Westwood's Cold Call Journal
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[quote=ricky32478]
very true but I qualify everyone before I put them on my email list. They have to have at least 250+ in investable assets.
[/quote]
How do yo do this? Don't tell me by buying a list that has people with investable assets of over $250k, because those lists are crap(generally some mathmatic equation factoring in, zipcode average salary, home value, etc)
[quote=ricky32478]
what happens if I have 2 & 3 down. I haven''t been doing this long enough to have many appointments.
[/quote]
I forgot to add on step 3...Sitdown for another appointment and return phone calls.
According to Mullen...the Merrill Lynch trainer...it all starts with step #1...setting the appointment....he says anything that delays this is a waste of time. You have to have all 3 criteria met or it is not a prospect.
How to get an appointment...call for an appointment.
Develop a script to set an appointment and scripts for Not interested, I already have an advisor, I don't have any money, I don't have time. These handle 99% of the objections you will receive. Once you get this down so it does not sound like you are reading and you have it down cold... 1 out of 10 contacts will set an appointment if you can get thru the entire call script and the entire objection script.
Another hint...you are probably in your 20's...deepen your voice a little when you call...makes you sound older and more confident. I'm in my 40's and I still deepen my voice. It's like I have a split personality. I have my cold call phone voice and my appointment voice( which is the way I normally talk). Customers will not remember what you sounded like on the phone when you meet them.
Also pitch the wife for an appointment...Wives are decision makers as well and they will tell more about their money then the spouse will. Example...husband is successful and works all the time. Wife stays at home and handles the finances. If the wife likes you then it is a slam dunk. Alot of times the wife will be offended if you don't think if she can make the decision.
These are just my opinions. Everyone on this board will have a different opinion. Be careful who you take advice from. You have to find what makes you comfortable and don't change it. Just sharing my 18 years of experience.
after the person tells me they are interested in the newsletter. I say great
We have three different types of newsletters, one for people with less than 100,000, one for people with 100-250, and one for 250+. The reason mr or mrs prospects we separate them like that is because the newsletter with 250000 really drives home on how to generate tax free income. Now mr or mrs prospects what one would you like me to send you.
Works like a charm every time. I don't count any prospects under 250
[quote=ricky32478]
after the person tells me they are interested in the newsletter. I say great
We have three different types of newsletters, one for people with less than 100,000, one for people with 100-250, and one for 250+. The reason mr or mrs prospects we separate them like that is because the newsletter with 250000 really drives home on how to generate tax free income. Now mr or mrs prospects what one would you like me to send you.
Works like a charm every time. I don't count any prospects under 250
[/quote]
That is terrible... good idea... But you are accenting the the $250k newsletter..The reason mr or mrs prospects we separate them like that is because the newsletter with 250000 really drives home on how to generate tax free income. Also psychology says "we want what we can't have" so if I have a portfolio of $75K, I will tell you $250k so i can get the juicy details of the $250k portfolio..
Maybe you should say something like.. for clients under $250k the info is geared towards mutual funds, bond funds etc, where as with portfolio larger than $250k we can invest in individual issues of bonds, and stocks, however for diversification and risk purposes you must have over $250k to do this.
Or simply if you are pitching muni bonds... For clients under $250k we use bond funds to insure adequate diversificaiton and risk tolerance.. For Clients over $250k blah blah blah..
[quote=on my own]
[quote=ricky32478]
what happens if I have 2 & 3 down. I haven''t been doing this long enough to have many appointments.
[/quote]
I forgot to add on step 3...Sitdown for another appointment and return phone calls.
According to Mullen...the Merrill Lynch trainer...it all starts with step #1...setting the appointment....he says anything that delays this is a waste of time. You have to have all 3 criteria met or it is not a prospect.
How to get an appointment...call for an appointment.
Develop a script to set an appointment and scripts for Not interested, I already have an advisor, I don't have any money, I don't have time. These handle 99% of the objections you will receive. Once you get this down so it does not sound like you are reading and you have it down cold... 1 out of 10 contacts will set an appointment if you can get thru the entire call script and the entire objection script.
These are just my opinions. Everyone on this board will have a different opinion. Be careful who you take advice from. You have to find what makes you comfortable and don't change it. Just sharing my 18 years of experience.
[/quote]
yeah man, we all read the book... why don't you just post each chapter in a separate topic instead of listing what he says here.
Squash-
I don't think he read the book.
Ricky was asking "how do I set and appointment" and is counting anyone who he can put on his mailing /can I call you again list a prospect.
Hacksaw and I were just trying to tell him what a prospect truely is.
I actually did ready the book. I am calling it a prospect for argument sake. To much time wasted arguing what a prospect was. Who cares. Im going to keep dialings and forget about it. I know the prospects are "hot" right now. But I know they all have money and after dripping on them for 6 months somethings got to give.
Tuesday
Dials 336
Contacts 28
Prospects 2
Appts 1
Well I had one appointment today, this was from a person that I cold called about a month ago and followed up with them a couple of weeks ago and asked for the appointment in the second call. I didn't seem too confident in them showing up, as I have had a couple of flakes before, but they did. Long story, it looks like it might be a 200-250k account!
In my case, it really helps to get the appointment. I think I do a better job of closing them in person, even though I can't stop talking sometimes... I do get the feeling that the people I'm calling on don't like to do business over the phone and I just have to get the balls to straight up ask every prospect for a meeting every chance I get. Just thoughts...still learning, everyday.
Did a presentation/seminar for a firm today. I know the head person and know everyone in attendance makes 6 figures. I had everyone sign in and put their email address and whether they want to receive my monthly newsletter. I also told them I’d stick around an hour after my thing to talk one-on-one. All 15 people said yes to the newsletter and one talked to me about setting an appointment for next week (28 years old and ~$100k).
So do I have 15 prospects? No, I have one. Now maybe the other 14 will do business with me in the future but for right now they are just people on my newletter list. It’s taken me a couple months of production to realize this (I’m < 1 year production) but I’m looking to build a list of the 100 prospects.
If you are just using the term prospect loosely on here fine. Just make sure you aren’t doing it in real life. It will spell the end of your career.
Westwood and Ricky are doing well. So far, so good, very impressive. They just need to keep it up, not get frustrated or burned out before they hit the other side. To a degree, if you throw enough $hit against the wall, some of it is going to stick. And boy are they both throwing it! Anyways, that is my 19 yrs worth of two cents talking...
I agree Big. They are killing it on the calls. But if they are not asking and getting appointments but are happy with their “prospect” number they could become delusional. I know because I was there a couple months ago.
For 9 straight weeks I called 200+ a day and made 25+ contacts a day. I worked 7am til 8pm and everyother Saturday. I considered anyone who didn’t say no a prospect. That led to 2 accounts worth a total of $125k. I was chasing ghosts (too busy right now, want to feel more confident in the market, worried about my job). If it wasn’t for me landing a $1million+ account from connections I would have already failed out of the business.
Now my cold-calling is paying off. I have about $10.5 million in my pipeline and I hope to close 1/3-1/2 within the next 6 months.
So does cold-calling work? Heck yeah. It just takes patience and time for these to become clients. But to keep your job you need accounts now. So what really matters are your true prospects. For me that is people I could do business with in the next 90 days so I can keep my job.
I’m just a few months ahead of these guys and have gone through what they are going through. The key is business now to keep your job, but also keep prospecting for tomorrow. Cold calling works and these guys are busting it on the phones. Just make sure you are always asking for an appointment and at the appointment asking for the business.
That’s just my 6 months of production talking.
Hacksaw, great post. I'm operating under the assumption that Ricky and Westwood are calling on decent numbers, wtih a decent presentation. So, Ricky, Westwood, are you?
By the sheer volume of calls, I'd also assume like anything with mass repetition, the learning curve kicks in fast.
Hacksaw and all, a special weapon you should all employ, is the "hand written note". 5 per day. Do that for 90 days, and you tell me how much biz you did. It will be the little thing, that makes a big difference.
hahahhah so funny you should mention that. Everytime I get a "prospect" I write them a hand written note. I hope it works
[quote=Hacksaw]I agree Big. They are killing it on the calls. But if they are not asking and getting appointments but are happy with their "prospect" number they could become delusional. I know because I was there a couple months ago. For 9 straight weeks I called 200+ a day and made 25+ contacts a day. I worked 7am til 8pm and everyother Saturday. I considered anyone who didn't say no a prospect. That led to 2 accounts worth a total of $125k. I was chasing ghosts (too busy right now, want to feel more confident in the market, worried about my job). If it wasn't for me landing a $1million+ account from connections I would have already failed out of the business. Now my cold-calling is paying off. I have about $10.5 million in my pipeline and I hope to close 1/3-1/2 within the next 6 months. So does cold-calling work? Heck yeah. It just takes patience and time for these to become clients. But to keep your job you need accounts now. So what really matters are your true prospects. For me that is people I could do business with in the next 90 days so I can keep my job. I'm just a few months ahead of these guys and have gone through what they are going through. The key is business now to keep your job, but also keep prospecting for tomorrow. Cold calling works and these guys are busting it on the phones. Just make sure you are always asking for an appointment and at the appointment asking for the business. That's just my 6 months of production talking.[/quote]
Great Post!
For a serious prospect, I don't think I've ever not closed a deal when I employed my hand written notes strategy.
Harvey MacKay is big on that. How To Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive is a must read...