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5 Quick Ways to Turn Cold Calls Into Warm Sales

Does the thought of making cold calls send chills up your spine? If you're not making cold calls, you could be missing out on reaching a huge customer base that doesn't even know about your company or the products that you're selling. If you aren't willing to call people and follow up on leads, your sales numbers could suffer. Here are some strategies for changing the way you think about cold calls and the way you speak to your potential customers over the phone so you can start looking forward to this proven sales technique.

1. Think of it as a Business Deal 

Cold calls are just that - business deals. It's a way of doing business with other people who do business. Unfortunately, many sales agents view cold calls as a bother to their potential clients rather than simply doing business. This is especially true if you are following up on leads that you were given. If it makes you feel better when doing cold calls, do them during business hours instead of at the time when your potential clients are sitting down for dinner. That way you won't feel like you're "bothering" people with your call.

2. Be Quick and Succinct 

You may have a tendency to tell your potential clients all about your product over the phone. But this isn't an appealing technique for the person you're calling. Instead, sum up the product that you are offering in a couple short and succinct sentences. If it helps, write down a few notes before you start making your cold calls. Be prepared for objections when you are presenting the benefits of your product and don't be discouraged when a potential client questions you because that means they are at least listening. When you are prepared for this, though, you have a better chance of turning that person into a customer instead of a prospective buyer.

3. Smile

Even though you are on the phone, a potential client can detect your attitude in your voice and the way you speak. If you are discouraged or feeling less confident than you should, the person on the other end of the line will know it. Make an effort to smile even when you are talking on the phone. This will make you feel better and you'll project a positive attitude that the other person can detect. Also, don't get discouraged. Even if you've been rejected by 10 straight potential leads, keep going. Do some jumping jacks or take a walk around your building to clear your head and increase your energy so you can focus better on your next string of 10 calls.

4. Be Realistic

Even if you're the best sales agent in the universe, you're not going to make a sale to everybody. There will be times when people simply aren't receptive to the products that you're offering. It's important to be realistic when making your cold calls. Have small goals of making only a few sales a day. If you have unattainable goals, you're only going to discourage and frustrate yourself which is going to keep your sales figures down anyways.

5. Get the Name

When working from a Cold Call list, it is better when you have or can purchase the contact name of the business owner. Asking for the business owner by first name when making a cold call often gets you past the secretary or "gatekeeper" because they assume you know the owner personally.

Keeping these five techniques in mind when making your cold calls is a great way to have a more positive perspective and improve your phone communication skills.

3 Strategies Selling Agents Can Learn From Hollywood

Have you been looking for ways to increase your sales and client base? If things have been stagnate concerning your sales figures, there are many strategies that you can try out to see what works for you. Have you ever thought about studying the tricks and strategies that Hollywood uses to attract customers and viewers? They are the experts with multi-million dollar blockbusters every year and classics that people can watch over and over again. Here are a few strategies that the showbiz industry uses that you can implement into your list of resources as well.

1. Develop a Hook 

A "hook" is something that grabs someone's attention. It's used a lot in the music industry as many songs have a hook, which is typically the most memorable part of the song. But people working in Hollywood are also masters of the hook. Did you know that "Gone with the Wind" was originally supposed to be entitled "Tomorrow is Another Day"? Do you think it would have had the same popularity had the producers decided to go with the original title? Probably not because it's just not catchy.

When you are making cold calls or leaving messages, always lead with a hook that will grab their attention. Instead of leading with your phone number and your name, tell them what you do and how you can help them. If you are running a promotion or offering a discount, start with that. You'll be more likely to keep their attention and then you can end with leaving your phone number and other less interesting information.

2. Tailor Your Message to Your Audience

This is one of the more important strategies that you can learn from Hollywood, but it's also a basic strategy that can help increase your sales. If you were pitching movies, you wouldn't pitch a children's movie the same way you'd pitch the summer's biggest action thriller, would you? It's the same with selling insurance. You should know your customers and their needs so you can create a pitch that will compel them to purchase the products and services that you are offering to them. You might have to decide between presenting your message with a more emotional appeal or a more logical approach. You can decide between being informal or formal. The important thing is to know your customers so you can create a presentation that is going to appeal to them instead having a "one size fits all" cookie cutter approach that won't appeal to anybody.

3. Be a Good Storyteller

Everybody loves to hear a good story. That's why people pay $10 for a movie ticket and $25 for a tub of popcorn - so they can go hear a good story and enjoy some snacks at the same time. While pie charts and numbers have their place, they can't replace the persuasiveness of a great story. Practice your storytelling skills. Your stories should involve a few basic components, such as a setting (time and place), an obstacle and how your product helped overcome the obstacle. If you can add humor, that's even better!

Regardless of your industry, we can all learn a little something from Hollywood if we look closely enough at their strategies. If you correctly employ these suggestions when pitching your products to customers, you'll undoubtedly see your sales figures increase.

How Can Insurance Brokers Help You?

Insurance brokers, better known as insurance agents or personal insurance advisors can turn out to be extremely resourceful in the process of buying insurance coverage. Basically, these brokers offer different types of insurances from various companies. One can choose the most suitable option from the best insurance brokers to save a good deal of time and money in the process.

How Do They Help You?

Insurance brokers spend all the time in the world by helping the clients to get insurances that are suitable for them, and fit their bill too. It is also recommended to use services of professionals, who are loyal to a particular company, and specialized agents who promote products of only one company, may turn out to be the best bets in case you're interesting in purchasing insurance from a specific firm.

These brokers can turn out to be a blessing for arranging unique event insurance, event cancellation insurance or public liability insurance while you're busy arranging an exhibition/event or throwing a party.

It is also recommended to do little research on insurance companies to check out the optimal choice, and by hiring the best insurance broker; you can easily make that happen. And, of course, the research done by the professionals who understand the nitty-gritty will always be more insightful than what you can analyse in a few minutes.

Coming to the home insurance brokers, they are not only hired by a particular company, but may again work with several organizations and help you in comparing the prices of various policies, so as to assist you in finding the best one for your needs.

They work for you and help you in spending your hard-earned money on the best policy available in the market. While finding the best home insurance agent, you need to keep the following things in mind -

Check the Licences of Brokers

Insurance brokers should have the license of the state, so you must check their licence proof first!

You can even call your their department to cross-check the records, in case you aren't cent per cent sure about everything.

Get Recommendations from Existing Customers

You can get recommendations from friends, family and co-workers who have taken a similar coverage earlier and it'd be a good move to go with an agent who has good reputation.

Can't You Live Without a Broker?

Not hiring the best broker doesn't mean that you will be paying more, and you can definitely live without a broker. However, such agents are capable of explaining the essence of the policy in a matter of few minutes. Apart from that, brokers will assist you in understanding the deal and signing it off in a hassle-free manner.

Tips for Online Insurance Agents to Improve Conversion Rates

When it comes to purchasing or selling insurance, there will always be lot of competition. Most of the leads check with numerous agents in order to find the best rate. Here are some tips to help your leads and promote your policy.

Making First Contact

The agent that contacts the lead first, certainly has the distinct advantage. In order to increase the chance of getting the first contact with new leads, try to reach them immediately after you receive an inquiry; even if that means you need to skip your lunch or travel an extra mile. Call your lead right away; if he/she is not answering the call, make sure that you leave a voice message delivering the company details. Send a follow-up e-mail after the message. Try to be more helpful and professional, instead of being a hound!

Selling Your Services the Right Way

If you have already contacted the lead, you just need to put on the market yourself. This is the way that you can separate yourself from others in the competition. Here are some of the exceptional tips to transform the lead to a potential client.

Keeping the Conversation Not-So-Commercial!

Most of the agents start speaking regarding the sales right away. It is not the right manner and leads to a disappointing result. Instead, start with more open-ended questions. These questions will sound less commercial and adequately help you in assessing the client's needs.

Try to understand the goals, purchasing habits, and motivations that match a product that you can promote, and then make a suggestion.

Understand Each Prospect

Study the info that comes from a lead carefully and make a note of the conversation you've had with the lead. It also allows you to understand the client desires in a better manner. Review your notes before you meet the client. It is a key approach to build the rapport.

Know Your Products

Make sure that you are aware of all your product and services. You should know the drawbacks and highlights of each policy so that you can may fluently all the queries of your potential customers.

Be Enthusiastic

The energy that you put in explaining the services will add value to your efforts. Combination of knowledge and enthusiasm will go long way and usually convert into long-term relationship with the client.

Guarantees and Deals

Everyone likes decent and good deal with insurance policy. Make sure that you offer special incentives to your client. This will certainly make them feel compelled to take up your service easily in comparison to what the others have got to offer.

Life Settlement - Retirement Peace of Mind

On January 1st, 2011, and every day since, 10,000 baby boomers have turned 65. This trend is expected to continue for the next 18 years. According to the Urban Institute, these baby boomers have lost up to 10% of their retirement savings since the crisis of 2008. Despite the financial crisis affecting the majority of people with investments in the stock market, many seniors have been unsure how to adapt their financial plan in response to recent market changes and losses. With over 30% of U.S. investors maintaining more than 80% of their 401k investments in equities, there could be devastating impacts for seniors if another crash occurred. With over 70% of baby boomers invested in the stock market prior to 2008, even if their savings weren't substantially affected, most boomers are at least thinking about their retirement more carefully. The critical opportunity here involves education, such as an in-depth analysis of how finances have been affected and how they can be repositioned to meet client financial needs.

Now more than ever, members of the public are concerned about their retirement security. In a 2011 survey by Lake Research Partners, 88% of voters expressed concern about maintaining a comfortable standard of living in retirement, and 52% of those responders were very concerned. In October of 2009, approximately one year after the beginning of the financial crisis, 58% of affluent Americans were concerned about the economy's impact on their ability to save. Since 2009, this number has shrunk to only 49%, despite recent claims about economic improvements and stock market stabilization. The number one fear of today's baby boomer generation is their loss of independence. More and more retirees are realizing this potential threat to their retirement. Many of these people purchased life insurance at some point in their working years. Most financial decisions occurred at targeted points in a person's life: marriage, home purchase, birth of a child, retirement. As more people transition into the retirement ages, it's time for another financial conversation about whether their products still meet those needs.

Life expectancies are rising alongside healthcare costs. Of recently surveyed seniors, 62% identified health care as their top concern and felt unsure about how to incorporate that into their retirement plans. Additionally, 61% of seniors are uncertain about the ability of their assets to match their income needs in retirement, leading to increased concern about whether they will be able to pursue the retirement lifestyle they had hoped for. In the early years of their retirement, more seniors are aware of the impact that rising healthcare costs have on them. Many are interested in obtaining cash to pay for that healthcare now.

Some seniors are working longer, too. Many feel unprepared to enter retirement based on their savings and now continue to work past age 65. When faced with the opportunity to reduce that retirement age through the sale of an unneeded life insurance policy, a life insurance settlement can provide peace of mind and a more comfortable retirement. That supplemental cash could significantly boost a nest egg. For example, a 71 years old planning to continue working another two years would likely welcome the opportunity to stop working now and use the life settlement proceeds to serve as retirement income.

Many seniors and retirees are considering cashing in their life insurance policies to provide increased financial security. In the golden years, there is less of a need for a beneficiary payout, since many people purchase and maintain coverage during their working years to protect spouses and children. It's likely that children have finished their education and left the nest, so there is less immediate concern about providing support. Seniors are now more likely to be concerned about their own well-being entering retirement given the recent turbulence in the stock market.

Older policies are seeing significant increases in the cost of insurance, making premium payments less affordable. More seniors are weighing the benefits of paying these higher premiums to maintain coverage they may no longer need. Some seniors simply choose to let the coverage lapse, eliminating premium payments, but losing the value of the policy. Open the conversation by meeting your client where they are at. Discuss how they are affected so far and what options they have for becoming more financially secure in the short and long-term. This is your opportunity to help clients understand the benefits of a Life Settlement.

Life settlements present a unique opportunity to dispose of unwanted policies and address current needs. If you are an adviser, position yourself to help assuage the concerns over lost independence. With an average offer from a life insurance settlement at 24.41% of the face amount, settlements are a highly viable option when compared with an average cash surrender value of 4.09%. Using this information to leverage your client's concerns about financial security, retirement, and increasing health care costs is an excellent opportunity to reevaluate their financial needs.

Do You Have the Best System for Making Insurance Calls?

Insurance sales agents who succeed long term have developed a system for scheduling insurance calls. Insurance sales careers are attractive because of generous commission structures and residual commissions. Many agents pay a premium for insurance leads from online lead generation websites. With experience comes the knowledge of exactly how many insurance sales calls will result in sales.

The first things a new insurance agent needs is:

1. Product knowledge and 

2. The mechanics of how to conduct a successful sales call.

The sales process can be broken down into steps. Understand your client's needs first and foremost. Ask a lot of questions about their goals, concerns, and needs. Next, address those needs specifically, and close. Address objections and close again.

Identify each step of the sales process so you can correct errors if a sale does not close. If you know what parts of the sales call give you trouble you can prepare differently for the next sales call and steadily improve your closing ratio.

Agents who are new to a career in sales and insurance sales specifically are frequently alarmed to discover they have a fear of making cold calls. Not making systematic cold calls can destroy any sales career. Initially, to save money it makes sense to complete your own sales calls. There's relief available to erase call reluctance completely.

Smart Sales Managers provide training in Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) to dissolve discomfort associated with making insurance calls. The use of (EFT) is central to your success if you find you have a love/hate relationship with cold calling new prospects. EFT is emotional acupuncture. It's an energy therapy that combines thoughtful focus with a series of tapping sequences on multiple body points. The EFT process miraculously dissolves feelings we wish to change.

With EFT one does not need to identify the origin of their trauma or discomfort, however they do need to identify a feeling or idea upsetting their performance. EFT is emotional self-care. We grow up making conclusions that may not be true. Some people fear failure, some fear success. If you have feelings that conflict with tasks your job demands those feelings can dissolve. You've got the power to place supportive feelings and ideas where negatives once held you back.

EFT is easy to learn and produces instant results in many cases. It's been used by healing practices for twenty years. Millions of people have benefited and now it's time to use EFT to address everyday challenges.

Insurance calls are a task. Much like walking the dog or emptying the dishwasher. Insurance calling can be boring so schedule the time to make your calls and get comfortable completing those calls. The secret to cold calling once unwanted anxiety is dissolved is to make those calls quickly. Don't take all day. Don't allow more than five seconds to elapse between calls. Keep it mindless. I read a sales training book years ago that talked about a top producing insurance agent. He would sit down to make 100 or more calls until he had his week fully booked with in-person meetings.

His system seemed horrid to me as a novice sales person. Every time someone answered the phone he would say, "You don't want to buy insurance, do you?" No introduction, no small talk. His only goal was to schedule appointments and he did this consistently all the way to the bank. Invariably people would say, "Hey wait a minute, I do want to buy insurance!" Customers were surprised by his direct approach. The result? Going into each appointment, this agent knew his prospect was open to buy insurance! This man made millions.

If insurance calling is part of the routine that will make your dreams come true then figure out how many cold calls create the number of face-to-face appointments you need each week. Next, use EFT daily until you've erased all feelings of discomfort associated with sales calls. If new fears or thoughts emerge that create self-doubt or threaten to derail your success, tap them away! If rejection feels personal, EFT can change your response. If you're a shy person, EFT will help. EFT can erase any feeling or idea that sabotages your success.

Develop a script that reflects your style. Use EFT to make Insurance calling easy, and fun! Insurance sales is a great career. If you feel like you've got to motivate yourself to go our and do battle with the world something's wrong. Insurance calls are key to an agent's success. Learn the sales process, know your products, use EFT, and watch your confidence and sales numbers skyrocket!

Insurance Marketing Agency Outsourcing Versus Internal Staffing Models

For most insurance agencies, brokers and wholesalers, it's unlikely to internally staff up on all their insurance marketing initiatives. This is as true for insurance organizations as it is for most businesses, especially those between $1 Million and $50 Million in revenues. Some might refer to this as the SMB market. Businesses of this size may lack a sufficiently large marketing department to cover all the skills needed for a comprehensive marketing program. Consider that an insurance marketing plan can incorporate many and varied marketing activities. For example, in any given year, once a marketing plan is created, an organization may wish to embark upon an organic search engine optimization initiative, helping their website rise to the top of the SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages). Or they may wish to build an opt-in email list and offer an educational webinar series to their targeted prospects. In fact, any of the following elements may be needed, and many of these types of marketing activities require highly specific and sometimes highly technical skill sets:

PPC ads, Banner Ads

Insurance eMarketing

Insurance Newsletter Distribution

Blogging, Vlogging, News Releases

Insurance Social Media Marketing

Insurance Website Development

Web Seminar Marketing

Contact List Generation, eMail List Generation

Insurance Telemarketing, Appointment Setting

Client Testimonials and Case Study Creation

Insurance Agency Lead Generation Programs

Organic Insurance Search Engine Optimization

Insurance Agency Video Creation (and YouTube video)

Insurance Web Marketing Plans

These are just some of the marketing activities agents, brokers and wholesalers might utilize in their marketing efforts. There are also many traditional initiatives such as print advertising, association marketing, sponsorships, etc. How can an owner, manager or agent determine if they should internally staff a position or outsource the position? An easy ROI is based upon the marketing activity and frequency of the activity. For example, let's say they want to increase insurance agency leads, and opt to send out two webinar email campaigns per month and run a webinar as the Call to Action for the campaigns. Further, let's assume they want to do this every month for a year. If it costs $60,000 per year to hire an eMarketing manager to do this, versus $20,000 per year to outsource it, it's an easy decision. However, if the goal is to run six webinars a month to various target verticals, with 12 eMarketing campaigns per month, then it could become a closer call, as the outsource costs may begin to approach the internal staffing cost. Makes sure both costs are evaluated as fully burdened costs (outsource should include all infrastructure while internal staffing costs should include health benefits, expenses, and related overhead).

Take the same approach with Search Engine Optimization and insurance websites. Would a full time developer and organic Search Engine Optimization specialist be needed to create and update your insurance agency website, or do you simply need a new website with periodic updates. Today there are many good options for new insurance websites that include Content Management Systems (WordPress, Joomla, etc.) allowing businesses to use nontechnical resources to make most of their own website changes. Agents should review their goals, create a marketing plan (a possible outsource), and determine the ROI of staffing versus outsourcing for their specific marketing initiatives. This is often an iterative process, not a one time annual event.

What to Look for in a Good Insurance Agent?

Insurance agent - does the word ring any bells? May be a figure of a relative or a person who pesters you to meet his monthly sales target comes to your mind. Or you remember a person who you rush to do last minute investment to save on income tax.

A good insurance agent is like a good doctor or a lawyer with whom you should have good relationship with. You never know when you will face an emergency needing the help of an insurance agent. Selling you an insurance product is just a very small role that an agent has to perform. As a professional dealing with insurance product, he can perform a very key role in securing your and your family's future, to plan for important events in your life such as your child's marriage or planning your retirement. Following are some of the important attributes you should look for in an insurance agent:

1. He should be a good educator

The world of personal finance is evolving by the day. Companies are wooing customers with newer investment products and sales gimmicks. A good insurance advisor is someone who should help you cut through the clutter and determine what your exact financial goals are and recommend products which should help you achieve those. He should be well informed about the new products available in the market, what are their key features, how safe or riskier are they and what kind of instruments do they invest in, so that he can provide you with insightful advice.

2. He should be the seller of products from multiple insurance companies

This way he will be able to provide you options and help you select the best product suited for your needs. If he sells products from one insurance company, then he would be more interested in getting you to buy that rather than determining which is the best one for you

3. Level of customer service

You insurance agent should facilitate your interaction with the insurer. He should be facilitating your premium payments, send you reminders when your installments are due and keep you updated about the status of your policy. In short, he should act as a single point of contact between you and the insurance company.

4. Help you in the claim process

Insurance claim is a very important process. Generally you go for a claim when you are in a distressed state such as death of the breadwinner of the family or a health insurance claim when someone in your family is hospitalized. Similarly you would need prompt settlement of your claim if you want to finance a planned event such as your child's education. A good insurance agent should assist you with this process, help you with the paper work and promote your case among the insurance company's officials. He should be your advocate to the insurer facilitating fast and apt claims for you.

Selection of an insurance agent is more important than selecting an insurance product itself, as a good agent will automatically assist you to plan your insurance portfolio. In addition to this, you should spend quality time and effort to plan your insurance portfolio with your advisor.

Insurance Marketing Agency Outsourcing Versus Internal Staffing Models

For most insurance agencies, brokers and wholesalers, it's unlikely to internally staff up on all their insurance marketing initiatives. This is as true for insurance organizations as it is for most businesses, especially those between $1 Million and $50 Million in revenues. Some might refer to this as the SMB market. Businesses of this size may lack a sufficiently large marketing department to cover all the skills needed for a comprehensive marketing program. Consider that an insurance marketing plan can incorporate many and varied marketing activities. For example, in any given year, once a marketing plan is created, an organization may wish to embark upon an organic search engine optimization initiative, helping their website rise to the top of the SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages). Or they may wish to build an opt-in email list and offer an educational webinar series to their targeted prospects. In fact, any of the following elements may be needed, and many of these types of marketing activities require highly specific and sometimes highly technical skill sets:

PPC ads, Banner Ads

Insurance eMarketing

Insurance Newsletter Distribution

Blogging, Vlogging, News Releases

Insurance Social Media Marketing

Insurance Website Development

Web Seminar Marketing

Contact List Generation, eMail List Generation

Insurance Telemarketing, Appointment Setting

Client Testimonials and Case Study Creation

Insurance Agency Lead Generation Programs

Organic Insurance Search Engine Optimization

Insurance Agency Video Creation (and YouTube video)

Insurance Web Marketing Plans

These are just some of the marketing activities agents, brokers and wholesalers might utilize in their marketing efforts. There are also many traditional initiatives such as print advertising, association marketing, sponsorships, etc. How can an owner, manager or agent determine if they should internally staff a position or outsource the position? An easy ROI is based upon the marketing activity and frequency of the activity. For example, let's say they want to increase insurance agency leads, and opt to send out two webinar email campaigns per month and run a webinar as the Call to Action for the campaigns. Further, let's assume they want to do this every month for a year. If it costs $60,000 per year to hire an eMarketing manager to do this, versus $20,000 per year to outsource it, it's an easy decision. However, if the goal is to run six webinars a month to various target verticals, with 12 eMarketing campaigns per month, then it could become a closer call, as the outsource costs may begin to approach the internal staffing cost. Makes sure both costs are evaluated as fully burdened costs (outsource should include all infrastructure while internal staffing costs should include health benefits, expenses, and related overhead).

Take the same approach with Search Engine Optimization and insurance websites. Would a full time developer and organic Search Engine Optimization specialist be needed to create and update your insurance agency website, or do you simply need a new website with periodic updates. Today there are many good options for new insurance websites that include Content Management Systems (WordPress, Joomla, etc.) allowing businesses to use nontechnical resources to make most of their own website changes. Agents should review their goals, create a marketing plan (a possible outsource), and determine the ROI of staffing versus outsourcing for their specific marketing initiatives. This is often an iterative process, not a one time annual event.

Techniques for Finding the Best Insurance Sales Leads

When looking for cost-effective and superior insurance sales leads, consider the fact that:

1. Selling a product to someone who is neither interested nor ready to buy is a pretty tough prospect. 

2. A great deal of time is spent looking through databases, hunting down lists, and trying to figure out which prospect service is worth the money. 

3. It is quite a task to find people who are ready to buy now. 

4. An awful lot of time is spent looking for good prospects instead of pitching them.

Many people have spent money on lead generation services where prospective customers provide their name and contact information in order to qualify for or receive a prize or giveaway. This kind of lead collection produces many cold prospects, because people are mainly interested in receiving a prize and not in the product.

The right insurance sales leads are the surest path to bigger and faster commissions. When trying to sell insurance without decent sales leads, an inordinate amount of time is spent for very little gain. To find the best prospects, one should consider the following valuable information designed to help develop a lead system where motivated, ready-to-act clients are calling in, which will substantially reduce the need for making cold calls.

FAMILY AND FRIENDS

Start with family and friends. They may know someone needing this type of service, or can maybe suggest potential clients that would be open to listening to the information being provided.

CURRENT CLIENTS

Current clients may be the best source of leads. If selling multiple lines of insurance, talk with them about other policies that are available that they may be interested in. 

At the end of scheduled appointments, ask if they have any referrals that might be able to use these services.

NETWORKING

Doing a good job of networking when out of the office can be tremendous. Never launch into a sales presentation in a social situation unless the other person has taken the lead, which will rarely happen. Contact them at a later time to keep business and social conversations separate.

JOIN ORGANIZATIONS

Joining community organizations will likely increase networking opportunities. If an abundance of insurance agents are already members, search for groups that have yet to be heavily infiltrated to avoid wasting time and money.

PAY FOR LEADS

It may be appropriate to pay for insurance leads, but ask other agents what lead companies they may have had luck with. It's always a good idea to ask an established agent who is not in direct competition, otherwise he or she may not be as willing to help out with information.

ENLIST STAFF

If there are assistants who work, taking calls and greeting clients, train them on how to cross-sell and ask for referrals. They can become a valuable resource as well.

Employing some or all of these methods can help build a strong client base, regardless of whether or not they purchase financial products or services. It can also generate a steady stream of free insurance sales leads and unsolicited referrals from friends, satisfied clients, CPAs, attorneys and other financial professionals.

Insurance Sales and Business Building Ideas

1) Retain Current Customers

It takes five times as much time, money, effort and energy to get a new customer as it does to retain a current one. Current customers are your foundation and the first step to building a business is keeping that foundation firmly in place. You keep that foundation in place by regularly communicating with customers, delivering top-notch customer service, and overall making sure your customers are extremely happy with you and the service you are providing. You should be asking, and otherwise surveying customers, on a regular basis as to what they like and what they think you can improve upon. When you do speak with customers, let them know you appreciate their business. Never take customers for granted or let your service slip.

Do what you can to build a personal connection with customers. Send thank-you notes, cards on special occasions, and find other ways to add that special touch and let customers know you care. We know that people do business with people they know, like, and trust, and in fact, studies show that 97% of people list that as the number one reason for doing business with a particular company. It's simple, before a friend leaves you for a better price or perceived better service, they will at least pick up the phone and call you.

Note: I realize there may be some customers you don't want to retain and that's fine, just make sure to remain professional and above-board. You don't want to tarnish your image or give anyone any unnecessary ammunition against you.

2) Review Coverage

Not only is reviewing coverage on an annual basis the right thing to do for your customer, it can also provide the opportunity to increase coverage and add other items thus adding premium dollars. Of course you only suggest increasing coverage if it is necessary, never in an attempt to simply increase premium and make more money at the expense of your customer. In addition to opportunities for more business, reviewing coverage helps ensure that both the customer and you are covered in the case of a claim, as most complaints come from inadequate coverage and a lack of communication.

3) Inquire

Studies show that the average policy holder has 6-7 policies while each agency has only 1.5 of those policies. During your annual review and other conversations with the customer, you want to inquire about other policies the customer might have that you can get.

For over 20 years I had my auto policies with one agent, my home-owners with another, and several other policies in other locations. This was due to several reasons, but it is clear that I am more the rule than the exception. Not once in that twenty-year time frame was I asked by any of my agents about other policies I had elsewhere. Not once. If they were trying to get rid of me, I would understand however, due to the fact that I have never had a claim, pay my above-average premiums in full with the first invoice, and am otherwise a good customer, I can only assume that they are missing the boat. If someone has a home-owners policy, there is a very good chance they at least have an auto policy or two. It's as simple as saying something along the lines of, "By the way, if we bundle your auto and home-owners I may be able to save you some money. Can I simply give you a quote if for no other reason than to keep the other guy honest?" With one or two simple questions during each review, it's entirely possible to double your business.

4) Pursue New Business

This one is pretty self explanatory and should go without saying. In addition to adding new customers to your current base, you will occasionally have to replace customers that die, ones you decide to let go, or ones that leave for some other reason.

Start by deciding how many new customers you would like and then determine how many prospects you need and how you will get those prospects. Break your annual goals down to monthly, weekly, and daily activity and then get to work. These days, with the average agent and agency cutting back, it's a great time to go get new, competitive business. And remember, you're in sales and sales is a numbers game. While it's true that you need quality behind the numbers and the eventual relationships, in order to get the relationships, you need to talk to lots of people. It's simple, the more people you talk to the more business you will do. If you talk to enough people during the day, you will eventually run into someone who says, "I need what you have" or, "I know someone who needs what you have."

Planning for Uncertainty

The traditional business plan includes short-term and long-term goals and projections. But, how do you plan when you can't guess what will happen? Some things are shifting faster than you can keep up with, while other things can drastically change based on politics. Part of the reason for our current economic challenges is due to short-term thinking. Traditional business planning is becoming obsolete.

However, if a business abandons long-term planning it has no direction and will be totally reactive and not proactive. The focus on short-term trends will cause a business to chase after opportunities, instead of creating them.

So, what is a business to do in these uncertain times? The key is to develop a plan that has both a flexible foundation and scalable systems.

Consider the typical insurance agency. It would have various lines of business; personal lines, commercial lines, group benefits, etc. Some agencies might have several niches like construction, retail, D&O, etc. These business segments are the foundation of the business.

The business segments can be considered as something closer to long-term goals. It is easier to predict that health insurance is currently uncertain, while personal lines seems stable at this point. The key to long-term planning is to accept that one or more segments might not perform in the future. The agency needs to plan for flexibility between departments.

Regarding insurance agencies', if health insurance sales drop off significantly, how can those resources be redirected to other lines? Or, what options are available to decrease overhead? It is important for a business to add or delete segments of business as trends change. In most cases, these trends would take about five years, plus or minus a couple of years.

Create a Scalable Plan 

Once these segments are identified and trends established, the next steps is to create a scalable system. A plan needs to be established to grow or shrink each segment of business based on current trends. Let's assume the contractor's niche is shrinking. What can be done to increase sales in the other niches? Scalability means to plan for increasing or shrinking a segment of business based on demand.

A scalable business is able to increased revenues while the ratio of cost to revenue is less to deliver than current ratio. In other words, the cost of growing is far outweighed by the resulting profits. A scalable business is one that can take on new clients without increasing workload.

Businesses will always have operating costs, but scalable businesses try to keep low their variable costs -- or the costs incurred with each customer they gain. A business that follows a scalable model will not have its cost per customer increase, even if it gains 100 customers overnight.

Insurance is a little less fickle than other businesses. Cabbage Patch dolls and Pet Rocks have a very short cycle compared to most lines of insurance. This means insurance agencies have a little more time to scale the business, compared to some other types of business. Insurance agencies are also not as scalable as a business that does not manufacture widgets.

The good news is that when there is a focus on niches or specific lines, the agency is able to have some level of scalability. It is important to create a system to quickly adapt to short-term changes. If one line drops, the agency needs to be able to move resources to the lines that have the potential for growth.

This type of system will require cross training and individual flexibility. The business plan needs to incorporate these requirements and train its people to know when operations need to change.

Conclusion 

These are uncertain times. Most businesses are experiencing increases in risk. They key is to develop a business model that can adjust both its foundation and scalability, depending on the circumstances.

Bill Schoeffler is a business consultant and coach with 20 years of experience working with small business owners and individuals. Bill's unique background includes engineering, financial analysis, and inter-personal skills.