Print this page

Questions & Answers about Insurance Teleprospecting


Q – What exactly is teleprospecting and how can it benefit our agency?

A – Teleprospecting is the process of calling targeted businesses, tracking down the insurance decision-makers, identifying interested sales prospects, gathering relevant sales intelligence and scheduling appointments for producers. PMA’s approach to high-quality teleprospecting also involves building a database of prospects, ‘ incubating’ leads for future appointment setting, sending written information and delivering an ongoing stream of qualified appointments to our clients


Q – Our Agency has an established reputation in our market area. How can we feel comfortable having "strangers" call prospects for us?

A – The impression PMA callers convey when they speak on your behalf is extremely important. Representing your agency in a sincere and dignified way is the first step to achieving positive results. While our goal is to generate solid leads and bankable sales appointments, PMA’s first responsibility is to be a positive public relations representative of your agency.


Q – Businesses get so many different phone calls. How can teleprospecting be effective?

A - To develop new accounts in a competitive marketplace, agents must focus on their most promising prospects and communicate with them convincingly. Since the telephone is both interactive and highly personal, it's the perfect medium for doing both. When skillfully handled, business-to-business teleprospecting calls generate practical sales intelligence and solid, qualified sales appointments


Q – PMA is based in Massachusetts. How can you know what’s going on with our prospects here?

A – PMA callers are skilled at communicating with business people in all regions of the country and in any kind of industry. We talk to decision-makers about their insurance concerns and we listen to what they have to say. Whatever the issues – comp, bonding, customer service – we pay attention to what motivates your prospects. Above all, prospects respond positively to people who are genuine, understanding and professional.

Q – Our agency has used outside telemarketing firms in the past and we were not happy with the results. How do we know PMA can do better?

A – One of the most important teleprospecting skills is determining the prospect’s level of interest. PMA callers know how to distinguish genuine opportunities from wild goose chases. One of the great values of teleprospecting is to separate real prospects from targets that are ‘just being polite’. In generating insurance sales opportunities, PMA takes the position that we’d rather get a down-to-earth ‘no’ than a pie-in-the-sky ‘yes’. With nearly 20 years of insurance teleprospecting expertise, Professional Marketing Associates understands all the things that keep teleprospecting efforts from being successful. If your outsource firm or your in-house efforts have not been productive, we are happy to discuss the process with you and identify specific ways PMA can make a real difference in your agency’s teleprospecting success.

Q – Some other teleprospecting firms charge by the appointment. Can we pay PMA only for appointments?

A – PMA views ‘by-appointment’ compensation problematic because it fosters a natural tendency to deliver less qualified and ‘weak’ appointments. Agencies end up paying twice for unqualified leads – once for the appointments and once again for the producers’ time and frustration when the decision-makers are not really open to changing agents. PMA understands that our firm is not contracted to dial the phone but to develop well-qualified leads and solid appointments. And we apply ourselves judiciously to making that happen. After all, the return you get on your teleprospecting investment not only determines your satisfaction, but also our future relationship with you.

Q – What kind of results should we expect from teleprospecting? What are your ‘hit ratios’?

A – The number of appointments PMA generates for your agency over any given period of time will vary according to the size and classes of businesses we are calling, the time of year, the location of your agency and other variables. Generally speaking, as the prospecting database or lead pipeline expands, the number of appointments will increase proportionately. While we always aim to be highly productive, it’s better to promise less and deliver more - rather than start out with inflated expectations that lead to disappointment. Every marketing situation is different so we are happy to make realistic appointment forecasts before your program begins.

Q – What other agencies do you work with around here?

A – Professional Marketing Associates provides quality, personalized teleprospecting support for all size agencies throughout the country. If you are interested in having PMA work for you we would be happy to provide some references that you can speak with personally. We do not call the same target businesses for ‘competing’ agencies nor do we ever share information, lists or leads among different clients.

Q – Why pay PMA to do something our producers should be doing – finding prospects to call on?

A – Prospecting for leads is a ‘least-liked’ activity for producers and one they often avoid - even though it’s the lifeblood of new business. In fact agents’ time is better spent selling and servicing accounts than ‘beating the bushes’ for new prospects. By separating the activities of prospecting and selling, agencies develop more quality accounts with greater cost-efficiency. PMA’s dedicated callers do the time-consuming work of identifying and qualifying interested decision-makers, gathering valuable sales intelligence, managing the prospecting database and re-contacting prospects nearing renewal times to set appointments for producers.

Q – How can you schedule appointments for our various producers if you don’t know their schedules?

A – You can regard PMA as your own off site sales center. Our Client Coordinator is always available to block out calendar dates, answer questions and handle other logistics. Your agency’s callers can be apprised of times that producers will be unavailable and will generally schedule meetings far enough in advance for agents to reschedule if necessary.

Q – Everyone says they can get us leads. Why should we contract with PMA?

A – Because PMA is not just selling leads, but working with your agency to develop the right lists, tailored phone approaches, coordinated collateral materials and other efforts that bring about highly productive results. The expertise and care that goes into your teleprospecting efforts is reflected in the quality of sales intelligence you get and the accounts you finally write.