Best Cold Calling Pitch
Since I am starting a new cold calling campaign tomorrow, thought I would get some inspiration from other regarding their pitch…
What is your most successful pitch(product, appointment, whatever)
I pitch 100% appointment. I would not do this if I was in a wirehouse environment.
I think that, with cold calls, using a product pitch is best (a la Bill Good). Then you can expand on the product and/or switch to more “suitable” product once you get belly to belly.
I have been thinking about calling on business owners (and anyone else for whom I ca get daytime phone numbers) with a VA pitch (please don’t turn this thread into a debate on the merits of VAs). I think that talking about the guarantees associated with VAs for qualified money could create some interest & open conversations and doors in this climate.
I’ve thought about using a high YTM investment grade bond or insured muni, but I don’t want to attract the people who are individual security buyers, as I don’t do much of that in my practice.
There are no points for degree of difficulty in this business. Make it as easy as possible. Play off of existing appointments.
Ex. I have a 2:00 appointment this afternoon with Joe Smith at the Jones law firm. I'll call another attorney in the firm. Tony Bradshaw works there. Phone call: Me: "Tony, this is Anonymous from Anonymous Financial. Do you have a second to talk?" Tony: "Blah, blah, blah." Me: "I have a meeting at 2:00 in your office with Joe Smith. I very much wanted to have the opportunity to introduce myself to you in person. Are you going to be around at 1:50? Tony: I should be around. Me: Great. I look forward to meeting you.[quote=anonymous]There are no points for degree of difficulty in this business. Make it as easy as possible. Play off of existing appointments.
Ex. I have a 2:00 appointment this afternoon with Joe Smith at the Jones law firm. I'll call another attorney in the firm. Tony Bradshaw works there. Phone call: Me: "Tony, this is Anonymous from Anonymous Financial. Do you have a second to talk?" Tony: "Blah, blah, blah." Me: "I have a meeting at 2:00 in your office with Joe Smith. I very much wanted to have the opportunity to introduce myself to you in person. Are you going to be around at 1:50? Tony: I should be around. Me: Great. I look forward to meeting you. [/quote]If that approach works for you, great. As for me, that type of approach has too often made me little more than a professional visitor in the past. I would rather have a very specific agenda (even if it turns out that my agenda is not a perfect fit and/or my agenda needs to be expanded once we DO meet), and that the prospect understands & qualifies himself for said agenda. And the specific benefits of a specific product in the cold call script let's both the prospect and me know where we stand before a minute is wasted. Hence the living benefit guarantees in VAs are a great "hot-button pointer-outter" for me to start a possible relationship on.
If the cold call on the other end of the line is not hates variable annuities and/or has no interest in the fact that "these products can allow you to participate in market gains while protecting you from market losses.....", I just say "thanyouverymuch"....click....NEXT!
If that kind of approach has made you a professional visitor, the problem may be that you aren’t making a good impression when you do meet them in person. It can also be that you don’t have a good method of following up from that first meeting. The method will work, but I think that it is a bad way to do things for wirehouse reps.
I'm not worried that I'll waste time because I'm careful with my scheduling. Does it matter if it turns out that my 1:50 appointment isn't worth the effort? Not really, since I had to be there at 2:00 anyway. Let me be clear, though. I am not trying to say that my method is better than yours. It's not. It's just different. If your goal is to sell a variable annuity, your method is far superior than mine and can be very lucrative.[quote=anonymous]…the problem may be that you aren’t making a good impression when you do meet them in person. It can also be that you don’t have a good method of following up from that first meeting…
[/quote]Anon - could you share your process for follow-up after a brief (not in-depth) initial face-to-face introduction?
Tx,
CR
At this introductory meeting, I tell the prospect that the purpose of the meeting is to find out one of three things:
1) It makes sense to schedule a time to get together to have a serious financial conversation 2) It doesn't make sense now but we will get together at some point in the future 3) We should never have a serious financial discussion. I then explain how I work and what I exactly it is that I do. Ideally, it's going to be number 1. If that is the case, they'll get a simple follow up letter from me with a confirmation for our next appointment. If it's number 2, they will get a follow up letter. This will be a "thanks for meeting" along with "I look forward to meeting with you in June" or something similar. More importantly, they will be dripped on weekly. When I call back in June, not only will they know me, but they will also know that I know my stuff. In short, my cold call of today becomes a warm call in the future. If it's number 3, it depends whether they don't want to work with me or if they don't want to work with me. If I don't want to work with them, I'll still thank them for their time, but I won't follow up. If they don't want to work with me, but I want to work with them, I'll drip on them and call back in the future. However, before I call back, I will find a way to get referred to them. I won't talk about how I drip on people because it could cost me my anonymity.[quote=anonymous]If that kind of approach has made you a professional visitor, the problem may be that you aren’t making a good impression when you do meet them in person. It can also be that you don’t have a good method of following up from that first meeting. The method will work, but I think that it is a bad way to do things for wirehouse reps.
I'm not worried that I'll waste time because I'm careful with my scheduling. Does it matter if it turns out that my 1:50 appointment isn't worth the effort? Not really, since I had to be there at 2:00 anyway. Let me be clear, though. I am not trying to say that my method is better than yours. It's not. It's just different. If your goal is to sell a variable annuity, your method is far superior than mine and can be very lucrative. [/quote]It's not necessarily my goal to sell a VA. My goal is to set an appointment where, at the very least, we have a specific benefit that I can provide immediately. I will use that meeting as an opportunity to hopefully start a long-term advisory relationship. But if a VA sale is appropriate & is all that ends up being in the cards, fine by me.
Maybe it IS me making a bad impression doing it your way but it's just worked better for me when I go in to solve a very focused need & expand the relationship from there.
I am a big believer in specific organizational or type of business calling. For instance call a well known patent attorneys office and talk about how you have built your practice on working with patent attorneys. The more specialization the better, as for what it will be only you can determine that.
Hello Joe this is Gaddock at XYZ here in Town X. I was calling to see if you would have an interest in discussing possible ways to insure your savings against further loss?
Find the best approach for you. Personally, I would never pitch product. You open your mouth about a muni bond someone already has and the phone is hung up before you know it.
100% appointment. Differentiate yourself and your services.What is your pitch then if you don’t use a product? I use a private reit,which is a pretty uncommon investment and only available through the independent channel.
You mention 100% appointment… “Hi would you like to sit down and review your portfolio” “No-click”… Seems just as likely to hang up… Or do you present it differently.
I always asked if I could send them some information. Soft approach and then would begin regular phone follow up. It worked for me.
This is my approach as well. If they say yes to info, then I know I have a good shot at it being a prospect. But a word of caution if you use this approach: you better qualify them or it'll get time consuming & expensive sending info to people who are just trying to get you off the phone. Bottome line: the best lists & pitches/approaches are the ones that YOU are comfy with & will actually USE. There's no magic bullets here....just raw numbers.I always asked if I could send them some information. Soft approach and then would begin regular phone follow up. It worked for me.
Doesn’t that take a long time, and give the potential prospect the easy way out. “Sure just mail it” “bye”, then never answer the phone again…
Plus I would think sending information piece out(assuming you are using something that is approved, would just be some everyday piece from mutual fund company that anyone can access) would get expensive.
What information are you sending out?
This is my approach as well. If they say yes to info, then I know I have a good shot at it being a prospect. But a word of caution if you use this approach: you better qualify them or it'll get time consuming & expensive sending info to people who are just trying to get you off the phone. Bottome line: the best lists & pitches/approaches are the ones that YOU are comfy with & will actually USE. There's no magic bullets here....just raw numbers.[/quote][quote=henryhill]I always asked if I could send them some information. Soft approach and then would begin regular phone follow up. It worked for me.
I've never seen anyone get rich by doing what's "comfy."
It does take a little longer to send info and you are right that people can say "just mail it" to get you off the phone, only to never take your call again. But then, I've also set appointments where I've been stood up too. That's why I said that you have to be pretty bold with your qualifying. My psychology is that, on the first call, I'm disqualifying THEM. I give the person on the other end of the line ample opportunity to tell me that they aren't interested, if they aren't. I'll move on to somebody who IS interested (there are a few of them, particularly in this market climate). If I'm up front & truthful with them about why I'm calling ect., and they STILL want the info, then chances are I have someone who I can possibly work with, but not always. As far as what I send out....I simply send out an approved brochure on the product that I called them on. I could care less whether they read it or not (in fact, most do not). It simply allows be to call them back in a few days to get the appointment. For me, it's really all about being in this for the long-haul, qualifying the prospect and making myself "safe" for them to talk to (never any high pressure...but I DO ask for the appt, business, ect.). I didn't invent any of this....it's all from Bill Good's book.Doesn’t that take a long time, and give the potential prospect the easy way out. “Sure just mail it” “bye”, then never answer the phone again…
Plus I would think sending information piece out(assuming you are using something that is approved, would just be some everyday piece from mutual fund company that anyone can access) would get expensive.
What information are you sending out?
This is my approach as well. If they say yes to info, then I know I have a good shot at it being a prospect. But a word of caution if you use this approach: you better qualify them or it'll get time consuming & expensive sending info to people who are just trying to get you off the phone. Bottome line: the best lists & pitches/approaches are the ones that YOU are comfy with & will actually USE. There's no magic bullets here....just raw numbers.[/quote][quote=IndyIndy][quote=henryhill]I always asked if I could send them some information. Soft approach and then would begin regular phone follow up. It worked for me.
I've never seen anyone get rich by doing what's "comfy."
[/quote] I agree totally. My point was simply to not become like one of those guys who can think of 839 ways to "pleasure" a woman, but can't ask for a date for Saturday night.
This is my approach as well. If they say yes to info, then I know I have a good shot at it being a prospect. But a word of caution if you use this approach: you better qualify them or it'll get time consuming & expensive sending info to people who are just trying to get you off the phone. Bottome line: the best lists & pitches/approaches are the ones that YOU are comfy with & will actually USE. There's no magic bullets here....just raw numbers.[/quote][quote=Hank Moody] [quote=IndyIndy][quote=henryhill]I always asked if I could send them some information. Soft approach and then would begin regular phone follow up. It worked for me.
I've never seen anyone get rich by doing what's "comfy."
[/quote] I agree totally. My point was simply to not become like one of those guys who can think of 839 ways to "pleasure" a woman, but can't ask for a date for Saturday night. [/quote] Any tips? My anniversary is coming up.
[quote=B24]
Any tips? My anniversary is coming up. [/quote] Yeah, don't forget it.[quote=snaggletooth][quote=B24]
Any tips? My anniversary is coming up. [/quote] Yeah, don't forget it.[/quote] Stole mine! Actually, I always envied guys who knew anything at all in this area.great thread! here’s mine. well, most of it
"hi Dick, this is XXXXXXXX, I work with <firm> over here in <town>. we have some <state> TAX FREE MUNICIPAL BONDS for (project) with some pretty attractive yields<<<<<<take a breath.....chill out>>>>>>>>>> we're just making some calls to local folks in the area who may be interested. DO YOU BUY BONDS?" from there, you can take this several directions. if you become well versed in the many moving parts of tax free paper, you'll find some big fat clients[quote=bondking]great thread! here’s mine. well, most of it
"hi Dick, this is XXXXXXXX, I work with <firm> over here in <town>. we have some <state> TAX FREE MUNICIPAL BONDS for (project) with some pretty attractive yields<<<<<<take a breath.....chill out>>>>>>>>>> we're just making some calls to local folks in the area who may be interested. DO YOU BUY BONDS?" from there, you can take this several directions. if you become well versed in the many moving parts of tax free paper, you'll find some big fat clients [/quote]I'm trying to make more calls like this. Finding someone who understands bonds is a thrill. For one thing, you know they have money. For another, my bond buyers are my sanest and easiest clients to deal with.
I have the bill good hot prospects book (and yes, I’ve read it)… but I guess I don’t get the disqualify thing… how does that work?
I used versions of this for 401k prospecting. I had a much higher rate of success in getting the meeting than other approaches I tried.<?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
“I’m not sure who I should speak with but my name is YOURNAME, I am a YOUR TOWN resident and a financial advisor at YOURFIRM. I would like the opportunity to compete for your company’s business. Can you put me in touch with the appropriate person to speak with in regards to your retirement plan (or other service)?”
If it was true, I would also add in there something like “I drive past your business every day” or say any thing else that would separate me from a call center person.
I had the contact name from the Larkspur or Free ERISA database but I purposely did not ask for the person. Instead I put in on the person answering the phone to give me the contact’s name. Some would say things like “I don’t know who that person is.” And then I would give them the name that I have and ask “Is that the correct person?”
When I did eventually get in touch with the appropriate person I would emphasize that I am only looking for the opportunity to compete for their business. My only goal was for a face-to-face meeting. If they asked how long it would take I would promise to not take up any more than ½ an hour unless we connected and they wanted me to stay longer.
Personally, I would never acknowledge a cold caller. (Actually, now I do but that’s just to have fun and see what they do) My feeling is that more people took the time to speak with me because I made a connection by being local (or through other methods) and the only thing I asked for was “the opportunity to compete” for their business.
I think that I’ll get back on the 401k cold calling next week. I’ll probably come up with something like “have you or any of your employees expressed concern after seeing their October statements?”
--WM
Sounds good.
I’ve been getting the “I’ve lost a lot of money, but I’m happy where I am” response in my cc’ing. I wanna blurt, ‘are you kidding me’ but I just can’t figure out how to deal with such a non-sensical response. Ideas? Anyone else hearing this?
[quote=OrDieTrying]Sounds good.
I’ve been getting the “I’ve lost a lot of money, but I’m happy where I am” response in my cc’ing. I wanna blurt, ‘are you kidding me’ but I just can’t figure out how to deal with such a non-sensical response. Ideas? Anyone else hearing this?
[/quote]
What is stopping you from saying so? Ask them “Do you mind if I ask you a tough question? It might make you mad…Do you REALLY think THIS is the time to say “no” to something, before you even know what you’re saying “no” to?”
Or ask something just as abrupt. Most will give you permission, since they’re too curious to take a pass and, once you get permission, you can say ANYTHING you want.
I’ve been getting the “I’ve lost a lot of money, but I’m happy where I am” response in my cc’ing. I wanna blurt, ‘are you kidding me’ but I just can’t figure out how to deal with such a non-sensical response. Ideas? Anyone else hearing this?
I’ve gotten more conversations started with this type of response:<?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
What has your broker been doing to protect you in this turbulent market? The reason why I ask is because most brokers tell their clients to “hold on and wait this out.” They back up their recommendations with data pushed on them by mutual fund companies that talks about what great returns you would miss if you were not 100% in the market during the best X number of days. This only tells one side of the story. This side is also being told by the two people who only get paid on what you have invested. Have you been told the “wait this out story” and do you see the conflict of interest there? That brings me back to my original question. What has your broker been doing to protect you in this turbulent market? Don’t worry about hurting their feelings. Ask them the tough questions and demand real answers. This is your money and they should be doing more than just collecting a fee to “wait this out.” Better yet, let’s meet. Ask me the tough questions and I’ll show you how your broker should have been protecting you in this turbulent market.
--WM
“I’ve been getting the “I’ve lost a lot of money, but I’m happy where I am” response in my cc’ing. I wanna blurt, ‘are you kidding me’ but I just can’t figure out how to deal with such a non-sensical response. Ideas? Anyone else hearing this?”
I'm a "feel, felt, found" kind of guy. I handle almost all objections the same way. Prospect: "I've lost a lot of money, but I'm happy where I am." Me: "I understand exactly what you are saying. Lots of people are very happy with their advisors despite their results. So many of my clients have felt the exact same way when I first called. However, when we met, we found a way in which I could improve their situation. Like I said, I have a meeting in your office Monday at 2:00. Can we get together at 1:50?" What if the objection was completely different? Propect: "Advisors are a waste of money. Bear Bryant wore a funny hat." Me: "I understand exactly what you are saying. Lots of advisors aren't worth their fees and Bear Bryant did wear a funny hat. So many of my clients felt the exact same way when I first called. However, when we met, we found a way in which I could improve their situation. Like I said, I have a meeting in your office Monday at 2:00. Can we get together at 1:50?"[quote=anonymous]“I’ve been getting the “I’ve lost a lot of money, but I’m happy where I am” response in my cc’ing. I wanna blurt, ‘are you kidding me’ but I just can’t figure out how to deal with such a non-sensical response. Ideas? Anyone else hearing this?”
I'm a "feel, felt, found" kind of guy. I handle almost all objections the same way. Prospect: "I've lost a lot of money, but I'm happy where I am." Me: "I understand exactly what you are saying. Lots of people are very happy with their advisors despite their results. So many of my clients have felt the exact same way when I first called. However, when we met, we found a way in which I could improve their situation. Like I said, I have a meeting in your office Monday at 2:00. Can we get together at 1:50?" What if the objection was completely different? Propect: "Advisors are a waste of money. Bear Bryant wore a funny hat." Me: "I understand exactly what you are saying. Lots of advisors aren't worth their fees and Bear Bryant did wear a funny hat. So many of my clients felt the exact same way when I first called. However, when we met, we found a way in which I could improve their situation. Like I said, I have a meeting in your office Monday at 2:00. Can we get together at 1:50?"[/quote]Very, very weak.
[quote=anonymous]I’m a “feel, felt, found” kind of guy. I handle almost all objections the same way.
Prospect: "I've lost a lot of money, but I'm happy where I am." Me: "I understand exactly what you are saying. Lots of people are very happy with their advisors despite their results. So many of my clients have felt the exact same way when I first called. However, when we met, we found a way in which I could improve their situation. Like I said, I have a meeting in your office Monday at 2:00. Can we get together at 1:50?" What if the objection was completely different? Propect: "Advisors are a waste of money. Bear Bryant wore a funny hat." Me: "I understand exactly what you are saying. Lots of advisors aren't worth their fees and Bear Bryant did wear a funny hat. So many of my clients felt the exact same way when I first called. However, when we met, we found a way in which I could improve their situation. Like I said, I have a meeting in your office Monday at 2:00. Can we get together at 1:50?"[/quote] Ameriprise training?[quote=OrDieTrying]
I’ve been getting the “I’ve lost a lot of money, but I’m happy where I am” response in my cc’ing. I wanna blurt, ‘are you kidding me’ but I just can’t figure out how to deal with such a non-sensical response. Ideas? Anyone else hearing this?
I’ve gotten more conversations started with this type of response:<?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
What has your broker been doing to protect you in this turbulent market? The reason why I ask is because most brokers tell their clients to “hold on and wait this out.” They back up their recommendations with data pushed on them by mutual fund companies that talks about what great returns you would miss if you were not 100% in the market during the best X number of days. This only tells one side of the story. This side is also being told by the two people who only get paid on what you have invested. Have you been told the “wait this out story” and do you see the conflict of interest there? That brings me back to my original question. What has your broker been doing to protect you in this turbulent market? Don’t worry about hurting their feelings. Ask them the tough questions and demand real answers. This is your money and they should be doing more than just collecting a fee to “wait this out.” Better yet, let’s meet. Ask me the tough questions and I’ll show you how your broker should have been protecting you in this turbulent market.
--WM
[/quote] I like this. The problem is, for current clients, I think a lot of us are saying exactly what we are pitching against...even for the ones that we did protect for turbulent times."Very, very weak. "
Hank, I can only presume that if my language is very, very weak, yours must be much better. When I make cold calls, my typical numbers are 40 dials to 5 reaches to 2 appointments. It take me about 45 minutes. If I used your strong language, how much better would my phoning be? To put it in perspective, my number on referral calls are closer to 5 dials to 3 reaches to 2 appointments. (It's amazing that on referrals, the person just happens to be available so much more often.)the feel,felt, found is generally EDJ… At least it was when I was there…
They pounded it into our skulls during my time as a P1 at Amp as well.
I don’t know where I picked it up, but it works.
[quote=anonymous]"Very, very weak. "
Hank, I can only presume that if my language is very, very weak, yours must be much better. When I make cold calls, my typical numbers are 40 dials to 5 reaches to 2 appointments. It take me about 45 minutes. If I used your strong language, how much better would my phoning be? To put it in perspective, my number on referral calls are closer to 5 dials to 3 reaches to 2 appointments. (It's amazing that on referrals, the person just happens to be available so much more often.)[/quote]
First, you are lying about your results. Second, you don't have the guts to use strong language.
I know exactly how you feel about not knowing where you picked it up. In fact, I felt the same way when I tried to remember where I learned it. But what I found when I thought about it, was that it didn't really matter where I learned it, because it's a good technique.I don’t know where I picked it up, but it works.
[quote=snaggletooth]
I like this. The problem is, for current clients, I think a lot of us are saying exactly what we are pitching against...even for the ones that we did protect for turbulent times.[/quote] <?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />Then don't be the one saying or doing it. This market has been great for allowing me to differentiate myself from other advisors. Let's face it, buying and holding mutual funds or SMAs is a commoditized business.
For me a about 75% of the equity portion of a “typical” portfolio is individual equities. The other 25% are mostly international and small cap mutual funds. If the individual equity portion is $300M or >, I overlay them with covered calls. If the portfolio is not large enough I always enter stop loss orders. In the fixed income I try for 75% individual high-quality bonds and 25% in strategic bond funds. Sure, even these portfolios are down in this market, but they are certainly down a lot less than a typical buy and hold mutual fund portfolio. What's better is that I can charge 1.5% on the equity and 1% on the bonds and still keep the client's total cost (including internal expenses) lower than if I did 1% across the board.
--WM
[quote=Hank Moody] [quote=anonymous]"Very, very weak. "
Hank, I can only presume that if my language is very, very weak, yours must be much better. When I make cold calls, my typical numbers are 40 dials to 5 reaches to 2 appointments. It take me about 45 minutes. If I used your strong language, how much better would my phoning be? To put it in perspective, my number on referral calls are closer to 5 dials to 3 reaches to 2 appointments. (It's amazing that on referrals, the person just happens to be available so much more often.)[/quote]
First, you are lying about your results. Second, you don't have the guts to use strong language.
[/quote] It doesn't matter because the feel, felt, found method is best used when overcoming objections. If you are talking to a referral that is serious about coming in then how many objections (opportunities to use this technique) will actually have to be overcome? He's talking about setting 2 referrals for every 5 referrals he gets so he probably doesn't cold call anyways with those kinds of numbers.
With referrals, I'm actually talking about setting 2 appointments for every 3 referrals. It just takes 5 phone calls to reach the 3 referrals. When it comes to referrals, it's not about us. It's about the respect of the referree.
The comment about lack of guts to use strong language is an interesting one. There's truth to it. It's not a "guts" issue, but the language isn't strong. I think that is part of the reason that it works. It's non-threatening. It would not be good language for a wirehouse setting. I think that the basic attitude is, "What the heck. If he's here anyway, I might as well meet with him." That works for me. We don't get paid based upon degree of difficulty.
[quote=3rdyrp2][quote=Hank Moody] [quote=anonymous]"Very, very weak. "
Hank, I can only presume that if my language is very, very weak, yours must be much better. When I make cold calls, my typical numbers are 40 dials to 5 reaches to 2 appointments. It take me about 45 minutes. If I used your strong language, how much better would my phoning be? To put it in perspective, my number on referral calls are closer to 5 dials to 3 reaches to 2 appointments. (It's amazing that on referrals, the person just happens to be available so much more often.)[/quote]
First, you are lying about your results. Second, you don't have the guts to use strong language.
[/quote] It doesn't matter because the feel, felt, found method is best used when overcoming objections. If you are talking to a referral that is serious about coming in then how many objections (opportunities to use this technique) will actually have to be overcome? He's talking about setting 2 referrals for every 5 referrals he gets so he probably doesn't cold call anyways with those kinds of numbers.[/quote]
He says he cold calls and you say he doesn't. Which one of you is lying about that?
[quote=anonymous]
With referrals, I’m actually talking about setting 2 appointments for every 3 referrals. It just takes 5 phone calls to reach the 3 referrals. When it comes to referrals, it’s not about us. It’s about the respect of the referree.
The comment about lack of guts to use strong language is an interesting one. There's truth to it. It's not a "guts" issue, but the language isn't strong. I think that is part of the reason that it works. It's non-threatening. It would not be good language for a wirehouse setting. I think that the basic attitude is, "What the heck. If he's here anyway, I might as well meet with him." That works for me. We don't get paid based upon degree of difficulty.
[/quote]You are a liar.
Welcome back, Bobby.
[quote=Hank Moody] [quote=3rdyrp2][quote=Hank Moody] [quote=anonymous]"Very, very weak. "
Hank, I can only presume that if my language is very, very weak, yours must be much better. When I make cold calls, my typical numbers are 40 dials to 5 reaches to 2 appointments. It take me about 45 minutes. If I used your strong language, how much better would my phoning be? To put it in perspective, my number on referral calls are closer to 5 dials to 3 reaches to 2 appointments. (It's amazing that on referrals, the person just happens to be available so much more often.)[/quote]
First, you are lying about your results. Second, you don't have the guts to use strong language.
[/quote] It doesn't matter because the feel, felt, found method is best used when overcoming objections. If you are talking to a referral that is serious about coming in then how many objections (opportunities to use this technique) will actually have to be overcome? He's talking about setting 2 referrals for every 5 referrals he gets so he probably doesn't cold call anyways with those kinds of numbers.[/quote]
He says he cold calls and you say he doesn't. Which one of you is lying about that?
[/quote]
[quote=anonymous]Welcome back, Bobby.[/quote]
I’m not me.
I make cold calls, but only to business owners, attorneys, and CPAs.
I'll make referral calls to almost anyone who gets referred to me. When I'm making the cold calls, I make no effort to get them to come to my office. I try to meet with them at a time that I'll already be there and I'm only looking for a 5-10 minute meeting. With the referrals, I try to schedule a 45 minute meeting in my office. If that makes it difficult, I'll go to them. If I need to, I'll go for the quick introductory meeting, but only if I have reason to beleive that it's someone who I really want to meet. My philosophy on the quick meetings with the cold calls is that I don't care what happens with the meeting. My goal is to schedule a fact finder, but, in some ways, I'm just happy to get permission to stay in touch. On a cold call, there isn't any trust. If I can meet with someone and then add them to my drip campaign, when I call them again in 6 months, they know me and they know that I know my stuff. In short, my feeling is that if I get in front of someone, there is a good chance that they will become my client.Anon, you wait 6 months before calling again? I don’t agree with that
[quote=henryhill]Anon, you wait 6 months before calling again? I don’t agree with that[/quote]
A guy who barely has the courage to ask permission to call in half a year probably doesn’t have the courage to call the “prospect” again.
Feel, felt, found wasn’t invented, coined, or developed by anyone in the financial services industry. It was co-opted by our industry, as it has been by many industries. It has a long standing history of being an effective sales tool when used correctly. Those who believe we are sales people or that the career requires sales techniques to be successful see the value of the feel, felt , found technique regardless of whether they use it themselves.
[quote=Hank Moody]
[quote=henryhill]Anon, you wait 6 months before calling again? I don’t agree with that[/quote]
A guy who barely has the courage to ask permission to call in half a year probably doesn’t have the courage to call the “prospect” again.
[/quote]
And he huffed, and he puffed, and he …
I’m sure anon isn’t going to lose any sleep worrying about whatever opinion you may or may not have about either his prospecting technique or his “courage,” Bobby.
Whatcha been doing lately?
[quote=BondGuy]Feel, felt, found wasn’t invented, coined, or developed by anyone in the financial services industry. It was co-opted by our industry, as it has been by many industries. It has a long standing history of being an effective sales tool when used correctly. Those who believe we are sales people or that the career requires sales techniques to be successful see the value of the feel, felt , found technique regardless of whether they use it themselves.
[/quote] I understand that we can also position ourselves as advisors or in some other light other than sales, but does that change the techniques we use? Seems that you are hinting at that."Anon, you wait 6 months before calling again? I don’t agree with that "
Should I call sooner or later than that? The reality is that it depends on that first meeting. My goal of that 1st meeting is to schedule a fact finder. Sometimes the factfinder occurs on the spot. Let's assume that I can't get one scheduled. When will I call again? If I don't like them and they don't appear to be successful, I'm never calling again. If they have a legitimate excuse for not meeting, that excuse will tell me when to call again. "This is our busy season and my daughter is getting married in 6 weeks." I'll get permission to call in 6 weeks. However, if the appointment doesn't really go anywhere, I like to wait 6 months. It's good to let the guy forget about me a little bit.[quote=anonymous]"Anon, you wait 6 months before calling again? I don’t agree with that "
Should I call sooner or later than that? The reality is that it depends on that first meeting. My goal of that 1st meeting is to schedule a fact finder. Sometimes the factfinder occurs on the spot. Let's assume that I can't get one scheduled. When will I call again? If I don't like them and they don't appear to be successful, I'm never calling again. If they have a legitimate excuse for not meeting, that excuse will tell me when to call again. "This is our busy season and my daughter is getting married in 6 weeks." I'll get permission to call in 6 weeks. However, if the appointment doesn't really go anywhere, I like to wait 6 months. It's good to let the guy forget about me a little bit. [/quote]I'd bet anything that you would do more business if you reallocated your time away from chasing deadwoods and put it toward finding people who want what you have, right now.
Bobby, I agree that nothing is more of a time waster than chasing deadwoods. "Yes" answers are good. "No" answers are good. "Maybe" answers waste our time. I strongly believe that this is a business of trust.
I know that if I take a fact finder on someone, a need will be uncovered. If they agree that there is a need and they don't become a client right away, I'd be wasting my time pursuing them. Either my sales skills weren't good enough or they don't trust me. Either way, my time would be more valuable on others. On the other hand, the way that I work, is not what I would consider chasing deadwoods. I don't care that a stranger who I cold called won't let me take a fact finder when I first meet them. When I call them them 6 months or some other time frame after first meeting them, they know who I am and they have been getting dripped on for a consistent manner since we first met. I'll call them. If we are meeting again, it won't be a 5 minute meeting. It's a 45 minute fact finder.Anon, very good stuff. … Could you share how you drip on good prospects?
I wasn’t hinting at anything. Those who fail to sell their service or their product will fail.
Clear enough?[quote=BondGuy]I wasn’t hinting at anything. Those who fail to sell their service or their product will fail.
Clear enough?[/quote] Yep, Thanks.When cold calling Urban areas, I would go with the following pitch:
You’re losin cash money<?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
But don’t call 911,
Just give me a holla any time,
And you’ll have money outcha bunns.
You say your portfolio sucks?
You’re gonna have to work for ever?
Stop e-tradin like a baby,
You need an advisor that’s clever.
Your nest egg is cracked,
You’re leakin yolk all over,
You complain to your congressman,
But he just says bend over.
No I’m not Jim Neighbors,
But won’t you be, please won’t you be my client.
Start doing what I say,
Please don’t be defiant.
You need a FA with mad investing skillz,
Someone that can get in on the hottest IPO dealz.
Your IRA is hurtin,
Your 401k needs to be rolled over,
You need to save for college,
I’m your lucky 4 leaf clover.
You’re lucky I called,
Now there’s no one else to blame,
Give me all your money,
I’m gonna make it rain.
GWB43 just peed his pants a little.
Anon,
If a cold call shows interest after the first call, I put something in the mail and then call back every two weeks until they scream "buy" or "stop". If you wait 6 months, they have forgotten you and its a cold call all over again. You are trying to advance the trust continum, you have to do that over shorter bursts of time.What pitch are you using for your private REIT? I’m also starting a calling campaign and looking for any new ideas. Thanks.
I talk about annual dividend yield that pays monthly, (6-6.5% range depending), then I mention the opportunity to participate in upside of the market(when the REIT goes full cylce)… By this time either they are really interested or confused and then I go for the appointment to explain it…
"Anon, very good stuff. ... Could you share how you drip on good prospects?"
Sorry, but this is about the one thing that I'm not willing to share. Because what I'm doing is fairly unique, I'm afraid for my anonymity.
"Anon, If a cold call shows interest after the first call, I put something in the mail and then call back every two weeks until they scream "buy" or "stop". If you wait 6 months, they have forgotten you and its a cold call all over again. You are trying to advance the trust continum, you have to do that over shorter bursts of time." This may need a little clarification. If I make a cold call, they will either agree to meet with me or they won't. If they don't agree to meet with me, I ask for permission to e-mail them information. Someone who I don't know isn't worth the price of the stamp or the time to send something. If I know that they are a person who I really want to meet, I'll find someone who can make the introduction. The "information" that I'm going to send is simply them being added to my drip list. They had no interest in meeting me. I couldn't get an appointment. I don't know if they are worth meeting. At best, they are worth a follow up phone call in 6 months. The difference is that when I do call them in 6 months, they will know who I am because they've been getting dripped for 6 months. Keep in mind that this takes zero effort and zero dollars to do. I also may cold walk them. It's just not completely cold because they'll know who I am. What if they did show interest, but the timing wasn't right to set an appointment? The same thing happens. They get added to my drip list. They'll just get called sooner than 6 months. Again, when I call, they'll know who I am. If my initial cold call leads to an appointment, but the appointment doesn't lead to a fact finder, that meeting will determine how quickly the follow up will occur. In my practice, I'll never have a "call every two weeks until they scream "buy" or "stop". If I take a fact finder, they need to very quickly tell me "yes" or "no". I don't have time to chase after people. The majority of my sales take place at the fact finder. If something makes sense do it. I happen to feel differently about the trust continum. If someone is a referral, the trust is built in and it makes things easy. If something is cold, I don't mind having things slow down. I want them to forget that I was a cold call. In some ways, it is preferrable to me if I don't get the fact finder in the beginning. If I cold call and set a quick meeting and then don't get a fact finder, but have set a good first impression, that works for me. The person then gets dripped on and when I do call in the future, they know me, they know what I do, and they've been hearing from me every week, and I'm not a cold call to them. If a follow up appointment is scheduled, it's a fact finder, and the trust is there and they will become a client. I have a very fast process once someone takes a factfinder. Like I said, I expect them to become a client on the spot or one additional meeting at the very latests. However, I think that there's a real benefit to the factfinder not taking place immediately if it's a cold call. Don't get me wrong, I still try to get one right away. It's just that I don't care if I fail. On a referral, if I can't get one right away, we're done. It means that they don't respect the person giving the referral and it's not worth the effort.All business owners are salesmen and promoters.
[quote=John Galt FA]All business owners are salesmen and promoters.
[/quote]
But who then, is John Galt?
Some unpatriotic and selfish cuss who doesn’t want the gov’t sucking his lifeblood out of him in the form of higher taxes used to create inefficient solutions and bail out inefficient businesses that have "been dying of the same heart attack for thirty years."
Galt took the CFP exam yesterday and today. Hasn’t had the chance to unwind yet.
Did you decide that you don't like to produce anymore?Some unpatriotic and selfish cuss who doesn’t want the gov’t sucking his lifeblood out of him in the form of higher taxes used to create inefficient solutions and bail out inefficient businesses that have “been dying of the same heart attack for thirty years.”
Galt took the CFP exam yesterday and today. Hasn’t had the chance to unwind yet.
Exactly. CFP="Can’t Freakin’ Produce"
Yeah, I don’t know why I agreed to do that. Actually I do know. I made a bet with someone that I’d pass that dang test before he did. And I cannot stand to lose.
Of all the hours that I spent on it, if I would have spent them prospecting (i.e., producing), I’d be a lot closer to goal. But, now I can focus on huntin’. My goal for '09 is 1mm in net new assets per month. Now, if I could just find some people who are not satisfied with their investment performance and would like to hear some different strategies.
what would you say to someone who you know is qualified ahead of time?
I ask them what their favorite color is. Then I mail them a mutual fund fact sheet from the company that matches their favorite color.
Not really.
"Mr. Prospect, my name is Random Guy from XYZ Inc. I'm calling business men in [industry or company] who might be interested in getting together to talk about some ideas. For example, something I working on right now are tax free municipal bonds. Some have pretty attractive yields. Mr. Prospect, tell me a little bit about how your investments are weathering this economy? --- or ---- Mr. Prospect, I'd like to get together with you next week and talk about this and some other things we're working on right now. What day is best, Wednesday or Thursday?"
Dunno, something that gets a little traction. Change up the product, make it a stock on the firm's buy list that's paying a decent dividend or something else.
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