A Day In The Life

Call Day

7:00 AM

In the morning I spend about 30 minutes preparing myself to make phone calls.  The first thing I do is start a pot of boiling water for tea or coffee.  While the water is warming up I take about 10 minutes to stretch my limbs and push oxygen into my lungs.  I practice an exercise called Chi Kung everyday which increases my lung capacity and builds my endurance. 

It’s a rare day when I “need” caffeine.  My main purpose for drinking warm tea or coffee is to prepare my throat before speaking on the phone.  I usually don’t eat anything until at least 12 noon because it slows me down.   

7:30 AM

I make my first call to a lead I purchased from National Agents Alliance or referral from another client.  I don’t have to prepare any leads or flip through paperwork because I prepared a neatly stacked pile arranged by location next to my phone the night before.  When the clock strikes 7:30 I immediately pick up the phone without hesitation and dial the first number. 

During this 4 hour window I set appointments for this same block of time since this is the time they are “normally” home.  I always check near the beginning of the call if I’ve caught them at an unusual time or if this is when they’re normally at home.  (This makes setting the appointment later very easy because they already admitted they are normally home at this time.)

The first call is always the hardest because your brain has a tendency to “think” and the more time you allow it to think before taking action the more scenarios it plays out.  You‘d be amazed at how many different possibilities and fears your mind “makes up” if given enough time.  I don’t spend 1 second reviewing the lead sheet before making a call for this reason.  It’s a complete waste of time and only nonsense to worry about multiple scenarios that will never occur; (Only one scenario can occur). 

Each time I pick up the phone I know exactly what information I want to retrieve from my family and I know what I must ask to get it.  Every call is not the same because I cannot control my family’s present situation or what they say.  I can control the information I retrieve by always redirecting what they say to the questions I want to ask. 

I have my questions I want to ask in front of me as well as prepared answers to commonly asked questions from them.  There is a methodology and deliberate process to every call and by having my path planned out ahead of time I can easily get back on track when taken for a detour in the conversation.    

11:30 AM

After calling for 4 hours, 2 cups of tea and a potty break I have 4 appointments set.  I spoke to 16 people and 12 of them were not interested in setting an appointment for multiple reasons.  This batch of leads was almost free so any appointment I get is well worth what I paid. 

If I pay more money for leads then I know they are brand new but as a new agent I don’t want to spend money on new leads until I’ve practiced my phone and presentation skills with lower cost leads.  I know that practicing on brand new leads is a very expensive way to learn so I don’t mind having to make more calls and speak to more people to set one appointment. 

After I finish 4 weekends of practice on cheap leads during my Power Start™ my skills will be sharp and I’ll be prepared to buy newer leads at higher prices.  The most important thing I must learn in my first 4 weekends of Power Start™ is how to recognize the difference between fake objections and real objections.  Buying many cheap leads and making as many calls as possible during Power Start™ is so important because only experience can teach this. 

4 hours on the phone can be mentally exhausting so I like to go to the gym immediately after to refresh my mind.  I don’t turn on my computer or log into email because I know I can get lost for hours even though my intentions were to check for one a minute.  I spend 60 minutes at the gym including a fast shower.  

That includes 30 minutes of any activity that keeps my heart rate at approximately 150-160 BPM, 10 minutes of mental relaxation in dry sauna, wet sauna, or whirlpool, 10 minutes of stretching and 10 minutes showering. 

The gym is not is not where I socialize and I try to avoid “talkers” by wearing headphones.  I listen to music without words because it allows me to focus my intentions without distracting words.  It gives my mind time to work out the information from the morning and play out scenarios where I could have improved.  

It’s impossible for my mind to focus on improvements if someone is singing in my ear about what’s important to them.  I found that the singer’s wishes, dreams, emotions and hardships do not help me move forward in my own life in any way.

The next couple hours I spend eating and following up with insurance companies on application status.  I might check a few emails but I really try to limit my use of email during non-communication hours because emails are not urgent.  I like to use communication hours (7:00 AM- 9 PM) to speak to people directly and I email during times that speaking is not possible.     If I’m all caught up with checking application status then I will meditate for 1 hour in the middle of the day. 

Meditating for 1 hour is very important for the same reason as listening to music with no words.  The mistakes of the last 4 hours, the future of the next 4 and every day after that becomes crystal clear in my mind and motivates me to take action with confidence in every minute.  When I don’t meditate for a few days my mind feels overwhelmed with information like a desk that piled up with messy papers without out being sorted and filed away. 

2:30 PM

For the next 3 hours I hit the phone.  I speak to 15 people and set 3 appointments.  During this time I set appointments for the same block of time because this is when these people are home.

5:30 PM

If I didn’t meditate then I do it now for an hour before dinner. 

7:00 PM

For the next 2 hours I speak to 12 people and set 3 appointments.  Depending on the season I may call until 9:30 and sometimes as late as 10:00.  If I’ve attempted to call a family 3 times in each the morning, afternoon and evening for a total of 9 times with no response then I will call up until 11:30 PM as a last resort 3 more times.  You’d be surprised at the number of people who suddenly answer their phone at 11:30 at night.  They answer because only friends and family call this late. 

To their surprise I am neither friend nor family…yet.  When I finally get through I feel relieved and express my sincerity and joy for finally be able to reach them.  I apologize for taking so long and explain that I tried to call during all hours of the day with no success.  

I explain my fear of their family not being protected and the responsibility left on my shoulders if anything happened because I was only the person who had the card they filled out asking for protection.   I ask them if protecting their family is still important to them and 99% of the time they are unconcerned with the lateness of my call.

End of Day

At the end of the day I spent about 9 hours calling and set 10 appointments.  On Thursday I repeat everything and end up with 20 appointments set for the weekend.  Depending on the number of days I want work I may pack these appointments into Friday and Saturday only or spread them across Sunday as well.
   

Appointment Day

6:00 AM

I spend the first 30 minutes of my appointment days the same as my call days except I include a shower to feel awake and fresh.  I have 8 appointments set for 8, 930, 11, 1230, 2, 330, 5 and 630.  I set my appointments the same way your Cable-Internet Provider sets theirs by providing a 2 hour window of time that I will show up at the client’s house.  

Using windows to set appointments is the best way to work because every appointment will last a different amount of time depending on the number of applications and questions each client asks. 

The area I’m working in over the next 2 days is about an hour and half away.  By driving a distance from my home I’m able to focus all my time on calling and appointments without the distractions at home.  I know that the farther away from the city I travel the less the competition.  When there are few providers in that area I can get a ton of referrals in the community.      

8:00 AM

I pull up to my first appointment at 7:45.  I take a couple minutes to look at my lead sheet and any notes from the call.  I set clear intentions in my mind to make a new friend, ask enough questions to understand what’s important to this family and protect them with at least a minimal amount of protection before I leave their home. 

I knock on the door and I’m greeted by the wife who kindly lets me into the home.  She is happy that I’m a little early because she doesn’t have a lot of time before she must leave for an appointment.  I assure her I will take no more of her time than we need to ensure her family is protected.  She sits me down at the kitchen table and tells me she will fetch her husband from the basement. 

We sit down at the table and I immediately begin asking about the request for protection they mailed in to us. After about 20-30 minutes I have a financial profile completed detailing their concerns and financial goals for their future.  We discuss the impact that a death or disability would have on all of their family goals and design protection plan that meets their needs. 

We spend the next 10 minutes filling out 3 applications for a total monthly premium of $150.  The husband, wife and I each fill out an application at the same time to make best use of our time.  I ask for the names of friends and family who recently experienced specific changes and they give me 10 names of people I can contact with my services. 

I finish the appointment and head out the door by 9:15.  Before I pull away I open the client file and immediately begin adding any additional notes from the meeting that will be important later.           

9:35 AM

I knock on the door and the husband greets me.  He invites me to the living room and tells me to sit on the couch.  I politely ask if it would be ok that we sit in the kitchen because I would like to set my computer on the table and plug it in. 

He brings me to the kitchen and explains that his wife cannot make it because she was called into work.  I tell him how important it is that both are present and apologize that I cannot continue our appointment without her present. 

He apologizes and we reschedule for tomorrow.   

9:45 AM

I’m out the door in less than 10 minutes and my next appointment is set for the 10-12 window.  I get out my lead sheets and find the ones in the same area that I wasn’t able to contact.  I drive to their house and knock on the door.  A man answers the door and I explain how happy I am that he answered.  I tell him how I’ve been trying to contact him about this request he filled out and show him the lead sheet with his signature on it. 

I ask him if he has a few minutes for me now to explain how we can help get his family protected.  He is happy that I stopped by and assures me that the only reason he didn’t answer my phone calls before was because he never answers calls from unusual numbers.  He had completely forgotten that he filled out the request for protection.

We sit down at his kitchen table and immediately begin discussing his concerns and goals.  I discover that his wife is deceased and he is the care provider for his handicapped daughter and two grandchildren.  He is also newly retired after 30 years at the local chemical plant.

After 45 minutes we have 2 applications for protection completed.  The total monthly premium is $180.  He makes me copies of his retirement account statements to review so I can research and bring retirement income solutions when I deliver his policies.  He also give me the names of 3 friends who just retired.  

I’m out the door and on my way to my next appointment by 10:45 AM.

11:10 AM

I pull up to my next appointment and review the file.  I set my intentions and walk up to the door.  A woman greets me and invites me in.  We walk to the living room and I ask her if it would be ok to sit in the kitchen.  Without hesitation we walk to the kitchen and she offers me a cup of tea.  I politely decline but say that I would love a glass of water.  (I don’t like to waste time preparing tea or coffee.) 

We sit down at the table and just as I begin to ask her about the lead card she filled out and mailed in I hear a baby crying through a small box on the kitchen table.  She asks me if I can wait and she heads into another room to check on the baby. 

She comes back and we begin to talking to discover that she is a young widow to her husband who was just killed in a car crash last month.  She doesn’t make a lot of money but fortunately her husband and protection plan that paid off the house in the event of his death.  

She realizes that is anything happened to her then her sister in law may need extra funds to put the child through college.  We complete an application for a protection planning that will fund the baby’s college in the event of her death.  The total monthly premium is $75.

She gives me the names of 5 of her girlfriends who recently had children and the names of 5 of her friends who recently bought homes.  In less than an hour I’m out the door and on the way to my next appointment.    

12:45 PM

I drive up to my next appointment and knock on the door.  Nobody answers.  I stand there for some time just in case they are late from their last appointment.  Nobody arrives within 15 minutes so I decide to leave.  If another slot becomes free later in the day I will come back.

1:00 PM

My next appointment is set for the 1-3 window and I’m feeling a little hungry.  I grab a sandwich at Subway and drive over to Starbucks where I have a wireless internet access.  I eat my sandwich and spend a few minutes replying to important emails that will only be retrieved during business hours.     

2:30 PM

I pull up at my next appointment and knock on the door.  A middle age man answers the door and invites me into the kitchen.  His wife is in the kitchen wiping the table and I can smell a fresh pot of coffee just brewed.  She offers and I accept the hot cup of coffee. 

I instruct the husband and wife to sit across the table from me so I’m looking at them both.  We spend 20 minutes discussing their concerns and goals. They want to ensure that each of them could stay in the home with their 2 kids if either of them suffered a disability or death.  They also want to protect their children’s insurability with a small cash value plan that offers scheduled benefit increases at certain ages. 

We write up 5 applications in about 25 minutes and all 3 of us fill them out together to save time.  They give the names of 20 people from their church directory that recently experienced a life change.  This appointment lasts 1 hour and 15 minutes.  The total monthly premium is $250.    

4:30 PM 

I arrive to my next appointment at 4:30.  I knock on the door and nobody is home.  I wait 15 minutes and leave.  I remember the other folks who weren’t at home and decide to drive back to their house. 

5:15 PM

I arrive to the home and notice a car parked in the driveway that wasn’t there before.  I knock on the door and a middle age man answers in sweat pants and a cut of t-shirt.  Before I can tell him who I am he blurts out an apology.  A friend called in the morning knowing it was his day off and invited him to play paintball.  He completely forgot to write down the appointment as well as mention it to his wife.  He asks how long I can stick around because his wife will be home within 15 minutes. 

I assure him I will do what’s necessary to protect his family but that I do have another appointment after this one.  We discuss his concerns and goals over the next 10 minutes.  His wife enters the house and he explains who I am and why I’m here.  She sits down at the table and explains that she was hoping to get this taken care of last month but they could never 

coordinate their schedules. 

I review what the husband and I talked about and ask what she would like to add.  I listen closely to her and take more notes.  We end up completing 2 applications for protection in an hour and 10 minutes.  The total monthly premium is $150.  They give the names of 15 people from their church, athletic club and family who recently experienced life events and might need my services. 

6:45 PM

I pull up at my last appointment of the day scheduled in the 6-8 window.  There are 3 cars in the driveway and lights on in every room of the house.  I knock on the door and a young girl about 16 years old answers and directs me to the kitchen.  She hollers up the stairs “Mom, Dad, some guy is here to see you!” 

Both the husband and wife greet me in the kitchen and we begin to talk about the protection request they filled out and mailed in.  I take note of their concerns and goals and we write up 3 applications in less than 50 minutes.  The total monthly premium is $200.

This was the easiest appointment of the day because they both had limited time and already knew how important it was to both of them to protect their family.  They didn’t want to waste any time and were very clear with what they needed up front.  They gave me the names of 10 people who I could contact for my services and I was out the door. 

7:45 PM

I’m sitting in my car reviewing my appointments from the day.  I had 8 appointments scheduled for the day but only completed 6 because of reschedules and no shows.  I wrote 16 applications and was given 68 names of people I could contact about my services.  The total monthly premium I collected was $1,005 which means I earn $6,633 commission at 55% first year annual premium. 

It’s now 8:00 pm and I have a full day of appointments tomorrow in the same area.  It doesn’t make sense to drive home only to sleep and kiss my wife.  I deliver a god night kiss over the phone and spend $20 on a cheap motel to get some shut eye.  Assuming a 10% cancellation rate my real earnings are about $6,000 minus the cost of leads and travel expenses.