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TheRook- a cold call to action

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May 17, 2011 3:34 am

These forums and discussions are unbelievable. I want to use this particular discussion as a spring board for my journey through the ranks of this crazy business but more importantly as a way to get encouragement, ideas, accountability, and a talking off the ledge every now and again. A quick background:

26 yr old male
Been with my firm since 2006 but only on the production side since Jan 10.
1st year: 3 million AUM
48k gross production
Mainly seminars and family/friends
New England city that is fairly wealthy
The lead pool is drying up fast so it’s back to cold calling.
For a young guy getting his feet wet in the business, it sure was a tough first year. It is easy to get side tracked and try to think " outside the box" which I have found is a good excuse to not smile and dial. I hate cold calling. I’m actually pretty good at it but I hate it none the less. It is the rejection over and over agin that eats away at you and makes you spend thousands of $ on seminars because they are “easier and more efficient”. 1 year and about 15k later, I had decided it is enough. I keep finding myself looking for a more normal “career” even going as far as thinking of opening a landscaping company. but after reading some of the discussions tonight I realize that I am not alone in the battle to build a book of business in these difficult times. i have been told that you need to make it to 3 years to know if you have it or not. Well I’m 1.25 years in and not sarisfied up to this point. But I will make it past 3 and build the practice up.

So my goal is to post my cold call journal as many others have done. I will post daily numbers with what worked and what didnt: appointments and prospects: accounts and product and I welcome any rookies or veterans to post their numbers next to mine. Let’s see who can stick with it and make the rest of 2011 count.

Ps: there may be some grammatical errors as this is written from my iPhone.

May 17, 2011 7:02 pm

so i have a seminar tonight. been about a month of planning with disasterous results. so far:

8000 mailed invites

12 RSVPs

that is really low and almost embarassing! not sure why. maybe it is the time of year with graduations, proms, nice weather. i have no clue. i used a 3rd party vendor to mail and that had this ugly window style invite. that could have been a main culprit of low turnout. im going back to postcard style invites and cold calling.

May 18, 2011 1:34 am

So i just got home from my seminar. really bad turnout of a big mailer.

8RSVPs

4 show (2 couples)

0 appts

both families are fairly good prospects. one has an annuity and 401k so i will keep working them.

not sure why the turnout was so low this time off a 8k mailer but it may be the combination of a bunch of things plus the topic was a bit vague. thinking of doing an IRA rollover seminar. target the money in motion. anyone else do this type of seminar?

May 18, 2011 2:14 am

Wow, out of 8,000 mailed only 4 people showed up? Not quiet the 1% rate with this one, huh?

Sorry man, that sucks!

If the mailer looked bad to you, it presumably looked bad to your prospects. I think a big factor into the turn out is going to be the subject. Give them (the prospects) something they're not getting everywhere else. Thats the hard part of course.

One I went to about a month ago was pretty interesting - it was The Washington Update (Andy Friedman). Basically it talked about changes in the tax codes for this year and predictions for the political/legislative changes coming in the next few years.

Another one was Demographics, Climate change and Supercycle -- basically broke down to China is taking over the world. Personally I wanted to hear about super cycle so I went to that.

Maybe looking at getting a professional speaker? The message is important but the delivery makes or breaks it.

-PF

May 18, 2011 2:22 am

I have seen the same washington update by andy friedman. he is incredible. saw that in DC.

the invite didnt look good bc it was one of the window envelopes that you could see through. basically people know when they see it that it is "junk" mail. i didnt realize THAT was the envelope design until the mail was gone.

the toipic name was very catchy and attracting. i have done it before with fewer invites (those ones were nice wedding style, hand written font) and actually had better results. i think i may have saturated the area with the topic.

on well. i have been successful with semianrs in the past so i know it is possible to gether assets. it really is about consistancy and topic. a catchy topic is best. something that plays on fear or a call to action. this time the stars just didnt align. oh well.

May 18, 2011 2:28 am

Another thing you can try doing -- mix cold calling with the mailings.

IE - cold call people and invite them to the seminar? If they accept or express interest, then mail out the invite.

May 19, 2011 12:51 pm

so first day back to hammering the phones. calling small business owners early in the am. pitching them on a muni bond.

so far today.....

37 dials

7 contacts

4 prospects (said i can call them back and provided email address to me)

0 appts/orders (which i didnt expect

trying to build my pipeline to 200-300 contacts ASAP

May 19, 2011 1:51 pm

so i as i keep banging onthe phones i will come back to the forum to give updates.

71 calls

19 contacts

8 prospects (can call back and/or gave me email address to send info)

Good tip (at least i have found): when getting a gatekeeper that says the owner is busy and asks to take a message, i have been responding "Tell him John Doe called, he has my number". and then get off the phone. the gatekeeper will pass that along and hopefully next time i call the owner will take my callbc they feel they have forgot me and/or lost my number. worth a try right?

May 19, 2011 2:38 pm

[quote=TheRook]

so i as i keep banging onthe phones i will come back to the forum to give updates.

71 calls

19 contacts

8 prospects (can call back and/or gave me email address to send info)

Good tip (at least i have found): when getting a gatekeeper that says the owner is busy and asks to take a message, i have been responding "Tell him John Doe called, he has my number". and then get off the phone. the gatekeeper will pass that along and hopefully next time i call the owner will take my callbc they feel they have forgot me and/or lost my number. worth a try right?

[/quote]

Interesting on the message piece - A little bit twisted, but hey who knows.  Why not give the phone number and not tell them who you work for - That way you may get a call back because they don't recognize your name?

What did you end up doing for the list of numbers?

May 19, 2011 4:39 pm

yes i MAY get a callback if i leave my info. but where i am from people most likely wont call back an investment firm during their day. BUT if i say they should have my number, the chances are greater that they will take my call next time bc they think they SHOULD know who it is and what they want.

just thoughts. maybe i am digging to deep into behavioral finance.

my list of numbers is from info USA. businesses only. residentials are just too damn tough to get through. small/med businesses though are a gold mine and you have a much better chance of someone picking up.

so far today:

114 dials

28 contacts

13 prospects (email addresses or are open to a call back)

0 appt

0 sales

i am not going for a hard sale. dont get me wrong, i lead with product 100% but it is much more my style to capture info, talk product, and follow-up. i want them to get my e-newletter, seminar invite, bond ideas, and all that great stuff. my goal is to get to 300 contacts ASAP.

May 19, 2011 7:48 pm

Hey Rook, what firm are you with, and do you mind sharing which state?

May 20, 2011 12:32 am

Rook...

Getting an email, etc is great. but it also offers the prospect a quick out.. "sure add me to your list"..You want them to think about what you are saying and for you to find more info. Not just have a list of 300 people who are too nice to say "screw off" and/or never qualified.

Jun 1, 2011 10:50 pm

i have been lazy about posting my results on this forum so it is time to get back on board.

6/1/11

dials:114

contacts: 14

Prospects: 4

Quality prospects: 2

Appt: 0

i need to pick up the number of dials. leading with bonds.  

Jun 2, 2011 4:59 am

Nice job man, thanks for keeping us updated. I'm about to start my own.

So, I'm curious. When someone answers, what are you saying to them?

Jun 2, 2011 5:03 pm

Nice job! Your ratios are better than mine.

Jun 3, 2011 5:11 pm

Those ratios seem pretty good.  calling biz owners?  keep pounding that phone let's see something good come of this. 114 isn't enough to be honest but I like the ratios for sure.

Jun 3, 2011 10:01 pm

I'm looking to buy books of business. Email with info of what you have at available at [email protected]