Cold calling, Leads and Prospects

When you start out in any type of insurance, even real estate, or possibly even most positions that require a client base such as hairstylists, caterers etc...you'll have to build your own book of business.  Unless, you are lucky enough to be handed a client book.  If you are one the lucky ones, guard that book and work it. 

Me, I'm not so lucky to be handed a golden book. I get to build mine.  Prospecting is time consuming. Getting leads and referrals area easy.  Turning them in to prospects, not so much. Why is that? Well, if I'm given a list of businesses to call because they could be a potential client is a lead.  I make the call....yes the dreaded cold call... then I have to generate interest and gather information to see if they even qualify, before I even set an appointment.  If they do then, we an set the ball in motion with a face to face meeting to see if they really are good fit. If yes, then we can continue from there.  Unfortunately, not all prospects turn in to clients though. 😒

As I said getting leads are easy.  All the steps after that can be time consuming and draining.  That list of 500 businesses that you were given, half the calls end up being no's.  The ones that say yes may not even qualify or those that do qualify, are not a good fit or don't see the need for your services. I'm told that in the beginning this is a daily thing because if you don't call leads and you don't prospect, you have no business in your pipeline.  When you have nothing for a while, it causes you to wonder if this really is what you want to do. I've been told that with time and experience you will get better.  When  your pipeline is constantly full and your clients are giving you referrals, you can say good bye to your daily task of having to dreaded cold calls and having to qualify them.  

I don't think my friends and family understand how important referrals are to me.  It makes it easier for me to be able to connect when I'm calling someone knowing that we have a mutual friend.  When I ask friends and family for referrals almost always they respond with a positive yes. But in truth, I very seldom receive referrals from friends.  They ramble off people they know and promise to send me contact information but that rarely comes to fruition.  Part of it is that they don't understand my business or what exactly it is that Aflac has to offer.  The other part is that their reputation is on the line too.  I get it, I'm like that too when my recruiters ask me if I know anyone that would be qualified for the positions that they are trying to fill.  I only want to refer the best people that I know.  

I also think friends and family don't prioritize your referral request because is that they don't understand what it is like to be working on 100% commission.  They can rely on getting a paycheck every two weeks while my paychecks are unpredictable.  It might be no money coming in for 6 weeks and then all of a sudden a commission check every other day and then back to nothing for a month.  It really take the meaning of "Living pay check to pay check" to a whole new level.  My W2 friends don't really understand how volatile my income is.  My 1099 people though, they get it.

My personal goal is have 40% of my new clients from referrals by the end of the year. The other 60%, well that's why our Mondays are important to us.  It's what we call Marketing Monday.....other wise known cold call day! Brrrrr.......

Joining The Duck Family

I wish I knew what I now know 8 months ago. I officially joined Aflac in January.  It was all in the timing.  My temp job ended in October 2016 so I was back to job hunting again. I got a call from Aflac in mid November, they found my resume online. I was curious because I didn't see how I could even be a good fit. What did they see that I couldn't see?  I attended the informational session and got called back in for an interview.  The interview was more of a get to know you meeting.  In hind sight, I don't feel that I was mislead in any way what so ever. The regional director was very clear that this is strictly commission based, they do provide training and support, this is not a make fast money scheme and you do have to put in a lot of work.  Having been under the duck's wings for 6 months now (I dont count January because that was my training month) the market office here in the Bay Area has a very supportive team. The regional and districts are also supportive.  I've read a lot of reviews across the country about Aflac and not all markets and regions are supportive.  BUT as a new agent, its also up to you to ask for support. If you don't ask, they'll assume that you're doing okay. 

After agreeing to join, I had to study for my state license.  With the holidays coming up the soonest I was able to schedule my test was on Christmas Eve. The exam office told me that it may take two or three tries to pass.  So when I was told I had 3 hours to take exam and I finish way before the time limit, I began to second guess my answers. I started to go back and to double check my answers.  By the time I got to question 10, I told myself I'd better just hit submit because usually your first instincts are right.  Yay..I passed!!  It wasn't that hard. I thought the pre-test was more difficult.

Fast forward to July: It's been fun, nerve racking, mentally exhausting and I'm still determined to make it work.  Now that I've gotten to know the products so much better and what they cover, I wish I had the knowledge and experience back in January.  As with anything new, there is a learning curve. I'm not just referring to the products but everything else that comes with the territory like prospecting and keep the pipeline filled, up front commissions, opening new accounts, assisting policy holders and the worst of all, the no pay rate.😟

The one thing that I want to make clear on today's entry is waht I hear the most. The most common response I hear from individuals and business owners is "I already health insurance." or "We already offer health insurance to our employees."  Guess what? Aflac is NOT health insurance nor is it meant to replace any health insurance that you currently have in place.

Calendar

Wow...I'm really failing at blogging! There is so much I want to do but I can't seem to focus on things when I need to.  One of the things that I first learn when I joined Aflac was to block out your time. In other words, fill out your calendar.  Fill it out not for the sake of looking busy but to be able to see where you are spending your time, what you should be doing more or less of.  

I'm about 6 months in now. I don't count January because that was training.  In a nutshell, I still havent gotten in to habit of using a calendar.  I mean, I use a calendar to put in reminders for appointments and events but I don't use it in a way that helps me to manage my time.  If I did, I would have 30 minutes blocked for blogging, right?  I thought it was nuts that when I was shown someone's calendar they had blocked out time for the smallest things like reading or even breakfast.  If it works for them then I should at least give it a try.

Starting next week, yes, next week.  I know...we all get in to a habit of say, "I'll start next week."  But I mean it! As soon as I publish this entry, I am going to block off time on Sunday morning to manage my time on the calendar.  

See, I do learn more than just voluntary benefit insurance being part of the Aflac family. :)