I mean they really stink and anyone who falls for this scam is going to be the loser. As insurance salespeople we all need people to tell our story to. Many of us use direct mail, seminars, referrals and many other sources. Then comes the one we all want, someone to set appointments for us so we only have to show up.
The need for an easy way to get appointments opens up the scam or easy money people. These "marketers" are ready and willing to sell us what we want, appointments. They promise at least two appointments a day with people eager to meet and discuss their financial affairs. They promise that the appointments will hold and they also promise a certain number will be a sale.
I recently was approached by one of these firms with a promise of appointment heaven. At least 2 set appointments a day and he would personally supervise my leads to guarantee my satisfaction. He also said that his leads generated a weekly premium of $10 million to his subscribers.
So I thought I would give it a try and see if I was being conned. But I did one little thing he wasn't expecting, I insisted on using my form of payment, American Express. At first he refused to accept it but once he believed I wouldn't do it any other way he agreed. It seemed he just found out they took that card.
Here were the results. I purchased 30 appointments and the first 5 had never heard of anyone and I was not wanted. The next few were so mad at the call because they said they had been conned and thought their finances were being stolen. It went on and on and never once was I able to see anyone on a favorable basis. So I played my ace and filed a complaint against them with American Express and got an instant refund. I had been conned.
Some research conducted later showed the same sort of agenda. The caller who sold me the leads said this:
o I have a list of annuity owners which was provided to me by a data collection agency that no one knew about.
o No one had ever called this list
o These were older annuities that were well beyond surrender periods
o Our agents sell 1 out of 6 appointments
o Out of 30 leads expect 22 very good appointments and 5 sales.
It is a con and please do not fall for it. I did it out of curiosity and research, but I protected myself with American Express.
There is no magical formula for generating marketing leads. The best possible way to market yourself is to find a genuine method such as direct mail or seminars and work them as they are designed.
Selling insurance is the easy part, doing the marketing to find the quality prospect is the hard part and my advice is to never cut corners and do it the correct way.
