How Internet Insurance Leads Have Changed My Agency For the Better

The days of waiting for referrals to spring up or for walk-ins to appear in my office are over. Best of all, cold calling has gone the way of the dinosaur. When I started in financial services, I would cold call 5-8 hours per day and get my butt kicked all day long by people.

Since I started in 1996, the lead world has changed dramatically for the better. With the advent of the internet, lead aggregation sites can generate a continuous flow of leads for my property and casually insurance agency.

I can tell the lead provider the hours I want leads, the zip codes I want to target, and the type of client I want to speak with. I can download the leads into my contact management software and effectively drip on my unclosed leads. Often, the lead providers will follow up immediately with an email introducing my agency to the prospective client.

The beauty of internet insurance leads is that there is an immediate need and a commitment from the prospect to accept a call from the agent. In the old days, I would get 45 rejections for every 5 warm leads, and maybe 1 appointment, if I was lucky.

My strategy was to choose one of the newer lead providers that was started by insurance agents. I find that they give me plenty of leads for my targeted areas and I am not bumping into other agents that utilize the larger lead providers. I can't utilize all the leads anyways, so why go with the industry giant.

Another factor that was important to me was to go with an insurance leads vendor that was not going to nickel and dime me for bad leads. I have been very pleased with the return policy and find the prospects know that I will be calling them.

I use internet auto insurance leads and take about 10 per day for my agency. I find that it has been a tremendous tool for recruiting other agents and scaling my insurance agency. Currently, I am investigating insurance agency lead management software systems to better track my closed and outstanding leads. Many agents just throw away the unclosed leads, but I find that if you drip on these prospects they often convert 6-12 months later when their existing agent provides poor service.

Even at a 10-15% close ratio, my agency will be one of the top new producers for auto insurance in my state of business over the next twelve months.

It is not often that business gets easier over time, but auto insurance leads have transformed my business in short order.

Where Can I Get Direct Mail Final Expense Leads   How to Become an Insurance Adjuster   Five Insurance Discounts You Should Know About   What Is Agent of Record Status?   Preparing an Insurance Agency for Sale   

3 Tips for Making the Most of an Insurance Telemarketing Campaign

Even in the Internet Age, there is a great deal of potential for a successful insurance telemarketing campaign. Most insurance professionals find the most success when going "back to the basics;" however, there are still a few hints to know when launching this type of marketing campaign. Below are three top tips for insurance professionals launching a telemarketing campaign:

1. Don't Hide - In your attempt to get through to that VP of Human Resources you are trying to contact, be upfront with whoever answers the phone about who you are and which insurance agency you are calling from. Some insurance sales professionals have attempted to "trick" gatekeepers into putting a call through by claiming they are someone they are not. By doing so, you will only frustrate your prospect. You are unlikely to get a chance to make your sales pitch at all, since you were dishonest in the first place. You also should make sure that you are not calling from a blocked number, since most businesses have caller I.D.

2. Make Sure You Are Using Quality Leads for Insurance Sales - While there are a few ways to obtain leads for your insurance telemarketing campaign, most of them are of low quality and will end up costing you more in time and money than you thought you were saving. The quality and exclusivity of leads matters most when an insurance professional is launching a telemarketing campaign. By purchasing insurance leads from a lead generation company that specializes in only exclusive, qualified leads, you will have more success.

A qualified lead is one that has been recently voice-verified for correct information, so you do not spend hours calling out-of-date and non-existent numbers. An exclusive lead is sold to you from a lead generation company for a certain period, like 45 days. No other agent has been sold this lead by that lead generation company in that time period, so you will have complete exclusivity when you call on your prospect. They will be ready to listen, not frustrated that this is the fifth call they've received that week.

3. Optimize Your Calling Hours - If you are trying to reach business prospects, you have far more flexibility available to you in terms of calling hours than if you were trying to reach working individual consumers. Call your lead on a busy Monday though and you are unlikely to get more than thirty seconds on the phone with the person. Try them on a Thursday afternoon to get a warmer response. Remember that your job is to educate the prospect on your services, and you must ensure that they have enough time to devote to you so that you can do that.

When an insurance professional is launching a telemarketing campaign, it's important to follow these three guidelines to ensure the most successful campaign possible.

Where Can I Get Direct Mail Final Expense Leads   How to Become an Insurance Adjuster   Five Insurance Discounts You Should Know About   What Is Agent of Record Status?   Preparing an Insurance Agency for Sale