Dealing with Let Downs

[Baconfat]

Where do I begin?

I like to think I have an attractive and easy going personality. I know I'm easy to get along with. I became fully licensed in December of 2011 and am being mentored at an Indy firm. I spend a lot of time researching and learning products, strategies, etc. I do not have a finance back ground but have a bachelors in science so I know I have a lot to learn in this field. Previous job was high end sales in a luxury business.

Now my mentor and I have sent out one set of 5000 mailers for one on one dinner meetings which resulted in 10 responses. Of those 10, 6 canceled and I sat down with 4. Of those four only one has actually set a follow up appointment, actually 2 follow up appointments which I will get to in a moment. This particular prospect brought her statements and to my pleasure and after thorough suitability wanted the guarantees of a variable annuity and gmwb rider/death benefit. She has over a million sitting in cds, savings, checking, stocks and iras. Only problem was after the second follow up she seemed less motivated. She wouldn't give me the cost basis on current investments that she wanted to rollover. She wouldn't provide any info other than name, address, and phone number. Well this morning I got the call that she wanted to cancel her appointment cause she "has too much else going on right now.". WTF?!? $200 dollar dinner, 2 follow up meeting, many hours spent prepping apps, cost basis, etc. Rearranged prior appointments with what I thought were less motivated prospects cause this woman didn't want to wait for our normal 2-3 week out scheduling.

I know this business has high highs and low lows, but how do you all deal with letting 30k in commissions slip through your fingers. I think if i wasnt starving and had steady referrals and income coming in this pill would be easier to swallow. I'm determined to do well in this business but this was the straw that broke my back. I have had several prospects cancel on me last minute in the past couple months, but this was a really big straw. Any advice, pick me up type advice will be greatly appreciated. Criticisms will be accepted to....

 

[Josh]

It sounds like you're whale hunting which is great, but it's also important to build up a steady supply of fish so you don't starve between feasts. I think a 5k piece mailer with an incentive (free food) might have been a bit of an overzealous start, mostly because that type of a model can be finicky. I think it's interesting that you were closing to individual dinners vs group presentations, but that might have also been a part of your undoing.

If you stick it out you'll probably find yourself saying something along the lines of "if I'd have known then what I know now I wouldn't have lost some of those appointments/sales". Part of it is just the learning curve, but it seems that you've chosen an awfully expensive way to work that learning curve.

What other marketing methods are you looking at and/or using? Is there a reason to use the one on one dinners vs a seminar?

 

[Baconfat]

It's what was recommended to me by other reps at my firm. I didn't pay for the mailer, but dinner was on me. I'm not whale hunting, I'm throwing sticks of dynamite and seeing what floats to the top. I'm not picking and choosing. I'll take anything even if just for the learning experience, that one just happened to fall in my lap and I can't help but think I blew it, even if I didn't. I want to cold call, I haven't been given an approved script. I'm up for anything and getting some bites, just can't set the hook.

 

[LGilmore]

The thing is, try not to think of commissions till long after you've received them. Even then chargebacks can kill you. While it's hard to do, focus on the situation rather than the pay out. If you're counting percentage payouts, it kind of creates a vibe the customer can pick up on.

 

[Josh]

You had me at "I didn't pay for the mailer".

I think that model lends itself towards whale hunting. Is that what the other reps are doing or just something they think is a good idea?

There is a good chance that you could have done something to prevent that one spitting the hook, but that doesn't necessarily mean you did something wrong. Do you know why you're having your clients bail on the appointments?

A few thoughts in no particular order, perhaps only worth what you've paid for them:
-If folks are blowing you off ("I'm too busy"), it means they don't feel the urgency. We all have time every day to do whatever we want. We have 24 hours every day of the year to spend however we feel. You're trying to trump that with a "free meal", but the reality is everyone knows there is no such thing as a free meal. Even if you can get them to bite, that may be more of a reflection of their curiosity than their desire to do anything.
-You may want to find a more cost effective way of getting used to talking to people and building urgency. Even if you try the cliche "project 200", it's a great way to get on the phone and start interacting with people in a different way than you're used to. May not result in any sales and you don't want to become "that guy", but it can be a more "safe" environment to start talking to people.
-An immediate flag to me is why you would bother having a second meeting with someone if they weren't ready to fill out the paperwork on the spot. The majority of the time I'm selling it's a one call close, or they need to get documents/checkbook/etc. I did an annuity last year that involved three appointments because TIAA-CREF has an interesting philosophy on when a client can withdraw their rollover money, but that was certainly the exception.

 

[Baconfat]

Gilmore, you got me there. I had visions of dollars signs in my head right off the bat. I will work on that. With that said I can honestly say I performed due diligence and am trying to build an honest reputation, not chasing commissions.

Josh, I'm not sure why clients are cancelling. All the reps at my firm started this way and now work on referrals. I certainly appreciate your input. I set up the second follow up for two reasons. First, I wasnt quite sure they understood the ins and outs of a VA so I wanted to make sure they did. Secondly I couldn't get her to get me an accurate cost basis on her current investments and didn't want her to get hit with a butt load of taxes and sue me next year cause I didn't perform due diligence. Here is what I have been doing so far. Set a dinner appointment. Introduce myself and give some background of me and the firm. Discuss some concerns, questions, and possible solutions. Leave dinner on a positive note and tell them to expect a call for a follow meeting to discuss things in more depth. Ideally get apps signed or accounts rolled over on the second follow up meeting.

This particular prospect played "urgent, can't wait two weeks" but then didn't supply me with stuff I need to do my job to my best ability. Other prospects seemingly enjoy my company and were seemingly interested in what i had to say, but I guess I need to make urgency a bigger part of my presentation. It's hard to make urgency important when we are having triple digit swings in the market though. I don't know....I have some things to think about now

 

[pcbinsurance]

"This particular prospect brought her statements and to my pleasure and after thorough suitability wanted the guarantees of a variable annuity....."
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Uh, you lost me at "guarantees of a variable annuity".

 

[Bertolinoins]

I am on the P&C side of the business but the key is to have so many deals going that you don't have to dwell on any one deal. Prospects can smell desperation no matter how well you think you are masking it. The best producer I ever worked with was very blunt and he would tell a prospect "I am very busy and I don't have the capacity to help everyone and I don't need practice quoting on business, if you really want my help I will take you on as one of the two new accounts I am able to take on for the 10/1 renewal, do you want my help or not?". He worked on very large workers comp accounts generating $500k+ in annual premium and he was very, very good. He took on two accounts every quarter with that same approach and wrote at least $250k in new business commission every year while managing a BOB worth $2m+ in annual commission. I learned a lot from his unapologetic and straitforward style. He had a decent personality but he couldn't care less what anybody thought of him or if he turned off a client or prospect because he always had plenty of irons in the fire. People responded to him because he was so different from the other agents that kissed butt and begged for business.

 

[Baconfat]

Pcbinsurance, Why do you say that? I don't want this to turn into VA pissing match. It was the client's suggestion. It was what she led me to believe she wanted to invest in. I said in previous posts that I wanted to make sure she understood everything about it; the variable nature of the sub accounts, the GUARANTEED income for life, the fact that her initial invest investment is GUARANTEED to at least double if held without withdrawals for 10 years, the GUARANTEED death benefit. Advice and criticisms are greatly appreciated, snooty off topic comments are not.
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Bertolinoins, I can appreciate that style but the fact is i do not have clients lined up to see me. I could always bluff that but I suck at poker. My mentor is like that and suppose it could grow on me

 

[ineedhelp]

For a different perspective on these things, might i suggest you go to: Steve Lewit.com and read his materials. It just might be that his system will save you a lot of heartache.

I'm not affiliated with him in any way, but I wish I had known of him a long time ago.