Prospects who haven’t made a specific request
These are suspects who have completed a card at the mall in which they declared that they had an IRA or investments and would like to know how to increase their return. As you can guess, these folks are probably no more qualified annuity leader than your Portuguese Water Dog.
But some companies will sell you this “annuity list” under the heading “annuity buyers” or “annuity prospects.”
Prospects who have requested specific annuity details
If the suspect has requested information on annuities, then we have a prospect that we can call as a leader interested in annuities. Of course, that does not mean that they are qualified or that they are going to buy. It doesn’t mean they will have more than $ 1,000, but they have at least indicated a specific interest in learning more about annuities. This perspective has now been separated from the other 99% of the population and a list of those people has value.
But you want to know more from the annuity listing provider how these prospects came to express interest. For example, did the prospect make an offer in a newspaper and call or fill out a coupon? This would be a good quality annuity advantage, as the prospect received a passive offer and the prospect had to take the lead. The fact that the potential customer had to act shows the potential customer’s motivation.
The other option might be for the annuity prospect to get an unsolicited call and be persuaded to get information about the annuities (and agreed to take it so the telemarketer hangs up). Or maybe they got an email saying “win a Porsche, click here” and the offer turned out to be an annuity offer and the prospect thought in replying that they would get a Porsche too. If the annuity prospect has received such an incentive, this annuity advantage is less valuable.
Prospects who have requested an appointment with an annuity agent
You’ve probably heard that “investments are sold and not bought.” This also applies to annuities. Prospects don’t ask to buy an annuity, and most don’t even know what an annuity is. They end up buying an annuity after a research session with an agent who recommends an annuity. If it weren’t for the recommendation of the agents, there would be no annuity owners. The prospect does not enter the meeting thinking, “I hope to buy an annuity today.”
So if some leading annuity provider or list broker wants to sell you annuity prospects that supposedly requested an appointment with you, don’t be stupid! While the prospect may have been sold on an appointment and said they were willing to listen to meet with a professional, there is no prospect who has requested an appointment with an annuity agent. That would be like making an appointment to have your teeth extracted (okay, exaggeration).
People who have made an appointment with an annuity agent.
These leads have generally been marketed over the phone. They have been convinced of a date and have expressed their willingness (often reluctance) for a meeting. We know of a company that sells these leads for $ 110 each and the guarantee is that they have called the prospect, secured an appointment, and the prospect has at least $ 5,000 worth of investments. I don’t know about you, but this is not exactly my definition of a whale!
In these situations, where appointments have supposedly been scheduled for you, if the prospect is home when you show up, it will be an uphill battle because:
They don’t really know you or
or what is the meeting about
or Why are you there?
or what are you doing
o What is your agenda and
o They don’t have an agenda
Annuity prospects who took the first step or potential clients who were called.
As mentioned above, ask the annuity lead source for as much detail as possible about how the lead was generated. If you find the seller on the list to be lazy, come by. If they explain the process in detail and show you the ad or coupon, then you have a leading annuity seller who is much more revealing than most. Our experience is that they rarely explain how the lead was generated.
Clarify whether the annuity prospect was generated by the prospect in response to a passive offer (e.g., newspaper ad, postcard, internet ad, mail) where the annuity prospect had to give the First step O was the telemarketing prospect and convinced of the offer and bait to say “yes, I am interested in annuities”.
