Daily sales & marketing tips for insurance professionals

Are you a young P&C agent or broker, age 40 or under, who’d like a chance to voice your opinions on the industry? 

What do you really think about the business? Do you have ideas you could share about technology, sales or how to make the job better?

If so, now’s your chance. In case you haven’t heard, you can voice your opinion by weighing in through the Insurance Journal’s Young Agents Survey.

Performed exclusively online, the survey consists of 26 questions on opportunities, attitudes, management issues and the soft market. It takes only a few minutes to participate, and you never know what changes might come as a result of getting involved.

Get what you’re feeling off your chest. Today’s the deadline, so take the Young Agents Survey now–and become an agent for change!

Whether you’re a captive or an independent agent, becoming successful in this industry takes hard work.

Talk to anyone who’s been around more than a year or two, and each of them will tell you they put their heart and soul into their business to get where they are.

Let’s face it, becoming a top insurance producer takes time–and sacrifice. If you’re new to the biz, you might not become successful overnight.

But if you hang in there and copy what you see the super successful doing, you can move your way up the same ladder of success.

So what sets top producers apart? What do they do that others don’t to grow their businesses, make more sales, and establish long-lasting relationships that pay off for years to come?

Here’s the key: It’s all about establishing good habits. In fact, top producers consistently practice habits like these:

• They invest in themselves, using their income to stay up-to-date on their knowledge and continually improving their practice. They also put 10 to 20 percent back into their business for future growth.
• They terminate relationships that don’t pay off. Time is money, so they make sure they’re getting what they want out of the relationships they’re maintaining.
• They work smart. Reducing interruptions can add more hours to the day, giving everyone more time to sell.
• They put their own needs first. Believe it or not, setting aside time for things like physical fitness, family interaction and relaxation helps keep them fresh, on their toes and ready to provide exceptional service, as well as call on new customers.

What are you doing to achieve success? Do you, like some, make excuses, blaming your lack of income on being a new agent, not having the experience or training others have, or refusing to prospect because you really dislike cold-calling? Or are you replicating the actions of top producers?

If you want to become successful as an agent, stop making excuses and start forming good habits. It’s already working for some–and it can work for you, too.

More Resources:

Tips for New Insurance Agents

Building Solid Client Relationships

Now that 2010 is in full swing, have you given any thought to your marketing plans? Or have you been putting that off, not sure where to go from here–or how to get started?

Along with a new year comes new opportunity: a chance to expand your business, increase your contacts, and set and reach new goals. And, like many other things we attempt at the start of a new year, successful marketing requires planning.

But how can you form a marketing strategy if you’re new to the industry, are filling a new position of leadership, or have little to no business experience?

Well, here’s a hint: Your marketing goals should be a supportive part of your overall business plan and goals for the year. For instance, if your business plan calls for growing your business by 20 percent by year’s end, your marketing plan should support that goal by outlining the steps you’ll take to get there–and possibly the tools that will help you achieve those goals.

As you reflect on everything your business experienced in 2009, consider these four goal-setting strategies that could help propel you to greater success in 2010. Then use them as stepping stones to help you move toward a more successful year than ever.

1. Start fresh. You can’t do anything about last year now; but you can learn from what happened and use those experiences in setting this year’s goals.
2. Know what you want to accomplish. How can you know if you’re achieving your goals if you’re not sure what they are? We recommend setting monthly, quarterly, semi-quarterly and yearly goals to keep you focused and on-task. Setting a course, then making changes along the way, ensures you accomplish what you need to accomplish.
3. Define your goals in quantifiable, measureable, specific and realistic terms. The more specific the goal, the easier it is to attain. Don’t set them so high that they’re out of reach; but keep yourself challenged.
4. List your goals in written form. Whether handwritten or stored on your computer, having them close at hand allows you to refer back to your goals as you move through the year–and check them off as you accomplish and complete them.

Your goals can be big or small, like earning a certain amount of profit by the end of the year or gaining five new clients each month. However you define them, use the new year to set and achieve reachable goals. There’s no better way to help grow your business now.

Are you a note taker? Could you keep Post-It Notes in business, with sticky notes stuck everywhere you go to remind you of important details and events?

Or would you, like me, be lost without your Outlook calendar?

Most of us have some sort of system to help us stay organized. And whether we use a pen and paper or our computer to keep track of things, whatever system we use needs to help us build value in our work and, above all, save time. 

If you have a time management strategy, how efficient is yours? And is it really working for you? If not, I have a suggestion that could help you get and stay organized, courtesy of Scott Simmonds of the Insurance Journal.

Today Scott offered some advice that really makes sense. In his article, Time Wise: The To Do List on Steroids, he suggests making four separate lists to help you stay focused, in both your business and personal life.

Before you panic and object because you can’t get through one list, relax! Scott broke it down like this, so you can work on one list at a time and actually accomplish something.

1. A Reminder List: A place to list everything you do every day and everything you need to do sometime soon. These are business and personal tasks. You either handle, postpone or delete each item as it ”pops up” in your to-do list.
2. A Do-Not-Do list: These are items that could steal your time and attention– if you let them.  They’re issues you shouldn’t get involved in because they no longer provide value, they’re a waste of your time, they don’t pay off, or you can delegate them to someone else.
3. A Mission Activities List: Urgent activities that require your attention and are important right now. A prioritization of your reminder list that helps you get the most important things done first, then move on to the others later.
4. A Success Activities List: These are important, long-term activities that aren’t time sensitive but make your life better in the long run.

If you have a hard time accomplishing anything, read Scott’s article and try his method of time management. Hopefully, it will increase the value of your work, make you more productive, save you time–and help you make more money.

If I asked what your customers think of you, what would you say? Do you let them know you’re happy to hear from them, they can reach you at any time, and you’re ready and willing to listen and help?

As we begin a new year, now is a great time to take stock of the impression you and your business make on customers – and what you can do to squelch bad habits that may be standing in your way of success.

In my book, sincerity is the number one attitude that leads to making a good impression – and I’ll bet, if you asked them, most of your customers would agree. After all, if what you say isn’t backed by a supportive tone of voice and positive, affirming action, people will stop listening altogether. And that can spell disaster for your business.

If you’d like to minimize negative impact, show more concern for your customers and business associates, and squash nasty habits that could be affecting sales, take stock of these do’s and don’ts – and start making changes now:

1. Never start a conversation, sales pitch, email or letter with “we.” Instead, every time you converse, focus on the customer and his or her needs.
2. Drop the jargon. No one likes feeling like they’re talking to someone who’s speaking another language.
3. Ask questions. This is the best way to discover your clients’ true needs.
4. Tell stories. They increase involvement and stimulate imaginations.
5. Share your expertise – but do it humbly! Your knowledge and experience are your best assets.
6. Don’t let what others do influence your marketing. You know what works for you; use it.
7. Acknowledge emails promptly. This is good etiquette and shows clients you’re available and listening.
8. Never use a testimonial unless it’s real. Anything less will reflect poorly on your business. Use testimonials willing to be contacted, and be ready and able to give out their information to anyone who asks for a reference.

Ready to improve your business image? Try tips like these this year – and please, let us know the results!

For More Information:

Creating the Right Impression: 22 Dos and Don’ts

Building Solid Client Relationships

As 2009 draws to an end, all of our thoughts will inevitably turn to the economy.  Without a doubt, this has been one of the most chaotic years in US economic history- a veritable roller coaster – and if you’re still in the game as an insurance agent, then you’re one tough cookie!  As I speak to insurance agents on the phone every day, one question will stubbornly come up every now and then: is anyone out there actually buying insurance, or are they just rate shopping?  I could tell you the answer is a resounding YES to the former, even offer up the testimonies of agents that I work with that purchase leads and say that this year, leads have helped them to make this their best year yet… but don’t take my word for it…

 According to a new survey released by the nonprofit LIFE Foundation, 56% of Americans believe that it is more important to have life insurance now than it was a just year ago (you can read the article here).   Even though there were 33% of Americans that have lost coverage this year – due to a job loss or a job change, an even higher 39% increased their existing coverage and 28% of consumers went out and bought life insurance for the very first time.  So what are these numbers saying?  To me,  they’re saying that even during times of economic crisis or hardship, or perhaps even because of it, people value security for their family.   People are still buying and maintaining insurance coverage. 

 Again though, don’t take my word for it.   According to Insurance Networking News, New York Life Insurance Co. sponsored another survey that shows that 83% of Americans age 30 and older agree that economic hardship has increased their desire to provide financial protection for their family.  So the silver lining in the storm cloud of economic woes is that consumers aren’t just shopping; they’re purchasing.

Did you know that you can now see your leads formatted in an Excel spreadsheet? Many agents previously requested to have their leads downloaded into an Excel spreadsheet, which helped to manage and organize the leads. Therefore, we listened to you and now provide a link that is located under the leads tab. Just click on the Excel link next to the “date range” and the leads are automatically populated for you!

Since you can only view past leads for up to 60 days, the Excel spreadsheet is an option for you to keep track of your leads going forward and to use for follow up purposes.

Remember to follow up with those leads. Even if they didn’t purchase the first time around, they may be looking for insurance in the future. I have spoken to many agents who have had success three to six months after they received the lead.

Happy Holidays!

Lead management systems are quickly becoming the norm in today’s competitive marketplace.  Attractive benefits and features of lead management systems allow you to enhance your selling and provide you with the necessary information to continue to prosper!

Some of the benefits agent are realizing from an LMS system are the following.

• Automatically schedule meetings, follow-up calls, renewals, and other important events.
• Assess profitability with real time reports.
• Track, monitor, and sort leads.
• Add notes and comments for proper follow-up.
• Customize your own automatically sent emails.
• Analyze the effectiveness of your marketing and sales.
• Increase your renewal retention using customizable automated follow-ups. 
• Stay organized by having lead and disposition information in one location.

 Using a lead management system will help you manage your leads so you can work on more leads and write more applications.  Some systems even allow you to round-robin your leads to other agents in your office.  Other systems include comparative raters and dialing systems.

Most lead management systems are fairly easy to use…some even offer free trials and discounts for trying their service.

 And from an InsureMe perspective, our leads are instantly imported into most LMS systems.  Call 1-800-467-8736 or visit agent.insureme.com for more information about getting leads and having them automatically placed into an LMS system.

 Everyone purchases insurance to safeguard themselves against the great Unknown, against what might happen to them one day.  But there is one thing that I can guarantee is likely to happen to each and every individual reading this, and you likely don‘t have a safeguard in place against it.  No matter how safe you think you are, no matter what protection you think you have to keep this from happening, one day – one day­ - your email will fail you.  I’ve seen it happen dozens, nay, hundreds of times.  It doesn’t matter what kind of email you have, public or private; at one time or another they all will stop delivering your valuable emails to you.  On September 1st, Google’s Gmail suffered an almost 2 hour system-wide outage due to simple system upgrades. 

This is why it is so vital for business users to adopt backup practices for their email accounts.  A missed email from a friend is an inconvenience, but if you currently purchase leads from a company like InsureMe, that’s a missed business transaction, and plain old money down the drain.

Fortunately, all is not lost.  Though we can’t prevent these outages from occurring, we can take out our own personal insurance against them.  One way to protect yourself is to always have a secondary email address on file with anyone you do business with (banks, credit cards, etc.)  Companies like InsureMe will happily forward your leads to multiple email addresses at no additional cost.  Yes, you might end up just deleting the duplicate lead unless there is an issue, but wouldn’t you rather pay for the lead once and have the assurance that you’re always receiving it than end up paying for a lead you didn’t receive because your email is unreliable?  Remember that if you decide to create a backup email that it should exist on a different server.  For example, I have one Hotmail and one Gmail email account.  If you haven’t had a chance to get around to that backup email yet and your email does crash, don’t worry!  InsureMe has created some extra protection for you: you can also access all of your leads real-time (i.e. hot off the press) by using Agent Connection, located in your InsureMe account, which will deliver your leads to your desktop similar to email.  To access Agent Connection, you simply need to log into your InsureMe account, no installing, no extra sign ups required.  So while we keep our fingers crossed that it isn’t our email that stops working next time, do yourself a favor and give yourself a little extra insurance. 

Are you regarded as a good listener? How do you know? In my opinion, active listening is one of those skills which requires constant attention and practice. I still find myself once in a while interrupting when I shouldn’t or thinking about what I am going to say next in a conversation and forget what a person was stating to me- yikes! This is not good practice, especially in a sales/customer service situation.

 Therefore, if you find yourself in the same predicament from time to time, remember that active listening is crucial when determining the needs of a customer and providing the best products for them. Active listening involves more than just listening…active listening involves probing for more information, paraphrasing, and acknowledgement that you are listening. If you do not listen well, you may lose a sale.

 Here’s a fun listening exercise that I participated in during a training class a few years back (however, it’s better facilitated as a listening exercise- not a reading exercise). It goes like this:

 You are the bus driver. At stop #1 three people got on the bus, one of them was wearing a blue baseball cap. At stop # 2, five people got on and one exited the bus. At stop #3 two people got on, one person was carrying a bag and the person with the blue baseball cap got off. What is the bus driver’s age?

 If you answered the age, which is yours by the way since you are the bus driver, then you passed! If not, then that’s okay, this exercise is a reminder to us all to make the effort to listen effectively to our customers. (Keep in mind that this exercise should be provided verbally in order to be effective)

 Have some fun with your co-workers and see who can pass the listening test!