[quote=maddmatt]

  I suppose I should have spelled out the fact that I was fu#&ing joking. Man, can't a guy get a break around here? No wonder Wall Street is so f'd up. Too many tight asses. Don't worry, I'll loosen ya'll up. [/quote]   So you're going to loosen up Ferris' tight ass?  Are you sure you're on the right forum?

[quote=maddmatt][quote=Ferris Bueller] [quote=maddmatt]

My opinion is coming from 20 years of Insurance and car sales, not financial advising. So, take it with a grain of salt, but in my experience I have found that a person is either good on the phone or they aren't. Fact is, since you have such vast experience in making the ladies, you really need to treat the phone like you're trying to f%@# it. There are three phases:

Phase 1: The "trying to get her to pay attention to me" phase. Yell and act like a jackass to get her attention.
 
Phase 2: The "I am the best damned thing that ever happened to you" phase. In this phase, you should give the prospective piece of a** that you are really listening to her (him?!) and that you are sensitive to her(his?!) needs.
 
Phase 3: The "take it to the bank phase". Throw the biggest line of b.s. at your prospect you can think of, then laugh say you are just kidding lower your voice and say "seriously though,  I think you and I need to be alone."
 
This process will result in more appointments which result in more closes which will result in more net commissions. One word of caution, always wear protection.
 
 [/quote]

This is some of the worst cold calling advice I have ever heard. No wonder insurance salesmen get a bad rap.[/quote]   I suppose I should have spelled out the fact that I was fu#&ing joking. Man, can't a guy get a break around here? No wonder Wall Street is so f'd up. Too many tight asses. Don't worry, I'll loosen ya'll up. [/quote]

Next time you're joking, please make it funny so that we'll know.

[quote=Hank Moody] [quote=maddmatt][quote=Ferris Bueller] [quote=maddmatt]

My opinion is coming from 20 years of Insurance and car sales, not financial advising. So, take it with a grain of salt, but in my experience I have found that a person is either good on the phone or they aren't. Fact is, since you have such vast experience in making the ladies, you really need to treat the phone like you're trying to f%@# it. There are three phases:

Phase 1: The "trying to get her to pay attention to me" phase. Yell and act like a jackass to get her attention.
 
Phase 2: The "I am the best damned thing that ever happened to you" phase. In this phase, you should give the prospective piece of a** that you are really listening to her (him?!) and that you are sensitive to her(his?!) needs.
 
Phase 3: The "take it to the bank phase". Throw the biggest line of b.s. at your prospect you can think of, then laugh say you are just kidding lower your voice and say "seriously though,  I think you and I need to be alone."
 
This process will result in more appointments which result in more closes which will result in more net commissions. One word of caution, always wear protection.
 
 [/quote]

This is some of the worst cold calling advice I have ever heard. No wonder insurance salesmen get a bad rap.[/quote]   I suppose I should have spelled out the fact that I was fu#&ing joking. Man, can't a guy get a break around here? No wonder Wall Street is so f'd up. Too many tight asses. Don't worry, I'll loosen ya'll up. [/quote]

Next time you're joking, please make it funny so that we'll know.
[/quote]   Oh, I forgot. You're the resident comedian. Next time I'll have you proof read my post before I hit reply.

You’ll learn to actually appreciate hangups. You can cross them off your list and move on.

More maddening are the people who tell you on the doorstep 'Sounds great, call me next week,' or 'I have an old 401k that needs reviewing' or 'I've been thinking about this' and then never, ever, ever answer their phones.    

"You’ll learn to actually appreciate hangups. You can cross them off your list and move on.

More maddening are the people who tell you on the doorstep 'Sounds great, call me next week,' or 'I have an old 401k that needs reviewing' or 'I've been thinking about this' and then never, ever, ever answer their phones."   Absolutely!  "No" is a great answer.  "Yes" is a great answer.  It's the people who can't say "no" that are the worst.  The ass who hangs up on you is 1000 x better than the person who says, "Call back next week", and then doesn't answer the phone.   My basic phoning mentality is that the person who I'm calling is already not my client.  Not calling gives me the same result as a "no".  At least with a "no", I don't have to waste more time with him.

[quote=anonymous]"You’ll learn to actually appreciate hangups. You can cross them off your list and move on.

More maddening are the people who tell you on the doorstep 'Sounds great, call me next week,' or 'I have an old 401k that needs reviewing' or 'I've been thinking about this' and then never, ever, ever answer their phones."   Absolutely!  "No" is a great answer.  "Yes" is a great answer.  It's the people who can't say "no" that are the worst.  The ass who hangs up on you is 1000 x better than the person who says, "Call back next week", and then doesn't answer the phone.   My basic phoning mentality is that the person who I'm calling is already not my client.  Not calling gives me the same result as a "no".  At least with a "no", I don't have to waste more time with him.[/quote]

Fascinating.

I’ve been toying with a potential cold call script:

  --------------- Hi this is Bobby Broker with Main Street Advsiors.  I'm conducting a poll of people in the community to see how they feel about their present financial advisor.  It's for a news article I'm putting together.   Would you say that you are the most upset about:   1) The fact that your present advisor oversaw the destruction of 40% of your nest egg? 2) His company's financial shenanigan's have destroyed the economy and caused untold human misery? or 3) That his company was rewarded for this with $45 billion of your tax dollars?   Which of those would you say makes you the angriest?  #2 is it?  Okaaay, lemme just mark that down here...   By the way, Main Street Advisors didn't need a taxpayer bailout.  Yeeeeah, we're a pretty conservative outfit.  Everyone else wants to be the rabbit in the race, we're happy to be the rich tortoise that makes it to the finish line without asking the taxpayers for a handout.  Slow and steady, that's my motto.   I'm going to be visiting a few clients in your neighborhood on Wednesday, can I stop by to drop off a business card and introduce myself?  You sound like you have the same investing philosphy I do.   -----------------------   I kid you not.  That will be my pitch and I guarantee that 90% of people that answer the phone stick around to tell me how pissed off they are.  If you're going to provoke emotion and action, why fool around?

[quote=Potential]I’ve been toying with a potential cold call script:

  --------------- Hi this is Bobby Broker with Main Street Advsiors.  I'm conducting a poll of people in the community to see how they feel about their present financial advisor.  It's for a news article I'm putting together.   Would you say that you are the most upset about:   1) The fact that your present advisor oversaw the destruction of 40% of your nest egg? 2) His company's financial shenanigan's have destroyed the economy and caused untold human misery? or 3) That his company was rewarded for this with $45 billion of your tax dollars?   Which of those would you say makes you the angriest?  #2 is it?  Okaaay, lemme just mark that down here...   By the way, Main Street Advisors didn't need a taxpayer bailout.  Yeeeeah, we're a pretty conservative outfit.  Everyone else wants to be the rabbit in the race, we're happy to be the rich tortoise that makes it to the finish line without asking the taxpayers for a handout.  Slow and steady, that's my motto.   I'm going to be visiting a few clients in your neighborhood on Wednesday, can I stop by to drop off a business card and introduce myself?  You sound like you have the same investing philosphy I do.   -----------------------   I kid you not.  That will be my pitch and I guarantee that 90% of people that answer the phone stick around to tell me how pissed off they are.  If you're going to provoke emotion and action, why fool around?[/quote]

Corny and dishonest. You're on the right track about provoking emotion. Try to shorten your script a LOT and go for the throat. I was training a new cold caller yesterday and we found that you have to say things to people that most brokers are too chicken to say to get them moving.

Hank Moody:

Corny and dishonest. You’re on the right track about provoking emotion. Try to shorten your script a LOT and go for the throat. I was training a new cold caller yesterday and we found that you have to say things to people that most brokers are too chicken to say to get them moving.

  Yeah, it was wordy because I was making it up as I typed it.  I know I have less than 10 seconds to sink the hook.  When I was doing mortgage refinances I used a similar script, I was calling to see if people thought they were being treated fairly by their credit card companies.  Talk about shooting fish in a barrel.   As for your latter point, I was sitting in a Merrill office the other day waiting for an interview and had to listen to this guy nearby making cold calls that I knew would *never* be responded to.  He was calling doctors so of course, all he ever got was the receptionist shunting him over to voicemail.  "Hi this is David Kayne with Merril Lynch.  Please call me at your earliest convenience at 555-555-5555".  Talk about wasting your time.   Now that I think about it, if I was a doctor I would set up a dummy voicemail box and tell my receptionist to forward all solicitations to it and empty it once a week.

[quote=Potential]I’ve been toying with a potential cold call script:

  --------------- Hi this is Bobby Broker with Main Street Advsiors.  I'm conducting a poll of people in the community to see how they feel about their present financial advisor.  It's for a news article I'm putting together.   Would you say that you are the most upset about:   1) The fact that your present advisor oversaw the destruction of 40% of your nest egg? You are assuming as most newbs in training do that everyone is down 40%.  Don't worry, your clients will also get market like returns for quite a while until you figure out what you are doing.  This phrase will work with them also. 2) His company's financial shenanigan's have destroyed the economy and caused untold human misery? There have been some big stories recently about Jones reps and they were not flattering.  Slinging dirt can work both ways.  Do you really want clients who respond favorably to this?  Another newb mistake. or 3) That his company was rewarded for this with $45 billion of your tax dollars?   Which of those would you say makes you the angriest?  #2 is it?  Okaaay, lemme just mark that down here...   By the way, Main Street Advisors didn't need a taxpayer bailout.  Yeeeeah, we're a pretty conservative outfit.  Everyone else wants to be the rabbit in the race, we're happy to be the rich tortoise that makes it to the finish line without asking the taxpayers for a handout.  Slow and steady, that's my motto.   I'm going to be visiting a few clients in your neighborhood on Wednesday, can I stop by to drop off a business card and introduce myself?  You sound like you have the same investing philosphy I do. Clients don't work with firms, they work with you.  What is it you do again?  I seem to have missed it in your post. -----------------------   I kid you not.  That will be my pitch and I guarantee that 90% of people that answer the phone stick around to tell me how pissed off they are.  Sorry, now I see, your a grief counselor.  Got it.  If you're going to provoke emotion and action, why fool around?[/quote]

[quote=Ferris Bueller] [quote=maddmatt] [quote=Ferris Bueller] [quote=maddmatt]

My opinion is coming from 20 years of Insurance and car sales, not financial advising. So, take it with a grain of salt, but in my experience I have found that a person is either good on the phone or they aren't. Fact is, since you have such vast experience in making the ladies, you really need to treat the phone like you're trying to f%@# it. There are three phases:

Phase 1: The "trying to get her to pay attention to me" phase. Yell and act like a jackass to get her attention.
 
Phase 2: The "I am the best damned thing that ever happened to you" phase. In this phase, you should give the prospective piece of a** that you are really listening to her (him?!) and that you are sensitive to her(his?!) needs.
 
Phase 3: The "take it to the bank phase". Throw the biggest line of b.s. at your prospect you can think of, then laugh say you are just kidding lower your voice and say "seriously though,  I think you and I need to be alone."
 
This process will result in more appointments which result in more closes which will result in more net commissions. One word of caution, always wear protection.
 
 [/quote] This is some of the worst cold calling advice I have ever heard. No wonder insurance salesmen get a bad rap.[/quote]
 
I suppose I should have spelled out the fact that I was fu#&ing joking. Man, can't a guy get a break around here? No wonder Wall Street is so f'd up. Too many tight asses. Don't worry, I'll loosen ya'll up. [/quote]

Hey man, I'm open to joking around. Probably more than most people here. I just saw your post as being sincere, not a joke.

I'll assume your request to loosen up my ass was a joke, but in case it wasn't I respectfully decline.[/quote]   No harm, no foul. I was just making fun of the original poster for positing his ladies man persona all the while lamenting over his bruised ego by way of cold calls and such. Truth is, there is an element of truth to my post. Making "love" to the phone does work. Smiling in the mirror also works. So, because I was a smart ass, I will now give actual phone calling advice (for what it's worth):   People do not want to be bothered. They certainly do not want to be sold anything over the phone. When you call somebody you have to realize you are interrupting whatever it is they were doing. When you jump into a pitch (especially the canned variety) you will piss them off to no end. The only way to combat this is to throw them off balance within the first 5 seconds. Tom Hopkins had a great way of leading into a phone call. I will let Tom give you his advice: "Mr. Jones, please. Mr. Jones? Thank you! Mr. Jones, this ......" Now, why does this work? Mainly because the prospect heard his name 3 times in your first sentence. What is everyone's favorite subject? Bingo! Themselves. Focusing on the prospect and getting them to talk about themselves will go further to set an appointment (which is all you should be doing at this point, right?) than trying to pitch an idea. Save the pitch for in person when you have total control and after you have established rapport. You can sell ice to Eskimos, but only after they learn to trust you. Some guys will blow through these calls looking for the lay downs. I made a living working the customers they were too lazy to work. I am not a licensed FA, but I have 20 years of sales and training experience. I promise you, putting the customer first and playing to their needs and desires will always pay off more than trying to be Slick Willie with the latest, greatest scheme. BTW, slow down the process. It allows you to gain control. Learn how to fluctuate your voice so that the monotone doesn't turn off their hearing. It's a beautiful thing when someone you have never met is repeating your name, the time and day you will be there as they're writing it down. "Oh, and by the way, I'll be stopping at Starbucks on the way. Do you like yours black?"   And no, I don't see loosening up anyone's ass in the forecast. LOL!

Hank is right.  If you give two sh*ts about someone hanging up on you or being mean to you on the phone…you should really reevaluate whether you should be in the business.

  How are you going to sit across from a client who gave you $300k, and in 6 months it's worth $200k?  Are you going to be able to tell them with confidence they are still on track, and that you stand by your investment recommendations, and bailing out right now make no sense?   If strangers on the phone get you off track....you haven't seen anything yet.

snaggletooth:

I just think lying to them about writing a news article is really corny and tasteless.

  Yeah, like I said, I was just making it up off the top of my head.  But it probably would be an interesting poll and accompanying article.

[quote=buyandhold]Before you start giving inane cold call advice, shouldn’t you at least get licensed.

[/quote]   Is a license now required to have a casual conversation?  I wasn't aware of it.   People around here really need to lighten the &*^% up.  I've seen some cranky forums in my day but people make a point of coming here to piss on each other, day in, day out.

Potential:

  I’ve seen some cranky forums in my day but people make a point of coming here to piss on each other, day in, day out.

  What's wrong with that?