Hello and Welcome to this exhaustive guide on sales leads for insurance agents.
The contents of this article will give you the information you need on how to generate Life Insurance Sales Leads and how to close those leads to increase your insurance sales.
In this article, the team from Career Employer covers the following topics:
Finding it difficult to find new clientele or convert lead generation to sales?
Keep reading to find the best tips and strategies in the insurance industry!
Introduction
Whether you are simply starting off your insurance agency or have been in the industry for a while, more is always better than less.
What we are talking about here is sales.
The longevity and feasibility of your insurance business depend on your ability to find quality leads and close life insurance leads.
Even with your expertise, training, and experience in life insurance and the various insurance products, you cannot survive in the industry without potential prospects bringing in business.
Life insurance agents can testify that generating leads and soliciting for business can be time-consuming, mentally draining and not to mention costly.
But does this mean it is impossible to get potential individuals, brands, or organizations to buy life insurance leads from you?
By no means!
You have to take into account several factors to consider the viable options and marketing strategies suitable for your insurance needs, the value of your time, costs, and the quality of the leads.
No one wants cheap leads that are simply a waste of time.
The allure of life insurance policies
In this day and age of uncertainties, life insurance has become necessary for almost every individual, regardless of the period and profession.
It serves as a cover, providing comprehensive security for a partner, children, family members, or other beneficiaries that one deems should be included in the policy.
With that context in mind, it is no surprise why life insurance is a profitable and significant segment of the insurance industry.
As mentioned earlier, the key motivator for insurance brokers and agents is sales.
This can be attributed to the commission percentage for the new leads successfully converted to sales.
The commission attached to life insurance is higher and thus more appealing compared to other popular insurance options like property insurance and health insurance.
And due to the necessity and longevity of the policy, you are guaranteed commission renewals every year.
How to generate leads for life insurance sales?
According to Podium, there are over a million insurance brokers, insurance agents, independent contractors, and different salespeople as early 2021.
With life insurance being a popular insurance policy, a good percentage are involved in the sales process of life policies.
To sustain your business, you need to be armed with the knowledge of ‘how to get life insurance leads.’
This section offers tried and proven techniques that will help you acquire qualified leads for your company.
However, we should make a disclaimer that life insurance lead generation techniques should be applied on a case-by-case basis since you need to consider the resources and circumstances used to you.
Obtaining insurance leads from an insurance company or agency
If you have experience working in an insurance firm, you can agree that it is one of the easiest ways to acquire life insurance leads for agents.
There are several benefits to using a company to generate life insurance leads.
First and foremost, there will be no need for you to compare lead providers and lead costs, giving you more time to reach out to leads and increase your conversion rate.
Another possibility is sales support and assistance, should you need it when the follow-up for a particular insurance lead has become harder than usual.
Online insurance lead options
Technology has penetrated almost every sector of our life, and the insurance industry has not escaped the cut.
You can gain exclusive life insurance leads by answering queries and questions online.
When people have questions, they don’t approach their families or friends but instead, look up the information on the internet.
By answering questions on life insurance via platforms such as Yahoo Answers, Quora, and Answer.com, you can be able to establish yourself as an authority on the subject.
It is a form of insurance marketing since you can leave your email or contact information on the forums and move traffic your way.
Networking
A modern-day adage put forth that “a person’s network is their net worth”.
With established networks with other insurance professionals, you can get solid leads and referrals in the case whereby they are approached for an insurance product that you offer.
Networking groups have already been established throughout the US and typically come together on a weekly or monthly basis.
Another benefit of networking is it reduces the time spent and mental frustration of cold calling.
Lead mail drops
If you are looking for an efficient, straight forward and affordable method for soliciting services, the use of direct mail drops is the way to go.
After you receive a response from your mail drops, you can take the opportunity to set up a meeting where you will discuss their coverage needs and possibly run some insurance quotes by them.
Starting a blog
Starting a blog has a similar effect on the current generation as the newsletter and other printed subscriptions had on our parents.
Through blogging about your business, you can establish yourself as an authority and the go-to resource in the area.
If you combine quality blog content with SEO, you can benefit significantly from a good ranking on search engines.
Make use of webinars and other telemarketing options.
This avenue offers high avenues of success when coupled with the use of blogs.
You can set up a webinar when you have established a good readership.
Since you can hear and see one another in real-time, webinars offer an interactive session that your audience can use to ask in-depth questions.
Homeowners, business owners, and other interested parties can contact you when the session has ended.
Closing your life insurance leads
Even if you have the best life insurance leads in the market, it doesn’t matter if you cannot convert them to actual sales.
The team from Career Employer has put together a few techniques that will help you improve your closing ratio significantly.
Scriptwriting your phone conversation
When an internet lead calls your phone number, you have a few seconds to convince them why you are the best choice in the insurance industry.
Faltering on the call and lacking words to describe your services are elements of a failed closing game.
Before you pick up that phone and engage your client, you need to have carefully thought through how and what you will talk about.
It would help if you spent some time creating thorough yet concise scripts that can lure in and convert a potential lead.
In the scripts you envision, think about the features, benefits, and how to describe your competitive advantage to the client.
And don’t forget to practice!
A direct approach
Popular opinion has it that one has to use a roundabout route before offering a client.
We believe that there are times when you need to be upfront, changing tactics from promoting the insurance product to offering the prospect for sale.
Whether you are talking to a potential client via the phone or face to face, be on the lookout for verbal cues or body language that may indicate that they are leaning towards a buy.
Another tactic that has worked in the past is painting a personal situation that would require the need for insurance and following it up with your life insurance request.
How can I increase my life insurance sales?
Are you looking to expand your insurance business?
Our team has researched the best insurance leads expansion strategies you can use.
Continue scrolling to find out more:
Licencing in multiple states
There are many benefits to having the license and accreditation to sell life insurance in multiple states in the country.
The most obvious benefit is the increase in insurance leads since you are now eligible for leads from all over the country, or at least the states you are licensed.
Two, you can now negotiate for a discount on lead prices from lead vendors.
With a license from multiple states, you can now diversify the overall risk to your business if you buy insurance leads from under-served states.
Agents, agencies, and insurance lead companies seek to operate in more popular states, leaving a significant gap in other parts of the country.
High risk, high rewards
As a part of training and partly due to education, insurance agents tend to stay away from risky options in the market.
While free insurance leads and other low-cost options have their allure, you can make higher returns in the high-risk life insurance options.
Individuals and companies with a high-risk insurance rating have to pay a higher premium, which translates to a higher commission or brokerage fee for you.
In addition, compared to regular leads offered by lead generation companies, the acquisition cost is relatively cheaper when purchased in bulk.
Building credibility and a platform
Will you be depending on free life insurance leads or buying leads from insurance leads companies for the entirety of your professional life?
While it is an excellent way to make your name in the industry, you should also be focused on building your brand and website.
You can do so by using SEO optimization and other proven techniques to improve your ranking on search engines’ SERPs (Search engine result pages) and on social media.
By building credibility and establishing yourself as the authority in the neighborhood, city, or state, you can climb up the ranks to be a reputable insurance lead provider.
Several SEO tools in the market can help you analyze the tools and resources your competition has been using to gain life insurance leads for sale.
Invest in the community
Put aside some time and contribute to the activities that are going down in your community as it is an excellent platform to solicit for business.
Some of the community activities that have worked wonders for insurance agents in the past include:
- Advising neighbors, local brands, and organizations on insurance solutions
- Hosting small forums and seminars for business owners in the community
- Participating in online forums and meets
- Giving financial support to charities and other special needs
However, don’t go over the top and treat your neighbors as random clients interested in life insurance.
The chief aim is to contribute to the community and be sincere in your contribution.
Your genuineness and sincerity will later pay off in ways you never thought possible.
Conclusion
There you have it; our comprehensive guide on ‘how to get leads to sell life insurance.”
With the advancement in technology and clients’ needs, the insurance industry is also evolving.
Insurance agents and brokers need to evolve to remain competitive, close deals, and make financial returns.
By following the tips and strategies detailed above, you are guaranteed high-quality insurance life leads, a constant stream of business, and reduced final expenses for your insurance agency.