many agents how to do that and none have his kind of success. Part of that is work ethic though. I've never met an agent that works as hard as Tim W. I know a guy in Ga, Andrew Fike, that comes close to working like Tim but still not hours that Tim puts in.

I do believe it's an easier way to sell. Once that person has given you a figure then all you have to do is fit it.
 
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