Setting Up Your Phone and Schedule to Take Inbound Final Expense Calls

Inbound calls only work if you're ready when they ring. A senior who dialed an ad expects a licensed agent to pick up quickly and sound like they know what they're doing. That depends a lot on setup you do before the first call.

This is the setup that matters, from the headset on your head to the hours you choose.

Your phone setup

Many call vendors ring calls into a web browser softphone. Others forward to a phone number. Either way, the basics are the same.

Use a wired headset. A USB headset with a microphone on a boom is the safe choice. Bluetooth can work, but batteries die and connections drop at bad times. Laptop speakers and a built in mic make seniors ask you to repeat yourself.

Use a wired internet connection if you can. If you're on Wi-Fi, sit close to the router. Run a test call to a friend before your first live shift and ask how you sound.

Keep the browser clean. If calls ring in a browser tab, close the tabs you don't need. Allow the microphone permission ahead of time so the first call doesn't start with a popup.

Silence everything else. Turn off your cell ringer and computer notifications. A dog barking or a TV in the next room is the sound a senior remembers.

Your desk setup

Before you go online, have these open and ready:

• Your carriers' quoting tools, logged in.
• Your health question notes or a cheat sheet of common medications.
• The application portals you use most.
• A notepad or a simple note template for name, age, state, health and the coverage amount discussed.

The goal is simple. When the caller gives you their age and medications, you should be able to quote without hunting for a password.

Choosing your hours

Pick hours you can actually cover. If you're online, you should be able to answer. Being online and then missing calls wastes the caller's time, and depending on your vendor's rules it can cost you calls or standing.

A few things to think about:

• The caller's time zone. A senior in a later time zone may be calling while you're still eating breakfast, or after you'd normally stop. Match your hours to the states you're licensed in.
• Your best hours. Some agents are sharp in the morning and fade after lunch. Work the hours where you sound your best.
• Breaks. Calls take longer than you expect. A final expense call that turns into an application can run well past half an hour. Leave room in your day.

Go offline when you step away

This one is simple and easy to forget. If you leave your desk, go offline first. Bathroom, lunch, the front door, a quick call with your upline. Turn calls off, then go.

When you come back, check your setup before you turn calls back on. Headset plugged in, quoting tools still logged in, microphone working.

Callbacks

Some calls end with a callback. The caller wants to check with family, or needs to find a bank card. Handle those carefully.

Ask for consent on the recorded call: "Can I call you back tomorrow at 2 at this number?" Get a clear yes. Call back only on that number and at that time, and stay within calling hours. Federal rules generally limit those calls to between 8am and 9pm in the person's local time, and some states are stricter.

Put every callback on your calendar with a note. Then block time for them so they don't collide with your live hours.

Budget and pacing

Decide in advance how many calls you want per day and what you're willing to spend. Most call vendors let you set a daily cap or pause your campaign. Use it. A good day of calls doesn't help if you're too buried in applications to answer the next ring.

Before you fund a campaign, it helps to know what to check before you fund a call campaign, from billing rules to disputes.

The short version

Wired headset, steady internet, quiet room. Quoting tools open before you go online. Hours you can cover, offline every time you step away and callbacks only with consent on the recording.