When I was an independent agent working in the field my goal was to earn between $20,000 and $25,000 a month, no matter how hard I had to work.
I would fly out to a specific town or drive somewhere in my state and I would write anywhere from $10,000 to $25,000 in that span of time, which usually came out to be around 70 applications. Granted not all of it was issue paid but a heavy amount was, my placement at the time doing travel trips was over 90%. I would do these travel trips once or twice a month. I developed a great system to maximize revenue from travel trips. Check out my process below to increase your earnings!
Why Travel Trips Make You More Money
- You Can Choose A Better Location: Not to negate where people live, but there are gold mines throughout this country that are easier to sell. The simple answer is to go where it makes sense!
- Distractions Are Removed: If you post up in a hotel for 96 hours and you have no distractions, no girlfriend/boyfriend, no husband, no kids, whatever the case may be, and all you’re there to do is write business, then you will kill it. Sometimes you just need that focus. I would probably get anywhere from 25 to 35 appointments in those Thursday-Sunday spans of time, which was usually my long weekend, either Thursday-Sunday or Friday-Monday.
How To Structure Your Travel Week To Optimize Cashflow
My strategy was to have huge phone days on Wednesday/Thursday, and then to really consolidate appointments on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Wednesday: Cold Calls
I did these trips over the weekends because the best cold call day in my opinion is Wednesday. It’s all about hump day! It’s two days away from Friday, and two days past the worst day of the week which is Monday for a lot of people.
Thursday: Set Appointments
I would cold call on Wednesday, and as I was traveling I would call on Thursday and set appointments for Friday.
Friday/Saturday/Sunday: Sits
The week is over at this point, they can sit on their couch with a beer relaxing and they’ll talk to you for a half-hour. You can do your pitch, and it’s a very laid back setting. And go door knock as needed on Sunday/Monday.
The Best Sit Day Is Saturday!
Saturday mornings are probably the best sit day on the entire planet and then Sunday and/or Monday are great spillover days if you miss somebody or get no-showed. And go door knock as needed.
Back At Home: Paperwork, Warm Market, & Referrals
Depending on what you’re pitching, and the income of that area, you could end up pitching $30 a day or $30 a month, all day long. After doing this I’d come home with a huge stack of apps and I would spend my week doing all the paperwork like faxing in amendments. At that time not a lot of the carriers had e-apps, or they just weren’t that good so I would have to power through all of the applications by hand. Today you can be much more efficient with your time. My weeks at home were filled with the paperwork and I’d keep writing referrals, friends, and family. Then I’d set up a call time and do it all again.
Save Up For Your Travel Trip
Don’t make the mistake I made when I started out and try to do this super cheap. You need to save $2,000+ to make the travel trip. Put it in an account, put it under your mattress in cash, whatever it takes. The reason for that is you never want to be worried about your finances while you’re on the trip. So whatever you have to do, if you’re selling friends and family, if you still have a part-time job you’re working, or whatever the case may be, save up for a travel trip.
Your Travel Budget Should Be $2,000+
- You will spend some of this on your leads.
- Traveling is not cheap anymore unless you have rewards points you can use.
- Your mindset needs to be 100% focused on writing business, and not how much you are spending.
- You have to stay healthy when you’re on the road, you shouldn’t be eating McDonald’s just because it’s a dollar.
Make sure you save up that $2,000 before you go on your initial trip!
3 Travel Trip Tips
1. Don’t Fall Into The Fast Food Trap
Eating fast food like Taco Bell is okay in moderation, but should really be avoided on the road. What ends up happening is we go on these trips or we go hours from home where we spend the day traveling and we end up eating garbage, soda, and energy drinks. It affects your personality, it affects your attitude, it affects your ability to stay hyped up and excited and energetic.
2. Find Locations That Are Easier To Sell
Spend a lot of time talking with agents from other areas and get a feel for what it’s like to sell there. If it checks out and is a better area than where you live, plan a travel trip there.
3. Offer To Bring Them Coffee
I love doing this, it makes people so happy and ready to talk to you! Just don’t bring it up on the phone and then forget to follow through…that will hurt you. If you bring people Starbucks they open the door for you.
I developed this process from years in the field, and it really paid off! I hope you find success with it too.
If you’d like more advice like this follow me on Facebook. If you have any questions you can reach out to me there too, I love talking all things sales and life insurance!