Most Recently Answered Questions

Most Recently Answered Questions

• What sources worked best for your new customer prospecting and what sources were a loss?
  in General Marketing | Asked by Garrett White

  From my experience there are two methods of prospecting customers the ones that cost and the ones that are free. I suggest exhausting free methods before spending any money. Some suggestions, go online and place free ads in local classifieds under "services" stating what you specialize in and include your contact info. Then see what's available in your area such as chamber of commerce events or local papers where you can place a press release. See who would be willing to offer referrals with your existing clients, these warm leads have been the most lucrative for me. The paid methods are more obvious, direct mail, newspaper ads, yellow pages, and buying leads would be a few. The main thing is to stay active, make a commitment to stay active everyday doing one or two of these until you start to see the level of activity you want. »
  Answered by Edward May

• What sources worked best for your new customer prospecting and what sources were a loss?
  in General Marketing | Asked by Garrett White

  As a trainer for new agents in our district, marketing is one of the critical elements we teach. Starting a new business requires using available capital wisely and not spending money on marketing efforts that will bear little or no fruit. In addition to the free services Edward talks about, here are a couple of other free or low-cost prospecting ideas: 1) Join a referral group (BNI, TNI, LeTip etc.) 2) Get involved in your community and local activities that will introduce you to people in your area 3) Hit the street! Visit the businesses you frequent (hair salon, sandwhich shop, coffee house, restaurants, etc.) as these are great sources for commercial prospects Starting an insurance business takes time, effort, energy, money, hard work and some luck. Maximize the potential of the number of people you can get to know through all the methods proposed on this thread. »
  Answered by Jake Ice

• What sources worked best for your new customer prospecting and what sources were a loss?
  in General Marketing | Asked by Garrett White

  Establishing a strong relationship with Apartment Managers is one of the biggest ways we have generated new business. We give them a referral gift of $10 for every person that says they were sent by that manager, as well as buy them Starbucks and lunch on occasion. We have also done presentation for their residents about why Renter's insurance is important and these have led to managers requiring insurance after finding they can keep their residents happy in the event of a fire with no effort on their part. An anyone who has been in the industry for a day knows that no customer needs only one line of insurance. »
  Answered by Chuck Roberts

• I know the big Taboo of sales is to never admit your policy isn't worth it. But, I have on occasion seen the benefits of a provision in a competitors policy and been very honest about it to the customer. This has acctually resulted in them buying a policy from me because it proves my honesty. Am I the only one that has done such a thing? If not what are your stories?
  in Selling Policies | Asked by Chuck Roberts

  No, I have had this happen with a client of mine that was searching for cheaper rates after we went through a rate increase. When she had called me to cancel her policies with me, I compared the coverages she would be getting if she made the move and explianed that it would be less expensive on her if she would move. She then asked if there would be anything that I could do so she would not have to change companies, I explianed that she was getting all the discounts that she was eligable for , that the only change I could make was to raise her deductible. She was fine with that, because she said that she did not really want to change to another agent because of the customer service she received when calling my agency. Honesty is the best policy. »
  Answered by Viviano Traci

• What sources worked best for your new customer prospecting and what sources were a loss?
  in General Marketing | Asked by Garrett White

  Yellowpages did not do much for me. Neither did street fairs or local table events. Most of my clients are coming from organization referrals. I joined Rotary, Sertoma, and local merchants associations. This is working. »
  Answered by Pamela Wilson

• It is fairly common that cold calling prospective clients can be sometimes be a waste of time. In order to maximize your efforts and not sound like a telemarketer, what opening lines would compell a small business owner to stay on the line and take interest in what you have to offer?
  in General Marketing / Phone Sales | Asked by Jonathan Youlden

  I have found that saying "This is Chuck from State Farm right here in West Jordan" gets people to stay on the phone. Also i have found that asking "Would you like an Insurance quote?" and then asking what line rather than just asking "Would you like an auto insurance quote?" works better because some people dont need or want the line of insurance you ask for. leaving it open ended gives for a more successful pitch. »
  Answered by Chuck Roberts

• It is fairly common that cold calling prospective clients can be sometimes be a waste of time. In order to maximize your efforts and not sound like a telemarketer, what opening lines would compell a small business owner to stay on the line and take interest in what you have to offer?
  in General Marketing / Phone Sales | Asked by Jonathan Youlden

  If you are marketing to a small business owner I would recommend going to their business and building a relationship with him/her. You will find that even if you do get them on the phone it will be hard to sell something if you don't have a relationship with them. So your pitch needs to be focused on setting that initial meeting. Ask them if it's ok for you or a member of your staff to stop by their business. Tell them you are a local Insurance Professional and you are working with small business owner just like the one you are calling. Small business owners like to feel special....and like to think their business is special. So make them feel big. Give them a compliment on how successful their business is in your eyes. Good luck with small businesses...they are not an easy target. »
  Answered by Timur Galakchiyev

• When it comes to purchasing leadz, how honest are agents with the perspective client when it comes to quoting them. jeff
  in General Marketing / General Marketing | Asked by Jeffrey Simbric

  It's in agent's best interest to be as honest as possible from the beginning of their relationship with the client. If they under estimate the quote, they will most likely loose the sale. »
  Answered by Lev Barinskiy

• I have a data base management tool that I use. I would be interested to know what others use to maintain their leads.
  in Business Development / Management | Asked by WILLIAM FOREST

  I've had good experience with AgencyIQ - www.net-lead.net. They have a pretty simple to use lead management system. Also leads360 is rolling out a lead management system for Insurance Agents. From seeing their screen shots and talking to people over their, it sounds like it will be a very good tool for agents. »
  Answered by Lev Barinskiy

• I am looking to hire new producers for my agency, do you have any information on what questions to ask, that you can automatically know if this person should be considered for a position. I have already hired 2 people that did not work out.
  in Employees / Hiring | Asked by Viviano Traci

  Hiring "good" support staff is probably one of the hardest things about running an agency or any business for that matter. Well first thing you want to is run background checks and do reference checks. If you are looking to hire sales producers, I would ask them to demonstrate their sales techniques on you during the interview or maybe even get them on the phone for a test run. Hands on interviews will usually give you a good idea of the type of person they are. Also you can consider giving them personality tests (http://similarminds.com/personality_tests.html). »
  Answered by Lev Barinskiy