Where Do You Find People to Talk To?

[Advisor06]

I see on here a lot of guys go from being Captive life agents to independent and I'm guessing its mostly because you have learned what you needed to learn at your captive agency so now your able to do it and rep many different companies.

My situation is slightly different... I am captive but in a entirely different way. I never have had to hit the streets to look for people to call or "try" to meet with. I was provided from my company with a list of names of "members" roughly 1000 to work that some are insurance clients to the company already and some are just "members" and I am captive to work that list only or try to get people to "join" the organization or otherwise I cannot sell to them.

I guess my questions or concern is now that I have experience for several years selling life, annuities, LTC how would one go about making the transition in my current situation? I have a non-compete for one year. I have no experience in how to find people or network in finding people to sell to.

Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Guest]

I see on here a lot of guys go from being Captive life agents to independent and I'm guessing its mostly because you have learned what you needed to learn at your captive agency so now your able to do it and rep many different companies.

My situation is slightly different... I am captive but in a entirely different way. I never have had to hit the streets to look for people to call or "try" to meet with. I was provided from my company with a list of names of "members" roughly 1000 to work that some are insurance clients to the company already and some are just "members" and I am captive to work that list only or try to get people to "join" the organization or otherwise I cannot sell to them.

I guess my questions or concern is now that I have experience for several years selling life, annuities, LTC how would one go about making the transition in my current situation? I have a non-compete for one year. I have no experience in how to find people or network in finding people to sell to.

Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Church is a very good place to meet prospects. Civic clubs and organizations (Rotary, Kiwanis, etc), young professional clubs (my Chamber of Commerce has one), and the good ol' cold calling from a list.

Really depends on what type of life you're wanting to focus on. FE for seniors or WL/UL/Term for younger folks.

In the social media age Facebook is an incredible marketing tool. If you have a list of 500 or 1000 friends just start working that list. I have my FB open the whole time I'm at my PC during the day and when I see someone online I just start a chat with them and eventually ask if they'd like to meet and discuss whatever product I'm offering. I've sold lots of P&C using FB. AND ITS FREE!!!

 

[Advisor06]

Do you have any luck at churches? I have noticed they are saturated with knights of Columbus at each church already.

 

[Guest]

Do you have any luck at churches? I have noticed they are saturated with knights of Columbus at each church already.

Yes, success can be had. First off find a church that you like and that has a large membership that includes many young families. Spend a few months going to service and doing their potlucks and introducing yourself to the members, but don't try to start talking to them about insurance. Just meet and get to know people.

Get involved in the church's groups. Mine has a bunch. There's a motorcycle riders group, a cooking club, a young professionals group, and a whole bunch of others. Just pick some that have a topic that interests you and start going. Get to know the folks and start having BBQs at your house. After a few months start asking people if they've ever discussed life insurance and if they'd like to talk about it.

The key is to get involved and don't join with the sole purpose of selling insurance. You should only join church because you want to get closer to God. Networking and building relationships is just something that comes along with it.

As for the Knights of the Roundtable or whatever group you mentioned. I've never heard of them.

 

[rousemark]

Do you have any luck at churches? I have noticed they are saturated with knights of Columbus at each church already.

Only if the church is Roman Catholic..

 

[Tahoe Ray]

Yes, success can be had. First off find a church that you like and that has a large membership that includes many young families. Spend a few months going to service and doing their potlucks and introducing yourself to the members, but don't try to start talking to them about insurance. Just meet and get to know people.

Get involved in the church's groups. Mine has a bunch. There's a motorcycle riders group, a cooking club, a young professionals group, and a whole bunch of others. Just pick some that have a topic that interests you and start going. Get to know the folks and start having BBQs at your house. After a few months start asking people if they've ever discussed life insurance and if they'd like to talk about it.

The key is to get involved and don't join with the sole purpose of selling insurance. You should only join church because you want to get closer to God. Networking and building relationships is just something that comes along with it.

As for the Knights of the Roundtable or whatever group you mentioned. I've never heard of them.

Networking can be obvious, painful and basically sucks if you're just doing it for personal gain.

Focusing on activities that you enjoy (e.g. see above) and making sure that people know what you do and how you can help is much more productive and enjoyable.

If you can find ways be a connector (referring others in your network and providing an education to those who seek it) and make sure that everyone knows you in your community, business and referrals come much more easily.

As an aside, the Knights of Columbus are a large Catholic fraternal.

 

[Larry Tew]

Bottom line? Referrals. Not just referrals, but satisfied client introductions. From a philosophical and mechanical standpoint, I know of nothing better than the Cotton system for client acquisition. www.cottonsystems.com.

Bill Cates also has some good material, but Cotton is pretty much a turn-key system.

 

[ddiaz841]

Do you have any luck at churches? I have noticed they are saturated with knights of Columbus at each church already.

Here's the issue. Knights of Columbus is a fraternal benefits mutual company that sells insurance. All members, except the field agents, are banned from selling any type of insurance, otherwise they are banned from the organization.