Like anything else, it would seem how you do it is the determining factor in whether you should do it. Obviously, a well-crafted pitch (or even canned script), executed with finesse and good timing, can win clients.

I’m sure most of you would prefer to get new clients through referrals, walk-ins or word of mouth. But as a consumer, I don’t find all cold calls offputting, and might even use the cold caller’s services if they’re thoughtfully targeted to my current needs.

I respectfully disagree with your post. Maybe it’s because you are well established in your business but if you were to start fresh in the insurance business without a single client or anyone to talk about you through “word-of-mouth or word of mouse” how would you generate your first client? Let’s also assume you have a low marketing budget and need to produce income right away. Cold calling is a low cost proven effective way of gaining new clients. Is it the ideal way or building a business? No. But
some of my best clients are ones I obtained from cold calling. Also if you asked them how they became a client of mine, they don’t even remember it was from a cold call.
Most of the Insurance Agents that say cold calling isn’t effective or unprofessional are the ones who are unwilling to do it!

I don’t sell insurance, but from a marketing perspective, if you are going to cold call, there’s enough resources available via social media, the Internet and elsewhere for proper research to be done so you’re not running off robotic scripts. Know the customer before you call, like Dave mentions, “researched prospects.”

The other important factor to understand, the other person’s time is ALWAYS more important than your own. The fact is, they probably do have more important things to do than be pitched insurance so simply asking, “Do you have 2 minutes?” and being as concise as possible, and ending with a request for their email is better than getting the phone slammed down on you.

I’m the guy that started the discussion. I do not know how I could have been clearer in my posts.

Cold calling is unprofessional. When you cold call, by phone or by dropping in, you tell the prospect that you have nothing better to do than wander the streets (or wander the phone book).

Who among us likes to have a salesperson call us? Who, during a busy work day, enjoys having a marketer stop by to chat? Treat your prospects as you want to be treated.

According to one report 72 percent of Americans have registered for the federal do-not-call list. We are a country that can agree on almost nothing. However, a tremendous majority of people agree that they do not want your calls.

To thrive today demands that your business be remarkable. By that I mean that you and your business are worthy of remark. Build products and services that are so special that word is spread by word-of-mouth and word-of-mouse.

Can you rely on the sales tactics of the 80s and 90s? Of course. Will you make some sales? Sure. You will also spend a great deal of time. You will also spend a great deal of good will as the people you call brand you as a pest.

Instead, spend your time becoming a person of interest to your market. Build a reputation for unique knowledge, unique approach, and unique value.

The agent devised and carried out a scheme to defraud two life insurers by fraudulently obtaining life insurance policies in the names of people who were in poor health or who did not know that policies were being taken out in their names. By misrepresenting the applicant’s background and medical history, Jenkins was able to obtain policies insuring the lives of individuals who were otherwise uninsurable or who were only insurable at a higher premium. The ultimate goal of the scheme was for the co-schemers to collect the policies’ death benefits when the insureds died, which would be sooner than the insurance companies’ actuarial tables would have predicted because of the misrepresented information. The agent stood to benefit from the scheme by collecting commissions on the premiums paid by his co-schemers for these fraudulently-obtained life insurance policies. Before he was caught the agent collected more than $200,000 in premiums on the fake policies exposing the insurers to more than $20 million in losses on risks they would never have taken.

Insurance fraud is an equal opportunity crime. It is committed by people from every race, religion, national origin, age, weight, sexual preference or profession.

If it is performed by one in the business of insurance the agent should be put away for a long time and we should show him or her now mercy and stop making it easy for them to get away with the crime.