When it comes to insurance sales getting a lead is only part of the battle. What you do with them once you have them is where the rubber meets the road.
Having in influx of fresh leads does not mean much unless you know what it takes to convert them into active policyholders. No matter if you have been working as an agent for years or are new to the industry, you must become comfortable with the process of working a lead.
Here are a Few Steps To Follow
1. Make contact with the prospect as soon as you are able to do so. This is not important in all situations but definitely comes in handy a lot of the time. For instance, if you are cold calling to generate business you are going to make contact even though the consumer is not expecting you. You don’t have to wait around for anything.
When buying leads, the consumer will be expecting your call but you are still required to make the first contact. You should act as quickly as possible since there are other agents working the same lead. The sooner you contact a prospect the better chance you have of being first in line.
2. Do your best to decide what exactly the consumer is looking for. You may know what type of insurance somebody is shopping for but that does not mean you are in position to make a final determination.
No two buyers are identical. One person may be interested in a large whole life insurance policy while another is shopping for a small amount of term coverage. With many differences, it is your job to probe the consumer as you attempt to determine what they are truly interested in buying.
3. Provide a detailed quote ASAP. Nobody is going to buy a policy unless they know what they are getting and how much it is going to cost. This is why you should take the time to provide a quote, including the coverage and rate, as soon as you are able to do so.
If you are able to do so, you should provide these details during your first conversation. It is essential to provide an accurate and detailed quote before the prospect has the chance to speak with several other agents. There is no way of avoiding industry competition, but the faster you are the better chance you have of moving forward.
4. Be ready to ask and answer questions to get to a “this can’t be beat” solution. Once the consumer has the quote in hand, he or she is going to have some questions. Although you may be tempted to ask your own questions, let the prospect speak for the time being. They will likely have a list of questions related to the quote that you provided. This gives you the chance to supply more information regarding what you have to offer. At the same time, you can inject your own questions into the conversation.
By conversing with the consumer, you are able to show that you are dedicated to providing a high level of customer service.
5. Stay in contact. Do you expect to turn a buyer into a customer after one conversation? Although this is ideal, you are going to soon learn that this is not usually the way that things work out. In the majority of situations, the prospect is going to take your quote, shop around, and then get back to you when they are ready to make a decision.
You should stay in touch with the person until he or she purchases from you or another agent.
You can make contact with prospects via phone or email. You don’t have to stay in touch on a daily basis. However, you do want to let them know that you are available to answer questions and provide additional information.
Common Issues
It would be nice to always follow the five steps above without ever worrying about anything else. Unfortunately, this is not the way that things will work out. Even when you are on the right path, something can get in your way.
Here are several common issues that you could potentially face when working an insurance lead:
- The consumer wants to know if there is anything you can do to save them more money
- After supplying a quote, you are unable to get back in touch with the buyer for one reason or the next
- The consumer is not answering your emails or phone calls when trying to touch base for the first time.
Even though these problems sound serious, they all have a solution. It is your responsibility to overcome any issue that stands in your way. It is not going to be easy, but the more experience you gather the better off you will be in the future.
When you follow the five steps detailed above, you will find yourself in position to successfully work every lead. Will things always be as simple as outlined? Definitely not. As long as you know what you are doing, moving from start to finish can be easy enough.
For more on this subject check out our insurance leads tips page.
Hi, Kevin!
Between the time you wrote this article and today (in February 2019), Wikipedia has removed the reference to alien abduction insurance. Too bad! You may want to rewrite that paragraph to say, “At one time, Wikipedia even listed ‘alien abduction’ insurance! Takes all kinds, huh?”
Good catch, Lee. I opted to just remove the blurb altogether. Alien abduction fear levels must be low these days.
How many times should you continue to call an unanswered lead phone call
It really depends on how you or your team are setup to work leads Diane. I would try at least five times over the first few days and then hand the lead off to a new producer to work older leads and eventually move the lead into a drip sequence from there if contact wasn’t made. A solo producer might make more or less attempts based on the number leads and prospects they have in the funnel at the time.