I get asked this question a lot when I am talking with agents. Is
there a benefit of paying more for exclusive leads, when you can pay
less but know you're going to be competing with up to 7 or 8 other
agents. Here's my take on the situation.
I currently work in the online insurance lead generation business
so I want to first off, describe our consumers who are shopping for
insurance before telling agents how to close these leads.The
majority of people out there searching for insurance really don't
know exactly what they are shopping for.When they punch 'car
insurance' into Google, and click on one of the top sites that come
up, they are generally just seeing what's out there.Whether they are
interested in finding insurance, getting a discount, or just seeing
what's out there, you can be assured that they are interested in
something.
For the majority of Internet lead generation companies, this is
the case. Pay per click traffic puts them at the top of the search,
and if they have all their bases covered they are investing in
organic search results.This means that the site comes up not as a
sponsored link, but as a relevant web site related to their search.
In terms of lead generation, these are the highest quality leads and
the ones that will convert into the most policies, if you know what
you're doing.
Once they get to the site of their choice, it's completely up to
the consumer to fill out their information. If they fill in fake or
false data, a lot of the time it will be bounced before going onto
the next phase. These consumers normally will go through 3 or 4
different pages of information leading up to the submit button, where
they are informed that their information will be sent to local
insurance agents who will then provide the quote. This leads to
anticipation of them receiving their insurance quote, wanting to know
what they will be receiving. Here is where Internet lead generation
differs from insurance companies offering online quotes.
Most captive sites like Geico, Progressive, and Nationwide will
provide the rate instantly on the screen and offer the consumer to
buy now. This is because the iron is hot, and they know that this is
the time to strike. Sending that lead to a local agent would be a
huge risk of losing that consumer, and they would have to rely on the
agent being available, alert, and ready to do the quote. This is the
first big point of decay for an insurance agent when using online
Internet leads, and this is the #1 reason why an agent will succeed
and how an agent can fail.
Back to the question, once an agent receives the lead it's up to
him to contact the consumer. Take into account the consumer
experience, and I think you'll come to your own conclusion. These
people searching for insurance want to be contacted now. They are not
only expecting it, they are now anticipating it. So whether you are
working an exclusive lead, or a shared lead, the fact remains the same. If
your goal is not to compete with other agents, and be the first to
call, then paying 3 or 4 times the normal cost of a lead may be worth
it for you.
But if your goal is to write the highest number of
policies and have the greatest ROI, then I would suggest starting
with the shared leads and go from there. If you find you are not
competitive with other agents in the area you're signed up for, then
it might make sense to pay the extra amount.
However, I would never
suggest going that route from the get go. Perfect the process of calling and responding to these consumers, efficiently overcome these points of decay, and you'll probably never look back.
Comments:
Great article Nate - right on the button!
Nicely written.
What is your opinion of initially emailing a quote and following up with a phone call, if you're exclusive or shared? Does that lessen or raise the chance of getting their interest?
From my recent consumer experience the most important factor is to call as soon as possible. Even though i don't really like to talk on the phone and generally prefer receiving emails, I bought my policy from the first agent that called me. It took him less than a minute after completing the quote and during this call i saw quotes coming to my inbox but was more interested in customizing my policy on the phone.
So I would say - first call, then follow up with an email.
I believe that Chris is right when it comes to shared leads specifically. Strike while the iron is hot and call the prospect immediately. Because you're potentially competing with other agents, your goal should be to be the first agent on the phone with the prospect 75% of the time. Emailing the client and running the quote takes time, and what's the point of waiting in this case?
For exclusive leads I would say many of the same principles still apply. Calling the prospect in a timely manner shows that his business is of great importance to you as an agent and that goes a long was with a consumer purchasing insurance. The quote and email can be run during small talk on during the conversation. I always recommend making the call first, and doing the leg work while you have the prospects attention.
Calling a potential client immediately is definitely a no brainer. When a person has just submitted their information, they are in the mindset that insurance is an important issue for the time being. The longer you wait to get in touch with them allows them to slowly take insurance off their mind. If you are lucky you can even catch them while they are still at their computer and hope they are ready to talk nothing but business.
I have purchased both, but with shared leads I have experienced when calling, alot of them said they were not searching for insurance they were searching for a job, etc. Yes, you can with most companies get refunded for this issue but think about it, it's alot of time wasted time, ( calling the lead and calling to get refunded for that lead) and when your a new agent, that is just starting a new agency, then your most likely not completely staffed, so your doing all the work, you need to manage your time. I will say that advertising on free sites is the best way to start out.
Viviano,
Most lead companies make it pretty easy to obtain credits and most don't require that you pick up the phone to call them.
I actually talked to a consumer and asked them how they came to the point of imputing their information online. The consumer told me they were trying to register to win money in the Publisher Clearing House Sweepstakes, but in order to go any further they had to input information about their auto insurance. This was of course a junk lead that involved a consumer that was in no way shape or form looking for auto quotes.
I believe that typically the lead companies themselves try to operate with the utmost integrity and really do try to bring you the best possible leads.
However, the problem often unfolds when lead generation companies start partnering with "Affiliates" to improve their lead volume. I don't blame them though, lead generating companies have a lot of mouths to feed and it's a great way to generate additional leads for you the Agent. As an agent though, you have to make the lead company aware of the particular lead that was in question so that they in turn can police their Affiliates and make it completely clear that lead generation of that form is completely unacceptable.
I also believe that starting out, internet leads are a pretty good way to go. Don't be discouraged about leads with invalid information or leads that involve consumers that weren't truly looking for pricing. That's part of it, just weed through the bad and quote the good! It really doesn't take that much time and starting off you have to be able to have a decent amount of quote volume.
"Sitting back and advertising on free sites", I'm not sure that would be the best approach!
Good luck though, I truly do wish you the best and hope you succeed no matter which road you take!!
Blogged out for the day!!
Nathan, in response to
"If you find you are not competitive with other agents in the area you're signed up for, then it might make sense to pay the extra amount". This is an easy way out approach and I would beg to differ.
If Mr. Consumer is paying $80.00 a month and you quote him $150.00, all you have done is send him back to the computer to continue shopping. This of course is assuming this was an exclusive lead and he doesn't receive any other phone calls.
Here's my take-
Option 1:
I would actually suggest that maybe you look at other areas. Most insurance companies have competitive territorial insurance pricing intelligence and can tell you (all things being equal) that insurance company A is really competitive in County A, B, and C, but not so much in D, E, and F. Even without that, you can pretty much tell after doing about 20-30 quotes, if you're constantly getting killed by another insurance company. Maybe in other areas, your leads aren't being sold to that 1 competitor who is constantly beating you up on price?
Option 2:
Maybe you need to take a look at the lines your quoting, maybe you should be targeting more home then auto or vice versa. There’s a countless number of factors involved, maybe you're more competitive with younger drivers or even drivers with no prior insurance, maybe you're only competitive with impeccable driving records and credit scores. If this is the case, I think you should adjust your lead parameters and add additional filters.
I have worked thousands of Internet leads in the state of Texas from 6-7 different lead generation companies. I have worked leads locally and leads 4-5 hours from my office location. I also personally have never purchased exclusive leads, I have always competed with other agents.
Working at a lead generating company and actually trying to convert that lead to a sale are worlds apart.
My hat goes off to all the other insurance agents out there! I know how hard this business is and I especially know how expensive purchasing leads can be and how difficult it can be to obtain a decent conversion ratio.
Food for thought,
Aaron - Agency Owner
You should write an article about your comment above and submit it. That way you can earn more points.
Well this has really helped me, thanks to everyone for the information.
Comment on this article:
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Comments:
Great article Nate - right on the button!
Nicely written.
What is your opinion of initially emailing a quote and following up with a phone call, if you're exclusive or shared? Does that lessen or raise the chance of getting their interest?
From my recent consumer experience the most important factor is to call as soon as possible. Even though i don't really like to talk on the phone and generally prefer receiving emails, I bought my policy from the first agent that called me. It took him less than a minute after completing the quote and during this call i saw quotes coming to my inbox but was more interested in customizing my policy on the phone.
So I would say - first call, then follow up with an email.
I believe that Chris is right when it comes to shared leads specifically. Strike while the iron is hot and call the prospect immediately. Because you're potentially competing with other agents, your goal should be to be the first agent on the phone with the prospect 75% of the time. Emailing the client and running the quote takes time, and what's the point of waiting in this case?
For exclusive leads I would say many of the same principles still apply. Calling the prospect in a timely manner shows that his business is of great importance to you as an agent and that goes a long was with a consumer purchasing insurance. The quote and email can be run during small talk on during the conversation. I always recommend making the call first, and doing the leg work while you have the prospects attention.
Calling a potential client immediately is definitely a no brainer. When a person has just submitted their information, they are in the mindset that insurance is an important issue for the time being. The longer you wait to get in touch with them allows them to slowly take insurance off their mind. If you are lucky you can even catch them while they are still at their computer and hope they are ready to talk nothing but business.
I have purchased both, but with shared leads I have experienced when calling, alot of them said they were not searching for insurance they were searching for a job, etc. Yes, you can with most companies get refunded for this issue but think about it, it's alot of time wasted time, ( calling the lead and calling to get refunded for that lead) and when your a new agent, that is just starting a new agency, then your most likely not completely staffed, so your doing all the work, you need to manage your time. I will say that advertising on free sites is the best way to start out.
Viviano,
Most lead companies make it pretty easy to obtain credits and most don't require that you pick up the phone to call them.
I actually talked to a consumer and asked them how they came to the point of imputing their information online. The consumer told me they were trying to register to win money in the Publisher Clearing House Sweepstakes, but in order to go any further they had to input information about their auto insurance. This was of course a junk lead that involved a consumer that was in no way shape or form looking for auto quotes.
I believe that typically the lead companies themselves try to operate with the utmost integrity and really do try to bring you the best possible leads.
However, the problem often unfolds when lead generation companies start partnering with "Affiliates" to improve their lead volume. I don't blame them though, lead generating companies have a lot of mouths to feed and it's a great way to generate additional leads for you the Agent. As an agent though, you have to make the lead company aware of the particular lead that was in question so that they in turn can police their Affiliates and make it completely clear that lead generation of that form is completely unacceptable.
I also believe that starting out, internet leads are a pretty good way to go. Don't be discouraged about leads with invalid information or leads that involve consumers that weren't truly looking for pricing. That's part of it, just weed through the bad and quote the good! It really doesn't take that much time and starting off you have to be able to have a decent amount of quote volume.
"Sitting back and advertising on free sites", I'm not sure that would be the best approach!
Good luck though, I truly do wish you the best and hope you succeed no matter which road you take!!
Blogged out for the day!!
Nathan, in response to
"If you find you are not competitive with other agents in the area you're signed up for, then it might make sense to pay the extra amount". This is an easy way out approach and I would beg to differ.
If Mr. Consumer is paying $80.00 a month and you quote him $150.00, all you have done is send him back to the computer to continue shopping. This of course is assuming this was an exclusive lead and he doesn't receive any other phone calls.
Here's my take-
Option 1:
I would actually suggest that maybe you look at other areas. Most insurance companies have competitive territorial insurance pricing intelligence and can tell you (all things being equal) that insurance company A is really competitive in County A, B, and C, but not so much in D, E, and F. Even without that, you can pretty much tell after doing about 20-30 quotes, if you're constantly getting killed by another insurance company. Maybe in other areas, your leads aren't being sold to that 1 competitor who is constantly beating you up on price?
Option 2:
Maybe you need to take a look at the lines your quoting, maybe you should be targeting more home then auto or vice versa. There’s a countless number of factors involved, maybe you're more competitive with younger drivers or even drivers with no prior insurance, maybe you're only competitive with impeccable driving records and credit scores. If this is the case, I think you should adjust your lead parameters and add additional filters.
I have worked thousands of Internet leads in the state of Texas from 6-7 different lead generation companies. I have worked leads locally and leads 4-5 hours from my office location. I also personally have never purchased exclusive leads, I have always competed with other agents.
Working at a lead generating company and actually trying to convert that lead to a sale are worlds apart.
My hat goes off to all the other insurance agents out there! I know how hard this business is and I especially know how expensive purchasing leads can be and how difficult it can be to obtain a decent conversion ratio.
Food for thought,
Aaron - Agency Owner
You should write an article about your comment above and submit it. That way you can earn more points.
Well this has really helped me, thanks to everyone for the information.
Comment on this article: