For people who have spent any amount of time in insurance sales, they have certainly experienced sales training. This training usually consists of a lot of role playing . . . and we mean a lot. This role playing usually consists of practicing what to say if the potential customer throws up reasons why they don’t want to purchase the insurance that is being sold.

Of course, much of the sales training that is available in the insurance industry also consists of how to get customers in the first place. And the information that is usually presented revolves around cold-calling. How to cold-call, when to cold-call, and how many cold-calls to make everyday in order to get appointments.

The problem with so much of the training on getting appointments is that it is outdated. While at one time in our nation’s history, cold-calling actually worked. Before the days of caller ID, it was pretty easy to get people to answer the phone. Now, you can literally cold-call all day and not get a single person to even answer the phone.

In addition, cold-call today involves running every number you are going to call against the do not call list. If you slip up and forget to check the list—or don’t bother to use it all—you are putting yourself at risk. Even worse, even if a number is not on the list, people are inclined tell you to put them on your do not call list.

With all of these obstacles, cold-calling is really not the way to try to get appointments in the insurance industry. However, for most young agents starting out in the business, they don’t know any other way. They are taught to get on the phones and stay on the phones. The purpose of this article is give new insurance agents ideas and techniques for getting appointments that are actually more effective and a better use of your time.