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Slide 1: How to Turn Leads into Sales People Don’t Want to Be Sold. The minute you position yourself as a sales person, you’re dead. And that’s where most lead systems fail. For example, you offer a free insurance quote. Then you call and the prospect is immediately on guard because they KNOW you’re calling to sell them insurance. It’s like pulling teeth to get anything to happen. The percentage of leads you turn into sales is tiny. Therefore, you must have a way to NOT be perceived as a sales person. You must have the prospect give you a chance and not be immediately guarded. The way to do that is to have credibility and trust before you make the call. How to Gain Credibility and Trust This is where lead systems fail. They miss this step. When you get a lead you DO not want to call them immediately. Send what was promised (e.g. the quote or other item) AND send a consumer-driven advice. For example, if you sell life insurance and want to send a booklet titled How Not to get Taken When Buying Life Insurance or What They Never Tell You About Life Insurance—A Consumers Guide to the Truth. You must position yourself as the buyer’s advocate (which hopefully you are) so that they understand that OTHER people in your business are sales people, while you are a consultant. Would prospects be more willing to meet with a sales person or a consultant? To gain credibility, the most critical element is to have that booklet printed with your photo, biography and background information. This convincingly shows the prospect you’re an expert, an expert to be trusted. How to Turn the Phone Call into an Appointment The big mistake is attempting to get the appointment too early in the call. You must do the following three steps: 1. Make friends 2. Ask questions to determine what motivates the prospect 3. Offer a non-threatening “community service” appointment You can hear a recording of a sample call at: http://www.insurance-lead.ws/lead-audio-whitepaper.php Your job is to ask questions and not “tell.” This will be unnatural at first since we have all been trained to talk too much in financial services. The call flows like this: ©2006 Javelin Marketing, Inc. www.seniorlead.com 866-952-4065
Slide 2: Sample Phone Call “Mr. Jones? Hi, Mr. Jones. This is John Doe. A few days ago you were on the Internet and ordered (name of booklet, senior newsletter). Did you receive it?” “Yes, but I haven’t read it.” “Funny you should find me on the Internet. You live in (name of town) and I live in (name of town). How long have you lived in (name of town)?” “May I ask (or “I’m curious”), what was it that motivated you to call for the booklet [newsletter] when you saw the ad?” (ask this not like an interrogation, but like a curious friend) This question will reveal their concern or motivation. In most cases they will tell you something that you will be able to “drill down.” They will say something like: • • • • • • I’ve been thinking about an annuity… My brother just got an annuity… I have an annuity and wanted to see what the booklet said... I don’t get good advice from my advisor… I just got an annuity and don’t really understand it… I am seeking ideas for more income—the rates are so low... If they say something like they were just interested in some information, you ask: “Let me ask you, are these low interest rates hurting you? How do you feel about them?” Or ask some other question related to the items they ordered: Did you have interest in the booklet because you’ve been considering buying an annuity? If they don’t engage readily in conversation, ask: “Let me ask you—I have a lot of retired clients, and my job over the last few years has been to help them keep their income up. May I ask, how have you managed not to have that problem?” No matter what they answer, you can begin the drill-down. The drill-down is like peeling an onion and getting to the center—the motivation that caused them to respond for the booklet [newsletter]. Nobody takes an action like requesting a booklet for no ©2006 Javelin Marketing, Inc. www.seniorlead.com 866-952-4065
Slide 3: reason. They may not even know the reason, but something motivated them, and that’s what sales is all about: asking appropriate questions so that prospects realize their own motivations and correct course of action. You ask these questions in a chatty way, not like a salesperson or interrogator: If they say, “yes, (they are) thinking of buying an annuity” I ask: “How come?” If they say “no,” I ask: “That’s interesting. What motivated you to request a copy of Annuity Owner Opportunities?” If they say: “I already have an annuity.” I ask: “That’s great—how long have you had that?” Or “What made you buy an annuity?” Or “What do you think of annuities?” No matter what they say, ask a question. If you give in to your desire to start “telling” and try to close an appointment at this stage, you lose your chance for an appointment. Make friends first and uncover their motivations. At this stage of the conversation, you have no pain; no “hook” that motivates them to set a time with you. For those people with annuities, I ask what rate they are receiving. If it’s low, I ask them “How do you feel about that rate?” If they say its low, I ask, “Would you like to earn more?” (only now have I uncovered some discomfort—they don’t like the low rate) Other questions I ask: • What company is your annuity with? • Have you been happy with the rate you have been earning? • Have you been happy with the performance? (Variable annuity) • Do you know the safety rating of the company? • Does it worry you that if the stock market crashed, you could lose a lot? (Variable annuity) • If you could have the same safety, but earn more, how would you feel about that? ©2006 Javelin Marketing, Inc. www.seniorlead.com 866-952-4065
Slide 4: • Are you aware that instead of a fixed rate, you could have an annuity that goes up with the stock market, yet fully protects your principal? How could that help you? (Index annuity) • Do you think your estate will be subject to estate taxes? My article on page four of the booklet shows you how to avoid this or have the taxes paid for by converting an annuity to a life policy that will pay estate taxes. Is avoiding tax important to you? The entire goal of these questions is to probe for the hot button, the prospect’s concerns, and use it to close an appointment to determine if you can help them. Do not ask the more technical questions too early. Chit-chat first. You can’t fire these questions at prospects one after another. You need to weave them into a conversation. If you need training in this, get our self-study course in getting appointments and closing sales http://www.javelinmarketing.com/video. When you subscribe to our SeniorLead™ system, we teach you how to close this call to an appointment. Unlike other lead services, we have weekly coaching calls to insure your success and provide the support you need to fill your appointment calendar. To register for the SeniorLead™ system and gain affluent clients age 55+, call 866952-4065. Or to see if your zip codes are still available, visit www.seniorlead.com ©2006 Javelin Marketing, Inc. www.seniorlead.com 866-952-4065