Does cold calling work?
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[quote=FADavo]
I know guys that offer to buy them on the internet (craigslist).
[/quote]
Tried looking for them but couldnt find them.
[quote=Takingnames]
Harrkam;
WHOA.
You're way too busy putting up hurdles and not figuring out ways to work with the hurdles you truly have.
Get through your training program and learn why the hurdles exist (regulatory, policy, etc) which is what your training and licensure program is all about and then learn how to operate in spite of them. Cold calling works. It's not about what YOU think of cold calling; or what YOU want to do. Take yourself out of the equation. Then and only then can it work.
No no no no no on the internal dialing. Read the SOURCE legislation and then learn your company policy.
DNC lists are not just residential. B2B can ask to be removed from another company list. There are restrictions on business to business calling too. Each firm has to manage that list and the fines are high. Do you want to be the guy who doesn't follow your company rules and forces a fine and nice publicity for breaking the regs?
Work hard - and play by the rules. It's a simple business, really. Just not easy.
[/quote]
Takingnames is right... Your making it way to hard on yourself sparky. It sounds like horse shit when your a rookie and a guy steps in and tells you he made 1000 calls a day, 25 hours a day, 8 days a week. The phone is the single best way you will develop the skill set needed to survive.
Keep things simple... Pick up the phone... pitch the meeting work through your rebuttals and a month from now you'll see your much better at speaking to people than you were a month from today.
I remember successful guys (the real ones guys with taking home a nice check at the end of the month and not the ones exchanging war stories of the good ol days that never were) but the real guys would all say the same thing.
Continue to work the phone and everything else will fall into place. I can tell you ten years later that it is not that simple but it is the truth.
Dial and keep dialing until you have an appointment once you have an appointment go ask your manager what you should do next. If you can't or won't then no matter how much you lie to yourself I can say with a high degree of certainty you will not be in this industry 1 year from today.
I really do wish you luck and I'd like to think that your overthinking things because you care and that is a real good start.
[quote=The Business]
[quote=Takingnames]
Harrkam;
WHOA.
You're way too busy putting up hurdles and not figuring out ways to work with the hurdles you truly have.
Get through your training program and learn why the hurdles exist (regulatory, policy, etc) which is what your training and licensure program is all about and then learn how to operate in spite of them. Cold calling works. It's not about what YOU think of cold calling; or what YOU want to do. Take yourself out of the equation. Then and only then can it work.
No no no no no on the internal dialing. Read the SOURCE legislation and then learn your company policy.
DNC lists are not just residential. B2B can ask to be removed from another company list. There are restrictions on business to business calling too. Each firm has to manage that list and the fines are high. Do you want to be the guy who doesn't follow your company rules and forces a fine and nice publicity for breaking the regs?
Work hard - and play by the rules. It's a simple business, really. Just not easy.
[/quote]
Takingnames is right... Your making it way to hard on yourself sparky. It sounds like horse shit when your a rookie and a guy steps in and tells you he made 1000 calls a day, 25 hours a day, 8 days a week. The phone is the single best way you will develop the skill set needed to survive.
Keep things simple... Pick up the phone... pitch the meeting work through your rebuttals and a month from now you'll see your much better at speaking to people than you were a month from today.
I remember successful guys (the real ones guys with taking home a nice check at the end of the month and not the ones exchanging war stories of the good ol days that never were) but the real guys would all say the same thing.
Continue to work the phone and everything else will fall into place. I can tell you ten years later that it is not that simple but it is the truth.
Dial and keep dialing until you have an appointment once you have an appointment go ask your manager what you should do next. If you can't or won't then no matter how much you lie to yourself I can say with a high degree of certainty you will not be in this industry 1 year from today.
I really do wish you luck and I'd like to think that your overthinking things because you care and that is a real good start.
[/quote]
Thank you guys
Yes I care very much, I feel lucky to have this break and I want to make the best of it. I do not want to fail.
Right now I am in the process of making decisions on:
1) Do I pitch a product and try to close over the phone, or do I pitch for an appointment on service and planning
Can someone lay out the pro's and cons for a service vs product pitch, I've heard them before but I cant decide between the two.
What I keep going back and forth on is
-If I call with a product, what if that product isnt what the person needs and instead had I offered a meeting I could have offered a more relvant product over the course of a few meetings rather than pigeon holing myself.
-I am young 25 to be exact, maybe I will have trouble closing people once they come in to the appointment. What maybe I can do instead is team up with a senior advisor and get the prospect into the office and have the senior advisor help me close for a split of the commish.
[quote=harkkam]What I keep going back and forth on is
-If I call with a product, what if that product isnt what the person needs and instead had I offered a meeting I could have offered a more relvant product over the course of a few meetings rather than pigeon holing myself.[/quote]
You're not understanding the product pitch. The goal is to generate interest and further the sales process. It never leaves you pigeon holed into that product. You find a product that will have mass appeal. If a component of that product doesn't work, you find out what does work by fact finding, then find the product, and repeat the process. (Different maturity, different rating, different asset class all together, anything) This is actually how it typically works. Sometimes you don't know the reason until you ask them to buy.. then you find the reason, and fact find.
The service appointment pitch is lousy for generating interest and getting the convo going.
KB
[quote=harkkam]Right now I am in the process of making decisions on:
1) Do I pitch a product and try to close over the phone, or do I pitch for an appointment on service and planning
Can someone lay out the pro's and cons for a service vs product pitch, I've heard them before but I cant decide between the two.
What I keep going back and forth on is
-If I call with a product, what if that product isnt what the person needs and instead had I offered a meeting I could have offered a more relvant product over the course of a few meetings rather than pigeon holing myself.
-I am young 25 to be exact, maybe I will have trouble closing people once they come in to the appointment. What maybe I can do instead is team up with a senior advisor and get the prospect into the office and have the senior advisor help me close for a split of the commish.
[/quote]
One more thing to point out, when I'm saying product pitch is better than service, I'm not necessarily saying phone close is better than in-person appointments. (Although I prefer and always opt for phone close) Product vs service is comparing opening pitch, phone close vs appointment is comparing a step later in the sales process. You seem to be lumping service pitch with appointments and product pitch with phone close. Many people product pitch and advance the process going for the appointment.
KB
[quote=harkkam]
[quote=The Business]
[quote=Takingnames]
Harrkam;
WHOA.
You're way too busy putting up hurdles and not figuring out ways to work with the hurdles you truly have.
Get through your training program and learn why the hurdles exist (regulatory, policy, etc) which is what your training and licensure program is all about and then learn how to operate in spite of them. Cold calling works. It's not about what YOU think of cold calling; or what YOU want to do. Take yourself out of the equation. Then and only then can it work.
No no no no no on the internal dialing. Read the SOURCE legislation and then learn your company policy.
DNC lists are not just residential. B2B can ask to be removed from another company list. There are restrictions on business to business calling too. Each firm has to manage that list and the fines are high. Do you want to be the guy who doesn't follow your company rules and forces a fine and nice publicity for breaking the regs?
Work hard - and play by the rules. It's a simple business, really. Just not easy.
[/quote]
Takingnames is right... Your making it way to hard on yourself sparky. It sounds like horse shit when your a rookie and a guy steps in and tells you he made 1000 calls a day, 25 hours a day, 8 days a week. The phone is the single best way you will develop the skill set needed to survive.
Keep things simple... Pick up the phone... pitch the meeting work through your rebuttals and a month from now you'll see your much better at speaking to people than you were a month from today.
I remember successful guys (the real ones guys with taking home a nice check at the end of the month and not the ones exchanging war stories of the good ol days that never were) but the real guys would all say the same thing.
Continue to work the phone and everything else will fall into place. I can tell you ten years later that it is not that simple but it is the truth.
Dial and keep dialing until you have an appointment once you have an appointment go ask your manager what you should do next. If you can't or won't then no matter how much you lie to yourself I can say with a high degree of certainty you will not be in this industry 1 year from today.
I really do wish you luck and I'd like to think that your overthinking things because you care and that is a real good start.
[/quote]
Thank you guys
Yes I care very much, I feel lucky to have this break and I want to make the best of it. I do not want to fail.
Right now I am in the process of making decisions on:
1) Do I pitch a product and try to close over the phone, or do I pitch for an appointment on service and planning
Can someone lay out the pro's and cons for a service vs product pitch, I've heard them before but I cant decide between the two.
What I keep going back and forth on is
-If I call with a product, what if that product isnt what the person needs and instead had I offered a meeting I could have offered a more relvant product over the course of a few meetings rather than pigeon holing myself.
-I am young 25 to be exact, maybe I will have trouble closing people once they come in to the appointment. What maybe I can do instead is team up with a senior advisor and get the prospect into the office and have the senior advisor help me close for a split of the commish.
[/quote]
Do both. You can call on product (bonds) for some prospects (older, likely to be retired - for instance) or annuities, let's say. Call on service for a different range of prospects - mid life, mid career, maybe not getting service. Think in sleeves. Who wants what? Then, organize yourself to pitch to people what they are possibly interested in. You can always SHIFT during the call too.
Don't get stuck on one idea.
Junior/Senior sounds great until you are in a bad Junior/Senior partnership. I've seen them blow up and be bad bad bad for the young guy. Don't get into a marriage too soon. If you are afraid you HAVE to partner - then do it tactically - don't split up your whole book to them and don't bring them all your prospects. Use different colleagues for different things. You can have a split with three or four depending on the firm you are going with. ONe guy might be great at bonds. Bond prospect - work with him, one guy might be awesome at DC plans - get a DC prospect, work with him. As you learn what you WANT and more importantly what you DON'T want to work with, you can slough off a client; or leave and not have your whole book in one guys hands......
Any split that does not favor you - IE - at least 50/50 (or 70/30 - YOUR favor) is not right. You will be birddogging, doing all the service and think it's "learning". It's not. It's feeding someone 70% and you doing all the work for 30% if the split does not favor you. Remember, age and treachery beat youth and skill - every time.
[quote=KingBobby]
[quote=harkkam]What I keep going back and forth on is
-If I call with a product, what if that product isnt what the person needs and instead had I offered a meeting I could have offered a more relvant product over the course of a few meetings rather than pigeon holing myself.[/quote]
You're not understanding the product pitch. The goal is to generate interest and further the sales process. It never leaves you pigeon holed into that product. You find a product that will have mass appeal. If a component of that product doesn't work, you find out what does work by fact finding, then find the product, and repeat the process. (Different maturity, different rating, different asset class all together, anything) This is actually how it typically works. Sometimes you don't know the reason until you ask them to buy.. then you find the reason, and fact find.
The service appointment pitch is lousy for generating interest and getting the convo going.
KB
[/quote]
Yeah, this is a good point. I was all worried about what I was saying and what I was pitching at first. Then I realized getting them on the phone is all that matters.
You could say "I had sex with your daughter last night. By the way, do you invest?" and probably pick up some prospects. I know that is an extreme exageration, but its really just about getting a conversation started.
For this reason, I actually use a generic pitch. "I specialize in "xyz", tell me, do you do invest?"
Make the specialization generic. "small businesses", "retirement plans", "qualified business retirement plans", "fixed income", "equities" - whatever. Make it broad enough that they will say (in their head) "hey, thats me!" and the start a conversation that, generally, has nothing to do with what you "specialize" in.