Cold prospecting question
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For those of you who have been or are starting to do cold prospecting -
How are you finding the environment. Are people you speak with more or less open to talk?
What methods are you using to elicit this reaction., i.e. networking, calling, teaching, etc.
B0B
I’ve been doing some heavy duty cold calling for the past 5 weeks or so and have yet to close an appointment. I do not know what to make of it to be honest. I think it may have been the wrong time of the year to be calling people at their homes. I’m going back to working with my centers of influence and asking current clients/customers for referrals.
I have been doing rather well calling people at home on Saturdays. Most people are just getting their statements, great time to ask what their broker is doing to fix the problem(most say just staying the course, which all in all isn’t a bad idea after a little rebalancing, but if I can find one thing to throw at them normally they are willing to sit down)
Picking up some decent EDJ accounts, $95-235K, with the idea saying "Buy and hold doesn't mean Buy and forget" say it's not the reps fault just not allowed to make changes without charging you again(change fund familys, rebalancing with multiple funds, etc)Finally back into the groove today. First prospecting since about the week before Thanksgiving. 12 contacts in about an hour and a half, secured 3 appointments, calling business owners. Called about a new program that allows you to be in the market with principal guarantees. Like shooting fish in a barrel.
On the appointment, will look for hot buttons, schedule next appointment to review current holdings and do a retirement hypothetical. Will use Pru HD7 as a highlight. Can't wait till tomorrow to get back on the phone. Stok[quote=stokwiz]Finally back into the groove today. First prospecting since about the week before Thanksgiving. 12 contacts in about an hour and a half, secured 3 appointments, calling business owners. Called about a new program that allows you to be in the market with principal guarantees. Like shooting fish in a barrel.
On the appointment, will look for hot buttons, schedule next appointment to review current holdings and do a retirement hypothetical. Will use Pru HD7 as a highlight. Can't wait till tomorrow to get back on the phone. Stok[/quote]Will you be changing your name to "annuitywiz"?
I don’t think you’ll ever be able to land an appointment cold calling unless you get really lucky…you have to make it happen. You have to create an easy situation for your prospect to say they will see you. Read the other cold calling posts. Prospects will almost never get off their ass to come see you in your office on the first meeting.
"I'll be out in your neighborhood on Wednesday, would it be alright if I stopped by to shake your hand and drop off an idea that has worked for some of my clients?" Try it, I swear it works better than anything else I've tried.More than anything it “cuts to the chase”, I say I’m going to be in their neighborhood and can I swing by around 4pm? If they say yes that would be fine, we just set an appointment. If they say they will be busy or not home at that time, I say can I try you next time I’ll be in that area…either yes or no.
I bring a few ideas, good corp/muni or the managed money program I use. But more than anything I want to show them how I work with clients. I'll say most of my work is planning based, would it be alright if I showed you a plan I worked on for another couple last week(black out names of course)...they say yes. If they like what I've shown, I say I'd like to make this plan specific to you guys....then get their statements.I want in on that investment. The principal guaranteed while being in the market. Too bad it’s not true with Annuities. Maybe your income is guaranteed. Try and take your money out of an annuity you invested in October 2007. I’m sure it will be down at least 40% oh and then you have the deferred sales charge.