Med supp leads

[Winter_123]

Most lead sources are a crock but has anyone had any luck with med supp leads such as in this link or some other source?

Medicare Advantage Leads and Medicare Supplement Leads


Winter

 

[GreenSky]

I see one big problem with their pre-set appointments. Once you get one, you have paid for it. Apparently unless the prospect dies, you can't get a replacement.

REPLACEMENT POLICY

You understand and agree TELEMARKETING 21will not replace the following appointments:

Agent call ahead and lead changes their mind.

Leads that miss the appointment or is not at home at the scheduled time.

Pre-screened leads have a current insurance plan in place. (T21’s Appointment Setter’s pre-screen each lead; however we cannot guarantee if the information provided by the lead is accurate.)

Leads changed their mind at the door.

Leads advise you they were under the impression that you were coming from the Medicare office or Social Security office, etc. (This is not a major concern; however our elderly client hears the word “Medicare” often during the phone presentation.)

If a "bad" appointment with a detailed description has been forwarded to T21’s Quality Control for review after 24 hours of the agent running the appointment.

Rick

 

[Frank Stastny]

I see one big problem with their pre-set appointments. Once you get one, you have paid for it. Apparently unless the prospect dies, you can't get a replacement.

REPLACEMENT POLICY

You understand and agree TELEMARKETING 21will not replace the following appointments:

Agent call ahead and lead changes their mind.

Leads that miss the appointment or is not at home at the scheduled time.

Pre-screened leads have a current insurance plan in place. (T21’s Appointment Setter’s pre-screen each lead; however we cannot guarantee if the information provided by the lead is accurate.)

Leads changed their mind at the door.

Leads advise you they were under the impression that you were coming from the Medicare office or Social Security office, etc. (This is not a major concern; however our elderly client hears the word “Medicare” often during the phone presentation.)

If a "bad" appointment with a detailed description has been forwarded to T21’s Quality Control for review after 24 hours of the agent running the appointment.

Rick

I have a secret, little known system currently available to only a select group of financially successful agents that will guarantee that every lead will result in an appointment. This is the basic entry level system.

The only thing the basic system does not guarantee is that a sale will result from the appointment. However, if the advanced system is utilized over 75%% of appointments will result in a signed application.

If anyone is interested in learning more please indicate your level of interest, basic or advanced, by posting in this thread. Also state your approximate monthly budget for procuring leads.

 

[Winter_123]

I have a secret, little known system currently available to only a select group of financially successful agents that will guarantee that every lead will result in an appointment. This is the basic entry level system.

The only thing the basic system does not guarantee is that a sale will result from the appointment. However, if the advanced system is utilized over 75%% of appointments will result in a signed application.

If anyone is interested in learning more please indicate your level of interest, basic or advanced, by posting in this thread. Also state your approximate monthly budget for procuring leads.

I am highly interested of couse. Obviously, since I started the thread. I am not involved yet in leads for med supp but but lets say $1000 a month on leads.

Winter

 

[Alston]

I'm about to start selling Medicare Supplement leads directly to agents ($4.50 per exclusive lead, PM me if interested) and have been very curious about the market. I've been selling them to other companies who resell them to agents and get less than half the price I get for a pre-65 health lead.

I don't see Medigap leads sold by a lot of other lead generation companies and haven't been able to figure out why. Are they inherently lower quality when compared to leads for auto, life or pre-65 health?

I don't work this market (as an agent) currently but in the mid-nineties did well in this market. Also I know that a lot of agents use Medigap leads to sell larger commission products like LTC and Annuities.

I'd love some feedback about the problems with these leads, especially those problems that are worse with Medigap leads when compared to leads for other lines of insurance.

 

[6Sicks]

Winter
I used Telemarketing 21 for 1 week of pre-sets. They were terrible - didn't know I was coming, thought I was from medicare or state worker, were told it had nothing to do with insurance, didn't qualify, etc. Complete waste of money. You would get a warmer response going door to door.

 

[Winter_123]

Winter
I used Telemarketing 21 for 1 week of pre-sets. They were terrible - didn't know I was coming, thought I was from medicare or state worker, were told it had nothing to do with insurance, didn't qualify, etc. Complete waste of money. You would get a warmer response going door to door.

Very good input. Thanks.

Winter

 

[Winter_123]

I'm about to start selling Medicare Supplement leads directly to agents ($4.50 per exclusive lead, PM me if interested) and have been very curious about the market. I've been selling them to other companies who resell them to agents and get less than half the price I get for a pre-65 health lead.

I don't see Medigap leads sold by a lot of other lead generation companies and haven't been able to figure out why. Are they inherently lower quality when compared to leads for auto, life or pre-65 health?

I don't work this market (as an agent) currently but in the mid-nineties did well in this market. Also I know that a lot of agents use Medigap leads to sell larger commission products like LTC and Annuities.

I'd love some feedback about the problems with these leads, especially those problems that are worse with Medigap leads when compared to leads for other lines of insurance.

As far as using medigap leads to sell LTC or annuities you might want to be aware of various state laws to see what is kosher and what is not. In the State of Maine you cannot discuss any other product, other than med supp, unless you advised them on the phone first before the appointment that you were going to do that and they gave permission. Obviously the bulk of compliance responsibility falls to the agent here but it is a watch-out for lead companies nevertheless.

Winter

 

[Frank Stastny]

I'm about to start selling Medicare Supplement leads directly to agents ($4.50 per exclusive lead, PM me if interested) and have been very curious about the market. I've been selling them to other companies who resell them to agents and get less than half the price I get for a pre-65 health lead.

I don't see Medigap leads sold by a lot of other lead generation companies and haven't been able to figure out why. Are they inherently lower quality when compared to leads for auto, life or pre-65 health?

I don't work this market (as an agent) currently but in the mid-nineties did well in this market. Also I know that a lot of agents use Medigap leads to sell larger commission products like LTC and Annuities.

I'd love some feedback about the problems with these leads, especially those problems that are worse with Medigap leads when compared to leads for other lines of insurance.

Working the senior market is totally different than selling health insurance to those under 65. Everyone knows that. However, I'm not convinced that agents really know why it is different. It's the why that directly relates to my post above. I will address that in another post.

A lot of senior agents work hard, but a lot of them don't know how to work smart. I know, you don't think I know what I'm talking about. You all work "smart" right? That statement probably just pissed a bunch of you off. If the shoe fits...

Something "clicks" in the mind of people when they turn 65. All of a sudden they are on the dreaded "fixed income". They also seem to believe that everything should be either free or at a greatly discounted price. (They are always looking for something literally $2.00 cheaper.)

Every time they see a direct mail piece or a website that says they can "save money" on their Med Supp insurance they fill out the card or form, however, they promptly forget they have done so. They have "nothing" to do all day so they become professional form filler-outers.

I have worked thousands of direct mail leads and I do not remember one person who told me they remembered filling out the card. I have shown them the card they filled out and signed when I was standing at the door. The guy said, "yep that's my signature, nope, I didn't fill out the card or sign it and send it in" and shut the door in my face.

I have also worked thousands of internet leads. If I get to them the same day, most remember filling out the form on the website, they ask a lot of questions and then do not return my e-mail or answer the phone. (Ya got to love caller ID.)

Agents spend thousands of dollars each year, some each month, paying for these "leads". One guy told me he spends $820 per week, another told me his budget for leads is $3,000 per month. That is insane! There is no nice way to put it. $820 per week is $42,640 per year! Most agents don't even make that much a year. Know what he said he did with his "leads" when he "finishes" with them? He throws them in the trash! That is even more insane!

Med Supp policies increase in cost, some every year, some every two or three years. Regardless of how often they increase, they all are going to increase. Every time a senior gets a letter telling them their premium is going up they are "ripe for the picking". Show them a plan that will save them $2.00 per month and most of them are reaching for their pen asking where to sign.

Every person over 65 who has a Med Supp policy is a qualified buyer. Maybe not today, but in the next 24 months that person is going to be receptive to listening to anyone who can save them a couple of bucks on their Med Supp premium. Does it make sense to throw that "lead" away because the person said "not interested" on the first, second or third call? Not NO but HELL NO!

Agents throw them away because the get "cold". Everyone knows that a "hot" lead is the only one that is worth a damn. Wrong again! Unless that person is dead the "lead" from that person is just as "hot" two years from now as it was the day the agent received it. Maybe even "hotter". Any agent, working the senior market, who believes that a newly acquired "lead" is a "hot" lead and the one they got three or 12 months ago is a "cold" lead is living in la la land with their head up their butt. It is simply a mind set and their mind is set in the wrong place.

Assuming that I know what I'm talking about (I've only been doing this for 14 years) does it make sense to spend $42,640 per year buying "leads" for the senior market and then throw away all the leads that weren't sold in the first two or three phone calls? Again, not NO but double HELL NO.

That agent is paying through the butt for nothing more than a name, address and phone number from a professional card/form filler-outer. I asked him to send me everything he was throwing away. I will get licensed in his state and make a lot of money over the next two years from his "throw-aways". He declined my offer. Instead of throwing them away he is now probably throwing them in a box. LOL They will do him no good if they are not organized and available at the click of a button.

So Al, those are only some of the reasons that I place very little value in anything that is called a "lead" for Med Supp policies. It took me a long time to realize that a Med Supp "lead" was nothing more than a name, address and phone number from someone who was a professional card filler-outer.

I have not purchased a "lead" for many, many years, I have not even purchased a list for at least two or three years. I have my Prospects database filled with qualified buyers. They are all ready to buy, it is up to me to know when the timing is right to give them a call and stop by and pick up the check. How do I know that, I take copious notes on the first contact and every "lead" is extremely well organized and available by the click of a button. That's called working smart.

If the company they have their Med Supp policy with when I first called them has a rate increase I can print a list of everyone I have talked to that has their insurance with that company. If they pay annually I know when that payment is due and I can print a list of everyone who will be receiving their statement for their next annual payment the month before they receive it.

Working the senior market is not about "leads" it is all about being organized and working smart. Agents using 4x6 index cards or have some "elaborate filing system" are fooling themselves if they think they are "working smart".

PS Al, the vast majority of senior agents are not going to believe anything of what I have said. They are still going to spend thousands of dollars each year on "leads".

You will make a fortune by selling Med Supp leads for $4.50 per lead. That is more than reasonable. Even $6.50 would not be too much to charge. I know senior market agents, they will buy all you can generate at $6.50 per lead, throw them away and come back for more. I have received a "lead" from the same person each time a mailing was sent out to their area. I know because I track them all. They will pay for a "lead" from that person over and over again because it is a "hot" lead.

I also am thinking of selling Med Supp "leads". That is where the real money is in working the senior market.

 

[Frank Stastny]

I have a secret, little known system currently available to only a select group of financially successful agents that will guarantee that every lead will result in an appointment. This is the basic entry level system.

The only thing the basic system does not guarantee is that a sale will result from the appointment. However, if the advanced system is utilized over 75%% of appointments will result in a signed application.

If anyone is interested in learning more please indicate your level of interest, basic or advanced, by posting in this thread. Also state your approximate monthly budget for procuring leads.

I have received several PM's and e-mails from senior agents wanting to know the "secret" to working the senior market. I am seriously thinking of marketing it. Any agent who uses this "system" will see a dramatic increase in their income. And, guess what? I'm going to give it to all senior agents on this board for FREE!

The "system" consists of six (6) very important steps that each agent must follow if they want to excel in senior Med Supp sales. WARNING: Those agents who are afraid of "work" or who are just plain lazy should not read any further. All it will do is just piss you off.

1. Keep every "lead", name, referral you get. Never, I repeat, NEVER throw away the name, address and phone number of a senior. They are all potentially qualified buyers. Who would have thought that senior agents would have a product they can sell to Medicaid people?

2. Don't buy "leads" buy lists. Senior market "leads" are just a name, address and phone number. (See post above.) Seniors are
obsessive card/form filler-outers.

3. Do your own telemarketing. Who knows the senior market better than you do? Seniors like to talk to the person they will be doing business with on the first phone call. The decision to switch their Med Supp policy is an emotional decision for most seniors. I guarantee, in the vast majority of cases, it is not an intelligent, well informed decision. If it was most of them would not buy a Plan F.

If done properly, most seniors can be "sold" on the first call. If not then they can be "sold" a year or two later when they get the notice that their premium is going up.

4. On the first call try to engage them in conversation. Yea, I know, it's a lot of work and it takes time. Agents who are making calls, saying "I'm going to be in your area on Wed, can I stop by and drop off information" are wasting way too much time and money. That is NOT AN APPOINTMENT. Agents should only make an appointment with a senior who qualifies and is really interested in changing companies. Forget those turning 65, for the most part they are a waste of time and money. Contact those who are between 67 and 77.

When working the senior market it is not about how many calls the agent makes per hour, it is about how many people can you get to talk to you and give you information.

The most important information is the name of the company they currently have their insurance with. If you can get that before the call ends you have just made a "sale". Maybe not this month but probably in the next 12 months.

It doesn't matter what plan they have, most will have Plan F and that is a good thing. I make my money from agents who sell Plan F. You don't need to know how much they are paying, if you are really a senior market agent you will know what other companies are charging. If you don't know then you should not be in senior market sales.

5. Take copious notes during the phone call. Record anything that they have told you, like the name of their dog or a hobby they have so you can mention it during your next call. Seniors love to be "remembered". Example: The second call made a year later. "Hi Mrs. Smith, this is Frank Stastny, we talked several months ago about your Med Supp policy. By the way, how is your dog Spot doing?" You now have their undivided attention at this point.

6. For those who have gotten this far, both of you, break down and purchase a computer program that will enable you to have all this information at your finger tips. Every time a company has a rate increase print a list of everyone you have talked to over the past several years who told you they had their insurance with that company. Those are almost guaranteed sales. Record every piece of information that senior tells you. Know when they are due to make their next annual payment. Record if they may be interested in final expense insurance or LTCi in the future. Record every thing and any thing you can glean from that initial conversation.

No, I'm not "spamming" for YIO. Personally I don't care which system you use, what is more important is that you use your computer as a tool to make money, not just to post here, surf the web and send e-mail to your mother and friends.

How much sense does it make to spend as much as $42,000 per year on leads and then not have those people available at the click of a button 12, 18 or 24 months from now when they are "ready to buy"?

Any agent who is not investing in a good computer program to track prospects and recycling their senior market "leads" is working really dumb. I don't care how good you think your "system" is, it is about 20 years behind the times. Index cards and elaborate filing systems went out of vogue a long time ago. All they do is make you think you are well organized.

If you are using Excel and or Outlook to "track your leads" you are only kidding yourself and wasting a lot of time you could be spending increasing your income.

Hey, you guys asked. It boils down to doing your own telemarketing, using the tools available today and doing that dirty, dreaded four letter word called "WORK".

If you didn't want to know the answer then you should not have asked.