When working insurance leads, your follow up strategy is going to be the difference between closing 1% up to anything over 30%. I know… 30% close rate seems impossible sometimes, but know that with some small tweaks, totally doable!
When doing a regular analysis of your marketing strategy, often times it’s easy to over look the human capital in your office. The variable of how efficient your staff is can fluctuate depending on if they have the correct tools for success.
In this blog post, we’ll analyze the different types of online marketing, and how best to tackle the hurdle of contact/follow up strategy
MAILERS/FLYERS/INSERTS: BLANKET MARKETING
When working with mass mailers of any kind, know that contact strategy can be a challenge for some agents. While mailers and inserts are great for branding of your agency, letting your neighbors know you’re office is local, it can be tough to bring in new business of this method alone. Mailers will be great for bringing in some raw traffic, which will need an organic approach to finding out insurable interests, and then moving forward either on the phone or in person. Unfortunately, consistent and regular volume of new business is a natural hurdle when using mailers, so you will also need to rely on a strong referral program to keep the ball rolling from these prospective consumers.
WEB/ONLINE/EMAIL LEADS: THE HUNT TO BEAT THE COMPETITION
Online leads have been popular for many years, however many agents have a bad taste in their mouth or have been burned previously. While solving the problem for consistent traffic, the online lead model many companies use are set up for agents to compete against each other for business. This is jarring for the consumer, as well as the agent, as many times there can be up to 8 different agents trying to close the same consumer. Imagine having your phone ring 8 times a day about a new insurance quote! Due to this, many times if a policy doesn’t close on the first call, your law of diminishing returns kicks in and will be a tough close days later.
When working online leads, it will be crucial for your team to be on top of their leads. Calling immediately when a lead comes in, and then accompanying it with an email confirming information and a set time for follow up. If you cannot get the lead on the phone, that email will be your transitional form of communication. Being up beat, friendly, and willing to help will build the working relationship early, and ultimately lead to a sales funnel to close. Many leads often times can close 7-10 days later as they field multiple offers to find the right fit. While price is important to many, know that there are a lot of consumers out there who buy only when they are comfortable working with someone in particular. Online leads means you have to continually beat out the competition and be persistent without being pushy.
WARM TRANSFERS: WORKING WITH PRICE SHOPPERS
Working with warm transfers can be great if you know how to work them properly. When a warm transfer comes in, it’s important to recognize that the consumer has just given all their information, building a relationship with a transfer agent, and then sent over to you. This can be jarring for consumers at times as they feel they may have to repeat or clarify information. Additionally, if the warm transfer came from an outbound call, the consumer might not actually be shopping, and a strong sales technique will be needed to express how your carrier is better than their current one, regardless of the price.
Warm transfers should follow the model of education on the first call, building the relationship with the consumer, and gauging interest. If the interest is there, and the call is moving in a positive direction, always aim to close on the first call! If not, a recap email with a scheduled follow up will be required to close the business.
CONSUMER INITIATED INBOUND: THE DIRECT CONNECT
Finally we come to the newest method of marketing for agents, and in my opinion the best bang for your buck… the direct connect. Consumer initiated inbound calls are the cream of the crop, as they put the consumer directly in contact with your agency. Imagine just coming to the office, with the phones ringing with people looking for a quote! When I first became a licensed producer, this was my dream scenario, made me see dollar signs in my head, and wished there were more companies that offered this type of marketing exclusively.
Consumer initiated, or direct connect calls, will have the consumer be connected directly and organically to your office after an automated pre-qualification. When you pick up the phone, it’s as if the consumer is calling your office directly! Due to the fact that the consumer starts the call, the intention to buy is what drives the consumer to call in. Intention by way of the consumer starting the call is what creates a higher close rate!
When you accept this inbound call, you will want to start the relationship building from the first minute, with the intention of closing the policy on the first call. I know, you should always aim to close on the first call… but how often does that actually happen? With direct connect calls, it happens much more frequently than even the most experienced agent is used to! The sales technique used on these calls should be an assumed close since the person is calling you to close! In the event a call does not close, or gets disconnected, the likelihood of a follow-up close is also higher due to the same basis of intention. Calling the consumer back on a disconnect, from feedback from even our newest agents has resulted in a close! Scheduling a follow-up to review should be no more than a day or two after the initial call, with a follow up email (including the policy quote) will keep the right amount of pressure on your prospective client.
FINDING WHAT WORKS FOR YOU:
While not every method is a good fit for every agency, it is important to remember that ultimately it’s about your marketing working FOR you, not against you. Having a consistent follow up strategy will keep your close rates high. If you would like more information about what we’re up to here at Avenge Digital, or would like to talk contact strategy, click the button below to talk to us! We’d love to hear from you!