I think a good way to get leads is to get out in your community, get your name know, keep a clean reputation and do what you say that you will do, when it comes to word of mouth power, you can not beat it. Find community events and organizations to belong to and get to know people, in turn, let them get to know you as a trusted person.
The poster above, 'goodnatured' makes a good point, you need to make a name in your community.
This is one "ocean" of marketing. Further, you should take advantage of other types of marketing. For example direct marketing. Door hangers, door knocking, etc...
I just think that being known in your community, volunteering for things and etc would put your name out there and if the need arises that people would automatically think of someone they know.
eg: Car breaks down, well Larry that coaches little league with me has a garage. You know this kind of word of mouth is priceless, you will be surprised how much weight is put on this type of advertisement. People will go to those they know and trust first.
As far a "good leads" are concerned, if you are talking about internet leads there are several types to consider and most lead companies offer a selection of these types:
1. Exclusive Leads - these are either cherry picked or direct generated for one agent. Expensive but effective. Sometimes hard to find or only offerded by lead companies after doing bussiness with them for awhile.
2. Filtered Leads - Shared leads that have demographic filters such as age, income, health condition, etc. These can be effective if you are more comfortable with a certain demographic.
3. Shared Leads - The general leads that most agents buy, these tend to be sold to several agents (or agencies) so competition is feirce so you have to contact the prospect quickly.
4. Discount Leads / B-Leads - Thease are cheap because they are aged but can be effective for their price. They might have never been called, couldnt buy at the time, or mande a choice the are now not happy with.
5. Uninsurables - They are the most in need and have use for rx plans and discount plans. They will take any help that they can get.
Don,t limit yourself to only internet leads,
prospect by walk and talk, advertising,and the best source of leads-
Thanks for your comments and explanations of the different types of leads available on the internet.
When a web site asks you to register, they are capturing your e-mail address and your name, that's all they need to sell it - over and over and over, again.
Personally, I had rather pick up the local phone book and start calling from "A" to "Z" than buy a lead online.
I absolutely agree. There are so many internet lead companies that primarily generate their leads through affiliate sites, many of which have absolutely nothing to do with health at all..
The only kind I tend to buy anymore is the discount B-Leads and uninsurables because most of the newer leads have so many people calling them all at once, it becomes impossible to stand out, To them you are just annother telemarketer annoying the heck out of them.
When I started I blew a lot of money on them and always loved it when I got someone on the phone saying
"I just filled out a form trying to get a free x-box, now all these people are calling me about everthing!"
I have no experience with insurance sales, yet. However, I have spent quite a chunk of money on construction leads. Originally I thought it was outrageous. I had to pay for a name and number that was also being delivered to 3 other contractors. It sounded insane to me, but my cousin explained his success with it so I gave it a shot. I was paying up to $36.00 for a lead, but I was also closing about 35%. So it was well worth it.
I believe these were key items in my success with leads;
a) The prospect was ready to buy or planned to buy in the very near future.
b) I received the lead immediately(Blackberry), contacted them and scheduled an appointment within minutes of their inquiry. Being the first to call made a difference.
c) Detailed demographics down to the zip codes I wanted to serve. There is a website that will give you a complete demo on a zip code. Including the median home value.
I have also tried
Publications - I may have broken even. Very minor name recognition if any.
Network groups - Not for me. I will not refer people that I do not personally know to be honest and professional just so they will reciprocate. It is not worth tarnishing my reputation. I am sure there are some good groups out there though.
Professional referrals - I like these. It is much easier to work with other business professionals. I have gotten a lot of work from P&C agents, attorneys, mortgage brokers etc. I treat their customers like gold and they appreciate it. And typically they try not to waste my time.
Website - I like it. It has never been my most productive source, but it is cheap and provides the expected web presence. I dropped pay per click and concentrated on content and submissions which got me better results for less money and effort.
Big screen Tv's in Dunkin Donuts - I thought for sure this one was a great idea. 8 weeks, 5 locations, not one call.
Personal referrals and customer referrals - The best, without a doubt. The downside is the amount of time it takes to build this into a productive resource.
I would like to know if anyone has been successful, or not, with direct mail, email, trade shows or events, major corporation soliciting, or anything else.
Direct mail is working faily well for me. I use it for very specific products and target a specific market. After using it for a few months I am having a decent return on my investment.
My numbers are running as follows:
$350 per 1000 mailers (I am low volume, rates are better high volume)
average of 12 returns per 1000
average of 6 appointments from 12 returned mailers
average of 3 policy sales from 6 appointments
average 6 month advance is $360 for a total of $1180
so my immediate return is $850 not including comissions after six months
The only drawback is that sometimes the direct mail leads are slow in coming back but they are definately worthwhile. I only do 1000 per month because I work a primarily rural area and I dont want to overlap or oversaturate because that would cause my DM campaigns to become less effective. It also doesnt have that instant gratification of calling an internet lead, setting an appointment and getting a sale in a matter of a couple of days.
I have no experience with insurance sales, yet. However, I have spent quite a chunk of money on construction leads.
Discussing "insurance" with someone is totally different from any other product, period.
You have an "intangible" product that people can't drive, can't sample, or can't even see. You are asking people to buy this invisible product, pay a monthly premium, with the hopes of seeing some type of benefit somewhere in the future.
Just a lot of "ifs", "ands" or "maybes".
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Personal referrals and customer referrals - The best, without a doubt. The downside is the amount of time it takes to build this into a productive resource.
This will be your very best source of leads in the insurance business and it will be the quickest way of turning a referral into new insurance business.
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Direct mail is working faily well for me. I use it for very specific products and target a specific market. After using it for a few months I am having a decent return on my investment.
Direct mail will work if we are persistent and consistent. I use a lot of post card mailings. The postcard costs about 1 cent, the label about 1 cent, and the postage is 27 cents. So, I can put a personal message in a person' s mailbox for about 29 cents.
It's good to hear direct mail works. I will definately look into it down the road. I like the post card idea. Mac your numbers don't sound bad at all to me. I would take those.
My point with buying leads as a contractor was that the quality of the leads made the difference. I tried about 4 services and always returned to the one with the best leads. I didn't like doing business with them, because their customer service was terrible. However I would rather pay more money for 1 good lead than get 5 for the same price that would end up wasting my time.
Maze, maybe contracting is done differently here than where you live. I agree the products are completely different. However the sale may be more similar than you realize. Typically after the appointment I went to the house and discussed the customers needs, then prepared an estimate/quote. Once we agreed to the price I would draw the contract and collect a 50% deposit. (Typically 4-5k) That is all they got, a contract. No start date, no end date, nothing tangible until 6-8 weeks later when the materials were dropped at the job. And estimates were free, so if I didn't close, I lost the lead price, but more importantly I probably lost 2 hours.
JS
I don't plan to purchase leads any time soon, but I am not close minded to the idea like I once was.
I just recieved a PM about my post above, dont know if they got my reply so I will post it here../
The direct mail I have done are for Medicare Advantage specifically targeted to low income rural areas. These are the group most in need of this coverage and least aware that it exists.
