InsuranceLeads.com Blog by Insurance Agent

A Step Beyond: Lead Pre-Contact

2009-10-21T17:04:00.003-07:00

When you cold-call individuals and businesses with pitches geared towards any number of insurance plans, anticipating the response can be nerve-wracking at best. There are ample opportunities for people to show their not-so-friendly side when they're confronted with a product or service offering that they're not at all interested in or for which they have no use. The importance of using targeted prospects for leads is obvious, and the expense of purchasing such leads is usually well offset by the savings realized through not having to sift through uninterested prospects. When you expand this idea to encompass the the concept of leads contacting agents directly, incredible things can happen; sales conversions, for one thing, are likely to skyrocket. But there's even more value tucked away in the ability of prospects to leave personal messages on their lead forms, a feature of InsuranceLeads.com that I've found to be of immense value.

Picking up a live hot transfer or directing leads to my web properties are often able to pull in sales rates that still manage to surprise me, even after the couple of years I've worked with InsuranceLeads.com. When leads make the move to contact agents, they're far more likely to be receptive to discussing insurance plans and to closing a deal. But it's not always convenient to receive leads through these methods, and there are plenty of applications for which “regular” leads are best. I order a fair amount of leads for delivery via email and upload availability each month, and I use these for various campaigns and strategies. The ability to have a quote ready before the prospect is contacted is a major perk, and is greatly aided by the thoroughness of information gathering performed by InsuranceLeads.com during its leads generation processes. When a prospect understands that you've already made yourself familiar with their particular needs and circumstances, they can quickly be persuaded to let you custom-tailor a plan or package, and from there, sales are extraordinarily easy to make.

But my favorite feature of the leads information delivered, however, is definitely the special comments section that's attached to the bottom of each lead read-out. Prospects are able to leave a comment or note during their completion of InsuranceLeads.com questionnaires, and while these are sometimes left blank, I often receive leads providing a vital piece of information or personal note that lets me incorporate something unique in my pitch, making prospects feel as though they're talking to a friend. I'm sure I don't have to explain how beneficial this can be for sales –you can practically breeze through the rapport-building stage and lead right into the consultancy and offer of solution.

I've gotten leads in a lot of formats in the past, and have never been quit as happy with the precision and thoroughness of the related information as I've been with my leads from InsuranceLeads.com.

When Prospects Lead to Lessons

2009-10-21T17:04:00.001-07:00

I can hardly imagine that anyone would consider it a bad thing, but one of my favorite things in the professional world, as well as in life in general, is the experience of getting extra functionality out of an already useful product or process. I've found may areas ripe for being used this way within the context of insurance, and a lot of them can be attributed to my choice in leads sourcing. InsuranceLeads.com has helped me to accelerate my insurance business in a variety of ways, even though its main goal is a fairly simple one: to provide good leads in a number of different lines of insurance. With anything that offers a variety of functionalities, it's still of the utmost importance that the basic service is complete and competent, and I've always found these qualities at InsuranceLeads.com. They're responsible for the core of the sales conversion ratio improvement I've been experiencing since I joined. But the extra incentives are pretty incredible in their own right.

The insurance agent resources section at InsuranceLeads.com is one of the most complete and in-depth guides to insurance sales that I've seen online. You might think that a company whose focus is on sourcing the best leads out there in high volumes has little time or interest in providing advice that actually makes sense and is driven towards helping clients improve their strategies. But the resource section will definitely change your mind. I've come across many tips and tricks in this section as I've worked my way through all of the site's offerings, and I've implemented a lot of the ideas that have been suggested. A major move for me was incorporating web marketing tactics to use for my prospects who preferred to be contacted by email.

I knew that I wanted to put together a newsletter, as I wanted to be able to offer my online prospects something unique and useful and that wasn't just another email. There is an overwhelming wealth of material touching on how to create good newsletters on the web, and I was quickly buried in a sea of suggestions and lists of rules for doing it right. But when I came across the tips for insurance newsletter building at InsuranceLeads.com, I found advice that made sense, that was concise, and which seemed especially targeted for the kind of newsletter campaign I wanted to run.

This wasn't the first or the last time I found something of great use in the resources section at InsuranceLeads.com, but it is one of my best memories of the site. I've been running my own newsletter for just under a year now, and have picked up a lot of follow-up prospects and even gained referrals with the result. Like anything worthwhile, it requires continual re-thinking and re-organizing, but the basic principles remain the same, just as they were when I saw them at InsuranceLeads.com. It's an extra use I didn't expect but greatly appreciate.

Identifying Strengths and Weaknesses Through Leads Variety

2009-10-21T17:03:00.003-07:00

If one of the most crucial aspects of a leads source is the volume of leads that it is able to offer, an equally important consideration is the variety of leads that can be obtained from the same firm. The ability to order a large number of leads is essential when you're seeking to expand your operation, but without the benefits of variety, you may be working blindly, missing out on opportunities to refine and specialize your strategy. I've always been deeply interested in working with several different lines of insurance, as I like the challenge that it poses and feel that it helps keep my work fresh and interesting. But it's also able to help me identify my own strengths and weaknesses as an agent –something that's difficult to do if you simply perform the same type of task over and over in endless repetition.

A primary objection to the practice of selling multiple lines of insurance is that an agent would have to spend a lot of time, and possibly a lot of money, sourcing the many different types of leads needed to realize a worthwhile campaign. This is certainly a valid issue, and agents who are reluctant to work with multiple lines have probably found themselves up against this difficulty in the past, or have at least imagined the horror of having to conduct a leads generating effort multiple times for a single day of selling. The answer to this problem, which isn't really a problem after all, is to work with a major national leads source like InsuranceLeads.com that offers leads in many different areas.

I've used InsuranceLeads.com for sourcing prospects who have indicated and been verified for their interest in home, auto, health and disability, long term care, burial, life, cancer, and business insurance policies, as well as annuity plans. If you've worked with any of these lines in the past, you're probably aware that some are associated with especially difficult to find leads. In such cases, it can be detrimental to a campaign to have to source hard to get leads for different lines from other firms and methodologies, as this can greatly influence your data and make it hard to recognize what you're doing right and where you need to improve when you perform regular assessments.

Because of the availability of multiple kinds of leads, all of which offer various free and fee-based filters, I'm able to rely on the data I collect and keep all of my InsuranceLeads.com prospects together in a single file. From time to time, when I take a day or two off to look at the numbers and analyze what's working, I can consider my performance across the board with my InsuranceLeads.com prospects. I know that the same degree of quality, checked with the same thorough quality controls, can be expected from each line. It's my own personal data insurance plan, and one I without which I wouldn't want to work.

Referrals + High Converting Leads = Magic Formula

2009-10-21T17:03:00.001-07:00

Looking for a magic formula in any industry or line of work can be a fool's errand. Most experts in a given field will tell you that the key to success is to think well, work diligently, and be consistent, and this is largely true. In the world of insurance, this time-honored advice certainly applies, but that doesn't mean there aren't certain strategies and arrangements that can greatly accelerate returns and help an agent catalyze their success. You might come across several different “magic formulas” when looking for ways to improve your insurance business; I know I've found a multitude myself, and some are much more helpful than others. But the formula I've found to be most effective, and certainly most exciting, is the combination of using high converting leads that also help you get referrals. Like an extra set of cherries on top of an already eye-popping ice cream sundae, referrals and high converting leads in combination can make any sales strategy especially sweet.

This formula isn't free, like so many things in life that signal excellent quality. I've re-couped my investment several times over though, and have no reservations about putting some cash out there to help my career as an agent take flight. The cost is for the leads themselves, of course. There are those who will suggest that it's possible and preferred to go out searching for your own high-quality leads, but without the power of a huge staff and plenty of money for marketing and research, you'll probably find yourself with some slightly above-average leads that cost several times more than their worth given the time and effort expended to track them down.

I use InsuranceLeads.com for my high quality leads, and have never regretted the decision to work with the filtered, pre-verified, and genuinely interested leads generated by the firm. Not only are the prospects with which I talk enthusiastic about being contacted, helping the course of high conversion rates, but they're often so thrilled with being personally catered to that they refer me to their friends and family. This works wonders for my reputation as an agent locally and also boosts my sales through the roof, making each successful sale significantly more valuable. Though I'm happy with the rates I pay for leads at InsuranceLeads.com, the added bonus of picking up referred prospects of equal quality and value for free makes the initial expense seem laughable.

As you go through the course of your own career, you may well discover your own magic formula adapting your strategies to suit what works and to discard what doesn't. But if you're looking for a way to truly rock your sales rates and get the most value possible out of leads sourcing, I challenge you to try out this magic formula. No matter what stage you're in as an agent or broker, it's bound to help you make a few giant leaps.

Creating and Maintaining Credibility with Quality Leads Sourcing

2009-10-21T17:01:00.005-07:00

If you take a look at any of the large number of tips and advisory sites available today for insurance agents, you'll probably come across some lists of qualities that are imperative if you want to establish yourself as a quality seller or move an insurance business up the many rungs of the community ladder. One of the most important qualities, in my opinion, and I'm sure in the opinions of many others more experienced than I, is credibility. Credibility is a vital element of being successful with any sort of interaction with the public; you'll see it in politicians, PR firms, and especially in salespeople, of every field and sector. The question of how to establish credibility could be a field of study all in its own, as there are many facets that must be considered in order to achieve a useful understanding of the whole. But as far as insurance goes, there are some straight-forward steps that any agent can make to improve their credibility. While it might not seem like the most logical choice, working with a reputable, recognized leads source is an excellent way to improve your credibility as an agent –something I've discovered first-hand through my affiliation with InsuranceLeads.com.

Through sourcing leads at a renowned leads generation firm, I've been able to realize greater credibility both from my prospects and from my local colleagues, both of which hold great potential for improving sales. When I work with the leads I buy from InsuranceLeads.com, I know I'm getting only prospects who intentionally signed up to receive a quote or extra information, and that they weren't baited with the promise of being included in a sweepstakes or winning some sort of prize. They're genuinely interested in the products that I have to offer, and I'm able to establish myself as a professional, and moreover, helpful agent that's meeting their needs, rather than a nuisance. On the local scale, this helps my business name become associated with positive experiences.

A significant percentage of the insurance agents and brokerages in my town have worked with InsuranceLeads.com in the past themselves, and in general the company has a high reputation in the professional community (which helped drive me towards signing up with InsuranceLeads.com in the first place). When my colleagues hear that I'm getting leads from this major, long-established company, they tend to open up to me about their own experiences and practices, and I'm able to easily establish rapport and make potentially lucrative networking connections.

With my prospects as well as the agents I know locally, my credibility has gained a lot of credit through my use of InsuranceLeads.com. I still have to maintain a good professional attitude, follow up on my promises, and remain consistent, of course, but I'm well aware that I'm far ahead of where I'd be without the ability to lean on the leads giant.

Voluminous Matters in Insurance Leads

2009-10-21T17:01:00.003-07:00

There are plenty of mistakes that I think tend to be made by both new and experienced insurance agents and brokers. Some of them are fairly complex, and it can take a lot of effort or ingenuity to get around them, or it may simply be true that it's necessary for an agent to make their own mistakes along the way in order to build up a reputable, well-functioning insurance business. But I'd like to think that there are pitfalls that everyone can avoid, so long as they're well informed ahead of time. One of those pitfalls that might see its decline as InsuranceLeads.com gains momentum and takes on more clients is the issue of volume.

Whether an agent or broker is just starting out or is well established, whether the status quo in a given office is working with a lot of leads on a daily basis or only a few from time to time, the need for quick accessibility to volume of leads is universal. This might seem counterintuitive at first, and I think that's why so many agents (including myself, in the early days) make the mistake of ignoring volume as they grow. Though acting and spending conservatively can be valuable qualities for an insurance business, they can effectively ruin a growth spurt and send an independent agent or an entire office plummeting back towards the baseline when a bit of foresight could have facilitated some major profit potential.

Before I switched to InsuranceLeads.com as my primary leads source, I experienced a small jump in sales conversions; this was especially exciting as I had been going through a rough period with my work and was starting to doubt whether I'd be able to take my business of the ground. As I reveled in my report making and kept at the leads I received, however, I didn't check to see whether I'd be able to secure a higher volume of the leads that had worked out. When I was ready to amp up my income and devote more hours to selling (something for which I turned my daily schedule and overall business structure upside down), I found that I was unable to get more leads of the same type and quality in a steady stream. A few more here, a couple there, were made available, and at a premium price which actually raised with my obvious desperation. It was an untenable situation, and after kicking myself over it for a bit, I decided to get out.

As a result, one of the things that most attracted me in the features at InsuranceLeads.com was the company's volume capabilities. As one of the largest online insurance leads sources in the United States, the company looked well-positioned to help me wrench up my operation by increments as needed. And this was certainly the case; I've made up the cost of my old mistake several times over.

The Strain of Sourcing: A Daily Insurance Step I've Exterminated

2009-10-21T17:01:00.001-07:00

Let me give you an idea of how my average morning used to work when I first started out in insurance sales. I'd wake up, lazily make myself some breakfast, and park myself in front of the computer, spending a couple of hours reading insurance blogs and other resources, looking to see if a new and bright idea would be waiting for me in someone else's description of their own ho-hum morning as an agent. Unsuccessful, I'd tell myself it was time to buckle down and get to work, and I'd go about looking for leads. I had a few stand-by sources that I used on a fairly frequent basis: mostly re-sold, recycled leads on the cheap, that were advertised as being specially priced for being in obscure demographic groups (I've since filed a few complaints with the operators). I also did a lot of work entirely from scratch; I'd look for people who had recently purchased new vehicles or homes, or for relatives of those who I knew had fallen ill. To say the least, each day it proved to be a major strain to get a decently-sized collection of leads, and by the time I had finished with my sourcing, I barely had any energy or enthusiasm left for selling.

That daily picture is a far cry from the type of mornings I've been having for the past few years. Now, when I wake up, I instantly get into my selling mode, because I know that there are a number of pre-verified, categorized, and well-organized leads already waiting for me. When I began using InsuranceLeads.com to source the bulk of my leads in the many lines of insurance that I sell, I found that I didn't have to sort through a lot of disinterested or stale leads such as those I had been receiving from other companies, nor did I have to sweat through several hours of hand-picking prospects in an attempt to recover some of the quality I had lost. Instead, I could have as many leads delivered as I wanted, sent as hot transfers to my phone, through email, or made available for me to use in uploading. After a cup of coffee and a bite to eat, I'm ready to go through my list and start closing deals –something I can comfortably and enjoyably do until it's time to call it quits for the day.

Every now and then I look back on the difficulty I had with sourcing leads at the beginning of my insurance career, and while I can take it as a learning experience, and be grateful for the lessons that I learned during that period, I wish I'd made the move to InsuranceLeads.com a little sooner. Seeing the resulting profits makes it a bit hard to disregard the extra cash I know I'd have. Hopefully my hindsight will help a few others avoid the same mistake.

No Sales Conversion Slumps Here

2009-10-21T17:00:00.003-07:00

It can be somewhat difficult for me to divulge to friends and family the fact that I'm currently enjoying such a high degree of success with my work as an insurance agent. It's not that I don't want to include them in my own personal celebration, but with the economy ransacking most industries and laying into the job market at an incredible pace with layoffs, it can feel a bit boastful to talk about my sales conversions and the new directions and investments I'm thinking about for my business. I know a lot of people expect that those in every industry are taking a major hit these days, but it's not something I've observed in insurance –that is, it's not something I've experienced personally. There are probably some agents and brokers out there who are going through tough times. But while the financial storm rages on, I'm seeing the best conversion rates I've ever been able to pull in. And it's not simply in one line of insurance, or with a single demographic. It's across the board. Everything that I've been selling has been selling well; whether I'm working with hot life transfers or through email –even my online and traditional face to face campaigns are returning greater numbers than ever before.

One of my main preoccupations over the past few weeks and months has been looking at how and why this has happened. Obviously, it's not the case that I intend to cut off whatever is causing this steady stream of successes, but I think it's of great importance in any line of work to have a deep understanding of what is useful, what isn't, and why. I'm sure there's something to be said for the situation created by the economy itself, as difficult times can make people more cautious and encourage them to reconsider existing, expensive plans. I've share this idea with others, who have agreed that it's likely contributing to the upward trend. My own skills at sales have improved as well, as I knew they would over time, and that can probably take some of the credit.

But the overriding thing that has changed in the period in which I've been monitoring this improvement is the density of leads I've sourced from InsuranceLeads.com. I've been purchasing leads from this company for a few years, but shortly after news of the ensuing recession began, I moved the majority of my leads sourcing to one this one spot. With the souring attitudes of consumers, I had been experiencing high rates of negativity and resistance through other leads sourcing methods –something I'd like to keep at a minimum. With the new developments I have in mind for my insurance career, I'm hoping to be able to work on a much larger scale in the near future. I'll be keeping my leads coming from InsuranceLeads.com throughout the process, and looking forward to seeing my numbers climb, even if I stay quiet about it when friends and family inquire.

My #1 Sales Skills Booster: Inquisitive Prospects

2009-10-21T17:00:00.001-07:00

If you take the time to have a look at the advice of many major insurance agents, brokers, and firms, you're likely to find all manner of tips and techniques for making a high number of sales. Primarily focused on seminars and special proprietary programs, many such offerings of advice are geared towards selling you a ticket to an apparently magical place wherein you'll be blessed by insurance industry facts that no one else is supposed to know. I've never been very interested in such projects, as I believe in the freedom and transparency of information –something that can, in itself, boost personal skills both in insurance and in any other area. There are plenty of free-range tips and ideas to be shared, and there's no reason to keep them hidden. I'll share one of my own; a tip I've picked up on only recently, but which has undeniably changed the way that I do business.

Working with inquisitive and truly interested prospects directly is, in my opinion, one of the best methods possible for improving sales skills. You might think that the ease with which such prospects can be led towards a close, as opposed to people who have negative ideas about insurance or are combative, makes the experience less challenging and therefore less probe to developing any skill set other than counting currency (which is a nice one, I'll admit). But this isn't at all the case. The primary method by which you can learn and expand your knowledge and your experience as you sell with inquisitive prospects is through the model of teaching.

If you've ever tried explaining something you think you know to someone else, you might have noticed that it's not as easy as it'd seem at the outset. Even if you have a fairly good idea of the concept at hand, communicating it in such a way that someone else is able to gain a clear understanding isn't easy, but going through the process of pushing yourself to make clear definitions and practical examples can do a lot for your actual knowledge of the subject. When inquisitive prospects ask me about the underlying principles of insurance or about the particulars of a certain policy or plan, my ability to spend a while helping them get a deep sense of the subject not only gives them an incentive to work with me in the future, but makes me think critically about the topics involved in my profession.

Finding such inquisitive prospects could be a skill set all on its own, were it not for the advent of the internet and the easy accessibility to modern leads sources. I've found the most inquisitive and skill-building prospects at InsuranceLeads.com, where comprehensive questionnaires and information gathering and pre-screening and verification methods deliver fully engaged and motivated leads in every line of insurance I sell. When you accelerate your understanding and super-charge your income at the same time, not many other tips are needed.

Pre-Pinging Potential

2009-10-21T16:58:00.003-07:00

There is a lot of specialized jargon that circulates in the insurance world, but most agents and brokers probably aren't familiar with the concept of pinging within the context of their work. Of course, maybe I should speak for myself –I did start out with a pretty varied background when I entered the profession, and since I've largely carved my own path during the course of my insurance career, there are some things on which I might be out of the loop. My unfamiliarity, then, with the concept of pinging was first stumbled upon when I began purchasing leads in bulk from InsuranceLeads.com. I looked over the quality control program that the company had in place (one which it still operates today; great things don't need to change, after all), and was very attracted to the idea of having leads that were not only targeted, but which had been finely filtered and sifted to make sure I could cut down on the wasted time I was used to spending on calling fake numbers and bouncing emails.

A first defense against fake information, the InsuranceLeads.com software checks their lead information entries against a database of false information that's frequently used. This made sense to me –while it's easy to see from a quick glance that some leads aren't serious, there are plenty of ways to mimic a genuine lead, but to purposefully incorporate false contact or biographical information. But when I saw that the company also employed something called pinging, I was especially curious. This process involves calling the numbers listed in a lead profile to make sure that they're not fax machines or disconnected lines, even after all of the other basic information has been checked.

I wondered why the pinging system was necessary, especially since it had to incur some cost to the company, and besides, if the software was good enough at spotting false information, why would a second line of security be in place? I talked with my dedicated rep (having a single point of contact for all of my questions and any issues that come up is especially nice, by the way), who explained that even legitimate leads can sometimes put in false information, either on purpose in an attempt to exercise control over the way they're cataloged and contacted, or by mistake. This made sense –I think we've all accidentally slipped up a digit in our home or work phone numbers or entered the office fax machine in the wrong field.

I still wasn't sure that pinging would make much of a difference in the quality of the various types of leads I purchased from InsuranceLeads.com, but it has definitely had a big impact –I never wait for a “Hello?” only to hear a high pitched, screeching fax tone or an apologetic, pre-recorded message about a disconnected number. It's doubtless saved me a fair amount of time –and a lot of patience, too.

Turning the Tables on Insurance Sales

2009-10-21T16:58:00.001-07:00

When I first started out selling insurance, I met with a lot of the dreaded responses from the prospects I contacted. Hangups. Rudeness. Abusive emails. Various threats and a lot of negativity. It seemed to be the norm, in fact, a pool of negativity out of which would spring the occasional positive or even simply neutral prospect. I knew I'd have to face this when I made the decision to try my hand at insurance sales, so I was prepared for it somewhat; but the sheer amount of negativity was difficult after a while, and I found myself almost a little relieved when I'd get a fax machine or disconnected number –a sentiment that really can't be good for an insurance business.

Originally, I sourced my leads by hand. It's something I still do from time to time, but it's certainly no longer my main source. I've been using InsuranceLeads.com for a couple of years for my leads source, and while the reasons I've stayed with the company for so long are many, one of the most prominent is the experience of having mostly positive prospects, and many that are downright happy and excited to be discussing insurance with me. In the early days, when I nearly expected a prospect to hang up halfway through my greeting, I don't think I would have believed that such positive prospects were possible. But with the right choice in leads sources, I've effectively turned the tables on that sorry situation, and it's rare indeed when I get someone on the phone or through an email who is unhappy about having been contacted (and when that's the case, I've been able to get a credit from InsuranceLeads.com to cover the expense, too).

Whether I'm seated in my office going through my email inbox, or I'm tapping away at a legal pad or in transit on a phone call, it's always a pleasant occurance when a prospect expresses their gratitide for my contact. I've always had a good sense for the fact that targeted, interested leads are able to yield the highest sales rates, but I didn't quite realize that they could also be this enthusiastic; often, a prospect will tell me about filling out a questionnaire online through another contact method, and will explain that they've been waiting for a local agent to get in touch with them. Being able to fill this direct need with my insurance product offers is professionally satisfying, and it's something that can also become very lucrative very quickly.

Though in the grand scheme of things, not that much time has passed since the early days of hang ups and rudeness, it feels as though it's been ages. The quality of my experience as an agent –and the quality of the experience for my prospects, as well-- has improved on a major scale through the lead generation and quality control procedures at InsuranceLeads.com. It might not be actual magic, but it certainly feels like it sometimes.

Pausing Leads Without Profit Loss

2009-10-21T16:57:00.003-07:00

One of the best ways I've found to encourage a high rate of sales conversions, and to keep me nicely busy throughout the day, is to order my insurance leads in bulk and have them delivered in a steady stream. On many days, I like to have my leads delivered via hot life transfer, so I can set up at my desk and move through a large number of leads –and make a lot of closings-- in one fell swoop. But I also sometimes have my leads delivered through email or made available for uploading, and of course I have a certain number in specified lines of insurance sent to my web properties. This last category is largely automated, and I don't ever have to worry about leaving a lead lying around for too long. But with the other three delivery methods, I'm eager to work quickly as I don't want my leads' freshness to wear off.

Most of the time, I'm able to stay well on top of my flow of leads to ensure that prospects are contacted quickly after they've expressed their interest and are verified. When I notice that I've been lagging a little, I'll usually spend a day cutting out my other work activities as an insurance agent and focus solely on working with my leads. It can be a bit challenging to “grind” as I call it, but it's usually very rewarding, and I find that at the end of such days I'm highly motivated to take on more work and close more sales. Once in a while, of course, like anybody else, I need a few days off. Sometimes I'll take a small vacation and totally disconnect from the office, which is difficult when I sense the opportunities waiting for me there. Getting away from it all every now and then is important though, and I think it helps to invigorate my work ethic and improve my business overall. But what to do about all of those streaming leads?

The first time I approached this problem, when I was first working with InsuranceLeads.com, I thought that it'd make the most sense to just move all of my leads to my web properties and hope for the best, but this wasn't very practical as I had specific lines of insurance set up online, and it felt like a waste to send people interested in certain policies to a site selling something entirely different. When talking to my customer service rep at InsuranceLeads.com, I found out that there was a much better option –I could simply put my leads on hold. I figured that there would be some considerable penalty for doing this, but there wasn't; all I had to do was specify the date I was leaving and the date I'd be back, and I didn't have to worry about fresh leads calling or expecting contact from me while I went fishing. I've used the feature many times since, and am always grateful that it's there.

Handling Complex Leads Campaigns

2009-10-21T16:57:00.001-07:00

I've probably mentioned in other entries the fact that I dabble in multiple lines of insurance. While I know that a lot of agents like to stick to a particular field such as life, auto, or disability insurance, I've always found that I do best with sales when I frequently mix up the products and policies I'm pitching. Of course, it can be of great benefit to concentrate on a single area; with greater experience comes greater expertise, and along with it, supposedly, a better ability to close a sale. It's a bit of a compromise, but it's one that I haven't yet regretted, as I'm able to both enjoy my work and bring in an excellent personal income (not to mention an attractive sales record sheet). Sometimes, though, handling leads campaigns for agents working with multiple types of insurance can be quite the challenge.

As most insurance agents and brokers are probably aware, having excellent, accurate, and well-organized information on leads as well as on personal sales history can make all the difference in the world when tweaking the specifics of a campaign to get it just right. It's crucial to ensure that demographics are studied, that target prospects are narrowed, and that what doesn't work is weeded out, if you're at all interested in finding out what does. When you work with multiple lines of insurance, keeping all of this information clear and straightforward can be a difficult task, and arranging new campaigns for ordering leads, or modifying existing campaigns, shouldn't add to the difficulty.

One of my favorite features at InsuranceLeads.com is the ability to effortlessly change the parameters of campaigns. All the filtuers that I could ever hope to use are available through my account area on the site, and I can change them whenever I'm ready to implement a new strategy; I don't have to wait until business hours open or spend my cash on long distance phone calls. The interface on InsuranceLeads.com is very easy to use, something I'm sure I've praised multiple times in the past, and it's especially appreciated for campaign modification, as I can quickly make any necessary changes after I've poured over my collected data.

InsuranceLeads.com does a very good job of keeping a lot of that data organized on its site, as well, so I can print out whatever records are necessary to evaluate a given sales period, even with my concentration in nearly every line of insurance for which the site sells leads. It's a system I wish I had been able to use since I first got started in the insurance industry, and one that I'll probably rely upon for years to come.

Doing things your own way has a rich tradition in the world of insurance, but if you're going to branch out and sell multiple lines, you'd better be ready to approach your record-keeping and strategy organizing with energy and commitment. When you use InsuranceLeads.com for your leads source, though, you'll start out with a great deal of support.

Leads Account Optimization

2009-10-21T16:56:00.005-07:00

When you hear about “optimization” these days, it's likely in reference to something to do with search engines, a field rich in professionals of various attitudes and practices who are all intent on making their pages, and their clients' pages, more profitable and prominent than everybody else's. But if you're an insurance agent or broker like me, you probably don't have much use for search engine optimization unless you run your own site or series of sites. For most insurance professionals, optimization should be applied first and foremost in an entirely different arena: that of leads.

Leads optimization might sound complicated, and if you're approaching it alone, under the weight of a lot of paperwork, it probably is. However, the process is an important one. If you order a certain type of lead on a regular basis in bulk, and don't take account of how each pitch goes, forming regular reports on a number of the lead aspects involved, it can be hard if not impossible to improve your sales conversions and see your success rate take off. Of course, a helping hand in gathering all of this information and whipping it into a useful and productive can really come in handy. I noticed that the InsuranceLeads.com website mentioned that customer service reps were available to help optimize account settings, and when I saw this claim, I became curious, so I contacted my rep and waited for what I assumed would be a very elementary answer, possibly referring me to a paid service or some public information page.

I was pleasantly surprised when my rep replied asking me for more specific details about the campaign I was running, and what sort of constraints I was looking to put on my leads. Over the course of a handful of emails, we were able to create some custom options that still fit the criteria with which I was working but that helped to narrow my leads orders to concentrate on prospects that were probably a better fit for my auto insurance products. I've taken the time to learn about leads optimization on my own since then, but I still consult with my dedicated rep at InsuranceLeads.com now and then, especially when I make major changes to my campaigns. I'm always treated with consideration, and I've never felt like the task was being perceived as a burden or a hassle; whether I want a simple modification made or I need to find out how many agents received a particular batch of leads, the service is consistently friendly and capable.

It's through optimization that the best campaigns are created and refined; from the ground up, narrowing down demographics and putting precise controls on my leads lets me stay on target and make more sales. Thankfully, I don't have to go through this process alone; I know my InsuranceLeads.com rep is available for reporting on a statistic or looking into custom options in a pinch.

Examining Leads Exclusivity

2009-10-21T16:56:00.003-07:00

If you've ever purchased leads from a bulk source before, you've probably come across the occasional assertion that a certain company's leads are “100% exclusive;” that is, they're advertised as being available only to one buyer, ostensibly with the intention that the individual prospect is only ever contacted by one agent in response to their interest in a given line of insurance. All it really takes to realize that this exclusivity can't possibly exist is a bit of experience on the internet, or in the offline world, for that matter. When people shop around for insurance quotes and look for information, they rarely if ever stay in one place. Prospects looking for insurance products are very likely to enter their information at multiple points of collection, whether it's an online questionnaire, a response to an email, an in-person survey, or any other venue.

As a result, leads sources that make promises about the exclusivity of their leads are, well, leading you on. They might not sell their leads to more than one client on their own end, but this does nothing to prevent other agents and brokers from accessing a prospect's information, and so the highly coveted exclusive label is forfeited as a matter of course. It can be tempting to buy into the idea of exclusive leads, but you're likely only paying a premium for a perk that doesn't actually exist –something that can cut a serious margin out of your profits, even if you convert at remarkably high rates. I didn't expect to see a claim of exclusivity when I joined InsuranceLeads.com, and I didn't find one, either.

The company is actually nicely upfront about their leads distribution policies, and when I've requested information on how many agents have received a given lead, I've been told, without any argumentativeness or sidetracking. While the leads at InsuranceLeads.com are shared among a small number of agents, the company does offer carrier and agency exclusivity in certain situations, so I can be sure that when I'm representing a certain product, I'm not the second, third, or fourth agent who has contacted a prospect with the same pitch. This policy helps keep leads fresh and interested without assuming any false notion of exclusivity. It's a transparent feature that I've come to appreciate during my use of the leads, as I'd rather have accurate and straightforward information than pay for lip service when it comes to trying to make a profit.

I've never gotten in touch with a lead I purchased from InsuranceLeads.com only to be told that another agent from my company had already contacted them, or that they'd already turned down the sale of the policy I have in mind for them. And in the end, that's really all the exclusivity I need. If I have a choice between working with an honest and transparent company with reasonable practices or one that sells itself based on unrealistic claims, I'll take the former any day.

Contract-Free Leads Delivery: An Insurance Agent's Paradise

2009-10-21T16:56:00.001-07:00

It seems that nearly every service and product on the market today is geared towards locking you into some sort of contract. Whether it's the use of a cell phone or a rental agreement, a business opportunity or even a gym membership, companies are constantly on the lookout for ways to get long-term loyalty out of their customers, even when they're brand new. While I can certainly understand the scheme from a business perspective, sometimes the need for long-term commitments and contracts can really interfere with the needs of clients, and can end up costing clients a lot of extra money –something I can't afford to do with my insurance business, and which I wouldn't do even if I had the extra cash available for allotting to inconvenient business practices. Perhaps more importantly, I simply don't like being stuck within the confines of contracts, as I think it's important to be able to get up and go at a moment's notice, no matter what the situation or context.

There are a few exceptions to that personal rule of mine, of course, and one is the leads service at InsuranceLeads.com. I'd gladly set up a long term contract with this company, given that it has consistently delivered leads to my precise specifications for years without employing any dirty tricks or raising prices on me. But somewhat ironically, this is one of the very few leads generation companies that doesn't require contracts or long-term commitments. All you have to do is select how many leads you'd like on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis (or you can set a certain budget limit and enjoy a steady stream of leads until it has been met), and you're good to go.

To be honest, I'm not sure how InsuranceLeads.com manages to avoid the entire contract rigmarole, given that the bulk of competitors are pretty staunchly in favor of locking agents and brokers into long-term commitments. The volume of leads that the site delivers, and the number of leads it generates from its web properties and other marketing mediums probably has a lot to do with it, but I've found that it exemplifies the overall spirit at InsuranceLeads.com. There's no pressure on agents, just good leads and good customer service. I can really appreciate a company that helps without getting in the way.

Since I started using InsuranceLeads.com, I've gotten a renewed contract on my cell phone, I've paid pull-out fees on my health club membership as a surcharge for switching before my contract is up, and I've signed off on a two year deal with a local insurance carrier, but I haven't had to pledge any long-term commitments to my leads source. I find that I'm deeply committed to using their service anyway, something I think they might have anticipated when constructing their pay as you go policy. It's a nice move.

The Loyalty Policy Pays Off

2009-10-21T16:55:00.003-07:00

When you're working with insurance sales online, shopping around for a number of different services and products is important –while you might get lucky and stumble across something that seems perfect on the first try, it's always a good idea to take stock of the full range of what's on offer in order to perform a reasonable and meaningful analysis. In terms of insurance leads, looking at a number of different sources is a vital move, especially considering the high degree of specialization and customization with which insurance packages often associated. Testing out new companies is vital to ensuring that the service is both up to standard and able to handle individual specifications. But once a workable solution is found, there's no harm in sticking to your guns and staying with a certain leads source.

In fact, learning the ropes at a given lead generation company and becoming more familiar with their practices and products can help streamline your operation in an effective and efficient manner –something I definitely experienced when I began working with InsuranceLeads.com. I continued to look for other leads sources, but I quickly found that nothing else I was using could compare to the quality of the leads from this site, and the layout of the leads information along with the nice choice of delivery methods made it difficult to justify using other leads. When I made the decision to stick with InsuranceLeads.com, I expected that the level of service I was receiving, along with the quality of the leads themselves and the moderate prices I was paying, would remain consistent throughout my experience.

I was right about the first two points, but I was very wrong about the third. You might be groaning in anticipation of hearing about a heinous policy of hiking up prices once agents are hooked into a deal, but that's not the case. My costs per lead actually went down, and it's not because there was a drop in demand or in lead quality. Rather, InsuranceLeads.com operates a customer loyalty program that rewards agents and brokers for long-term membership and high volume orders, helping to cut campaign costs in a surprising but certainly welcome way. While I appreciate the discounts I've been given on my leads, I'm also aware that they don't indicate an inflated cost for those I bought initially; clearly the company can afford to provide volume discounts, just like any other operation with multiple units to sell.

I was never off-put by the prices at InsuranceLeads.com, but finding the occasional bonus or perk in thanks for my loyalty has been a nice incentive that has helped me maximize my profits as I use the company's pre-verified, motivated leads. Though I could have squeezed more efficiency out of my business had I decided not to shop around at first and had simply stuck with InsuranceLeads.com, I don't regret the process of eliminating poor competitors. It has helped me see why my eventual choice was the right one.

Joining Doesn't Always Have to Be a Pain

2009-10-21T16:55:00.001-07:00

I pride myself on being fairly well-informed and at least marginally skilled when it comes to working with online applications and features, but there are certainly times when I find myself literally grimacing at the computer screen, holding back a string of insults best left to the imagination when I'm joining a new site or program. It's not that the process of joining a membership-based site online has to be complicated –in fact, seeing as I run two of my own, I think I'm somewhat qualified to be able to state that the process can actually be very simple. Like so many things, it all depends on the implementation, and when I'm working with companies related to my insurance businesses, I don't have a lot of patience for those who haven't been able to master the matter of smooth and painless signup.

At the same time, I think I'm better able to appreciate the virtues of those operations which offer easy joining capabilities given their contrast with frustrating sites. InsuranceLeads.com is among the best of the insurance related sites I've used in terms of its joining process, and it was that process itself which helped me to feel especially comfortable about using their online service. Unlike a lot of leads sources, InsuranceLeads.com has most if not all of their options available online on a twenty four hours a day, seven days a week basis, which makes it especially easy to control my account and make any necessary modifications as I go along, no matter what business operating hours might be. With such a high concentration of its operation being played out over the internet, I figured that the ease with which I was able to join the site was a very positive indication of the sort of experience I could expect during the rest of my time on the site.

I was right. The joining process was straightforward; there was a minimal amount of contact and biographical information needed; while this stuff is certainly important, InsuranceLeads.com didn't waste my time by requesting a lot of extraneous data that really isn't necessary. I had to submit my billing information as well, but was pleased to see that the process was especially secure and made use of fax verification –something that a lot of modern companies decline to use for online memberships. Even though it takes a bit of extra time, this step is a nice gesture that I think shows the company's honesty with security measures. After that, all I had to do was set up my account parameters and authorize payment for my first batch of leads, and I was ready to go.

That is, after receiving twenty leads for free as a sign-up bonus. I closed my first sale with InsuranceLeads.com from the batch of twenty freebies. A great overall experience, joining InsuranceLeads.com was as wise a move for my work as an agent as it was an easy one.

Requesting Credit: When All Does Not Go Well

2009-10-21T16:54:00.003-07:00

Working with insurance leads through any leads source, can result in a lot of calls or emails that miss the mark entirely. Sometimes, this is a result of making a poor sales pitch or failing to identify the right angle with which to coax a given prospect. Perfecting personal strategy is a good way to overcome this issue, but even the best of agents won't make every single sale they attempt; it's simply a fact of the industry, and a fact of life in general. Other times, however, the loss of a sale has nothing whatsoever to do with individual effort or talent. It's a matter of the lead quality, and I don't mean that the sale is lost because the prospect is having a bad day or doesn't happen to like your name. I'm talking about the leads that end up going nowhere because the number has been disconnected, the lead is across the country and entirely outside your purview as an agent, or never expressed interest in a policy and has absolutely no idea what you're talking about or why you're calling.

When you're sourcing your own leads by hand, such instances can be frustrating –not to mention frequent. But when you're using a service to generate or otherwise source leads for you, it can become a matter of lost funds when leads turn out to be of a poor quality. It's for this reason that I'm glad my primary leads provider, InsuranceLeads.com, has developed a credit policy to handle bad leads. Most of the lead sourcing companies with which I've worked have had such a policy, but when you have to use it constantly, or it rejects nearly every credit request as a matter of course, the policy's existence alone doesn't mean much.

The credit policy at InsuranceLeads.com is the most liberal I've found yet, and is structured reasonably to allow me to recoup the costs of bad leads without creating a free-for-all situation in which any and every lead can be disputed (hey, if I reported every sale that didn't work out on my own part, I'd have to add a few more hours to my workday). Of course, I've only had to make use of the credit policy a few times in the several years that I've used the service. The steps that InsuranceLeads.com takes to make sure that leads are valid, aren't spoofed, and aren't associated with disconnected numbers or fax machines go a long way towards cleaning up leads lists. But when I've needed the policy, it's been there, and I've been able to get my money back for leads that shouldn't have been delivered.

The professionalism with which my customer service rep has handled these instances has been especially impressive; I simply identified the faulty leads and within a couple of days, as expected, they were verified as being bad, and my account was credited. Apparently, things can go wrong in the insurance sales world and still turn out alright.

A Structural Advantage: Opportunities in Lead Presentation

2009-10-21T16:54:00.001-07:00

When I was shopping around for insurance leads in the auto sector, I concentrated my search on finding those prospects who had a strong demonstrated interest in purchasing a policy or changing an existing plan. While the necessity of car insurance in most areas can make it an easy product to sell, I much prefer to work with prospects who have already decided to purchase a plan, rather than spend my time coaxing reluctant leads into the basic idea of buying insurance. I had a few negative experiences at first, but I quickly came across InsuranceLeads.com, which impressed me with its pre-verification system as well as its leads generation method, one that doesn't give people an incentive to fill out their contact information and request a quote. I was dead-on about the quality of the leads from InsuranceLeads.com, but I also got a special benefit I wasn't expecting: structure.

The information that professionals, insurance agents and brokers included, use to conduct business is a primary component of getting anything done of course, and the better the information, the better the chances of creating a successful deal. But the way in which that information is presented is a large part of its quality, and if you've never worked with well-structured lead information before, you really don't know what you're missing. On the one hand, the ability to select leads based on pre-filtered criteria at InsuranceLeads.com helps me to get a feel for the types of leads I'll receive and their individual attributes. But when I receive a lead via email from the site, I get a full sheet of information that's pertinent to the insurance plans I'm selling, and has an array of specific information included to help me organize my campaigns.

Based on the type of insurance being sold (and thus, the questionnaires being posed to the prospects before they're delivered), leads come with categorized information about their personal backgrounds, whether it's accidents or injuries, known medical problems or family histories, home purchase or renovation dates, business details, or other pieces of data that are critical for establishing quotes and contacting a lead with a pre-established sense of familiarity. The basic, vital information is kept towards the top of the lead read-out and is clearly identified, making it easy to quickly reference important items and to sort leads into groups.

InsuranceLeads.com's understanding of the needs of agents goes a long way towards creating informational layouts that are intuitively arranged and make sense for selling, allowing me to quickly glance over a lead sheet and form an accurate and complete picture of a prospect. All of the components are delivered in easy to read, legible, and visually pleasing formats, so my eyes don't become strained trying to identify a category or label. The superior presentation of lead information isn't something I shopped for on purpose, but I'm certainly glad it was included in the quality leads packages I've bought.

Convenient Lead Sourcing, Coming Soon to a Reality Near You

2009-10-21T16:53:00.005-07:00

Sales in any industry can be a demanding profession. Making just the right argument, knowing just the right tricks, and having the ideal attitude are elements that combine to craft excellent skills and nurture natural talents, yet the willingness to put in long hours and work with exceptional diligence is still often required in order to stay afloat. When it comes to insurance sales, agents and brokers must meet these challenges in addition to facing prevalent false ideas and misconceptions about the nature of insurance itself. It can be a difficult job, but it can also be supremely rewarding, especially when you work with the right partners.

One of the most important aspects in creating a successful insurance sales career, I've realized, is finding a reliable source of quality leads. While salespeople have stood on soapboxes and preached the virtues of their products to the masses at large for ages, the availability of modern tools means that sales prospects can be directly targeted, resulting in conversion ratios that are incomparably superior to to those achieved by simply casting as wide a net as possible. I've been sourcing my leads for insurance of many different types from InsuranceLeads.com for a large percentage of my career, and the results have helped me to take my dream of working on my own terms in my own office and making it a reality. I've had to do the selling, of course, but the quality of the leads I've gotten from InsuranceLeads.com has made that selling beautifully efficient.

Aside from the efficiency bonuses, the experience at InsuranceLeads.com is comfortable and smooth at every turn. My favorite thing about the site is that I can access and modify my account information twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, from a convenient control panel after I've logged in. Unlike some sites I've used that seem to be build on the idea of making options difficult to find and rendering instructions nearly indecipherable, InsuranceLeads.com always has straightforward steps for making changes. You can put controls on the leads you purchase online, or you can call a representative –your personal representative-- during business hours if you prefer working over the phone.

The level of customer service at InsuranceLeads.com has always kept me satisfied. It's not over the top with fake kindness and phony sincerity, but it manages to be attentive, competent, and friendly. Perhaps most importantly, it's fast, whether I'm getting in touch to ask a question, to report a problem, or to change some aspect of a campaign, so I can quickly return to selling. The process of taking an insurance sale from the location of an attractive policy to the closing contract has been noted as an especially difficult one by professionals both in and outside of the industry, but sourcing leads doesn't have to contribute to the challenge. It can be convenient –even enjoyable-- when you work with the right firm.

A Friendly Follow-Up Feature

2009-10-21T16:53:00.003-07:00

Managing an insurance sales campaign can take a lot of time and energy –it's probably why insurance agents and brokers are typically depicted as working long hours and being frazzled from time to time. Streamlining the process of sourcing and organizing leads can go a long way towards simplifying campaigns to put more time into selling and less time into paperwork and spreadsheet organizing, and working with InsuranceLeads.com to source interested and motivated prospects in various insurance fields, I've maximized my selling time. When I first started using the service, however, I still had to manage my own follow-up campaigns via email. I began by creating a spreadsheet that had contact data for every lead (creating this was less of a task than it probably sounds like thanks to InsuranceLeads.com's upload feature, allowing me to seamlessly incorporate information into organized fields). Each time I contacted them via email, I'd make a note next to their cell, and I'd manually update every prospect on every email in this manner.

As you might imagine, this became fairly tedious, fairly fast. I was virtually kicking myself when I noticed that InsuranceLeads.com features an automated follow-up system that can be easily ordered to coincide with leads delivery. The follow-up system sends up to five emails to each prospect on a schedule, reminding the recipient to contact me so that they can discuss their ideas and concerns and talk about a quote or a certain policy. The utility of a follow-up program itself was never something that I doubted; people are always more prone to participating and following through with a sale if they're gently reminded about the opportunity and they have the sense that they're getting personal, continuous attention.

The automation of the program, however, is something that I simply hadn't experienced before using the system at InsuranceLeads.com, and now that I rely upon it to keep my online prospects interested, I find it hard to believe I was considering my work successful beforehand. The system is easy to configure and customize, and you can exercise control over when different batches of leads are contacted, so that spending a short time with set-up initially means you can sit back and let the system work for you afterwards. As with all of the site components I've used at InsuranceLeads.com, the interface is easy to work with and I'm not left wondering what some options do or sent to the dictionary to find out what a piece of jargon means.

Following up with insurance leads is an essential component of squeezing sales out of potential losses when prospects don't bite on the first pass, and it can do a great deal of good for campaigns of any size, in any insurance sector. While I'm still slightly displeased with the fact that I didn't notice this feature from the start, I'm thankful for the system every time a prospect contacts me and thanks me for the reminder to get in touch.

Getting Local Leads from a Major Generator

2009-10-21T16:53:00.001-07:00

It might seem a bit counter-intuitive to source local leads from a generator that operates on a massive scale country-wide. If the focus is on finding people close to you who are after very specific types of insurance, and you want precise demographic and background information, surely it'd be more reasonable to find a local leads source, right? It's easy to consider leads generation and sourcing in this way, but if you're from a small town like me, there probably isn't a local leads generator to begin with, and starting one yourself is probably bound to ensure you don't sleep all too often. More importantly, this idea overlooks some of the primary benefits of working with a major leads generation source. When generators have a lot of resources, they're able to reach people and collect volumes that you could never achieve through sourcing on a local scale, and these same resources are also able to put the work into profiling leads with specified characteristics and pieces of information that make it easy to create quotes and pitches just from looking at a sheet of paper or a computer screen.

Besides, InsuranceLeads.com, one of the largest and most well-respected major leads generators in the country, has a number of options for making sure that leads are local and relevant, so you'll never notice a disadvantage in terms of location. While it's possible to select territories from a range of states, the majority of insurance agents and brokerage reps simply aren't licensed in more than one state, so the controls for in-state region specification are likely to be more heavily used. Which is fine, seeing as the options therein are able to be tweaked with a high degree of control. I've purchased leads for various types of insurance based on the county in which they reside, and have also set up some campaigns involving multiple counties to get a wider selection of prospects.

The zip code feature is especially nice; you can order leads by zip code, or you can specify a radius from a certain zip code with which you'd like to work, getting an even distribution of nearby territories and suburban areas outlying major cities. When leads are sourced from a major national generator like insuranceleads.com, but remain local, you can get the quality that can make or break an insurance sales campaign without having to go outside of your working area. This strategy has kept all of my prospects fully contactable, so that I can make face to face visits as needed, and can even save campaign funds by avoiding long distance telephone charges.

Sometimes, when I receive a fresh batch of local leads, I imagine the work and sweat it'd take to collect the leads manually in my area. Not only would I spend a significant amount of time sourcing rather than selling, but I know the quality would suffer as well.

My Approach to Final Expense Insurance Sales

2009-10-21T16:52:00.003-07:00

For a lot of different types of insurance, it's easy to craft a pitch that revolves around the usefulness and comfortable benefits of a given policy or plan. You can play up the protection for classic or luxury cars when working with auto insurance, or you can describe the wellness and reliability that prospects can expect from a policy when making a health insurance pitch. Not all types of insurance are created equal, though, and there are some which aren't conducive to taking on an upbeat, positive attitude. Perhaps the most prominent of these is final expense insurance. While there's always an inherent challenge in getting prospects to recognize their potential to have an accident or meet with an unexpected event, confronting people with their own mortality isn't exactly light-hearted. Many prospects can become defensive, or might even be offended at the idea of final expense insurance (are you implying that they're sick or old?). Family members can be even more difficult, even though the are usually people who stand to benefit most from the purchase of a policy. Letting people interested in final expense insurance come to you is a powerful way to bypass this problem and start thinking more about conversion ratios and less about making your prospects feel bad.

But short of planting yourself at an existentialist convention with a sign indicating your policies for sale, how are you supposed to get the prospects to come to you? My approach is to use hot live transfers and online traffic with InsuranceLeads.com, the same outlet I use for leads in a variety of other insurance areas. The company sources their leads both online and through more conventional marketing methods, but always with an attention to keeping lead generations genuine –there aren't any outside incentives offered for completing questionnaires, and leads are processed with complex software suites to weed out false information. The result is a set of genuinely interested leads, all pre-verified as to their interest before delivery, available in a steady stream that you can limit by the day, week, or month.

There are options to collect lead information via upload and email, but for my final expense insurance leads, I direct InsuranceLeads.com to send some prospects directly to my telephone, while I send others (usually those with a lower age) to my series of websites. With these methods, there's no chance that I'll be interrupting the prospect or infringing on their privacy; they're intentionally seeking out my services, and with a brush of compassion and a lot of frank realism, I'm able to sell my final expense policies to them as though they were walk-in customers in my own personal store. Taking the emotional hostility and potential for offense out of final expense insurance sales has been one of the most enjoyable and profitable moves I've made. Now if only I could talk myself into buying a plan....

Annuity Sales – The Power of Fresh Leads

2009-10-21T16:52:00.001-07:00

It'd seem that annuity sales are somewhat notorious for being difficult to close in the insurance world. I knew that the prospect would be challenging when I started out, but I wasn't quite ready for the storm that ensued. I tried sourcing leads on my own at first, a move that seems regrettably foolish now but which I attribute to a sense of pride in doing things from the ground up. I didn't realize then that there's no shame or personal failure in taking advantage of services that are focused on doing a lot of that groundwork for you; after all, the choice between making something more efficient and simply working harder at it should be an easy one if you have profits in mind. As you might imagine, I didn't experience great success through sourcing my own annuity leads, and this only became worse as the news of the global economic downturn began to heat up. I decided after a few months of hacking away at cold-calling to use a leads source, but the company I chose turned out not to be the most reliable of providers.

I experienced a much higher rate of leads that were actually interested in annuities, but many of the hits were false or disconnected numbers, and most frustratingly of all, a large percentage of leads were old. Stale leads, whether for annuities or any other insurance-related product, can be absolute killers for a sales campaign. In a way, it's even more obnoxious than coming across a series of people who are vehemently opposed to the mere idea of annuities. With a stale prospect, there's really nothing you can do as an agent. If the lead was unsure about their interest, or had a series of blocks against a sale, there'd at least be something on which to work and build, and talented agents might be able to close such sales with a fair rate of frequency. But even the most skilled of professionals won't make a dime off of an old prospect.

I'll admit I had somewhat of an inglorious falling out with the leads company that delivered batch after batch of stale annuity leads. I thought about turning away from the field altogether for a while, but when I cam across InsuranceLeads.com, I found a workable solution that has proved to accelerate my sales and make my experience much more enjoyable not only in annuities, but in the other types of insurance I sell, as well. With a credit policy in place that helps to cover the loss caused by any false leads (which is very rare in the first place), this company has surprised me multiple times with the quality of its leads, and I haven't yet made a call or sent an email only to hear that a prospect had been looking for a plan previously, but had already settled with another agent.

Barreling through Business Insurance Sales

2009-10-21T16:34:00.003-07:00

There are many good things a new small to medium business needs to ensure that it has the best possible chance of making it past the one year mark –a date that most companies fail to reach. To start with, a basic mission plan and overall strategy are needed, and a few employees should also be included. Office space might be purchased, or at the very least, some computer equipment and other essential supplies might be in order. Corporate cars, community partnerships, and adequate advertising are all thrown into the mix. Most modern businesses have all of these things and more, and actively seek them out during their establishment and as they grow in size and vision. But an alarming number of businesses neglect to purchase adequate business insurance plans, a move that can shatter a company in an instant and send it packing back to the realm of lofty ideas.

Selling business insurance can be a breeze if you understand the needs of the small and medium businesses that you approach and have easily tailored products to sell. There's ample opportunity for pitching a sort of door to dooor campaign with business insurance, as the prospects are easy to spot, and this can be accomplished either in person, over the phone, or online. But if you sell in this essentially cold-calling manner, you're bound to come across a lot of negative responses, and the potential to pick up a bit of a bad reputation among local businesses if you hit many that are already insured is enough to turn many agents off from this idea.

Sourcing business insurance leads online is a viable and affordable option that can take the pain out of the organization process, and help restore massive amounts of time that would otherwise be spent canvassing or performing deep research into the attributes of various local businesses. InsuranceLeads.com has a specialized business insurance area that maintains the site-wide devotion to generating quality, interested, and verified leads while also allowing for an amazing degree of filtering and organization. When I have a business insurance product to sell, it's typically very specialized; this isn't exactly a field in which general solutions can be applied to everyone. As a result, it's important for me to work with prospects that meet specific criteria.

The leads at InsuranceLeads.com geared towards business insurance agent are sorted by a number of different factors, including interest in P&C insurance, workman's compensation, business liabilities, commercial auto, 401k, and others, and are priced according to employee size, with small increments allowing for a maximum of control. With the precision of information made available for each lead, I'm usually able to create a quote before even contacting a prospect, something that can make a great impression on business owners and signal my ability to help them quickly and efficiently solve their insurance concerns. When targeted businesses know they need insurance, selling it is a blast –it all depends on how you're sourcing your prospects.

Better Conversion Ratios with Quality Disability Insurance Leads

2009-10-21T16:34:00.001-07:00

The old “it'll never happen to me” mentality is one of the banes of any insurance agent or broker, no matter what “it” might happen to be. There's something incredible about the human spirit and consciousness which can make it seemingly impossible to believe that we'll find ourselves in an imagined situation, especially when it is negative. The attitude may be responsible for bestowing a lot of carefree days on our lives as youth, but it can also lead to a dangerous disregard for the various hazards of life –something most professionals in the insurance industry spend considerable effort and time trying to communicate to others. In the case of some types of insurance, there is a lot of material, both academic and emotionally driven, that can be used to talk with prospects and instill a sense of the need for coverage. But for other types, such as disability insurance, it's not such a straightforward process.

Ironically, disability insurance may be one of the most important assets a given individual can have, particularly in at-risk industries. Those who are able to carry out a happier, fuller, and more prosperous life even after a debilitating accident on the job through the use of their disability insurance are also likely to take less of a toll on the public costs associated with workplace injuries and other issues. But the basic ability to perform work, especially within modern environments that are typically deeply committed to safety measures, imaging oneself falling into harm's way while working just doesn't seem plausible to a large number of people.

It's not worth the wasted time and the hassle, in many cases, to organically source your own leads when such situations arise. Pitching a given plan or package to thousands of essentially disinterested people provides no benefit in comparison to working with a hundred –or even less-- prospects who are genuinely interested in buying disability insurance. Quality matters greatly when it comes to making fantastic conversions, and exchanging this quality for quantity, casting a wide net, is bound to bring up nothing but frustration and a lot of negative responses.

I source my disability insurance leads from InsuranceLeads.com , where I know I'll receive the best pre-screened leads who have already expressed their interest in shopping for a policy, and who are expecting contact from a locally licensed agent. Working with disability leads in this way, I find that I can take on a role more like customer service and less like hard seller –something that's much more comfortable for me (and I suspect for the prospect as well) and which encourages greater sales, even in cross-sales schemes.

I've found during my time as an insurance agent that when certain things aren't working, you can't simply put more hours in or work through more leads. Sometimes, you have to change your strategy altogether, and with the quality of the disability leads I'm getting, I'm very glad I did so.

Cancer Leads and Compassion

2009-10-21T16:33:00.001-07:00

As an insurance agent with, I think, a fair amount of experience working with many different kinds of insurance, I've come across a lot of individual situations that involve a bit of trajedy or upset. Sometimes, when working with auto insurance, I'll meet with resistance only to find that someone has recently lost a family member to a car accident and is worried about being pressured into buying excessive policy features. Working with home insurance, especially on the modern market, I've found plenty of homeowners who are genuinely concerned about being able to keep their homes. These are situations in which it's important to exercise some compassion, but of course, there is still a business arrangement being made beneath it all. In my experience, one of the most potentially emotional insurance fields is that of cancer insurance.

With steadily increasing rates across a broad spectrum of cancers, this disease is wreaking havoc in the lives of an incredible number of Americans; in fact, most people I know have a relative or a friend who is either afflicted with a type of cancer or who has survived the ordeal. And it's an ordeal indeed; even though many cancers, if caught early on in their development, can be treated with relative ease, a large percentage of patience find themselves subjected to numerous surgeries, chemotherapy treatments, and other unpleasant experiences. The impact on the family as a whole is enormous; caregivers can often even make themselves sick by securing inadequate nutrition and sleep as they watch over their loved ones. And in many cases, the story ends on a sad note in a hospital bed.

This can prompt people to seek out cancer insurance in a highly emotional state. Worry over the genetic factors that can influence cancer as well as stress and sadness from having recently lost a loved one can easily coalesce and become difficult to manage. Knowing how to handle teary or anxious calls is a major benefit to agents working within this field, and the ability to empathize and extend comfort without detracting from the sale itself is a crucial skill. Of course, it takes more than just skill to successfully sell cancer insurance. The primary ingredient needed for outstanding conversion ratios is a quality leads source. InsuranceLeads.com offers cancer insurance leads that are of a quality on par with leads in other categories, which, if you've ever used the site's services, should tell you a great deal about the integrity and consistency that you can expect.

My cancer insurance leads arrive with full contact information including the best time to reach them, making it easy for me to approach the sale softly and without causing any offense. As leads are verified for their interest in cancer insurance before they're delivered to my inbox, I can trust that I'm offering a desirable range of products, and reception is generally positive. Though it represents a touchy subject to many, cancer insurance can be a fulfilling and financially sound way to work with modern policy offerings.

Learning to Love Long Term Care Insurance

2009-10-21T16:32:00.003-07:00

Among the many different types of insurance on offer to consumers today, long term care insurance is perhaps one of the most difficult to approach for even the most experienced of agents or brokers. Though a number of insurance types carry serious penalties if they're not retained, such as auto insurance in some states, others are associated with less strict regulation as well as a lower public awareness, resulting in a greater challenge when positing that long term care insurance is a bare necessity. For someone with the right skills, of course, and the right insight into the senior demographic, this can be a very lucrative field of insurance selling. I'm currently working on my knowledge and understanding of this specialty demographic in an effort to boost my long term care insurance conversions, and along the way, I'm using the old stand-by service at InsuranceLeads.com to help me reach targeted, quality leads that are especially receptive to my offers.

Finding seniors, or families supporting seniors, who are interested in purchasing long term care insurance isn't exactly easy. The prevalence of senior care facilities and special community groups can make it seem like there are extremely narrow fields in which to seek out interested parties in the correct demographic, but interest levels can be fairly low, even after the time is taken to explain the many options and benefits that can be gained through policies of these types. Seniors can also be hard to contact, as they tend to be online less than other age groups, and calling may not prove the best of options. So short of traveling from one senior gathering place to the next with a trunk full of incentives and a lot of contact information forms, how is an agent supposed to create a valuable, dependable list of leads?

Using a leads generation service is certainly a popular option, and though there are a fair amount of long term care insurance leads sources available, InsuranceLeads.com has the greatest user experience I've found, along with a clear dedication to keeping prospects as genuine and motivated as possible. Leads for long term care are sourced through the site's usual online methods but are also culled through more traditional marketing methods in an attempt to reach a wider audience. Regardless of how the prospects are generated, each lead is contacted prior to being sold in order to confirm interest. This means you'll never get in touch with a prospect only to find that they've never considered long term care insurance or have negative ideas about purchasing a policy.

I'm fairly optimistic about the future ahead with long term care insurance as I refine my knowledge and meet with more prospects to find out hat makes them tick as well as what they're really looking for in their insurance policies. Along the way, I know I'll keep using InsuranceLeads.com as I have for auto, health, and home insurance –the genuine interest and effortless customization is doubtless responsible for much of my current success.

When Insurance and Transparency Meet

2009-10-21T16:32:00.001-07:00

Sometimes the insurance industry as a whole gets a pretty bad rap. Though most agents and brokers would be quick to expound upon the benefits of various types on insurance, noting its abilities to make even the worst disasters livable, and to come in handy precisely when and how it's needed, a lot of people resent the need for insurance or feel that they've been scammed by bad policies in the past –sometimes valid, sometimes a result of their own misunderstanding. Regardless of where some prospects think the fault lies, however, their disinterest in the positive aspects of the subject is clear. It can be difficult to enjoy a day of selling and conversing with prospects when people of such opinions are encountered, and if you use non-targeted techniques such as cold-calling, angry and sometimes even abusive prospects can make for rough days on the phone or in the email inbox.

That's why I've always been a fan of targeted, pre-screened leads; not only do I stop short of believing that my sales prowess can convert the staunchest of insurance opposers, but I also simply don't have the time, or, to be honest, the energy, to work through argumentative exchanges. It's not only my peace of mind that benefits from my choice of quality leads; my profits are happier as well. But just as there are some shady insurance agents out there, one can also find some less than honest leads sources. Luckily, I came across InsuranceLeads.com early on in my career, and I've been more than satisfied with their service, especially as I'm able to feel completely confident about the firm's integrity.

One of the things that impressed me most about InsuranceLeads.com's operation is the fact that they're transparent about their leads generation process, to the point that you can see one of their information gathering sites directly from their main leads website. The company lets you see what kinds of questions they ask their prospects, so you can get a feel for what you leads have already divulged before reaching your phone, site, or inbox. InsuranceLeads.com has had a note on their site about refraining from using advertised incentives or other gimmicks to coax leads into taking the bait and filling out their contact information since the day I started using the service. You can tell that this commitment to sourcing genuinely interested leads is strict when you work through a freshly delivered batch; prospects are expecting the contact and show strong motivation to discuss their insurance needs and to seek out solutions.

Just as the majority of people still buy and feel confident about their insurance despite the prevalence of negative nay-sayers, so too do agents and brokers using InsuranceLeads.com know that honest, reliable leads sourcing is possible even in an age when cheating to make a quick buck is all the rage. When you look for transparency from your leads source, you'll ensure your working experience as well as you income are kept as enjoyable as possible.

Deciphering PPC and CPA at InsuranceLeads.com

2009-10-21T16:31:00.003-07:00

Throughout my experience as an agent working from home and over the internet, I've been enthusiastic about the products and services offered by InsuranceLeads.com. I'm even finding myself still browsing the tips and resources section from time to time, brushing up on my knowledge and thinking about new ways to approach the sale of certain packages or policies. By far the greatest advantage I've found through the site, however, has been the options for PPC (Pay Per Click) and CPA (Cost Per Action) advertising. Most agents in any field are probably familiar with these advertising models through the use of Google AdSense or another major search engine scheme, and there are droves of information out there on how to maximize the potential of PPC and CPA campaigns through these methods. But with the high degree of specialization of the insurance world, as well as its relative isolation from other industries, means that working with an insurance-focused ad delivery vehicle makes much more sense. When you use InsuranceLeads.com, it also happens to cost less.

The PPC model at InsuranceLeads.com works by placing your advertising banner on a given insurance site run by the leads source, where visitors are exposed to the banner during their insurance shopping process. The high degree of interest of those already deliberately looking for insurance sales means that the click-through rates are some of the best you'll find anywhere online. What you create on the banner's landing page, and its efficacy in helping you close deals, is of course your own responsibility, but InsuranceLeads.com can drive scores of interested people there, ready to be captivated by your offer or message. You pay each time a click-through occurs with this model, and the cost is significantly less than working with generic, often poorly-targeted search engine traffic.

If you opt for the CPA model, you won't have to worry so much about how many people are exposed to your site. If your main goal is to get visitors to fill out a form or click through to some special area, you can take advantage of the CPA cost structure, which charges you every time a visitor performs a certain action that you indicate. Under the right circumstances, I've found this to be a highly effective tool for increasing sales without incurring a lot of extra costs. Just as with the PPC model, visitors sent for CPA purposes are highly targeted and consistent in their follow-through patterns, so you don't have to worry about a large number of prospects pulling out of the deal after you've paid for their initial action.

Taking advantage of the numerous possibilities of online traffic and search queries for use in insurance sales of any category or distinction can be a bit daunting at first, but InsuranceLeads.com is a great place to get started; you may well end up keeping your campaigns firmly devoted to the site's desirable traffic leads.

Harnessing the Health Insurance Buzz

2009-10-21T16:31:00.001-07:00

If you listen to the content of most modern media outlets or you eavesdrop on a coffee shop conversation anywhere in the United States, chances are you'll hear something come up about health insurance. The buzz has been especially boisterous lately as new pieces of legislation on health care are discussed in Washington, and pretty much everybody seems to be forming a heated opinion about the way in which the health care industry –and subsequent insurance coverage-- should work. Some agents might view this as a bad playing field for going out and selling new health insurance plans, but as with most things in life, a bit of chaos can be more of a help than a hindrance. With the functioning of the health care system up in arms, scores of people are taking the time to really think about their health insurance plans, whereas they were probably more prone to “leaving it alone” in the past, an indifference which often translated into closed doors for insurance agents.

With an active interest in the particulars of their health insurance plans, prospects tend to be more engaged and willing to talk about the subject, divulging ample personal information that can make it easy to describe a given insurance project in light of their individual needs –a true ticket to sales success. When you combine this interest with quality leads, you can cut whole swaths of failed calls and emails out of your agency accounting, and you're bound to notice a significant increase in conversions if you use your leads as traffic on a website. After shopping around a bit for leads that were capable of helping me close deals and taking a lot of the stress out of selling without being overpriced or difficult to control, I decided to work with InsuranceLeads.com, which is where I now source all of my leads for a range of insurance types.

The health insurance leads from InsuranceLeads.com are sourced on the internet, where people fill out questionnaires and are processed and delivered to agents by any of four methods (I've worked with hot live transfers, uploading, and direct linking so far). The leads are filtered before they ever reach you to make sure that they're genuine; you won't find any known false contact information or bogus entries. The prospects are expecting to be contacted and to receive quotes, something that makes them far more receptive to a sales pitch and helps to make the working experience much more pleasant, as well as more profitable.

InsuranceLeads.com has a nice selection of filters you can choose as an agent to ensure you get leads that are matched with the criteria of whatever packages and policies you're selling. You can screen leads for major pre-existing conditions and pregnancy free of charge. You can also tailor the demographic group you receive, limiting leads to a specific territory or to a zip code radius. With great control and prospects with genuine interest, my leads are the perfect match for the many current opportunities in health insurance.

Leads and Life Insurance

2009-10-21T16:30:00.003-07:00

Though life insurance has interested me even before I became an agent, I've never expected that this particular field would be my forte. Selling life insurance products can be very lucrative –something you'll recognize if you talk with successful agents and brokers or if you simply take a look at the industry itself. There's a great deal of potential for self-starters to break into this type of insurance, though I'm convinced a very specialized skill set is needed to realize success with sales. As an agent who has primarily worked with auto, home, and renter's insurance, I spend a fair amount of time thinking about insurance in terms of its direct need and applicability; while people may be easily led into visualizing the financial aftermath of a car accident, I've found it isn't nearly as easy for them to imagine their own mortality. I've struggled through a few online articles and guides aimed at helping agents ease into life insurance sales, but at some point, it's a wise decision to admit that you're simply not as adept with something as you'd like.

During my time trying my hand at selling life insurance, however, I had a positive experience with the prospects I contacted over the phone. While I wasn't able to bring my conversion ratio to a point that justified continued effort, I know for a fact that my skills, rather than any fault in the prospects themselves, were responsible for the outcome. Why? Because each of the many life insurance leads I purchased from InsuranceLeads.com were motivated and engaged. I chose to receive my life insurance leads via hot live transfer, as I reasoned that something which isn't naturally easy for me to discuss as an agent should be handled as directly as possible rather than allowed to rely entirely on impressions through the written word.

One of my favorite features at InsuranceLeads.com, with any type of insurance leads I purchase, is the verification step practiced before the delivery of each hot live transfer. With this method, the company contacts the prospect and personally verifies their interest before sending them to my phone. This means that every last one of the leads I talk with is truly interested in purchasing an insurance plan, and there's a lot less frustration and emotion –not to mention a greatly increased opportunity for closing-- than with cold-calling. This process didn't let me down as I worked with life insurance leads. Without exception, the people with whom I spoke were positive, anticipated my call, and had many questions about insurance products.

I've re-focused my agency on more familiar forms of insurance, but I still have a deep curiosity about the potential of life insurance should I find the right perspective or set of tools needed to make better sales presentations. For agents out there who have already gotten their life insurance knack, though, a partnership with the excellent tools at InsuranceLeads.com is sure to make those of us still learning the life insurance ropes a little jealous.

Home Insurance Sales – Easy with Interest

2009-10-21T16:30:00.001-07:00

Ah, the perils of working with home insurance sales. Some of the most lucrative insurance policies and packages center around the home, yet the field remains one of the most difficult to master. It's something I've heard from veteran insurance agents and brokers since I first began breaking into the profession, and for many years I was wary of trying my hand at selling this type of insurance. When the recession began, or rather, when the air waves and other media outlets started swarming with reports about the decline of the housing market, I thought to myself that this insurance field was about to take a monumental hit, and was glad I hadn't invested my time and resources into the area. If I was never wrong, life would be pretty boring –but I could live without being flat-out, one hundred percent, dead wrong, as I was then.

Though it might seem contradictory to some, the turmoil in the housing market and across the financial spectrum at large has actually created an incredible and unique opportunity in home insurance sales. One of the principal benefits of establishing your career in the insurance field is that ostensibly, there will always be plenty of work, seeing as everyone needs a number of different policies to cover themselves, their possessions, and certain life events. With home insurance, however, the majority of people pick a policy when purchasing a house and stick with it –the scenario of a single prospect or family re-thinking their home insurance strategy is very rare. As a result, approaching homeowners with even the most attractive home insurance offers has met with a lot of resistance in the past.

The difference now is that budgets are tightening and people are worried about their homes; the focus on keeping expenses lower, even if it means having to get creative, combined with the high level of consciousness about homes themselves, means that the number of prospects who are truly interested in buying a new policy or changing their existing plan has skyrocketed. I've been taking advantage of this trend by identifying some of the best home insurance products available, and pairing these products with leads from InsuranceLeads.com. With the leads I purchase from this site, the prospects for home insurance sales are consistently motivated to learn about my products and are especially forthcoming with their details and specific needs, making it easy for me to pitch the perfect solution.

Sometimes, working in the insurance industry means meeting with an ample dose of disinterest –or even hostility-- when stubborn prospects are contacted. I think pretty much every home insurance agent and broker out there has come across rude homeowners or has seen eyes glaze over at the mention of a great new policy offering. Thankfully, you can work with InsuranceLeads.com and bypass the bad prospects, all while boosting your business in a turbulent market with hidden blessings.

Sourcing Auto Insurance Leads at InsuranceLeads.com

2009-10-21T16:29:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite fields as an agent is auto insurance. There is always a need for new policies, for adjusting policies, and for helping prospects compare options, and I find that the prospects themselves often seem more willing to get involved with the process when they're insuring a vehicle. Besides, there are all manner of numbers and additional attributes and factors to play with; something that lets me create a lot of custom offerings and quickly close deals. Auto insurance leads can tend to be fickle, however, as a lot of people sometimes shop around without a truly motivated wish to purchase a new policy. ** I've found that using auto insurance leads from InsuranceLeads.com weeds out the vast majority of fickle prospects, though. In fact, it's a very rare occurrence when I find a lead that isn't enthusiastic about getting a quote; something that really helps set the stage for making a sale.

The questionnaires that InsuranceLeads.com uses to gather information from leads does a lot of the legwork for me. Information on all of the prospective drivers to be covered, the type of vehicle that will be insured, the type of coverage being sought, when the interested buyer expects a quote, and of course relevant contact information. Using a friendly, informed, and consultative approach with this information already in hand is easy, cutting down on the time it takes to develop an understanding and work towards bringing the conversation to a close. This is especially helpful when using the hot live transfers delivery option at InsuranceLeads.com. After verifying that the prospect is interested in receiving a quote on auto insurance, the company sends leads to my phone, so all I have to do is pick up the receiver and play into the highly specific needs of my prospects, as they've already been organized into groups for me.

I also like the range of filters that are available for auto insurance leads. If you've ever attempted to sell a specialized auto insurance package that excludes certain types of driving records or automobiles, or is limited to a specific age range or other demographic item, you're sure to be familiar with the frustration of having to sift through leads to find the small group that matches your target criteria. With InsuranceLeads.com's available filters, I can create as narrow or as wide a lead profile as necessary to make sure each prospect is as likely to close as possible.

Selling auto insurance in the modern economy might seem like a challenge to those who haven't plunged themselves into the task, or to people who simply haven't found the right tools yet. With quality leads that are sourced based on genuine, motivated interest, quality measures to avoid bogus contact information and spam-generated prospects, and lots of filtering options, there's nothing left to do but sit back and sell –something you're skilled with no matter the mood of the markets.

Consultative Selling: The Secret to Converting Insurance Leads

2009-10-21T16:14:00.000-07:00

While getting a great source for leads is something that any insurance salesperson or broker needs in order to establish and improve a business, all the leads in the world won't matter much if sales skills themselves aren't present. This ability is one of the oldest, the most challenging, and the most potentially rewarding that a person can have, and while many people are downright afraid of selling, others thrive with it. Of course, if you're already selling insurance or you're thinking about breaking into brokering, you're probably well aware of the thrill of closing a sale, of creating a personal income based on your own initiative and talent, and you look at a selection of leads as an opportunity rather than a burden. I've met a lot of pretty incredible sales people over the years, both on my own as a customer and through professional networking, and many take a hard-selling approach that's difficult to resist.

I've tried this hard approach myself, but I've never had more than moderate success with it; in fact, conversion rates seem to be based more on the personality and other attributes of the prospect than on the sweep of my words or the persuasion in my actions. With the economy making front pages with bad news in just about every place in the country –and the world at large--, the hard-selling technique started to take a dip in efficacy, something I've noticed on my own and have also read through other agents' blogs. I first came across the concept of consultative selling, however, when I was looking through the tips and resources section of InsuranceLeads.com.

Consultative selling rejects many of the aspects of hard selling, and understands that a lot of prospects are instantly turned off once they've identified the fact that they're participating in a sales conversation. That's especially true with the financial downturn making anything that sounds like an added expense an instant red flag for consumers, whether it's auto insurance, vacuum cleaners, clothing, or anything else. Consultative selling takes a vastly different approach in that it allows the salesperson to form a more meaningful relationship with the prospect; one in which specific problems and needs are identified and solutions are gradually explored. There's obviously going to be an offer of sale at some point, but reaching this moment through the consultative method has vastly improved my conversion ratios.

When I buy leads from InsuranceLeads.com, I take a bit of time to think about their likely situation (the filtering options and thorough questionnaires that the site administers really come in handy during this process). When I contact a lead or receive one through a hot live transfer, I instantly develop a relaxed, friendly interview, discussing the various aspects of the prospect's input, getting a feel for how my products might specifically be seen as beneficial. From there, it's a simple feat to hand the prospect the ideal offer on a personalized platter. Still enjoyable from a sales perspective, this method takes the hard-selling strain out of my strategy.

Don't Be Owned by Your Leads

2009-10-21T16:13:00.000-07:00

As someone interested in the many particulars of the insurance industry, and in the various aspects of individual fields and policies, I've spent a lot of time looking at precise figures, taking my time and going through lists of data element by element. Though there's a big push these days to make everything as efficient and fast-paced as possible, I guess I'm somewhat old-fashioned in my preferences to slow down a little and get a feel for the material with which I'm working. before I started using a leads generation service, I spent a considerable percentage of my time at work pouring over the particulars. I work that way, to a degree, though purchasing leads with InsuranceLeads.com has gone a long way towards streamlining my processes. Approaching the purchase of leads in bulk, I thought I would be quickly overwhelmed by the abundance of leads, and I imagined that sorting through this mass of constantly-available contact information would become an overtime –or even overnight-- task.

But getting lots of quality leads isn't about turning on a spigot and trying not to drown in the ensuing deluge. It's not simply the existence of the genuine leads themselves that are compelling and that can help an insurance business grow. It's the ability to exercise precise control over the leads that can make a powerful difference. InsuranceLeads.com lets me filter my leads in a number of ways. Some of them are free, and some of them are associated with a fee, but the ability to pick and choose which attributes I'd like my leads to have basically lets me pre-sort my lists before I even approach my prospects. Depending on the type of insurance I'm looking to broker, I can filter leads according to various points of demographic information as well as factors that matter for risk assessment, such as pre-existing major medical conditions for health insurance and the number of juvenile drivers in the home for auto insurance.

Along with the various options for filtering leads, InsuranceLeads.com also helps me out with administrative choices that can assist in the management of my work. It's easy to get carried away with calling, emailing, and traffic directing, so sometimes setting a short or long term budget is a good idea, and you can do this on the site by specifying a cut-off credit amount. You can also turn delivery service on or off at will without any long term contracts, and you can place a pause on your account so your leads will resume and be fresh when you return from a day off or an extended vacation.

Having a lot of quality insurance leads is a great thing, but if they start running your business for you, work can quickly get out of control. I've managed my leads flow and keep it cleanly filtered with the tools at InsuranceLeads.com, and I'm not sure I'd be enjoying my current success without them.

My Favorite Four Options for Lead Delivery

2009-10-21T16:11:00.000-07:00

When you think about insurance leads, whether you're focused on health, life, and final expense areas of insurance or lean more towards auto, home, or other specialty policies, you probably think about the prospects themselves. The completeness of contact and background information, the precision of the lead batch; these are elements that take a collection of leads from being a lot of work to a lot of easy conversions (not to mention less of a headache). But the way in which you receive leads is also an essential part of the package, and with the four delivery methods available at InsuranceLeads.com, I've been able to explore the benefits of each type.

InsuranceLeads.com offers delivery via email, hot live transfers via telephone, uploading, and direct linking, all of which may benefit different types of agents and different strategies for insurance sales. Because I operate the bulk of my business over the internet, I was first interested in the email and direct linking options. I started out small, and email seemed like the best way to break into the use of quality leads. This delivery method was easy for me to use, and didn't require any new self-training –I could jump right in, which is precisely what I wanted. After receiving leads in my inbox, I could quickly and easily transfer contact information to my outbox, where I organized introductions, sales letters, and quoting materials. Keeping everything in the same place was great, but I soon became curious about the potential to rev up my conversion ratio by using direct linking.

After putting up a site, I ordered my first batch of leads for this delivery method. I wasn't expecting anything grandiose. I've always heard that conversion rates on insurance websites are pretty much abysmal, and that notching up a success percentage a single digit can take loads of work. I was pleasantly surprised, however, at the number of leads sent to my site that filled out my forms and contacted me directly. That direct option made me wonder whether it'd be best to go ahead and work with one of InsuranceLeads.com's most frequently lauded features, the hot live transfers delivery.

Personally, I think I do much better with easing prospects into sales through the written rather than the spoken word, but I know that the simple element of talking with a prospect can do a lot of good for conversion rates. I now use the hot live transfers feature often, especially when I need to super-charge my conversion rates. The leads are not only collected based on their demonstrated interest in purchasing a policy, but InsuranceLeads.com verifies this before transferring the leads to my phone –where all the details are set perfectly into place, affording me the best closing opportunity possible. I still use uploading and email options for day to day operation, and I change my mind frequently about which delivery method I like best. But I haven't yet been able to identify one which doesn't work.

Getting the Gunk Out of Insurance Leads

2009-10-21T16:09:00.000-07:00

A lot of agents who are used to traditional lead generation and lead purchasing services probably experience at least a small amount of dread when approaching a new stack of contact numbers or gearing up for an afternoon of fast-paced live transfers. Even if prospects are selected with a conscientious effort towards choosing only people who have expressed a true interest in purchasing insurance of a given type, there are still plenty of “bogus” leads out there. I'm not entirely sure if these fake entries are born out of a sort of vandalization in which people feel obligated to muddy up the system, or if it's the case that a certain number of people who stumble upon an online or paper form are simply that bored. If you've ever gotten a big batch of leads in the past, you've probably groaned over seeing entries like “Big Bird,” who lives on “123 Sesame Street,” in “Anytown.” While some of these entries might be good for a quick amusement, finding several in a stack can quickly become annoying. When people enter what seems like valid information only to supply false phone numbers and other contact details, the issue can move from frustrating to time-consuming, ultimately costing agents money.

InsuranceLeads.com offers a built-in cleanup service that takes care of entries like these, a wise move considering the online lead generation that the company uses. Working online, I've found that keeping forms open to the public seems to encourage a lot of false entries, whether entered by humans, or by spamming “bots” --even with some basic security measures, it can be pretty difficult to filter these out. InsuranceLeads.com has been able to root out fake entries on the leads I've purchased –in every sector-- by cross-referencing the entries with known fake numbers, names, and other pieces of information with what they call “proprietary software.” I'm not precisely sure how complex such a system must be, but I'm certainly thankful that they use it.

Once in a great while, a false lead is still bound to occur. After all, I sometimes mis-write a digit of my phone number or misspell a word in my email address when I'm filling out my own information online. In such cases, I've used InsuranceLeads.com's credit feature, which submits the given lead for review and refunds the charge for that lead if it's found to be faulty. Not every lead that doesn't work out is false, of course, and the company has a nicely developed system for determining which leads it will refund and which ones it won't; I found that reviewing this helps me to better understand the way that leads operate.

Having a fresh serving of interested, genuine insurance leads without the infiltration of gibberish and spammed entries is one of the many reasons why I'm satisfied with my leads generation service. While other agents sift through bogus contact details, or contact prospects only to find that they've been falsely manufactured, I'm getting interested prospects every time.

Online Insurance Buyers Boom During Tough Economy

2009-10-21T15:49:00.000-07:00

I was fairly certain,back when all the hubbub about the sour direction of the economy was just beginning, that my newly-developed career as an insurance self-starter was about to take a seriously negative hit. I'd turn on the television after a hard day of work in the home office and see nothing but bad news about pretty much every industry out there. To get away from it all, I'd go on a drive –only to flip on the radio and hear about the dismal predictions for the future of pretty much anything touching the financial sector. Since then, the state of the public opinion –and its representation through the media-- has only gotten worse, with the occasional peppering of hope on the stock market.

But me? I'm doing swell, even though I never would have imagined I'd be able to make it through such a tough economy with my own insurance agency. I credit the bulk of my success to being diligent and persevering beyond the bad news, no matter how heavy it became throughout the past few years. But to be perfectly honest, there's also a lot to be said for the particular way in which I carried out my entrepreneurial insurance idea. Rather than take the traditional route, I decided to do pretty much everything online. In part, the decision was due to a bit of my own personal laziness; I've never been one to enjoy the trek to an office each day. But I also saw a lot of opportunity in the specific utility of online insurance operations, and this was especially the case when it came to leads.

Sourcing good leads has been a primary difficulty in insurance operations of every persuasion and goal, and getting ahead in this area is key to helping an insurance-related business establish itself and stay afloat –even in the most difficult of markets. I knew this going into the game, and I also knew that people have been increasingly using the internet as a means to look for insurance in pretty much every sector. I decided to work with InsuranceLeads.com from the beginning; professional source, nice service, and no hassles. While I didn't shop around for sources until my clicking finger was totally destroyed, I figured I could always switch should the results prove disappointed.

I never got to that point. Though I imagined that the going would be tough as banks collapsed and people started losing their cars and homes, what I experienced was actually a remarkable conversion rate –one that has allowed me to expand my business and start offering insurance solutions to my clients that I had thought would be several years –decades even-- down the line. The draw to look for insurance options over the internet is only increasing as people tighten their budgets and get serious about savings. When you make your service convenient and choose quality leads, the customers will come, even if all you hear is bad news when it comes to the insurance market.