ZEROING IN ON SPECIFIC PROSPECTS
PLAY THE 'NUMBERS GAME'
Don Eve of the Eve Agency in Flint, Michigan , has this advice for prospecting: play the 'numbers game.' You must contact a certain number of prospects to obtain a given number of interviews, which should lead to so many sales. You are working with the law of averages; and the averages will improve with experience.
Begin each week with a minimum of fifty names. Send these prospects a preapproach letter on Monday of each week and start calling on them one week later. Continue with this until you can no longer keep up with the volume of letters, calls, and surveys. Then, and not before, cut back on the number of letters.
ZEROING IN ON SPECIFIC PROSPECTS
If you know to whom you're going to sell, you will improve your chances of making the sale. That's why the sales personnel at Pembroke Agency in Virginia Beach, Virginia , do an outstanding job of directing their sales efforts towards prospects who can be handled by markets this agency represents. Here is a list of broad individual one-year solicitation goals for each agency salesperson. Note the breakdown of the number of expiration dates needed in specific industries. X-dates are used, since obtaining these dates is the first step toward most successful sales:
BROAD INDIVIDUAL SOLICITATION GOALS
Annual 'Inventory' Goals
I. 600 X-dates for Personal Lines prospects
II. 150 X-dates (all lines) Commercial Account prospects
Key Solicitation Goals
I. Personal Lines
A. 400 Homeowners X-dates
B. 200 Automobile X-dates
II. Commercial Lines X-dates
A. 5 -- Volunteer Fire Departments
B. 15 -- ' Main Street ' type small business accounts
C. 5 -- Fire Prospects
D. 20 -- Small/Medium Building Trades Contractors
E. 5 -- Attorneys
F. 5 -- Office Tenants
G. 5 -- Funeral Homes
H. 5 -- Printers
I. 10 -- Medical Professionals
J. 5 -- Churches
K. 5 -- Veterinarians and/or Animal Hospitals
L. 5 -- Auto Parts Wholesalers
M. 5 -- Air Conditioning & Refrigerator Wholesalers
N. 10 -- Fast Food Businesses or Restaurants
O. 5 -- Fraternal Clubs
P. 10 -- Hardware Dealers
Q. 5 -- Drug Stores or Pharmacies
R. 5 -- Scrap and Secondary Material Dealers (Recycling)
S. 5 -- Motels
T. 5 -- Apartment Projects
U. 5 -- Banks, Savings & Loans
V. 5 -- Private Schools
NOTE: Restaurants, funeral homes and hardware stores are prime accounts for placement with INA, in Safety Groups, consistently showing dividends.
Specific Solicitation Goals
I. Weekly X-Dates
A. 12 -- Personal Lines Prospects
B. 3 -- Commercial Account Prospects
II. Telemarketing Program
A. Every Monday, 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
1. Phone Prospecting using
a. Tot Finder Referrals
b. Utility Direct Mail leads
c. New home/Resale home leads
A WEEKLY PROSPECTING PLAN
Here's an hour-by-hour weekly prospecting plan that has proven highly effective for thousands of SAFECO agents. If need be, modify this system according to your own circumstances, but no matter what variations you install, stick to the plan you design.
A WEEKLY PROSPECTING PLAN (Hour-By-Hour)
WEEK #1
MONDAY
8:00--10:00 A.M. Select 10 direct-mail prospects (on some property and casualty need, including 'Complete Roof' service approach) and prepare letters for mailing today.
Select 5 direct-mail prospects whose upcoming birth dates you have (on some life or health need) and prepare letters for mailing today.
Attend to agency details.
10:00--10:30 A.M. TRAVEL to next activity
10:30--11:45 A.M. Cold calls (door-to-door) with appropriate hand-out material (Auto, Homeowners, Apartment Dwellers, Safety Plus, etc.), and/or paperhanging in some parking lot. If contact is made and coverage already is owned, obtain X-date and promise to return before the time to renew the policy. If no coverage, arrange an appointment to return. If not at home, leave hand-out material (with agency stamp or business card) and a note that you will return in a few days. Make your own record of the address (and name, if possible), and today's date, so follow-up date can be set.
11:45--12:00 A.M. TRAVEL to next activity
12:00--3:30 P.M. LUNCH and appointments
3:30--4:00 P.M. TRAVEL to office
4:00--4:45 P.M. Telephone for X-dates
4:45--5:15 P.M. Agency details
6:30--7:30 P.M. Telephone for appointments and/or X-dates
7:30--8:00 P.M. TRAVEL to appointment
8:00--____ P.M. Appointment
TUESDAY
8:00--10:00 A.M. Select 10 direct-mail prospects (on some property and casualty need, especially 'Complete Roof' service approach) and prepare to mail today.
Select 5 direct-mail prospects whose upcoming birth dates you have (on some life or health need) and prepare to mail today.
Attend to agency details.
10:00--10:30 A.M. TRAVEL to next activity
10:30--11:45 A.M. Cold calls (door-to-door) for prospects in different location than on Monday. Same method with hand-out material, and/or paper-hanging in some parking lot.
11 :45--12:00 A.M. TRAVEL to next activity
12:00--3:30 P.M. LUNCH and appointments
3:30--4:00 P.M. TRAVEL to office
4:00--4:45 P.M. Telephone for X-dates
4:45--5:15 P.M. Agency details
6:30--7:30 P.M. Telephone for appointments and/or ex-dates
7:30--8:00 P.M. TRAVEL to appointment
8:00--____P.M. Appointment
WEDNESDAY
8:00--10:00 A.M. Attend to agency details
10:00--10:30 A.M. TRAVEL to next activity
10:30--11:45 A.M. Call-backs (door-to-door) on cold calls not in on Monday.
If time left, cold calls as before.
11:45--12:00 P.M. TRAVEL to next activity
12:00--3:30 P.M. LUNCH and appointments
3:30--4:00 P.M. TRAVEL to office
4:00--4:45 P.M. Telephone for appointments with the 15 people to whom direct-mail was mailed Monday.
4:45--5:15 P.M. Agency details
6:30-- 7:00 P.M. TRAVEL to appointments
7:00--____P.M. Appointments
THURSDAY
8:00--10:00 A.M. Attend to agency details
10:00--10:30 A.M. TRAVEL to next activity
10:30--11:45 A.M. Call-backs (door-to-door) on cold calls not in on Tuesday, and any missed on call-backs yesterday. If time left, cold calls as before.
11:45--12:00 P.M. TRAVEL to next activity
12:00--3:30 P.M. LUNCH and appointments
3:30--4:00 P.M. TRAVEL to office
4:00--4:45 P.M. Telephone for appointments with the 15 people to whom direct mail was mailed Tuesday, and not similarly contacted yesterday.
4:45--5:15 P.M. Agency details
6:30--7:00 P.M. TRAVEL to appointments
7:00--____P.M. Appointments
FRIDAY
8:00--10:00 A.M. Attend to agency details
10:00--12:00 A.M. Appointments, either in Center or out, resulting from all previous contacting methods used (cold calls, cold call-backs, telephone approach, replies from parking lot paper-hanging). If time left, use it to X-date, either by telephone, obtaining lists, cold calls, county court-house records, etc.
12:00--4:00 P.M. LUNCH and appointments
4:00--4:30 P.M. TRAVEL to office
4:30--5:15 P.M. Agency details
6:30--7:30 P.M. Telephone for appointments and X-dates
7:30--8:00 P.M. TRAVEL to appointment
8:00--____P.M. Appointment
SATURDAY
8:00--10:00 A.M. Attend to agency details
10:00--10:30 A.M. TRAVEL to next activity
10:30--11:45 A.M. Cold calls (door-to-door), as previously, to obtain X-dates, appointments, or selling interviews.
11:45--12:00 A.M. TRAVEL to next activity
12:00-- P.M. LUNCH, agency details, and any appointments
(WEEKS #2, #3, #4)
FOLLOW SAME PATTERN
By the end of WEEK #4 you should be able to adjust your work pattern to handle the selling interviews you have generated, and still maintain some daily prospecting activity.
THE 'ABC' PROSPECT QUALIFIER
The sample prospect qualifier below is thorough . . . perhaps even too thorough. It may be difficult for you to get all this information on a prospect, but when you use a questionnaire like this one to qualify the person whom you're trying to sell, you will find that the eventual sale itself becomes a lot easier. Again the old adage of knowing as much as possible about your prospect comes into play.
SAMPLE PROSPECT QUALIFIER
'The A.B.C.'s'
NAME OF PROSPECT:_______________________ DATE:__________________
CONTACT SEEN: __________________________ TITLE: __________________
ADDRESS: _________________________________________________________
PHONE NUMBER ( )_______________________________________________
LEAD SOURCE: ___________________________ PHONE: __________________
D & B RATING: ________________
FINANCIAL STATEMENT OBTAINED_____
A. PRELIMINARY INFORMATION NEEDED TO DETERMINE IF I HAVE A QUALIFIED PROSPECT.
1. RELATIONSHIP WITH REFERRER?
2. NATURE OF THE PROSPECT'S BUSINESS:
3. ENTITY MAKEUP, LOCATIONS, ETC. (GENERAL):
4. CURRENT INSURANCE SITUATION, PROBLEM(S), ETC:
5. HOW CAN I HELP YOU -- (WHY AM I HERE?):
6. WHAT COVERAGE DO YOU HAVE-AND WITH WHOM? (CARRIER/BROKER):
7. IF WE SOLVE YOUR 'PROBLEM' CAN WE WRITE YOUR ENTIRE ACCOUNT?
8. DETERMINE SPECIFIC NEEDS AND ATTITUDE REGARDING:
- PRICE:
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