August 17, 2016
Many insurance agents purchase auto insurance leads with the idea that it will be a miracle solution to grow their agency and book of business. They will purchase leads with their last few dollars, hoping that it will result in a dramatic turnaround in the success of their agency.
The reality is the auto insurance industry is extremely competitive and working auto insurance leads require a significant amount of work and a commitment to making them a success. When an agent purchases auto insurance leads and works them hard, using every tool at their disposal, they will find that leads are work and has one of the highest return on investment, compared to other insurance marketing programs.
The following are 10 mistakes that insurance agents make when working auto insurance leads. Agents that avoid these common mistakes will find the greatest level of success.
1. Assume every lead will be a single contact or call close. Auto insurance leads are people who are shopping for insurance. Insurance leads may have additional questions, they may want to compare their quote with other insurance companies and they may even want to discuss with their spouse, friends or other family members. When working auto insurance leads agents should be patient and realize that sales will come when the lead is ready and agents should have systems in place to nurture the lead until they write the policy.
2. Don’t utilize a CRM or system to manage and track their leads through the sales funnel. Busy insurance professionals need to use a CRM or another established system to track their leads and make sure that they are followed up on. Without a system or CRM, things will slip through the cracks and agents will miss opportunities to write business.
3. Sell strictly on price. While price may be one of the most important factors to many auto insurance leads, it is important for agents to build value in the expertise they provide, as well as the value of the carriers they represent. Some agents will provide a quote without building value in what they are offering and that will result in writing fewer policies.
4. Don’t offer available discounts or adjust coverage limits based on lead feedback. Auto insurance is hyper competitive. There are many options available to consumers. It is important to work with auto insurance leads to find a level of coverage that will work for them. Sometimes it may require a few changes and/or adjustments. Agents should not have a “take it or leave it” attitude when trying to close their leads.
5. Respond to auto insurance calls or leads without a sense of urgency. Some agents will contact auto insurance leads when they have time or provide quotes to callers, when they want to, rather than when requested. They work with little to no sense of urgency. It is important to contact leads the moment they come in. The faster agents can help insurance callers or leads obtain a quote, the more likely the agent will be to earn their business.
6. Don’t nurture old leads. Some agents stop working leads when they don’t immediately buy, rather than following up with them. Even if a lead declines to accept a quote, agents should put them on an email drip campaign and work on developing a relationship with the lead, so that when they are ready to buy in the future, they will be top of mind.
7. Don’t have the most experienced producer work the leads. Some agency owners will buy auto insurance leads or calls and have them worked by a new producer. This is a mistake. Insurance leads should be worked by the best closers. Having the best closers work the leads will give insurance agencies the best results.
8. Limit the auto insurance leads they are buying. Some agents will request leads in a very small geographic area or that represents a very small percentage of the population as a whole. They do this with the hope of increasing the likelihood that they will write some business off that lead. Auto insurance producers should only be concerned with quoting as many leads as possible. The more people they quote, the more business they will write.
9. Don’t purchase auto insurance leads or calls in the evening or during weekends. Evening and weekend real time leads are some of the best available. Many people look for insurance when they are not working and have the time to work with an agent looking to help them with their insurance.
10. Don’t buy home insurance leads. Some agents get comfortable selling what they know. If they know that they are extremely competitive with a particular line of insurance, they will spend their marketing efforts targeting those prospects. To be successful with auto insurance leads, agents should purchase other types as well and then offer to bundle in other policies to reduce overall costs.
Agent Ethan Kosmin Generated over $200,000 in premiums during first year in business thanks to Contact Concierge.
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