Is it just me, or is all the snow in Denver getting a tad old?

At any rate, InsureMe will close early this afternoon on account of an incoming snow storm; we'll be closed tomorrow as well. It's for that reason that I'll use today's post to wish you all very safe, happy (and hopefully non-snowy) New Year.

Here are just a couple of things you can expect (and look forward to) from the InsureMe Agent Blog in 2007:

• New writers
• New InsureMe videos
• Contests, and more!

We're going to have some fun, methinks. :)

See you next year!

Posted by Megan Mahan at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
 

Industry analysts have taken a good long look at the insurance industry and have made predictions for challenges and opportunities in the New Year.

According to a recent article by Insurance News Net, "the battleground (or rather, the goldmine) for next year's insurance industry will most likely be the demographic of retiring Americans."

In accordance, analysts have pinpointed the following five opportunities to consider in 2007:

1. Tapping Middle Wealth: [...] "Producers and advisors will need to introduce new forms of advisory services and innovative income-generating protection products."
2. Continued Convergence and Consolidation: "Consolidation of stock and mutual companies will continue and will push smaller players out of the market..."
3. Capital Management: "Steady capital management adherence will be vital to business growth strategies."
4. Managing Risk: "Insurers will continue to improve their risk management frameworks, reporting, governance, and risk measurements."
5. Aggressive Compliance Monitoring: "Compliance issues will be strictly observed with better documentation of processes and controls."

As for challenges in 2007, experts suggest watching for the following:

1. Continued weakness in housing and mortgage markets
2. Additional litigation targeting title companies
3. Downward pricing pressure resulting from regulatory reviews

Check out the full article over at INN to take a look at 2007 highlights per market segment.

Posted by Megan Mahan at 03:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
 

[UPDATE: 12.27.2006] Blog comments are back! Go crazy!

Hey guys and gals, just want to send along my apologies to anyone who's tried to post comments to the Agent Blog with limited success. Not sure what the problem is just yet, but we're working on it!

In the meantime, if one of our posts stirs in you a dire urge to express yourself, please do so via email at mmahan [at] insureme [dot] com.

Stay tuned...

[Photo from Flickr under Creative Commons license]

Posted by Megan Mahan at 01:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
 

Well, after being closed for three days last week (followed by a holiday weekend), it's back to work as usual here at InsureMe. In catching up with my reading today, I was struck by this recent post over at Landing the Deal, which deals with overcoming psychological debt when it comes to sales.

What's psychological debt? Sales veteran Tim O'Connor explains:

I was receiving a lot of positive feedback from prospects:

"Tim you are really good at this."

"You are going to be really successful in this business."

"You really know your stuff."

Kind words, yes; but a sale, no.

I sought out my good friend, Larry, who was making over a million dollars a year selling insurance. I told him of my plight: lots of compliments, but no orders.

Larry, the insurance sales guru, told O'Connor that by educating prospects, lending his expertise and being friendly and courteous, he was building a psychological debt:

"They owe you, and the way they pay off the debt is with a compliment. Once you accept the compliment, the debt is paid." And, thus, no sale.

To fix the problem, Larry encouraged O'Connor to refuse compliments from prospects. If you don't accept a compliment, Larry explained, the debt still exists. "Now when you get an order and a compliment, say 'thank you very much.'"

The subject of sales psychology is of great interest to me. I hope to read a little more about it and post my findings here. For now, read the full post to learn more about overcoming psychological debt, and see if it can't help you convert a few more sales leads.

Posted by Megan Mahan at 10:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
 

In case you've missed the news in the last 48 hours, we're having some pretty crazy weather here in Denver. There's about two and a half feet of snow outside my window here, which even has my cat a little awestruck. As a result, InsureMe has been closed for two days.

Nonetheless, I've been snuffing out some interesting articles and headlines for your surfing pleasure. Some may call this blog dedication. Others may call it cabin fever. I'll let you decide.

Now for the links!

Grok Me, Baby (or, Marketing to Introverts) MarketingProfs Daily Fix

The One That Didn't Get Away: Maine Man Trapped By Lobsters (Insurance Journal) Ew.

Managing the Insurance Cycle (Specialty Insurance Blog)

Complaints Happen (Seeds of Growth)

I'll be out of the office tomorrow, so here's wishing everyone a happy and safe holiday. We'll see you back here on Tuesday with more insurance news and tips.

Posted by Megan Mahan at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
 

Very interesting report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety today (story available here via the Insurance Journal) which found driver deaths in minicars are higher than in any other vehicle—and more than double the death rates in midsize and large cars.

While the report findings are indeed interesting, I always enjoy reading the reader responses to IJ articles.

"Bulldogg" sure doesn't know what to believe anymore—whether minicars are the way to go or if SUVs should rule the road:

WAIT A MOMENT, I was told (by the all-knowing media) that it was the SUVs that were killing people? I was told that small cars were the way to go, they were good on gas, good for the environment and safer because they don't go as fast.

NOW, I'm more likely to die in a car crash in one of these "Environmentally safe" cars?

Who screwed up on this one and led the media astray?

In the most dramatic light, it almost seems as if people are going to have to choose between bigger, potentially safer vehicles for the personal welfare of loved ones...or safer (and more fuel economical) vehicles for the environment.

Definitely a thought-provoking article. Check it out here and post your thoughts via comments.

[photo of the Toyota Yaris courtesy of Jalopnik.com]

Posted by Megan Mahan at 04:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
 

The final cut of our latest InsureMe video wasn't ready when I left work last Friday afternoon, but it is ready now, and gaining traction on YouTube.

If you've watched the video, you know that it marks the final days of the InsureMe Insurance Blog.

Why slay the Insurance Blog? (Technically 'slay' isn't true to form—it will still be there and we may still use it.) In short we realized that no one wanted to read about insurance every day. We also realized that, even for a team of highly-trained copywriters, finding something consumer and insurance-oriented every day was quite a challenge.

Duh, you might be saying. We could have told you that. Yes, you could have. But we needed to see whether a blog would help us make our insurance mark on the Web—whether we could become remarkable, a purple cow—and distinguish ourselves from our competitors.

Purple we did not become with the Insurance Blog, but calling it a failure wouldn't be accurate either. The blog allowed us to flex our insurance grey matter, better hone our writing skills, answer consumer questions, experiment with videos, and ultimately, figure out what would work (and what wouldn't) in our competitive space when it came to reaching insurance shoppers. It also became a measuring stick of success for our other blogs, this here Agent Blog and the Affiliate Blog. (Which are doing quite lovely, we're happy to report.)

So, yeah. We had to call it a day and move on with new innovative ideas. We’ll be focusing our efforts even more intensely on the Agent and Affiliate blogs, as well as our videos, most of which will be showcased here every Friday.

So without further ado, check out our sianara to the Insurance Blog. It’s worth a viewing or two, I think. Especially if you have a penchant for wigs, off-key singing and CEOs who shed articles of clothing in the name of video making.

Posted by Megan Mahan at 01:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
 

Even those who don't celebrate Christmas can surely appreciate the art and skill that went into making a Christmas tree entirely out of soda cans.

The making of this tree looks pretty arduous; there's no disputing the fact that I lack the patience (and the free time) to complete such a task. If time and resources are keeping you from building your own soda can tree, you're in luck. This one's for sale on eBay!

Enjoy the photos and check back here tomorrow afternoon for the final installment of the InsureMe Insurance Blog Wrap-Up—the holiday edition. :)

Posted by Megan Mahan at 02:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
 

A recent survey by Sun Life Financial revealed that 22 percent of all retirees are forced into retirement earlier than they'd planned on. The findings came via press release through the Insurance News Net today.

The survey also turned up the following figures:

• The leading cause of early retirement (at 44 percent) is layoffs/downsizing, followed by personal illness at 32 percent.
  
• 69 percent of repondents said early retirement greatly affected their lifestyle and had to reduce expenses as a result
• 55 percent of respondents said they were ineligible for Social Security benefits when they were forced to leave the workforce

While the lack of financial preparedness of the Boomer generation isn't exactly news, these new findings may prompt older adults to take a second look at their retirement plan. Which means more prospects for you to absorb. Take a look at the full press release at INN here, and check out the bonus links below to help you get good and excited about opportunity in this area!

[Bonus links]:
Wealthy Boomers Unprepared for Retirement
Targeting Baby Boomers: A Lucrative Demographic
Selling Outiside of Your Niche

Posted by Megan Mahan at 04:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
 

Not much going on by way of industry news today (or at least nothing that particularly moves me one way or another), but I did like this post by David Rossmiller at the Insurance Coverage Law Blog, who linked to a long but interesting story in the Kansas City Star about common complaints in auto, home and health lines of insurance.

I read the entire article this afternoon, and I agree with David that it's a well-rounded story. It could be considered a small PR nightmare for the insurers named in the article (especially with the headline, "Complaints burn insurance customers' trust"), but then I suppose that depends on the size of the KC Star readership...and the speed with which the named insurers move to resolve customer complaints.

Anyway, if you have a minute, check out the article here and give it a once-over. I think it's worth a look.

Posted by Megan Mahan at 04:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
 

Want to try your hand at online advertising but lack the intestinal fortitude to create a web site? Advertise on Google anyway!

Google AdWords has rolled out Hosted Business Pages, which allows advertisers to create a page describing their business and services when a user clicks on the ad.

While the program is in its infancy (and limited to a few new advertisers), Google plans to expand the program so everyone can use it. Penny, our talented paid search copywriter for our in-house search marketing department, has the full scoop over at the InsureMe Affiliate Blog. Check it out here.

[Bonus link]:
Check out Penny's awesome post, PPC for the Novice—You Can Do It! It's a must-read for beginners looking to get into the PPC arena.

Posted by Megan Mahan at 02:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
 

I'm running short on time this afternoon, but did notice the developing auto insurance news from California: the DMV has sent out more than 180,000 letters over the past two months warning uninsured drivers to provide proof of insurance—or else.

A motorist who is given a suspension warning has 30 days to buy insurance or show proof of coverage to avoid suspension. Ignoring the notice could lead to fines exceeding $1,000 and seizure of the vehicle if a motorist is cited for driving with the registration suspended.

Check out the full story via the Insurance Journal here.

Check out this week's insurance blog wrap up here.

Posted by Megan Mahan at 02:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
 

As you may have read back in October, I've been working a bit with the The Automated Agency Report (henceforth, the TAAR Report), which is a publication aimed at keeping independent agents abreast of changes in technology and helping them implement it into their daily professional lives.

The slow-to-change nature of the insurance industry has been an enigma to me since I started working at InsureMe a year and a half ago. I couldn't grasp why people were still receiving leads via fax (instead of email), dumping money into direct mail (instead of Internet leads), or cold-calling (instead of letting us prospect for them).

At first I thought I was experiencing a generation gap. After all, my generation is used to the immediacy and instant gratification of the Internet. But then I considered the fact that five years ago, my then 80-year old grandfather decided to take computer classes the local university and learn how to use the Web. And while my grandfather is in many ways a diamond in the rough, this immediately discounted my generational gap theory.

Then as I was going through my feed reader this morning, I came across this post on Noah Brier's blog entitled, "Fear of Efficiency." Maybe, Brier muses, people attack the Internet because they're scared of how efficient it makes us.

In truth, half of the post deals with social media and networking sites (like digg.com or MySpace), but the piece does lend itself to a broader-reaching rhetoric:

A lot of the fear of the internet comes with the idea that when people open their browser they lose their ability to think critically or make decisions on their own accord. I'm not quite sure why this is, but it's not new. I remember being in school and having teachers tell me that there was a limit of internet sources I could cite. Their argument was twofold: Firstly, books are inherently more trustworthy because they've been printed (which is total expletive). Secondly, I would be lazy and just pull up whatever it was that showed up in Google and use that to support my thesis. Of course their [sic] is absolutely no reason I couldn't do the same thing in a library, but that never seemed to register.

At the bottom of all this is a fear of efficiency. We don't like the idea of people working smarter, not harder. Why do something in 15 minutes that could take three hours? I guess it can feel less 'human' to be efficient, but it's not like a human didn't build that efficiency tool in the first place.

It's an interesting school of thought and I think there is weight to it. I, too remember not being able to cite more than one or two Web sources for a paper. The Internet was somehow regarded as a tad untrustworthy and much too easy to use. And while we've all experienced problems and drawbacks with technology, it seems we're wildly better and more capable for it.

So if a fear of efficiency is behind the lack of Web zeal in the insurance industry, what measures can we take to overcome that fear?

Posted by Megan Mahan at 01:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
 

Call me a dork, but I was pretty interested to learn about the drama surrounding the life and health insurance industry and stranger-oriented life insurance (STOLI). I posted about it today on the InsureMe Insurance Blog, which is geared more towards insurance shoppers than industry professionals.

Six hours later, however, I'm still thinking about the STOLI problems and would like to see a little more industry dialogue on the subject. (My Google search turned up next to nothing.)

Anyway, take a peek at the post over at the Insurance Blog and see if you can drop some knowledge on this subject. I'm interested in the consumer education of STOLI (or lack thereof), as well as how officials can curb STOLI will respecting consumer rights and legitimate life insurance settlements.

Posted by Megan Mahan at 05:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
 

This morning I received a phone call from the InsureMe National Director of Corporate Development, the wonderful John Calvin.

"Megan, do we have any articles or tips for agents when it comes to writing their personal marketing message?"

The marketing message in question is a 300-character advertisement that we display to a lead as they're presented with their insurance matches. This customized message allows each of our clients to send a personalized message to the lead and remain competitive against the other agents on our service.

Looking through our Agent Resource Center, I concluded that we had no such articles. And what better place to address this issue than on the blog!

So whether you receive InsureMe leads and need help with your 300-character message, or are faced with marketing your agency with limited print space, make sure your ad covers the following four items:

1. Who you are
2. What you sell
3. Where you're located
4. Why you're different

1. Who you are
Introduce yourself. Whether you're an independent agent or representing a larger carrier, introducing yourself helps the prospect feel that there's a person behind the cold exterior of the computer screen. If you're an indie agent, state your name, how long you've been in business, and the like. If you need to make a more corporate-ish statement, give a little history. "We've been selling discount health insurance policies since 1981 and have agencies in all 50 states," will work just fine.

2. What you sell
So maybe the lead initially requested a home insurance quote. But if he or she can see that you sell auto insurance or offer an array of financial products, they might be enticed to see what else you can do for them. And as you know, cross-selling often means a bigger sale for you, and increases the chances of developing a long-term client.

3. Where you're located
Although the InsureMe service shows the lead where their matched insurance providers are located, not all advertising spaces do. So depending on your marketing medium and what kind of client you're looking for (local or nationwide), include this in your marketing message. Doing so can differentiate you from your competitors...which leads us to point number four.

4. Why you're different
If you follow the Agent Blog in the slightest, you've undoubtedly seen a recurring theme here, akin to Seth Godin's purple cow mantra: be remarkable. Be different. And while items one, two and three all help you distinguish yourself and your offerings from those of your competitors, make sure your write your marketing message with limited sales hype (nobody likes a hard, pushy sell, not even online), lots of passion, and even more personality.

These are my four recommendations for making the most out of a short marketing message. What have you found to be useful and effective?

Posted by Megan Mahan at 01:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
 

Things have been a little nutty around here today, so I thought I'd highlight some informative (and fun) links for your viewing pleasure.

Marketing to Boomers [Advertising to Baby Boomers]

PCI Not Cool with Supreme Court Ruling* [Insurance Journal]
*My headline, not IJ's. :)

How to Get Referrals and Classic [Seth Godin's Blog]

Enjoying the Sale [Landing the Deal]

That last link from Landing the Deal is a goody. It reminds sales professionals to have fun while they're selling. It seems simple, but it always helps to be reminded that you're foremost in the people business rather than the insurance business.

And, in the spirit of having fun, don't forget to check out our latest Insurance Blog Wrap-Up. This week we had fun with a giant pair of underpants, as well as a spur-of-the-moment trip to Ohio.

Have a great weekend, everyone. We'll see you back here on Monday.

Posted by Megan Mahan at 03:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)