Two spines
Which spine you run depends on one thing: do we already have this household? If we do, you open with the mini-review and the cross falls out of it naturally. If we don't, there's no file to review, so you state the reason for the call instead. Never do both — a mini-review on a stranger sounds false, and a "reason for my call" to your own client sounds like a telemarketer.
SPINE A · existing client
P1–P6, P8, P10. They're already ours.
BEAT 1
Identify
Name, agency, "nothing's wrong."
BEAT 2
Mini-review
Thank them for their years, confirm the file.
BEAT 3
Assumptive cross
"While I was looking over everything, I noticed…"
BEAT 4
Gap statement
Why it matters, here, for them.
BEAT 5
Transfer ask
Hand off by name. Assume the yes.
SPINE B · not a client
P7 and P9. Cold, internet lead, requote, winback.
BEAT 1
Identify
Name, agency, permission to continue.
BEAT 2
Reason for call
Why you're calling them , specifically.
BEAT 3
One question
One. Not three. Then listen.
BEAT 4
Gap statement
Why it matters, here, for them.
BEAT 5
Transfer ask
Hand off by name. Assume the yes.
Beat 3 — be assumptive
The cross is a statement , not a request. You are not asking whether they'd like you to look. You noticed something, and you're moving.
"You know, while I was looking over everything, I noticed we don't have your auto with us. Let's go ahead and take a look at that and see if we can help. What vehicles do you drive?"
Copy
Three things are doing work there. "While I was looking over everything" ties the cross to the review you just did, so it lands as service rather than a pitch. "Let's go ahead" assumes the yes. And it ends on a question they can answer without deciding anything — naming their cars costs them nothing, and once they've answered, the conversation is already underway. Compare that to "would you like a quote on your auto?", which invites a no and usually gets one.
Beat 2 — the mini-review
Spine A only. This is what earns you the right to the rest of the call. You're not opening with a pitch, you're opening with service: thank them for their years, confirm what we hold, update it live. Thirty to sixty seconds.
Confirm Why it earns its place
Mailing / garaging address A new address is a property conversation you would otherwise never have found. Best phone number A new area code usually means they moved. Ask where from. Email address Bad email is why renewal notices get missed and clients get surprised. Employer or occupation Job changes move the commute, the mileage, and sometimes the discount. Who is in the household A new name is a new driver. A new driver is an auto call and a liability call.
Four rules. Thank them by name and by number of years first — it's the cheapest goodwill you'll ever buy. Read it as a conversation, not a form. Never ask for date of birth, social security number, driver's licence number, or payment details on a review call — if it's needed, the licensed agent asks. And update it in IX on the call, not after.
Six questions paint a picture
When you have room to go deeper than the five fields above — a renewal review, a long-tenured household, anyone who's happy to talk — these are the questions that surface the cross before you've asked for anything.
Every one of these is a cross-sell trigger in disguise. Marital status changes the household and the discount. A job change moves the commute and the mileage. A business means commercial. A child entering means a new driver in a few years and a life conversation now; a child exiting means a policy that no longer matches. And question six is the one that finds what nobody thought to mention.
The handoff is the job
The fifteen seconds between "hold on one second" and you dropping off the line is the difference between a credited transfer and a wasted dial. Never say the word transfer to a client — it sounds like a phone tree. Say let me put you with .
Route by line of business
Wrong seat means the call gets bounced and the client repeats themselves. That is a dead transfer.
Two people carry more than one seat. One agent takes both property and auto, and another takes both property and commercial building — so if either is free, they can often catch a call the rest of the row can't. Work down the row before you give up and book an appointment.
Slack handoff builder
Build the line while the client is on hold, then copy it straight into the handoff channel so every available agent sees it at once. Whoever claims it is who you introduce — you say their name and how long the client has when you make the live transfer.
Your handoff line will build here as you type.
Copy
Nothing in the channel that you wouldn't want the client reading over your shoulder. No rate, no coverage claim, no account numbers.
Pre-transfer checklist
Run this every time. Tap to tick, reset between calls.
Reset for next call
No agent available
Two options, depending on how far out the agent is. Minutes away — hold the line and work the Filler Bank. Longer than that — book a specific day and time, log it, and move on. What you never do is park the client on hold hunting for someone.
"[He's/She's] with a client right now and I don't want to leave you holding. Are you better in the morning or the afternoon? … Perfect — I'm putting you down for Thursday at 10:15 and [he'll/she'll] call you at this number."
Copy
An appointment set protects the lead but it does not count as a transfer on your quad. Log it in IX the same day with the agent's name and the booked time.
One rule sits above the schedule
A live inbound always beats the block. If a call-in, a web lead, or a transfer request lands at 10am and your sheet says you're on campaign work until one, you drop the campaign and call it. Speed to lead is measured in minutes, not in blocks. The schedule below is what you do when nothing is on fire — it is a default, never a defence.
Your calling window
The office runs 8:30am – 5:30pm EST, Monday to Friday . Your dialling window is 9:00am – 5:30pm . Nothing goes out before nine or after half five — not a dial, not a text.
Use 8:30 to 9:00 to pull and prep the list you're about to work. That half hour is free: you can't dial in it anyway, and if you spend it prepping, nine o'clock arrives and you're already calling instead of still searching.
Two power hours
Your two best contact windows. Keep them clear of meetings, admin, and data entry where you can — and if the Sales Lead needs you on something else, that comes first. Move the block rather than losing it.
10:00 – 11:30am
People are at their desks and past the morning scramble. Best window for working households before the day runs away from them.
4:00 – 5:30pm
People are home, back from the school run, and winding down. Strongest window of the day for reaching a working household — and it runs right up to close.
Do your admin at 1pm, not at the end of the day. Dispositioning, CRM entry, and list prep belong in the post-lunch dead zone when nobody answers anyway. The last ninety minutes are prime calling time — spending them on data entry because it feels like winding down is the most common way a good SDR quietly underperforms.
A week that works
A starting shape, not a straitjacket. Once you have four weeks of your own connect data, rebuild it around what actually answers.
Day Morning Afternoon Power hour
Monday Weekend inbound and web leads first — they are already cold by now Admin, then Renewals Renewals (P10) Tuesday OTH campaign work (P1, P2) Admin, then Source lists OTH campaign (P1, P2) Wednesday Renewals (P10) Admin, then requotes Requotes (P9) Thursday OTH campaign work (P1, P2) Admin, then Source lists OTH campaign (P1, P2) Friday Callbacks and anyone who asked for a time Book next week, then recycle list Appointment-setting for Monday
Tuesday through Thursday are your contact days — that is where the campaign volume belongs. Monday morning is the worst cold window of the week, so it goes to inbound that is already warm. Friday afternoon is poor for cold but fine for warm, which is why it is callbacks and booking rather than fresh dials.
Every block needs four things
If you cannot answer all four before the block starts, you are not ready to dial.
1. Which list
One named campaign or source, not "leads". Pull it before the block, not during it.
2. Which path
P1 through P10. Knowing the path before you dial is what stops you improvising badly.
3. A dial target
A number for this block, not for the day. Forty in a ninety-minute block is a real target.
4. What done looks like
List worked to the end, or the clock ran out and you noted where you stopped.
Your list inventory
Everything available to you, and which path each one runs. Tap to tick off as you work through a block.
Your first two weeks look different
Do not try to run five list types in week one.