Selling FE over the phone

[Agent B100]

Getting back in the game as I've stated in my mailed leads thread .
Is anybody making money selling final expense over the phone?
Problem isi may be moving from the state I am in ,and want to make sure I don't waste money by mailing ,if it takes months to work or even get leads returned it I move.

 

[thomasm]

From what I've heard... The old tried and true DM lead cards are best for F2F sales. Tele-sales agents are usually working TV, Internet, Facebook, or Tele-marketed leads.

 

[Todd King]

Getting back in the game as I've stated in my mailed leads thread .
Is anybody making money selling final expense over the phone?
Problem isi may be moving from the state I am in ,and want to make sure I don't waste money by mailing ,if it takes months to work or even get leads returned it I move.

Yes, there are agents making money selling FE over the phone. During this pandemic, many agents have learned that they actually can sell over the phone. Of course, with that also comes the agents that have tried over the phone and failed miserably!

 

[JRoot]

I wouldn't do any more mailings. It's harder to sell a DM lead over the phone than other types of online/media leads. I would start learning telesales now or hold off until you move.

And yes, you can make really good money in final expense telesales if you have the right training, leads and systems. Here's our top 5 leaderboard last WEEK - all final expense 100% over the phone.

 

[somarco]

t's harder to sell a DM lead over the phone than other types of online/media leads. I

All leads are the same. You have probably been told this before.

It's a lie.

Think about what Jeff said.

If you get a mail solicitation are you expecting someone to call and sell their product over the phone?

No.

Most lead generation systems are interruption marketing. They are annoying. Those systems are designed for one purpose. Introduce you, or your product(s) to a cold audience. They are often non-selective.

They are garbage.

One DM exception would be a mailer that LEADS the recipient to call a number for more information and/or a website.

If your DM system doesn't do that you are wasting time and $$$.

 

[DonP]

I've worked every lead in the book . If your not working an INCOMING direct transfer lead wether it's TV or some other form of incoming lead the intent is not as great . Many imo's with telesales operations consider a telemarketer calling either fresh clients or recycled leads a true direct transfer lead . That's bs as the client was called and the intent and interest of the client not as high . No question telesales due to the pandemic is going wild but I still find policys sold by faceless people on the other end of the phone in the fe mkt easy to replace . Understand fe people are usually very low income and suspicious in nature. A sharp agent will be able to convince them the value of having a local agent to help in their time of need .I'm talking the fe mkt and not the mortgage protection or med sup mkt were people much more sophisticated.

 

[JRoot]

Many imo's with telesales operations consider a telemarketer calling either fresh clients or recycled leads a true direct transfer lead . That's bs as the client was called and the intent and interest of the client not as high .

I disagree.

#1, #2 and #4 on that weekly leaderboard are 100% telemarketed callbacks (#3 and #5 were live transfers). Last month our #1 agent placed/settled $53,000 in AP off of telemarketed callbacks. I'd say the intent is pretty good if you're generating quality telemarketed leads.

If you buy from a 3rd party vendor I can see the quality being terrible as your goals are misaligned - they're optimizing for profit on each lead and not focused on quality. I'd bet that was your experience.

Also, we don't consider it a true direct transfer.

I still find policys sold by faceless people on the other end of the phone in the fe mkt easy to replace

I believe it when you have high volume call center operations like Assurance writing Lumico everywhere and other call centers writing way overpriced products because of the better margins.

Telesales agents replace f2f agent policies easily all the time too for the same reason. Will we replace a competitive KSKJ policy, no - but a f2f agent wouldn't likely replace a Trinity/FBL policy sold by a telesales agent either if there was a proper presentation.

A sharp agent will be able to convince them the value of having a local agent to help in their time of need .

A sharp telesales agent will be able to do the same (not being local though) in the post-sale button up.

I know f2f FE sales work well and will continue to work well for a while - not denying that at all. There's just so much misinformation about telesales out there from agents who had a rough go at it. For the most part, I bet these agents didn't have the specific knowledge needed to be successful.

 

[DonP]

I'm speaking from my own experience and have no other facts to go on . All I know is I replace a ton of telesale apps using my strategy. Let's be honest if there wasn't a ton of replacing going on you wouldn't have guys throwing up $30 k a month . Most top producers will tell you 50 % of their business is replacement.It's the nature of fe . I bet the avg fe policy owner has 3-4 different policys in their lifetime .

 

[somarco]

I know f2f FE sales work well and will continue to work well for a while - not denying that at all. There's just so much misinformation about telesales out there from agents who had a rough go at it. For the most part, I bet these agents didn't have the specific knowledge needed to be successful.

I can't tell you how many times during my career that someone told me I was doing things wrong, wasn't working hard enough, failed to warm them up, failed to close 7x before pulling out the Columbo close . . . .

The list is almost endless.

Most of the things I have done, worked. At least for me. Much of what I do probably can't be easily duplicated but I am not a trainer or recruiter.

If something works for me I use it. If it doesn't, I toss it.

There are a lot of agents here and elsewhere that could never be successful at tele-sales, or at least not as "successful" as they are F2F. So they feel if they can't make it work, neither can anyone else.

That's rather arrogant if you ask me.

Thanks for all you do to help others. Your insight is a real inspiration to some, but you can't please everyone.

 

[DonP]

I can't tell you how many times during my career that someone told me I was doing things wrong, wasn't working hard enough, failed to warm them up, failed to close 7x before pulling out the Columbo close . . . .

The list is almost endless.

Most of the things I have done, worked. At least for me. Much of what I do probably can't be easily duplicated but I am not a trainer or recruiter.

If something works for me I use it. If it doesn't, I toss it.

There are a lot of agents here and elsewhere that could never be successful at tele-sales, or at least not as "successful" as they are F2F. So they feel if they can't make it work, neither can anyone else.

That's rather arrogant if you ask me.

Thanks for all you do to help others. Your insight is a real inspiration to some, but you can't please everyone.

And there's a ton of telesales guys that washed out in face to face . I'm equally as good in both . I just feel in face to face I can connect on an emotional level with the fe client and persistency much better . Your dealing with much higher income people that are much more loyal . Fe clients are overall easily persuaded and not overall loyal . It's the nature of fe .