New FE agent/Direct Mail
- Thread starter CAFE
- Start date
tribetime32
Guru
- 377
I have personally tried to drop my own mail before doing a price per 1000 mailers. My average lead cost was around $42 for a final expense life insurance lead. I know that a few of the IMO's on here (EFES, FEX, 360) will do a fixed cost direct mail lead around $30 a lead I believe. The only caveat is that you need to have your contracts with them, which is a good deal as long as they release.
The other things you get with an IMO hopefully are training, support, ride-alongs, etc. There's no one sized fits all organization out there, no matter how much we might sell you that we are. I would recommend seeing who is going to give you the most value for your money. Do you need a lot of training or are you pretty self sufficient and just need a solid lead platform? Your answer to that question will help folks determine how to best help you.
Feel free to reach out to me personally, if we aren't a good fit for you, I'm sure I could point you in the right direction.
Best of luck!
The other things you get with an IMO hopefully are training, support, ride-alongs, etc. There's no one sized fits all organization out there, no matter how much we might sell you that we are. I would recommend seeing who is going to give you the most value for your money. Do you need a lot of training or are you pretty self sufficient and just need a solid lead platform? Your answer to that question will help folks determine how to best help you.
Feel free to reach out to me personally, if we aren't a good fit for you, I'm sure I could point you in the right direction.
Best of luck!
- Thread starter
- #3
Thanks for the reply. I would lean towards self sufficient. But an agent at any level is always learning. So at least plugin training(weekly calls for example). I would be interested in having access to current top level FE producer to do a ride along would be valuable. I of course would have no issues going to that agents market at my expense. I am trying to balance if it best to have all contracts with one IMO and then use their price per lead direct mail set up or have contracts with a couple different IMOs that I may like and direct mail with one of them or I would source directly. Do IMO generally have a better price per lead direct mail lead then agent going directly to a direct mail vendor?
- 4,160
I always felt like it was better to be married to one woman then try to keep four or 5 Girlfriends strait. Find an organization you trust that will help you make more money and build a relationship with them. Do couples sometimes get divorced? Yes, but it's far easier to work with one solid organization.
- 17,243
There are no individual lead vendors that can do a price per lead with good ages and good quality. Think about it. Like with us (FexContracting) we are going to spend $45,000 every week between two direct mail houses. These mailhouses know they get paid like clockwork every week and only deal with one person (me). They know that every lead will be purchased whether it arrives a week after the mail dropped or 10 months later as a straggler responder. And I understand exactly what is creditable (any responder under age 55 or over age 79, any blank cards and any card with no physical address AND no phone number. ) everything runs smooth like clockwork.
Any mail house that deals with individuals agents has to interact with a hundred agents to do that same volume. They have to deal with new agents that don't know what to expect, nit pickers that want to argue that every lead that won't set an appointment should be credited, and become a debt collector to get paid and stay paid. They can't do that efficiently and affordably. I don't think that any of them will even tighten the ages up or mail to the best ages as much as they mail to the less desirable ones (too young and too old.)
But a HUGE factor in being on a weekly set cost lead program through your IMO is to get new leads every week like clockwork. When you order leads yourself you tend to stop and start and stop and start and your sales are like a roller coaster. Top producers are really skimming the cream off the leads every week. You might make another sale next week if you just reworked the remainders hard for a 2nd week. But you will make more sales and more money just getting fresh leads and selling the easier ones every week. (And no I'm not saying it's easy. Agents work hard and not just anyone can do it well.) But long term you will enjoy this profession more if you work 20 to 25 NEW leads every week and make your money with fewer days in the field.
Feel free to reach out to me. The number is on our website. I can fill you in on our lead programs and also tell you what I like about various lead vendors if you go the DIY route. If you are in certain areas of California I might have some leads sitting in overstock so you could give them a test drive.
I definitely have some overstocks currently in Texas, Indiana, Kentucky, Georgia, Ohio, Alabama, and a large batch in northwest Pennsylvania. Give me a call if you want to sample the RGI leads to see if they really are better than what you have been using.
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- Thread starter
- #6
A great deal of information all is appreciated. Your points on vendor dealing with one IMO on huge mail volume vs single agent makes sense. Also on ages 55-79 for RGI leads is important. I just received information from NAL and they send to age 85 which is not ideal and use income up to 75k. My understanding it is preferred for the prospects to be age 79 or less and incomes 50k or less. Another important factor to me is there are a few carriers that offer lead credits. Which seems like free money to me. Which would allow me to pay the same cost, but get double leads. Do these carriers allow lead credit to go toward RGI direct mail? or is the IMO specific?
- 17,243
It's IMO specific. RGI only does the mailings. How the IMO runs the program and what lead credits they give would be specific to that IMO.
With us (FexContracting.com) we give instant credit when you earn lead credits from Trinity Life, Family benefit life, Oxford Life, or security national life. So the very day you receive the credit with the company you can turn it into us and we will give you a credit instantly off your bill. No waiting.
- 1,878
What if an agent only wants 10 leads a week ?
What if an agent wats 50 leads a month for 3 months and then no leads for 6 weeks ?
Naturally for a new agent breaking in the 25 every week sounds wonderful,however after someone has been in the business a few years,how can an agent be truly independent if he's committed to buying leads every week from you ?
Isn't he depending on you ?
Aren't you in charge since he's relying on you ?
- 17,243
No. If he's on full commission contracts he is always in control. Agents only fall into that trap if they're giving up commission levels to get on an IMO lead program. Because then if those leads don't turn out to be their favorite leads and the best value they can't afford to buy leads elsewhere because of the commissions they gave up.
But if the agent is on full commission levels he can choose to buy his leads anywhere he wants to. Our program is only one of the options available since he can buy from any lead vendor that he wants. We certainly have a lot of agents that are not on our direct mail lead program.
But it must be pretty good because I have around 100 agents that are on it and many of those have been on it continuously for three or four years. And most of those guys are the ones putting up the big numbers.
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- 1,878
I am exclusively asking you about :
Being committed to your weekly lead program vs an agent doing his own mailing on a per thousand basis.
Please explain.
Credit card on hold you bill each week ?
How many leads do your guys commit to each week ?
Are you not going to charge the agents credit card like clockwork ?
Or can the agent simply buy leads from you at his own leisure ?
What if the agent likes to take time off spontaneously with no notice ?
