Insurace Agency Cold Calling & Telemarketing: What works and what doesn't

Insurace Agency Cold Calling & Telemarketing: What works and what doesn't

Cold calling and telemarketing have gone hand in hand with the insurance agency market for many years. Successful agents have built their books with cold calls and successful agencies have employed telemarketers to take their organization to the next level. When I was an insurance agent, cold calling was like a rite of passage something that had to be done before you could advance and excel.

Since we are all busy with the day job of servicing clients, presenting quotes, and closing business telemarketing services have been employed to supplement our personal cold calling efforts. Whether these services are performed by an in-house employee or an outsourced solution, here are a few points we have found to be critical for a successful telemarketing campaign. But first a quick story...

The last time I hired a telemarketing firm while I was working as an insurance agency producer, I had horrific results. We selected a firm with "insurance expertise" and asked them to set up conference call appointments for us to sell a national P&C program that was unique to our agency. I hoped for activity and they delivered plenty.

I had conference call appointments who wanted to discuss benefits, conference call appointments who thought I was supposed to be there for an on-site appointment, conference call appointments that were incorrectly scheduled due to time zone differences, and conference call appointments with people who had never heard of me or my agency. The ROI for this project was close to zero, and the telemarketing firm could not understand why the project had failed. They had promised activity, but I guess they didn't mean sales activity.

What can be done toimprove this situation?

Avoid Callers in a Bullpen Many telemarketing services throw callers in a bullpen and say go. We all know what these calls sound like because we hear them coming from other vendors a delay after you answer as their computer system connects the call, then lots of background noise. Hire a caller who will be alone in a quiet office using a traditional phone. The improved quality will pay for the additional overhead many times over.

Use a Simple Pitch Your callers will have little time to deliver your pitch and value proposition, and likely no time to explain the details. Avoid nebulous tag lines like "Total Cost of Risk" or "Benefits 24/7." Direct, unambiguous pitches are far more effective. An example could be as basic as "I am calling for John Scranton. He insures many contractors like you in this area, and would like an opportunity to review your insurance and determine if there are ways to improve coverage or cut costs are you available next week?" Honest, straightforward, easy to deliver.

Use Female Callers This comment may run the risk of an EPLI claim, but we have studied cold calling results and metrics for literally millions of dials, and over the long term our conclusions indicate female callers consistently produce better results than their male counterparts.

Employ a Caller with Insurance Experience This does not mean a professional telemarketer who made calls for CreditUSA last month but also called for an agency last year. I mean actually hiring a caller who has worked in an agency or company. I promise they are out there. Maybe a CSR looking for sales experience, maybe a producer looking to get off the road. My story above used a young man who "primarily called for agencies" and we saw how he crashed and burned. Make the investment in someone who understands the business, and the increased appointments per hour will be your dividend.

Clarity in Appointment Requirements Often agencies will allow callers to schedule any kind of appointment at any time for any line of business. This comes from our hubris as producers. We assume if we have a lead, somebody will get there and make the sale. The problem is an appointment from a telesales rep is still a lead that needs to be nurtured before it becomes a prospect. This job is much easier when you only accept one type of appointment (ie: conference calls for your P&C program). Removing ambiguity in the format of the meeting and the products that will be discussed decreases the chances you nip the bud of your lead.

Big 3 Differentiators This is a stolen idea, but it works. On a cold call, you will have the chance to share 3 big differentiators about you and your organization. More likely 1 or 2, but 3 at the very most. Invest time and effort in determining and refining the big 3 for you. Make them simple and compelling. For example: We insure truckers, we have for 30 years, and our service is outstanding. A telemarketer will never have time to discuss more than 3 and probably will not have an opportunity to explain them if they are vague. This is critically important.

These are just a few simple suggestions to help you and your insurance agency or B2B organization procure better results from telemarketers. They should be effective for both in-house callers and outsourced services.

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