December 03, 2015
Selecting a new auto insurance lead company is a very important decision that you shouldn’t take lightly. It can impact your business and your ability to effectively add new clients with an optimal return on investment or ROI. A new insurance lead company can motivate your team or demoralize it for many months.
The following are 5 things to consider as you evaluate any lead company you might decide to utilized. It is critical that regardless of the new lead company you select, you should give them at least 90 to 180 days to work out the “bugs”, teach your team how to use their leads effectively and work with it long enough to statically significant number to measure.
1. Support. It is critical that no matter what lead company you select to use, that they provide a high level of training and support. You should find out if they provide account managers or onboarding to explain how best to use the auto insurance leads they generate. You should see if they offer videos and other training material. Lastly, you should find out if they offer best practices on how to handle the auto insurance leads they generate. You want to work with an insurance lead company that cares about you achieving success and backs it up with ongoing support.
2. Expected ROI. It is important with any new auto insurance lead program to have an idea or estimate of what you expect the ROI to be. This will give you a clear understanding of whether the program is a success or not. As part of that, before starting any new auto insurance lead program, you should have a formalized way to track results. Once you have the results, you can measure it against what you expected to see and then determine if it makes sense to continue, make modifications or terminate the program.
3. Producer involvement. When considering a new program, it is critical to involve your team in rolling out a new inbound auto insurance lead program. It is important to ask any new lead provider if they will provide training and be able to provide ongoing support to the team. The more involvement your team has in a program, the more likely they will work harder with it to make it successful. The buy-in or support from your team can mean the difference between success or failure.
4. Commitment. It is important to work with a company that is willing to work with you, rather than keep you to some artificial long term commitment. You should stay with a company because it is working for you and is doing their best to help you succeed. In return, it is important to commit to them to do everything in your power to make the program a success and to give them a chance to work with you, if the initial results are not optimal.
5. Customization. It is essential to work with a inbound auto insurance lead company that allows you to customize your leads and program. You should be able to set the hours in which you receive leads, how many per day, the types of leads and the areas in which they come from. You should work with a company that works for you. You should not have to change your business to fit the needs of the lead company.
December 01, 2015
1. Follow-up, follow-up, and more follow-up. With inbound calls or insurance leads, it is always important to follow-up until a prospect tells you no or that they purchased with another company. Even with that, you should follow-up periodically in case they are not happy with who they selected. Sales is about building relationships. By staying in touch, you are showing that you care more about their needs than a quick sale.
2. Use email drip campaigns. There are many systems that will automate the process of sending emails, newsletters and even periodic insurance tips to clients and prospects. It is important to build relationships and position yourself as an expert in insurance. The more you communicate with a prospect or client, and it is not directly related to buying a new policy, the more you will build trust and the opportunity to earn their business in the future. Keep in mind to not overdo the number of emails and always follow applicable laws and regulations related to emailing.
3. Provide great customer service. One of the best ways to build your book of business is to provide the “best” customer experience to your existing and new clients when they contact your office for help. Consumers like timely responses, they like friendly knowledgeable staff and most importantly a commitment to doing what is promised. You do these things and proactively reach out to your clients, the word will get out and your business will grow
4. Ask for referrals. Beginning at the time of an initial sale and every time you communicate with your clients, you should ask for referrals. While a small thank you gift is always appreciated when you acquire a new client from a referral, sending a thank you note is always appreciated by the person doing the referral. You shouldn’t just limit yourself to asking for referrals for the product that your client purchased, you should make sure they know you can offer a full range of insurance products, to open up more possibilities and referrals.
5. Use customer service calls as an opportunity to sell and get referrals. Most agents and producers avoid customer service calls like the plague. These calls should be seen as a revenue opportunity to resell, upsell, bundle and ask for referrals. There is no better time to ask someone for more business, then after you have been able to assist them with their insurance questions or other needs.
6. Purchase inbound insurance leads. The best way to grow your agency is to keep yourself and your staff busy. Inbound auto insurance leads is one of the best ways of doing that. There is an abundance of calls in most areas and selling auto insurance is fast, easy and efficient. All you have to do is order how many calls you want per day, the criteria they need to meet and when you want the calls. Then answer the phone, quote and write the policy.
7. Bundle insurance offers. With every auto or home insurance lead you speak with, you should alway seek to bundle the two types of insurance for the client. Most consumer prefer to do business with fewer companies, rather than more. You should also expect to see greater lifetime value from the insurance customer if they are less likely to leave you when they have more than one policy with you.
8. Offer available discounts. Many insurance carriers offer a multitude of discounts. Some include membership discounts, good driver and many more. It is important to be seen as trying to help your prospects or insurance leads to secure the best value for their needs. While it may take more time or lead to a lower commission, being seen as someone that is looking out for your clients will increase your retention and referrals over time.
9. Sell in largest geography possible. The new insurance norm is to sell statewide, rather than in your local area. That will enable you to competed everywhere you are licensed. The larger pool of prospects/insurance leads you have will result in a higher number of inbound insurance calls and higher number of policies written.
10. Participate in social media. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Linkedin are great tools for communicating with and staying in touch with your clients. The biggest and most impactful benefit of social media is communicating with your clients and them with you. You can also more easily see what is going on with their lives. Most active users post changes in their relationship status, accidents and even their medical condition to their social media accounts. These, and other life events, are great opportunities to engage your clients to assist them more with more of their insurance needs.
11. Buy home and auto insurance leads simultaneously. Some agents like to start with home insurance leads and then bundle in auto, others like to get auto and bundle in renter or home insurance. The better strategy is to purchase both. This will maximize the number of insurance leads you speak with and likelihood that you will make more sales.
12. Periodically work evenings and weekends. Many consumers are busy with work during the times that most insurance agents prefer to work. To maximize your sales, agents should be available a few nights and Saturdays a month. This is the reason why there are now so many 24/7 call centers, consumer want help with their needs outside of the traditional 9 to 5 hours.
13. Don't sell only on price. Selling insurance is about trust. It is important that the insurance lead trusts you and trusts that you are are looking out for their interest. Build a relationship based on trust and the consumer will likely purchase from you even if the rate offered is a bit higher. Your expertise is another important element you can use when discussing insurance. If an insurance lead feels you are knowledgeable and trusts you, there is no reason why you won’t be able to sell that lead and keep the client for many years.
14. Quote, quote, quote. The more you quote, the more you will sell, period. With inbound insurance leads, you can get home, life, auto, commercial, condo and renter leads. You should get as many as you can handle everyday, keeping in mind that you will need to follow-up with the insurance calls from the previous days/weeks. Every producer should endeavor to quote a minimum of 5 new people everyday (or more).
15. Maintain a stellar personal and professional reputation. In addition to trust and expertise, the reputation you have online and in your community is extremely important. The best way to have a good reputation is to do your best everyday. You should always think about the long-term when interacting with a client rather than the immediate impact of some decision. Having a good reputation will result in more sales and referrals overtime.
16. Keep up to date with product, industry and regulatory changes. It was once said that, “the only thing constant is change,” this is a truism in the insurance industry and life in general. It is important to stay ahead of industry changes and not be afraid to do new things and try new strategies. Taking classes, reading, talking to industry experts and more will help you stay ahead of your competition and succeed for a lifetime.
16. Check-in with long term clients. It is very easy to forget clients that pay their bills every month and continue to renew period after period with little or no contact. While part of you may want to “leave” them alone, it is important to check-in with long term clients to maintain your relationship with them. This is also a great time to ask for referrals and offer additional policies, based on their life events.
17. Answer the phone, emails and texts. Now with so many avenues to communicate with clients, it is essential to stay on top of all of them. Clients have come to expect a timely response to their needs, even if the response is that you don’t know or you need to find the answer. The more timely and more responsive you are, the longer clients will stay with you, the more likely they will bundle their insurance policies with you and the more likely they will refer friends and family.
18. Be involved in the community. Being involved and known in your community is a great way to build a solid reputation and meet people in your area. Volunteer for community groups to offer your insurance expertise, work with schools on career education programs and more. This community visibility will help with both new sales and retention of existing clients.
19. Keep up with technology. The pace of technology change seems to move faster and faster. To maintain competitiveness, agents should seek to embrace new technologies and strategies that are being used by others so that they are not left behind.
20. Don't be afraid of change. Change is occurring all around us and to be successful it is important to embrace that change. Trying new sales and marketing strategies, hiring new staff, upgrading to new computer systems, using social media and more are some of the things agents should do to embrace change.
21. Manage your online presence. While pay-per-performance inbound insurance leads is one of the best ways to grow your agency, having an online presence is important since many consumers may do an online search of you to read reviews and check out your online reputation. By having a website and control over your listings in online directories, you will be able to make sure your information is up to date and correct.
22. Don't be afraid to invest in yourself. Investing in yourself and your agency may come in many different forms. Education, training, insurance leads, a new phone system or computer. Even something as small as a new pair of shoes and a hair cut. Feeling good about yourself and your agency will go a long ways towards improving your confidence and when you feel good about yourself, you will make more sales.
23. Create your own personal brand. Your brand and reputation go hand-in-hand. It is important to use your photo in your marketing so that people know what you look like. Your community involvement, online presence, reputation all contribute to your brand. You want to be known as an insurance expert who provides superior service and a great value.
24. Develop long term partnerships with your marketing partners. Some agents will jump from one marketing or insurance lead company to the next without giving anyone long enough to see if the program works. Agents should give any one program a minimum of 90 days to work. They should work with their marketing partners to optimize their program and not be quick to immediately jump ship. Some marketing programs take time to get optimized and to fully work.
25. Develop your staff. Your staff is an extension of you and your agency. It is critical to make sure you only have the best people working for you and that you invest in making sure that they are properly trained. The better staff you have, the more policies you will write and the faster your book will grow.
Agent Ethan Kosmin Generated over $200,000 in premiums during first year in business thanks to Contact Concierge.
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