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OK,

I keep getting spam from this idiot, touting his spam operations targeting insurance agents.

Normally, I just pass on by this kind of spam, delete it and forget about it. But it is the lying about the origination of their spam list that just ticked me off.

His web site has the following in the Frequently Asked Questions:

Question #2: Is this spam?
Answer: Absolutely NOT. Our list has been carefully compiled from subscribers, partners and joint venture associates. This is the cleanest, most highly targeted list of insurance agents available on the planet. (There may be vendors who claim they have larger lists of insurance agents...but nobody has a list that gets half the response our list will get for you!)

Sorry but this is a big steaming pile of lies. The one I got today was to an alias address which could have ONLY been gathered by a spam bot, scouring web sites for e-mail addresses. I put that address on my site specifically to test an anti-spam script's effectiveness against spam bots. That address was the one left exposed to the spam crawlers.
They act as if their list is so "clean", that it is only opt-in, lies... lies... lies...

They aren't even smart enough to hide their spambot, I have seen it in some traffic logs for some other insurance sites, it is called http://www.insurancecommunicator.com.

The main reason I am typing all this is to warn anyone who may be looking to market to insurance agents: Don't believe what they tell you, they are spammers by every measure of the word. Your message to the target audience will be greeted with disdain as spam, causing ill will from the very prospect base you wish to reach.

Now, hopefully at least, when anybody runs an internet search for this clown and his company, they will get the facts.

I mean, would you do business with this man?



OK, OK, that's not Michael Jans... At least I don't think it is...

Check this out:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/busines ... bus61.shtm

Sometimes they need to be reminded of this act passed by congress.

Thats fine but,

We have run across some of these clowns running their servers in Nova Scotia and other places, OUTSIDE, the USA. We have unsubscribed many times but I think that just validates the email address and they send more junk.

Drives me nuts, especially when I get that fake phone message which occurs during the night every now and then. I've tried to get them off the inbox into the spam permanently to no avail. Grrr... Epitomy of sleazy sales

Rochambeau wrote:OK,

I keep getting spam from this idiot, touting his spam operations targeting insurance agents.
His web site has the following in the Frequently Asked Questions:
Question #2: Is this spam?
Answer: Absolutely NOT. Our list has been carefully compiled from subscribers, partners and joint venture associates. This is the cleanest, most highly targeted list of insurance agents available on the planet. (There may be vendors who claim they have larger lists of insurance agents...but nobody has a list that gets half the response our list will get for you!)
They act as if their list is so "clean", that it is only opt-in, lies... lies... lies...

I admit that I don't see a lot of use for the information and Programs that Michael is promoting in my agency. My reason for commenting on your post is because of who Michael Jans is and has been. MIchael is a past Executive Vice President of the PIA (Oregon.Washington & Idaho).

I think that because of his exposure to the industry at that level that he does have, and deserves, some credibilty. While I don't have a current need for his services, I can see from my background and education in Sales and Marketing, that what he is offering is valid. From his background, and industry contacts as a result of that, I feel that his claim to targeting insurance agents, from a carefully compiled list, does have some credibility. Please remember that what he is offering is not a 'one-size-fits-all' product.

I have attended one of his "Insurance Marketing Rebel" webinars, which was interesting, although being on his email list is a pain. It may not technically be spam, but it sure feels like it.

I think his company(s) can offer some good things (Quantum Club, any feedback?) but the marketing is very aggresive.

gregcw wrote:I feel that his claim to targeting insurance agents, from a carefully compiled list, does have some credibility. Please remember that what he is offering is not a 'one-size-fits-all' product.

Actually, pretty much my whole point is the deception that is the suggestion that this list is opt in when in fact it is compiled through the use of spam bots which crawl the web harvesting e-mail addresses from web sites.

He makes that assertion I referenced above that they do not spam. That is just not true.

Little doubt in my mind that spam pays, it does. So does selling those listings in the internet directories that we all get, the ones with the "walking fingers" on them. Doesn't make it right or ethical.

And lying is lying, period.

Rochambeau wrote:

gregcw wrote:I feel that his claim to targeting insurance agents, from a carefully compiled list, does have some credibility. Please remember that what he is offering is not a 'one-size-fits-all' product.

Actually, pretty much my whole point is the deception that is the suggestion that this list is opt in when in fact it is compiled through the use of spam bots which crawl the web harvesting e-mail addresses from web sites.

He makes that assertion I referenced above that they do not spam. That is just not true.

Little doubt in my mind that spam pays, it does. So does selling those listings in the internet directories that we all get, the ones with the "walking fingers" on them. Doesn't make it right or ethical.

And lying is lying, period.

That is pretty egregious. Especially since you did such a thorough spam bot test on your website.

I was sick of him a long time ago, who is he really anyway? What does he know about anything?

Back in the late '90s I began receiving his mail, then his email, then I started seeing his ads in Rough Notes and other trade publications. I thought, "must be a scam", but somehow he sucked me in. I went to my first meeting in October 1999 in Chicago. Then I went home and began implementing everything I learned. Over the last 9 1/2 years, I used his system to ramp up my marketing machines and here is what happened:

1. I went from working 100+ hours a week to being almost retired at age 40. (I've since chosen to go back to work, but at a much better pace).
2. My agency is in a sleepy little town in the Catskill Mountains. Our town has less than 2000 residents and I grew my client base to over 10,000.
3. Over 9 years I have purchased 6 agencies in my area. I have also moved into the New York City market (144 miles away) and purchased 3 more down there. (Looking for more down there too).
4. Used Michael's system to generate seven figure contingency checks, capitalize an insurance company, and have secured my family's future financially.
5. Implemented Michael's system to nurture my clients, get referrals, and make my agency sail along with little effort on my part. He taught me to work ON my businesses, and not IN them. Even in a pro-longed soft market, we retained clients and continued to grow.

Is Michael Jans a clown? No, he's a serious businessman who can teach you how to do what he taught me. Like any other business system, weight loss product, quit-smoking-trick, etc., it only works if you take the materials out of the box and work with them. My financial and time investments in Michael Jans, Insurance Profit Systems and the Quantum Club have paid off handsomely for me profesionally and personally for 10 years straight. Michael is my mentor, my coach, and my friend and I am proud to state so in this public forum.

Bash him all you want, but I can list dozens of other insurance agents who have become multi-millionaires because of Michael Jans. We'll laugh all the way to the bank while you're worried about getting what you consider spam.

Look at the negativity this guy has created around himself.

Then a newby poster shows up and dumps an infomercial on the forum - that seemed spammy. Who knows though. Perhaps John Mason is what he claims to be. We don't know because the tradition here is to stay anonymous.

Love me or hate me, you know who I am, what I do, and how I do it. I don't post anything that does not have my name attached. Why don't more of you step into the light?

Anyway...

If you are cold calling these posts are what your prospects are thinking of you. You may not be sending email spam but you are phone-spamming. You come off as unprofessional.

Professional's Marketing Rules: No cold calls - opt in email only - no auto dialers - no fax blasts. Create marketing gravity by being a person of interest. Be perceived as a person of value. Build a business where people come to you as a professional.

Michael Jans is not a clown. He is nothing more than a marketer of agency management ideas and motivational materials. He is for real.

John Mason is for real, and is one of the true success stories coming out of the Michael Jans assembly line.

Michael has adjusted his systems and pitches over the years to adapt to changing insurance marketing environments and is up front enough to admit that things that worked in the past, no longer work in today's insurance marketplace.

Feeling resentful about his marketing and acquisition tactics and the minor annoyances of deleting unwanted email I think is shortshighted. Michael has marketed with traditional direct mail and continues to do so, but has also embraced the 'new' technologies that have been thrust upon us.

Full disclosure... I subscribed to some of Michael Jans' materials earlier in this decade. I felt there was some good to be learned from his systems, however, I considered my local market and my own business model to be such that most of Michael's ideas did not translate well in my immediate area. But just because I could not seem to take his marketing ideas and make them work for me (and yes, I really 'opened the box and followed instructions'), I don't think invalidates his stated goals, which although make him money, do indeed benefit agency owners like John Mason.

Like many business consultant's, a great deal of committment is needed by the buyer to impliment the ideas suggested. And that box of ideas may well have different outcomes in different environments based on business conditions and the energy and involvement of the agency owner.

I don't care if he's a serious business man with a great product etc. If he's using spam to market his products then he deserves all the negativity.

SPAM SUCKS!

Yes, yoyo, spam seriously sucks. Essentially this marketing tactic makes him a colleague of those who flood e-mail boxes with promises of male enhancement.

But you know, it's not even the spam that set me off. I get spam as a result of spam crawlers daily, probably 15-20 per day. What really gets me is this guy lies about it. He knows most of his prospects are only interested in an opt-in list so he lies about it and tells them what they want to hear so he can make a buck. THAT is what burns me.

That would be no different than if I told a Homeowners prospect: "Buy from me, THIS policy includes flood insurance", knowing full well that it didn't.

To the apologists, if lying does not bother you, well then I pity you for having a moral compass that is askew.

Given the choice between integrity and success, I will take integrity. Fortunately, I don't have to choose, I have both. Still though, I lose sales daily from agents who lie to their clients and lie to their companies, who hide teen drivers and purposely understate mileage. Our country, nay, our world, suffers from a lack of integrity.

Ethics like those should have no place in our industry.

Rochambeau,

+1
Integrity, honor, truth are more than just words. Unfortunately, it seems the majority of the people who grew up in the aftermath of the 1960's just weren't taught these core moral values.

Mica