It sounds like you’ve got it all figured out.

Always open to other people’s ideas. 

[quote=JimmytheRocker]Always open to other people's ideas.  [/quote]

You go first...how do YOU ask for appointments?

I say " would you like to schedule an appointment"

assumption:  I don't call anyone who doesn't know that I'm a financial advisor.  I only call people I've piggy backed off of other's introductions.

me: "Hey ___John_____.  How are you bud!!!  We had a great time at the strip club after "candy" introduced me to you.  She is one heck of a girl...don't you think?  

  --a little dialogue dancing --

me: "John, People I'm working with feel they've benefited a great deal financially in some form or another.  If you're free this week, this might be something worth checking out.  What day is best for you?"

if hesitation...

[quote=JimmytheRocker]

assumption:  I don't call anyone who doesn't know that I'm a financial advisor.  I only call people I've piggy backed off of other's introductions.

me: "Hey ___John_____.  How are you bud!!!  We had a great time at the strip club after "candy" introduced me to you.  She is one heck of a girl...don't you think?  

  --a little dialogue dancing --

me: "John, People I'm working with feel they've benefited a great deal financially in some form or another.  If you're free this week, this might be something worth checking out.  What day is best for you?"

if hesitation...

[/quote]

Ah, what if we don't know any strippers named Candy?

Actually, a good approach. I'll probably have to leave out the stripper part of the program. Mrs. BondGuy has her rules and just so happens using strippers as centers of influence happens to be one of them. No prostitutes or call girls either. Go figure! Oh well, such is life. I, like all married men, sometimes am temped to use these modern prospecting techniques. But, then again, I really don't want to come home to see my BMW motorcycle cut in half by a chain saw. So...

[quote=BondGuy]Ah, what if we don’t know any strippers named Candy?

Actually, a good approach. I'll probably have to leave out the stripper part of the program. Mrs. BondGuy has her rules and just so happens using strippers as centers of influence happens to be one of them. No prostitutes or call girls either. Go figure! Oh well, such is life. I, like all married men, sometimes am temped to use these modern prospecting techniques. But, then again, I really don't want to come home to see my BMW motorcycle cut in half by a chain saw. So...

Then again, if you find a few strippers pulling in 2 grand a night you’ve got a client base that not only makes you some money but makes for some VERY interesting client appreciation events!

And, as clients, they're showing us everything. The very best kind of clients to have.

Can you tell it's the end of the month and everyone has made their goal?

[quote=mktsystms] [quote=BondGuy]Ah, what if we don’t know any strippers named Candy?

Actually, a good approach. I'll probably have to leave out the stripper part of the program. Mrs. BondGuy has her rules and just so happens using strippers as centers of influence happens to be one of them. No prostitutes or call girls either. Go figure! Oh well, such is life. I, like all married men, sometimes am temped to use these modern prospecting techniques. But, then again, I really don't want to come home to see my BMW motorcycle cut in half by a chain saw. So...

[/quote]

Better that it's your motorcycle that gets cut in half than...something else.
[/quote]

Yep, that's an unpleasant thought. Actually, Mrs. Bg would never do anything to hurt the cash cow. The bike, Gertruda The Bugslayer, is the next best thing. Definately in harm's way if I foolishly forget the no happy endings rule. 

I started off very slowly in the biz.  It wasn't till I did a good job with my first set of 10 clients in my target market that introductions got heck of alot easier to acquire.  At first for a few months, I would only get about 5-6 introductions/month and the rest of my leads would be leads I generated cold.  I'm still working my way up to 40 introductions/month and still working on the quality of those intros.   

Hey, how about a serious response:

When calling referrals we use an approach that would give Bill Cates a heart attack. By the way, Cates is an excellent resource.

 / = pause

Our approach is to call the referral and say something like:

Mr.______ / this is BG at ____________ I was talking to Summer and she mentioned that she thought you might benefit from our service/The reason for my call today is to introduce myself and to suggest we meet to see if we can add value to your situation but before we do that I'd like to ask you a few questions/Is now a good time for you?

[add your qualifying questions here]

After questions, if qualified, close for the appointment.

That's it more or less. It's not written down. We just go for it. We match the language to the audience. We tone it down considerably if the situation warrants.

bondguy, do you get the source to smooth the way before you make the call to the referral?

[quote=JimmytheRocker]

bondguy, do you get the source to smooth the way before you make the call to the referral?

[/quote]

Smooth the way?

Usually the referral is expecting our call. Rarely do we surprise this person with a call out of the blue. If that's what you mean, then yes, the referrer smooths the way. Having the referrer talk us up does a lot to open the door. The wall of trust, in large part, has already been scaled. Still, I have zero hesitation in calling someone where the road has not been paved. Less effective, but still worth the call.

Again, I'll point to the referral coach, Bill Cates. He gives chapter and verse on this subject. Excellent stuff!

www.referralcoach.com

Having someone talk you up makes a world of a difference.  I sometimes call people who I did not piggy back off of an introduction.  If I don't get the appointment, I at least get their email address to stay in periodic contact with them.  Most of the time, they are in the same circle with clients I have.  I haven't read Bill Cates stuff yet..he seems like a great resource. 

I have a friend who has severe call reluctance.  When he has an office appointment, he will out do me any day of the week.  He is great a shaking hands, building rapport and interest face to face when he prospects.  However at the end of the week, he cringes looking at the 20 business cards he has collected to call on to extend the appointment invite.  So what he did was hired a 3rd party appointment setter.  It works really well for him because he prospects for his leads rather than have the company generate the list for him.  This has lead to higher appointment to call ratio.  I think they charge around $55/appointment that shows with a replacement policy. 

I have another broker friend who hired the appointment setter but failed miserably.  He didn't want to generate the names himself to handover to the appointment setters.  He simply wanted to sit back and have the company generate the target list to call and set the appointment.  Joe Couch Potato does not feel like getting off his couch to drive and meet with a Financial Advisor.  Especially one he has never met before. 

It's interesting to know that it worked well for my other broker friend.  His Joe Couch Potato is more likely to make the committment to see the Financial Advisor because he chatted with him face to face at a networking function the past week and remembered their conversation.

I find this interesting.

Hey JimmytheRocker,

Are you a big insurance guy? I usually can see the sleeziness and put the two together.

(Also forgot to mention), I bet when you get the appointment you sell
them a fat whole life policy and stick them in a terrible variable
annuity.

Am I right?