If you find ONE
NEW IDEA please click "Like" or share with a colleague!
1. Raffle
off an Apple TV - If you're participating at a local community event, raffle
off an Apple TV.
Collect people's information on the raffle forms and boom! There's your leads.
Why an Apple TV? It's an Apple product so you'll look cool and modern. They
cost under $100. And they're not as popular as an iPod or iPad so some people
will be intrigued enough to strike up a conversation about what it does.
2. Internet
Leads - Of course internet leads are frustrating and expensive but
there's no easier way to contact people who are shopping for insurance right
now. I recommend using several lead providers while tracking your close and
contact rates. That's the only way to know for sure which ones have the best
leads in your area. There's a ton of sketchy lead companies out there so be
careful - Here are the best:
·
NetQuote
·
InsureMe
3. In-House
Telemarketing - Don't make the mistake I see a lot of agents make with
in-house telemarketing by having one person do it all day long. I've seen a lot
of good producers get burnt out that way. It's more sustainable and productive
to have your producers telemarket for an hour or two each day at the best times
of the day.
4. Lunch
Table Quotes - If you know anyone who works at a company with lots of
employees, ask them if you can setup a quoting table in their workplace
cafeteria. Make it clear that you're not going to pressure or interrupt any of
their employees, but you'll setup a table and a sign advertising free quotes
for anyone who wants to save money. Pitch it like you're doing them a favor,
not the other way around.
5. Criss
Cross Directories - There are companies that specialize in developing accurate
contact information for everyone who lives near your agency. There's a list or
service for just about every type of insurance you might be wanting to sell, or
just get the contact info for everyone in the zip codes you care most about.
Here's two of the biggest companies in the space, Cole Information, Haines
6. Insurance
Website Bible Book - If you haven't read The Insurance
Website Marketing Bible yet you're missing out on a great FREE
resource for insurance agents. It's a FREE book you can download with a bunch
of great ideas for marketing your website and there's an entire chapter devoted
to lead generation. If you haven't read it already download your
free copy here.
7. Get Old
Leads From Agencies that are Closing - If you know
an agent shutting down their agency or selling it over to someone else, ask if
they have any old leads you could buy off them. Chances are decent they won't
care since they're leaving the industry and may be open to a fair cash offer.
While you're at it, make sure to ask what's happening to their phone number.
You might be able to make an offer for that too, and forward it to your
line.... just a thought.
8. Fishbowls
- Yup, I said it... fishbowls. Talk with other local
businesses, especially those that are really close to your agency and offer to
pay for the cost of a gift certificate to their store once a week or month if
they collect business cards for the drawing and give you the contact
information. Or just offer to convert the leads onto a spreadsheet for the
other business owner in exchange for letting you have the information.
10. Get a
Better Website - It's hard enough getting people to your agency website,
are they impressed when they get there? If your website isn't clean and
professional nobody's going to trust you enough to call or request a quote
online. It's easy and cheap
to get an impressive website for your agency nowadays so it's
time to upgrade your online presence.
10. New
Home Purchases - In addition to home insurance, new homeowners are great
targets for life insurance and other financial products. Since the transactions
are public information it's easily accessible. Your local government website might
have the information or you can always look into a lead service that provides
information like this. Just Google "new homeowners list".
11. Online
Marketing - It's hard to find a better place to generate leads
nowadays than online but it can be challenging to manage all the different
aspects through different vendors. There are online marketing companies that
specialize in insurance agents who offer complete online marketing packages that
include everything, website, SEO, social media, email, PPC, etc. You can save
yourself a lot of time and amplify results with a full marketing package from
one trustworthy company.
12. Marriage/Engagement
Announcements - A lot people who get married or engaged put announcements
in the local newspaper. These couples are the perfect target for insurance
agents because they're often looking for new policies like life or home but
they're also entering a new life stage and should be more receptive to
conversations about the value of a trusted insurance agent.
13. Mailback
Newspaper Inserts - I know some agents that swear by this lead gen tactic.
Mailback cards are small postage paid postcards people can use to enter their
contact information and drop it in the mailbox. There's no stamp needed because
the post office bills you for the postage. All the agents I knew who liked this
idea were captive agents getting the cards for free so if you had to pay for the
original printing I'm not sure if the payback is quite as worthwhile.
14. Email
Your Clients - Is your agency sending out a monthly newsletter? If not
you're missing a great way to stay in contact with your customers and generate
new leads. Each newsletter is a chance to ask for referrals and cross-sell new
products to every single one of your clients. If you don't have time to make a
monthly newsletter check out this email
newsletter service for insurance agents.
15. Exchange
Leads with Other Local Businesses - I'm sure most of
the local business owners around you would love to get their hands on your
customer list for sales leads. Of course you aren't going to give that out to
anyone, but if you can find a few other local entrepreneurs you can trust who
also have lists of their own, consider exchanging information.
16. Buy a
List - You can buy a list of just about anything. Want the fax
numbers of all the chiropractors in your state? Mailing addresses for all the
beauty salons? Whatever you want, there's a list company that'll happily sell
it to you. Infogroup is one of the biggest providers and I'm pretty
confident about their data quality.
17. Live
Quotes on Your Website – You already know that people want to
shop online for insurance, but can your website provide live quotes? In our
experience here at InsuranceSplash, live quoting on your website works best for
products that don't need to ask too many questions to generate a fair price.
Our website clients have had great results for life insurance especially. If
you're considering adding live quoting functionality to your site Check out NinjaQuoter.
We've worked with just about all the online raters and they seem to have the
highest converting forms out there.
18. Hire a
Telemarketing Company - Why not leave it to the experts? The
beauty of hiring a telemarketing company is that they often can provide the
scripts, the phone numbers, the training and everything else and all you need
to do is pay for the leads. The best leads are those that can be warm
transferred so it's highly recommended to only pay for telemarketing done on
your behalf during the times when someone in your office can take over the
call.
19. Your
Facebook News Feed - I'm not saying your news feed is the place to go when you
need to make a sale today, but if you're an avid Facebook user and you pay
attention you'll realize that your news feed is full of sales opportunities.
People having babies, getting married, buying cars, houses, and other cool
stuff that needs insurance.
20. Pay Per
Click Ads - Pay-per-click ads are the results you see above the normal
results on Google, Yahoo, and Bing. They're not always cheap in the insurance
industry, but you bid against other insurance agencies for the traffic so the
prices are generated by the market. For generating leads, it's best to send the
traffic to a squeeze page - a page focused on collecting the visitor’s
information with no external links or anything else. (As opposed to sending
traffic to your agency's homepage). And if you need help running the ads work
with an online
advertising company that specializes in helping insurance agents.
21. Networking
Events - What do you call the 30 business cards in your hand at the
end of a networking event? Leads. With any leads though, the key thing is your
follow-up. I recommend using
social media for most of your networking follow up since it's
quick and easily opens the doors to developing stronger relationships.
22. Sponsored
Table List - Any time you're sponsoring a table at a local community or
business event ask the organizer for a list of all the attendees and the other
sponsors. Of course the idea is to generate leads with the interactions you
have, but if they might give you a list of everyone who shows up why not ask
for it?
23. Hook Up
With Accountants - A recommendation from an accountant is very powerful. It's
like your dentist recommending a toothbrush. It takes more than a casual
relationship with an accountant to generate leads, but if you can gain their
trust and help their business, accountants can be a really great source of
leads. I know a couple agents who've grown considerable sized books almost
exclusively from referrals from a close accountant friend so I know it can
work.
24. Motorcycle
Dealerships - They're selling motorcycles, you sell insurance for
motorcyles. I guess it's a pretty good fit, right? Remember that motorcycle
dealers don't want you to pay them commission, they don't want to help their
clients get great coverage at affordable prices. They want to sell motorcycles.
Make it easy for them to sell more motorcycles and they'll like you. Offer to
drive to their dealership within 20 minutes to write a new policy anytime they
need the coverage to sell a motorcycle.
25. Referral
Breakfast Group - There's referral
breakfast groups just about everywhere. If you haven't been to
one before here's how it works. A bunch of entrepreneurs (only one per
industry) get together once a week to discuss business, network, and give
referrals to each other. The nice thing about being an insurance agent in one
of these groups is that it's pretty easy for other members to refer your
service since everyone needs insurance. The taxidermist on the other hand...
26. Hire a
Telemarketer - If you really want someone in your agency to be dialing
out all day long, hire someone specifically for the purpose. When their
expectations are appropriate right out of the gate you'll have a much higher
chance of success. Keep the hourly pay low but make sure to reward the
generated leads and sales generously.
27. Alumni
Database - Does your college or high school have an alumni database?
If so it's a great place to look for potential people to reach out to. Where I
went to school they even let you search by industry, job title, and location so
it could be a goldmine of leads for the right person.
28. Blank
Business Cards - Ever run into someone that could be a great sales lead or
referral source and they don't have a business card to give you? What happens?
Most likely nothing. Carry around a few blank business cards and a pen so you
can write that person's information down and put it in your wallet. I suppose
you'd better be careful doing this with a member of the opposite sex. It could
be easily misinterpreted!
29. Informational
Whitepapers - A "Whitepaper" is basically just a informational
report that is considered to have some value. If you want to collect the email
addresses of a specific demographic or people in one industry you can create a
simple landing page that offers the downloadable whitepaper in exchange for the
visitor's email address. Warning: Make sure the topic of your whitepaper is
really REALLY enticing.
30. Facebook
Ads - If done correctly, Facebook ads can
be very affordable and extremely effective. The trick is that you can't just go
straight to offering a quote. People aren't using Facebook to get insurance
quotes and they know they can get a quote whenever they want to anyway. To
generate leads with Facebook, offer something people would want in exchange for
their information. If online marketing isn't your expertise you can also work
with a company that
specializes in online ads for insurance agents.
31. Chamber
of Commerce - Chambers of Commerce are great for networking events and
meeting new members of the community, but they're also great sources for leads.
Many Chambers will give their members a contact list you can use to find all
the other members but if that's not possible check their website for an online
directory. Even if you're not a member you should be able to use the online
directory of most Chamber websites to find local businesses.
32. Cell
Phone Camera - The camera in your cell phone is an awesome way to keep
track of new leads. While you're driving around or walking and you see a
business that would be good to reach out to snap a picture of their storefront
or work vehicle so you can read their contact information. If you really want
to catch their attention send an email with the image attached. It'll stand
out.
33. Home
Depot Parking Lot - If you're looking for contact information of local
contractors just drive over to Home Depot or Lowes early in the morning. Snap
pictures of all the work trucks with their phone numbers on them. The beauty of
this idea isn't about getting the phone number. It's about having a
conversation starter when you call up the owner. "I saw your vehicle
parked at Home Depot this morning..."
34. Cross
Promotional Events - Throwing a special event just for your clients can be a
daunting and expensive task. If you want to ease the burden and get a lot more
leads, team up with another local business for a cross-promotional event. All
the businesses involved (it could be several) invite their own clients and let
the cross-pollination occur.
35. Referred
By Cards - Make up some simple "referred by" cards that you
can give to your clients. You handwrite their name onto the cards and ask them
to give them out to people they know who you can help. The key to this strategy
is to educate your customer about who your perfect customer is. Although it's
counterintuitive, the more specific you are about your ideal referral the
better results you'll get.
36. LinkedIn
Ads - LinkedIn has been growing pretty quickly lately and their ad platform has
some cool features to it. The best aspect for using it to generate leads is the
fact that you can target people by their job so if you're looking for human
resource managers of businesses with over 50 employees you can target those
people. Send your traffic to a squeeze page to capture the lead's information.
37. Real
Estate Agents - For obvious reasons, real estate agents can be a big
source of lead generation for insurance agents. Remember that real estate
agents are just like you, the only thing they need to have more success is more
leads! Give them leads and they'll give them back to you. Based on the numbers,
one insurance agency should be able to support several insurance agents in a
situation like this.
38. Car
Accident Claimants - The claimants are the people your customers hit with their
car. Obviously its important that your customers are well taken care of
throughout the claims process, but have you considered the sales opportunity
that might exist for the other party involved? You could reach out to them the
same way you would reach out to your customers or maybe just send some direct
mail after the claim has been peacefully resolved.
39. Local
Athlete Autograph Session - Is there a local star athlete that could
draw a crowd? What about bringing in a few guys from the local minor league
baseball team? Put something together for the kids and you'll draw their
parents as well. And raffle something off so you can collect Mom and Dad's
contact information.
40. Get
More X-Dates - In my opinion, asking for x-dates is one of the most
underutilized weapons in the insurance salesperson's arsenal. The thing I love
about asking for x-dates is that it's not pushy. You're telling the person,
"I want to help you with your insurance, but only when it's important to
you". How could you be collecting more x-dates every day?
41. Audit
Your Book - Auditing your book just means filtering your book of
business down by certain factors to identify ideal customers to target specific
products to. For most established agencies, there's more insurance to be sold
to your existing customer base than anywhere else. Some common things to look
for would be: milestone birthdays, new vehicles, job change, policy
anniversary, child in the house, single-line policies, etc.
42. Facebook
Get a Quote Tab - With everything you're already doing on Facebook to get
more fans and improve engagement, shouldn't people be able to fill out a quote
form right there on Facebook? Of course they should. If you don't have an app
from your carrier or a developer to help you with it, use an app like this to
create a simple quote form.
43. Host a
Webinar - Offering valuable informtion in the form of an online
webinar is a great way to generate leads from the people who sign up. This is
especially useful with commercial insurance because its even easier to develop
educational content for a specific audience but you could do it for anyone as
long as you're able to put together interesting and valuable material.
44. Bring-a-Friend
Event - Host a special event like a free movie or party that
people will want to attend with the stipulation that entry is free for anyone
who brings a friend. Collect the friend's information including who brought
them, and not only do you have a new lead, you have a new referred lead.
45. Live
Chat on Website - How many people do you think visit your website but never
contact you in any way? Believe it or not, the average insurance agent website
never hears from more than 4 out of 5 visitors! Offering a live chat feature can
engage a few more people that don't want to pick up the phone or give away
their email address. Just make sure you can have someone ready to chat!
46. Table
at Community Events - Anytime there's an opportunity to show your face at a
local community event you, or someone from your agency, should be there. Invest
in a nice cloth banner you can drape over the table with your logo on it and
give away lots of free swag. Have something to raffle or give away in exchange
for leads.
47. Apartment
Complexes - I know renter's insurance doesn't bring in the big bucks,
but it's an easy way to get your foot in the door and a lot of people who rent
today will be buying someday. Plus, if you can write the renter's insurance
you'll often get a multi-policy discount for the auto which might give you the
umph that you need to close the deal. How do you make the connection? Start by
asking yourself how you could make an apartment manager's life easier.
48. Lost Customers
- I suppose this isn't quite "generating leads",
but how hard are you working those lists of former customers? Sometimes it's
hard to market to people you've already lost but as long as you didn't part
ways in a horrible explosive tirade, there's always a chance they'll come back
A lot of people find the grass isn't as green as they thought on the other
side. Your old customers are some of the most valuable leads you could have.
50. Search
Engine Optimization - If you ever want to know what it's like to have more leads
than you can handle, get your agency #1 rankings in Google. Your website
doesn't have to rank higher than the national brands, just the other local
agencies. Do it yourself or hire an expert, but if you
want leads you need to go where people are looking for insurance - Google!
50. Other
Insurance Agents - Believe it or not, other insurance agents can be a great
source of leads. You just need to find agents who can't or don't want to write
the type of business you do. There's a lot of different reasons another agent
might send you a lead, For example, captive agents have to turn away lots of
customers who don't qualify for their carrier.
51. Boat
Dealerships - Unlike cars, boat dealerships are going to have a decent
number of first-time buyers who might be looking for their first boat insurance
policy so you could write a good amount of new policies with the right
connection. Boatowners are a great market to sell to so think about what kind
of joint marketing opportunities you could put together with boat dealers.
52. New
Business Registration Websites - I can't speak for all
50 states or any other region on the planet, but here in Florida there's
a website that
displays every new businesses that gets registered. Your location might even
let you filter by county, type of business, or some other metric that will help
you target the best opportunities. Almost every new businesses has insurance
needs.
53. Referral
Lunches - Invite a business friend out to lunch with the
understanding that you'll both be bringing a lead for the other person. One of
these lunches isn't going to make your entire sales career but if you can get
in the habit of doing it every week or a few times a month it's going to add
up. Make sure you always bring someone good for your friend.
54. Buy
Other Agents' Old Leads - I know a lot of agents having success by
following up on old leads 6,12,24 months after the initial contact, but a lot
of agents aren't making the effort. Most agents let their old leads gather dust
and it's not hard to find some that would be willing to give up a giant stack
of them for under a buck a piece. The best guys to ask are the old-timers who
know they aren't ever going to use those leads and are trying to squeeze every
last dime out of their business before it's completely worthless. I think we
all know an agent or two like that.
56. Facebook
Contest - Use a contest platform like Offerpop or Wildfire to run the
contest and collect leads in exchange for entries into a sweepstakes or some
other reward. The most successful contests are when participants are encouraged
to share the contest with their Facebook connections.
57. Referral
Kit For Clients - Create a referral kit to give your clients full of tools
and information that makes it easier for them to refer your agency. Include
"referred by" cards, everything we sell sheets, bumper stickers,
magnets, T-shirts, and anything else you think might make it easier for them to
send more leads your direction.
58. Host
Seminars - Particularly useful in the financial services sector,
seminars can be a great way to generate leads. Ask everyone you invite to bring
along a friend and make sure you put on a good show. In addition selling to the
seminar attendees, teach them how to identify good referral opportunities for
you so you'll get even more leads from your attendee's friends. And don't
forget to offer some kind of food. Otherwise no one will show up!
59. Job
Change Notifications - If you pay attention on LinkedIn you'll notice messages in
your newsfeed every time one of your connections changes jobs. There's several
reasons why a person changing jobs is a sales lead for an insurance agent. Just
remember to say congratulations before you go straight into rolling over their
401(k).
60. Q&A
Websites - Sign up for websites like InsuranceLibrary or Quora where people
ask and answer questions and get involved in the insurance related discussions.
You may generate leads from the individual people you help but it's even more
likely that other people with the same questions will come across your answers
in the future and seek your help.
61. Alumni
Groups - Does your college have any local alumni groups where
people get together and network? This can be a fantastic place to meet new
leads since there's such a powerful shared experience there. And if there isn't
one, you could be the founding member!
62. Door To
Door - Nobody wants to do this one, but I promise it'll work.
Door-to-door lead generation will work for residential or commercial and you
don't have to do it yourself. You could hire a high school or college kid to
hand out brochures and collect x-dates from anyone willing to give them. As a
local agency, it's important to take advantage of the face-to-face
opportunities that exist for you. A website or 800 number can't knock on doors.
63. Follow
the Three Foot Rule - If anyone comes within 3 feet of you, find a way to give
them your business card. By the way, it's okay to temporarily forget about the
rule when you're in a public restroom.
64. Donations
for Quotes - Offer to donate a certain amount of money to a local
charity for every insurance quote you recieve during a certain period of time.
Don't just choose a charity and donate money for leads you would have recieved
anyway. Find a local charity that will push it's supporters to your agency.
Check how many Facebook fans they have and make sure they use social media to
push more quotes your way. And ask if they have a member list with phone
numbers!
65. Voice
Recorder - Want to gather leads while you're driving in your car?
Keep a voice recorder handy so you can record the phone numbers and business
names of different commercial vehicles and storefronts you want to reach out
to. Try to record as much information as you can at the time so you'll have
lots to talk about when you make the phone call.
66. Twitter
Monitoring - Twitter has a neat little feature that lets you search for
recent tweets occurring near your physical location. I wrote an article
about how insurance
agents can use it to generate leads. Basically you look for people
complaining, discussing, or just mentioning insurance within 15 miles and
engage them in a conversation with an @ message.
67. Free
Small Business Consulting - If you've been an entrepreneur for a
while, offer free small business consulting to people in your community. It
might sound like a big waste of time but I promise no one will send you more
referrals and leads than your protege. And chances are they'll be making
friends with other new business owners with insurance needs you can satisfy.
68. Emergency
Contact Verification Calls - Ask your property
insurance customers for an emergency contact like a neighbor or nearby business
for commercial clients. Don't sell anything, but call the emergency contact to verify the information and
let them know you'll be sending out a magnet with your phone number for them to
keep handy if there's ever a problem with the property and they can't get a
gold of the property owner.
69. RV
Dealerships - With the cost of gas nowadays, it's a given that anyone
buying a vehicle designated for recreation probably has some disposable income.
One of the neat things about insurance for RVs is that most people don't think
they already know everything so they're usually more open to learning about
insurance, which means you should get plenty of opportunity to demonstrate your
expertise.
70. Alumni
Social Media Groups - Is there a Facebook or LinkedIn group for people who went
to the same school you did? Sign up and see what everybody's talking about in
there. Even if you don't ever engage with the group there's a few other
benefits, Your LinkedIn profile will look a bit more "esteemed" with
an "Alumi" badge on it and people just might seek you out if they're
searching the group for an insurance professional. You never know.
71. Buy
Leads From Insurance Lead Providers - There are a number
of companies who specialize in developing leads for insurance agents like you.
Check out this tool to
find the best insurance lead providers based on your needs. You
can filter by insurance line, lead type, location, popularity, price and more.
71. Project
100 List For Staff - Whatever it's called, you've probably already heard of
something like the project 100 list, where you write down 100 people you know
and could reach out to. Ask your staff to create the same list. At the very
least you should be doing this with new staff members so they can get practice
and build comfort with a more nurturing audience.
72. Out-of-State
Agents - Embrace any opportunity you get to connect with agents in
other states. Especially neighboring states. When their clients move to your
state they'll want to send them to a good agent that will take care of them and
the more agents across the US that think of you when their clients move to your
state the better. Try to at least get a LinkedIn connection with every agent
you personally meet from another state.
73. Local
Forum Websites - Get active in local online forums that cater to people in
your community. You don't need to spend all day online posting messages about
nothing, but if you just try to be helpful and answer questions other people
have you'll be generating a lot of local Karma. Make sure to include a link to
your agency page in your signature (if allowed) or your profile page.
74. Ask
People If They're Happy - With their insurance. It's a very simple
question that you can ask anyone right after you explain what you do for a living.
Preparing a few simple questions and talkpaths about insurance to use in
everyday situations can make a huge difference in the number of leads you
generate over the course of any given month.
75. Trade
Shows - Trade shows can be a great way to generate leads if
you've got insurance products that fit the trade and aren't afraid to talk to
industry professionals. As the insurance guy, you'll probably have the least
interesting table at the show so do whatever you can to get people's attention.
76. Lost Sales
- How many old leads are you sitting on right now that
didn't closed the first time around? Reach out to those old leads at least once
a year and don't quit until you find out they'll never qualify for anything you
sell, they tell you to drop dead, or they drop dead. And always keep good notes
on the leads you don't close. 12 months from now you'll be glad you did.
77. Your
Family - It goes without saying that your family is probably going
to buy their insurance from you. But when it comes to lead generation you can
get a whole lot more from them than just a few policies. Make sure your family
is well educated about all the types of insurance you sell and the types of
clients you're looking for. The better you can teach your family to refer your
agency, the more leads you'll get.
78. Annual
Policy Reviews - A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, right? Don't
lose sight of all the x-selling and upselling leads you have right within your
existing book of business. Offer every one of your customers an annual review
and use part of that conversation to talk about your referral program.
79. Improve
Your Signage - Let's not forget about the most obvious things. Is your
agency's sign clearly visible to street traffic? Is the phone number easy to
read? Do people who drive past your agency every day know you're inside there
selling insurance? Can you put signs by the road during the day and take them
in at night?
80. Conversion
Rate Optimization - Conversion rate optimization is the process of displaying
different versions of the same pages on your website to see which version
results in developing more leads. While A/B and multivariate testing require a
lot more traffic and conversions than the typical insurance agency website
gets, it still wouldn't hurt to look at your website from time to time with a
critical eye on how to make it
easier for leads to contact you or get a quote.
81. Mortgage
Brokers - Mortgage brokers are a lot like insurance brokers in the
sense that they're both limited mostly by the number of leads they can get
their hands on so it makes sense for insurance agents to work with mortgage
brokers. Make mortgage brokers happy by giving them the two things they want
most from insurance agents: more leads and deals that don't get hung up by the
insurance.
82. Be a
Guest Speaker - There are plenty of local community groups that encourage
guest speakers at their meetings. Business groups are the first thing many
agents think about but there are lots of other groups that will let you stand
up and share a valuable message with their audience. Try to get a contact list
of all the attendees and follow-up with them shortly afterward.
83. Entrepreneur
Groups - Put a bunch of aspiring entrepreneurs together and what do
you have? A room full of insurance leads. But don't join the group to sell policies
or talk about the insurance needs of an entrepreneur. Be a resource of
knowledge about marketing, networking, customer service, and all the other
things you're forced to perfect in the insurance business.
84. Start a
Blog - If you don't already have a website that makes it easy for
you to blog then you should look for a new insurance website
today. The amazing thing about the internet is that leads will find
you if you have the answers to their problems and you publish them online. A
blog is simply the easiest way to generate and publish content.
85. Establish
Lead Generation Goals - It's a common mistake in sales to set
goals based around sales instead of setting goals around the actions that lead
to sales. Create very specific goals for generating leads like, I want to
generate one brand new lead from a complete stranger every day or I want to
capture one x-date from an existing customer every day. Be specific with your
goals and make sure they're attainable.
86 .Encourage
More Online Reviews - When shoppers come across your agency profiles on sites
like Google, Superpages, and especially Yelp, the number and quality of
business reviews can play a huge role in whether or not they contact you. If
you don't have more reviews on each of those sites than your competitors you
are missing out on leads. Look into automated review generation systems
that weed out the unhappy customers like this one. Don't fake
reviews though - you'll get caught and your listing will be banned!
87. Publish
Content for Insurance Shoppers Online - On your agency's website, publish
content that would be helpful for someone shopping for insurance. Ask yourself,
"what questions do people have when they're shopping for insurance?"
and then write articles, create videos, or make some other type of content that
answers these questions. Keep creating useful content for them and the leads
will find you!
88. Social
Media Outreach - There's so much advice and discussion about creating and
curating content on social media that most agents are completely missing the easiest way
to generate leads. Use Facebook as your agency and interact in a
positive way with other local businesses and organizations. The best way to get
people's attention on social media is not by shouting louder, it's by
complimenting and supporting what other people are doing.
89. Be
Really Nice to Carrier Employees - I used to work
inside a major national carrier and you'd be surprised how much business gets
referred from inside the company out to the "preferred" agents. It
comes from a variety of situations, but underwriters, marketing reps, sales
managers and other carrier employees are constantly referring business to local
agents and it pretty much goes by who they like the most. So make sure all
those people like you. It's well worth all those times you'll need to bite a
hole through your tongue.
90. Review
Clients' Policy Endorsements - Another case of
leads lying right under your nose is with the policy endorsements you're
already processing. Is someone in your agency reviewing all your existing
customers' policy changes for sales opportunities? I'd argue that almost any
policy change could be considered a sales lead if you're creative and
resourceful enough.
91. Facebook
Friends' Birthdays - It's pretty easy to get into Facebook to see all your friends' birthdays.
(not the fans of your agency's page but your own personal friends). Send them a
letter 6 weeks before their birthday that says, "life insurance will get
more expensive after your next birthday!" Or forget about putting a card
in the mail and just send an email, the information is right there.
92. Lead
Generation Contest - Hold a contest in your agency to see who can bring the
most new leads into your office's sales funnel. You could setup the rules so
the leads could come from anywhere or require that they come from a particular
source (i.e. existing client x-dates) to force your producers out of their comfort
zone into new lead generation territory.
93. Car
Dealerships - Of course people buying new cars for the first time need
insurance. Unfortunately, first-time car buyers aren't the lionshare of new car
buyers and they're not usually great clients. However the simple act of buying
a car is a tremendous sales opportunity for anyone because their insurance
price is probably going to change and that's enough to get someone thinking
about making a bigger change of switching carriers. Make friends with lots of
car dealers and see if they'll hook you up with the current carrier and contact
info of everyone who buys a new car.
94. Your
Agency's Next Door Neighbors -You might not like the
idea I mentioned earlier of door-to-door lead generation but every agent should
absolutely go door-to-door to meet the other businesses and business owners
near your agency. Not only are those connections awesome leads, they're also
even better referral sources. Don't ask them to refer your agency, ask how you
can refer their business and follow through. The favor will be returned.
95. Get
Friends Involved - Teach your friends how to generate leads for your agency.
Make sure they know and understand everything you sell, teach them what type of
clients you're looking for, and help them to identify situations that would be
ideal for referring your agency like when a coworker is complaining about
monthly bills.
97. Get In
Your Clients' Cell Phones - People who don't have your information
handy are less likely to refer leads to you. And the more clients walking
around with your agency's number in their cell phone the better your chances
are of getting a new lead referred to you. It's easy to encourage since most
people will agree that having their agent's phone number in their phone is a
good thing but if you don't push it's not going to happen.
98. Show
Appreciation for Unsuccessful Referrals - I know a lot of
agents that offer clients rewards and special attention for referring leads
that result in sales. Obviously this is good but it's actually more important
to reward referrals that don't result in sales. When the referral results in a
sale the referrer is likely to find out their referral had a positive effect.
When there is no sale and they don't hear anything from you there's a good
chance they won't be sending any more leads your direction.
99. Moving
Companies - Do you know someone in the moving business? Can you get
them to let you know about their new clients? Buying a home, moving out of
state, getting married, getting divorced, or any of the hundreds of other
reasons people move all have something in common: they're opportune times to
speak with an insurance agent. And since people will often let their insurance
agent know about a move beforehand you can be a great referral source for a
mover.
99. Caricature
Artist - Next time you go to a marketing event where you have a
booth or table bring a caricature artist with you. Offer a free caricature to anyone
that gets an insurance quote or provides their information for a quote the
following week. Reach out to the local art colleges to find an artist that will
work for really cheap.
100. Lead Nurturing Process -
Obviously different leads require different approaches. An active shopper
should be sold to right away. But for leads who aren't actively shopping,
develop a process that nurtures the relationship. For example, if you know a
lead's x-date is 6 months away send them a couple helpful emails between now
and then and a letter at the beginning of the month explaining that you'll be
calling on a specific day for the quote. If you've touched them 3-5 times
without pushing for the sale that cold lead is going to be pretty warm by the
time you're ready to sell them.
Advertising includes a number of avenues and when done correctly can be leveraged to increase your business and revenue. Consider advertising in the newspaper, local magazines, industry specific publications and online. Some of the most popular advertising outlets for companies today are those found on the internet.
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