Depending on what geographic area you asked for when you purchased your insurance leads from an online lead generation company, you may face the prospect of leads being in different times zones. Make sure you sort your leads into various time zones and pay attention to time differences. The last thing you want to do is call a Florida lead from California at what may be 9p.m. your time, but midnight in Florida.

Sort first, call later and later

All leads should be sorted before working on them and what criteria you use is up to, as you are the one working them. In general though, begin with dividing the names into time zones. Choose your calling hours for the respective time zones: PST, MST, CST and EST. Also pay attention to whether or not a particular time zone follows Daylight Savings.

Let’s say you want to call between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the lead’s time zone. You can find out time zone differences by checking them online. It would be helpful to keep this process as organized as possible and have a tabbed divider for each zone. It’s far easier to keep track of the leads you have called, where they are and what they said in one place than to toss them all into one working pile and try to guess who said what later. In keeping with being organized, start with the time zone you live in. Once you get closer to your designated shut down time in your time zone, you can begin calling in others. It’s simply a matter of determining who to call next based on your organized tabs. Using this method to extend your calling day and the number of leads you are able to reach has the potential to be very profitable in terms of conversions.

Remember, calling leads is a relationship marketing process

You’re selling insurance. You’re calling leads. You’re wanting to make as many sales as you can to grow your business. You trash leads that do not cooperate and move on, right? Wrong. No matter what kind of sales you are in, whether you are selling insurance or cars, website design or widgets, all marketing is relationship based. You are not just selling a product. You are selling yourself. That is why it’s called relationship marketing. Building an insurance business can only be done by cultivating relationships that are mutually beneficial. Every agent, even those working with pre-screened, pre-qualified leads is going to run into someone who does not want insurance, even if they wanted information. That’s life. And, when they say no, they may mean No, not right now. Do not trash them. Keep the information and check back later. Things change day-to-day for all of us. The same observation is applicable for a lead that wants insurance quotes one day, but not two days later. Respect that decision and the process. Maintain a good relationship with those who decline insurance. It may pay off later.

Authored by Rep. Julia Brownley, the Female Veterans Suicide Prevention Act will determine which of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ programs are the most effective in preventing female veteran suicides. The measure will also examine factors unique to women in order to allow the development of gender-specific programs.

“We can and must do more to address the epidemic of suicide among our women veterans,” said Brownley. “We know that suicide can be prevented, but we need to work harder to understand the root causes. This bill is an important step forward toward that goal.”

VA studies have shown female veterans are six times more likely to commit suicide as civilian women. The suicide risk doubles for female veterans between the ages of 18 and 29. The majority of research into veteran suicide has focused on males who comprise 90 percent of the veteran population. As a result, the reasons for the high female veteran suicide rate are unclear.

Researchers have identified several possible factors. These include adverse childhood incidents before military service, injuries such as traumatic brain injury and military sexual trauma (MST) among women. They found that veterans who experienced sexual assault while in the military faced an overall higher risk of suicide.

Female veterans with a history of MST were more than twice as likely to commit suicide as women veterans without such experiences. The results highlight the importance of MST awareness and mental health treatment for associated conditions such as post-traumatic stress or depression, which can be risk factors for suicide.

Overall, the VA’s suicide prevention efforts have appeared to help male veterans more than women. While the VA has taken steps to improve mental health programs aimed at women, there is no gender-specific data available on their effectiveness.

Last year, the senator’s bill was defeated in Congress. Gillibrand’s bill sought to put the decision to prosecute sexual assault cases into the hands of prosecutors, not commanding officers. But those who dissented, including Senator Claire McCaskill, say that Gillibrand’s bill was examined by experts who agree that it would not create the desired effect of reducing military sexual assault and retaliation against survivors.

McCaskill introduced and successfully passed a bill last year that increased oversight of military sexual assault cases while keeping prosecutorial decision-making within the chain of command.

Generally, politicians, the public and the media agree that sexual assault and retaliation against those who report it are major problems in the military. The Department of Defense recently found that more than 60 percent of servicemembers who reported a sexual assault faced some form of retaliation.

The Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN) points out that in addition to retaliation from fellow servicemembers, survivors of military sexual assault face discrimination in having post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) claims approved by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). SWAN notes that survivors of military sexual trauma (MST) have their PTSD claims approved at a rate that is more than 20 percent lower than that of other PTSD claims.

While SWAN supports Gillibrand’s bill, it is also undertaking independent efforts to change VA evidentiary standards for MST-related PTSD claims. The group advocates for a policy that requires the same level of evidence for MST-related PTSD claims as for other PTSD claims — a standard that has been relaxed in recent years in order to help more veterans with valid claims get the treatment they need.

Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact an attorney about your Post Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injury, Mental Health, Sexual Assault, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus, Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability, Medical Malpractice, or Aid and Attendance claim, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800

This sexual assault trauma, commonly known as Military Sexual Trauma (MST), is specifically defined as: psychological trauma, which in the judgment of a VA mental health professional, resulted from a physical assault of a sexual nature, battery of a sexual nature, or sexual harassment which occurred while the Veteran was serving on active duty or active duty for training.

This expansion, which also pertains to Reservists and National Guard members participating in weekend drill, gives the authority to offer veterans the appropriate care and services needed to treat conditions resulting from MST that occurred during a period of inactive duty training.

The expansion is rather timely, especially in light of recent reports of the continued increase in military sexual assault cases, which we at LHFV have discussed frequently on our blog.

Every VA health care facility will have a MST Coordinator who serves as the point person for MST cases. And every VA medical center and community based outpatient clinic offers some MST-related outpatient counseling.

Currently, veterans can receive health care for mental and physical conditions related to MST free of charge. Veterans do not need to have a service-connected disability or seek disability compensation to be eligible for MST-related care.

And, as many who experience sexual harassment or assault have not reported the incidents in the past, it is important to note that veterans do not need to have reported such incidents to the Department of Defense or have documentation or records to support their claims of having experienced such trauma. The responsible VA mental health provider makes a clinical determination as to whether a veteran’s condition is MST-related.

Finally, veterans do not need to enroll in the VA’s health care system to qualify for MST-related treatment, as it is independent of VA’s general treatment authority.

Veterans can learn more about VA’s MST-related services online at:  www.mentalhealth.va.gov/msthome.asp

And you can see video clips with the recovery stories of veterans who have experienced MST at, and learn more at: http://maketheconnection.net/conditions/military-sexual-trauma.

If you have questions about service connected MST and disability compensation, contact us at Legal Help for Veterans.

Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact an attorney about your Post Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injury, Mental Health, Sexual Assault, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus, Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability, Medical Malpractice, or Aid and Attendance claim, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800

The report also claims evidence that an overwhelming number of veterans who are aware of the opportunity to resubmit a claim may choose not to do so because they perceive the process to be too complex to navigate.

In 2011, the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) conducted random sampling, discovering that more than one in four MST-related claims had been improperly denied. If the sample accurately represents claims made over the last several decades, thousands of survivors of military sexual assault were denied benefits in error.

In response, the VBA created a 2013 initiative to allow resubmission of all denied MST-related claims. However, the initiative has not been widely publicized, and the GAO’s new report asserts that when the VBA did notify some veterans of the opportunity to submit a claim, the letter that was mailed was confusing and lacked essential contact information.

Meanwhile, criticism of the VBA’s handling of MST-related claims continues to mount. The Veterans Administration (VA) has faced a barrage of lawsuits alleging discrimination against victims of military sexual trauma.

Since 2008, data have shown that year over year, MST-related PTSD claims are denied more frequently than combat-related PTSD claims — despite medical experts’ testimony that sexual assault is even more likely to result in PTSD than combat. The new report from the GAO affirms that while more MST-related claims are now being approved, their approval rate still lags behind that of combat-related PTSD claims.

One of the reasons widely cited for the difficulty in approving MST-related claims is the struggle to provide evidence that sexual trauma occurred. Embarrassment and fear of retaliation cause many servicemembers to conceal an incident.  

The most recent lawsuit, filed by the Yale Law School’s Veteran’s Legal Service Clinic, is seeking to make a servicemember’s own testimony sufficient to establish that an incident of military sexual trauma did occur.

Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact an attorney about your Post Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injury, Mental Health, Sexual Assault, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus, Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability, Medical Malpractice, or Aid and Attendance claim, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800