My First 3 Months in the Business

[Jeff0673]

Hi Billy Ray, are the Leadco leads you're buying from Leadcoleads.com? I've wondered how well those are. And are you buying the leads where they mail out a certain number of pieces if they are leadcoleads?

Just curious. I'm in CA and TX and trying to figure out what works best

 

[Full Throttle]

And are you buying the leads where they mail out a certain number of pieces if they are leadcoleads?

I talked to a rep yesterday thinking that I could use it as a supplemental activity, but I'm not going to do it. They pitched $600 for 14 leads via direct mail and he told me the average closing ratio was 35% (B.S. indicator lights up). I don't know what the average closing ratio would be or the average commission (I would guess around $600 on average). So, if I get 1 in 10, that's a lot of work to net out $300, if it's 1 in 15, I'm working for free.

Maybe my numbers are off as I'm just guessing, but I'll stick with generating my own leads at that price. Besides the price, the sales rep was using all sorts of worn out, corny sales lines:

"What do you like best about the program, the price or the how quickly you get the lead in your hand?"

"Should we get started?" (hadn't even told me the price yet)

After I said "I'll think about it": "what do I have to do to earn your business today?"

 

[bcbroker]

Thank you to those of you that spoke with me on the phone and were so generous with time. I am working for someone in California. Here are my stats since May 1. These are conservative numbers not bragging. The leads are mostly InsureMe $11.95 leads, a few LeadCO. We use NORVAX, QUOTIT but I track my people on paper and use OUTLOOK. I should be making many more calls but I find myself procrastinating.

Leads Purchased 378
Calls 1400
Sales 11 health/19 total lives
Sales 5 dental/5 lives
Life/LTC/MED SUPP 0

Applications pending
5 health/6 total lives
2 dental/2 lives

These applications all look pretty strong and I will be surprised if they don't get approved/worst case 1 +25 on one of them.

This is a very difficult way to make a living. I bartend at night about 35 hours a week and dial for dollars 35 hours a week during the day and I hardly see my family.

Why are you paying that much for leads? I knew and supplied most of the people you mentioned here before they even had a pot to p@#* in.
There are underground places where you can get them for so much less.

 

[ABC]

Great Record keeping.

You would be better off cold calling business to sell group benefits. If you make 1400 calls you should end up with about 14 new group clients.

I make about 200 cold calls a month and pick up on avg about 2 new clients within a sales cycle. Sometimes that cycle can be a year.

Thank you to those of you that spoke with me on the phone and were so generous with time. I am working for someone in California. Here are my stats since May 1. These are conservative numbers not bragging. The leads are mostly InsureMe $11.95 leads, a few LeadCO. We use NORVAX, QUOTIT but I track my people on paper and use OUTLOOK. I should be making many more calls but I find myself procrastinating.

Leads Purchased 378
Calls 1400
Sales 11 health/19 total lives
Sales 5 dental/5 lives
Life/LTC/MED SUPP 0

Applications pending
5 health/6 total lives
2 dental/2 lives

These applications all look pretty strong and I will be surprised if they don't get approved/worst case 1 +25 on one of them.

This is a very difficult way to make a living. I bartend at night about 35 hours a week and dial for dollars 35 hours a week during the day and I hardly see my family.

 

[k.bla]

Has anyone tried connecting through some of the social networks? Facebook?

 

[Billy Ray]

We find the LEADCO leads are not as good as Insureme.
Regarding calling small businesses...Our small business gets on average, and this is not an exageration, 5-10 calls a day from telemarketers. We hired 2 professional telemarketing companies each for a 3 month contract, (and yea pleeeeeease hold all the the comments about hiring an outside company), long story short, it was barely worth it. WHY. Because people in our area and the surrounding 50 mile radius get their phones pounded all day long.

I just wrote and erased 3 paragraphs about how I know I am 100% certain about what I am about to say below; it's a waste of my time and yours. Here goes.

For those of you that are new and have questions that you need answered about contact rates and close rates on internet leads...if it sounds unreasonable or too good to be true, it is. Believe me it is.

More sales came in and my ROI and close percentage have gone up. Am I closing 1/8 internet leads that cost $5?? No way. And again, just to beat a dead horse, no one on this board is either. Men's Warehouse, "I guarantee it"

Let the comments come. I am back to calling.

 

[Billy Ray]

On 466 leads

Sold as of today:

Health 18 sales/30 lives
Dental 7 sales/10 lives

Pending as of today:

Health 5 sales/7 lives (2 cases are large premium)
Dental 0

 

[MzRSmith]

Your closing ratio-for an average agent with internet leads should be 1 out of every 20 leads...that is average...I go by the law of numbers..its old school..you half everything...20 leads-10 no good-5 interested-2 might buy-1 issues...law of numbers...(I know people here hate that-but its always worked for me)...having said that, for having this as a part time job-you havn't done too bad..this is one of those things, that you may spend the first few months building your pipeline-or planting the seed, and then you start getting return calls, etc, on top of new sales of new leads...I used to manage groups of agents, and you cannot train a part timer to get full time results...its something you must either do or don't do..it requires alot of time..and the price of your leads are high..for internet leads, and the unknown outcome, I buy Netquote for about $8 each..and Prospect zone for Telemarketed leads...etc...in case i want exclusive...anyways-keep it up-I can understand finding it difficult-it always is in sales, you just have to keep trudging, and remember..noone else will do it for you...all the hard work is on your shoulders, from call to sale, to even pushing it to be quickly underwritten..

 

[Billy Ray]

Update as of 12/23/2010:

My closing rate without medicare has been 1/15.
For Nov with medicare sales 1/10. December with medicare has been a monster month 1/3.5
Medicare been bery, bery good to me

My employer has stopped ordering leads. I have only averaged 2-3 per day since October 1.

I will not continue doing this because of the commission cut in California and the way Anthem has behaved and lied. I have an offer on the table from Merrill Lynch, excellent salary, PMD program. If not there then NY Life.

If anyone wants more detailed numbers I can post but at this point why bother with the details.

 

[dgoldenz]

If I was only closing 1 out of 20 health leads I'd be broke real quick....maybe I'm lucky, or good, but I usually average 1 out of every 8-10 shared leads. Can't imagine people closing 1 out of 20 on the new reduced commissions and sticking around for more than a couple months.