New York Life agent goes prospecting on the streets

When cold calling chilled prospective clients, insurance agent Eric S. Klarman brought his business outside — to subway stations and on the streets of New York. Mr. Klarman, an agent with New York Life Insurance Co., has been making appearances on the streets of lower Manhattan and in Brooklyn. You might see him on a busy street or in a subway station, sitting at a table with a New York Life banner, meeting and greeting prospective clients. “An agent has to have a lot of discipline to make a tremendous amount of phone calls, and I learned early on in my career that I didn't have that discipline,” he said. Mr. Klarman has been an agent for eight years, spending six of them meeting new clients through what he calls “public marketing.” “It made sense to me that if you present yourself in an area with high foot traffic, naturally, someone will be interested in what you do and the services you provide,” he added. The exposure has brought in an unusual mix of clients, not just well-heeled prospects who work on Wall Street near Mr. Klarman's office. In Brooklyn — where he lives — Mr. Klarman sets up his table in Crown Heights, Fort Greene and Bedford Stuyvesant, which brings in a variety of clients from different backgrounds. “I have clients who are borderline poverty, those who are extremely affluent and white-collar executives,” he said. But female prospects are the most receptive, Mr. Klarman added. “Women are the more serious buyers,” he said. “As far as approaching the table, they seem to be a bit more receptive, and they get a chance to pre-qualify me.” Though the decision to take business outside hasn't made Mr. Klarman a millionaire, it's boosted his production enough to become part of his business model. “This saved me,” he said. “It gave me a means to prospect within my comfort zone. Am I hitting home runs and grand slams? No, but I can pay my bills and go on vacation.”