Daily sales & marketing tips for insurance professionals

Most agents have no qualms about asking a client for a referral, but what about asking for a friendly Yelp? Depending on where you do business, the latter might be more lucrative.

Yelp.com is web site where people can post and read reviews of local businesses, from unruly dive bars to starched CPAs. Since starting in San Francisco and few years ago, the site has grown exponentially, gathering adherents in every major city in the country, and even one across the pond.

For whatever reason, Yelp emerged from the thicket of local-review web sites as the clear winner, and every day people invest millions of hours writing helpful, funny and cool reviews. Businesses, in turn, spend an increasing amount of time monitoring what people are saying, for both PR purposes and market research.

Because of the site’s popularity and the strong influence of social proof, a positive review from a credible Yelper can generate a tsunami of new business, and while the majority of reviews are of food and retail establishments, more and more people are writing about their experiences in the insurance and financial services realm.

So I recommend registering your agency with Yelp and encouraging your favorite clients to write a review.

Think about the possibility of being able to say this to a prospect: “I pride myself on my dedication to my clients; check out what people have said about my customer service on Yelp.”

That would be persuasive!

The NY Times’ Paul Brown offers up some excellent “sales tips for a tough economy.”

Here are a couple that stood out:

CUSTOMERS AS SALESPEOPLE Word of mouth is a great way to goose sales. But you don’t have to sit back and wait for people to spread the word about how wonderful you are, argues James Yuille, a marketer.

“Make your customers get excited about your business and they will tell their friends,” he said. “Send them ‘thank you’ letters or cards after they buy. Give them a free vacation certificate, a coupon, etc. when they refer others to you.”

We’ve posted ad naseum about writing notes. It may seem like a small gesture—and it is, for you—but it goes a long way toward building a relationship with the client. And this tip echoes a recent Agent Blog post:

ASK FOR THE ORDER Many entrepreneurs have a hard time asking for the order — saying to the customer words to the effect of, “Should I write up the sale now?”

Duane Marx, writing on Relationship Marketing.com, recommends that you a) not have that reluctance and, b) certainly don’t build it into your Web site, if you are selling products there.

“Have a few places where your prospects can order your products,” Mr. Marx said. “You always want to make it easy for them to buy. By having more order links on your sales page. they’ll be able to buy whenever the urge strikes them.”

Sometimes the obvious is not so obvious. Ask and you shall receive.

It’s the classic Silicon Valley narrative: two young, talented dudes who like to party get an idea. They start a dotcom. It languishes for a bit until an investor sees the potential. And then it gets huge. The young, talented and suddenly quite rich dudes continue to party into retirement.

Introducing: Yelp
Yelp is a web network that compiles user-generated reviews of local hot spots, including bars, restaurants, financial institutions, and retail shops. Yelp is currently available to residents of a dozen or so big cities across the country, but judging by its current popularity, one can expect its reach to broaden.

Why it’s cool
According to a recent profile of the company in Fortune Magazine, a positive review on Yelp can be a huge boon for a small business that’s otherwise struggling to get known. Consider the example of a San Francisco hairstylist Christopher Hill: after getting some good press on Yelp, Hill, owner of Splitends salon, got such an infusion of business that he had to soak his tired hands in ice at the end of each day.

Yelping the Little Guy
If you’re a small fry trying to compete with the giants, Yelp may be your best friend. From Fortune’s article on the company:

Why do you frequent Starbucks when you’re traveling? Do your really love the coffee, of do you go because you know what you’ll get when you walk through the front door? As Simmons [co-founder of Yelp] puts it, “A brand is a proxy for knowledge.” What if you found out there was a wonderful little café down the street? Would you still go to Starbucks? Maybe, maybe not.

Yelp is all about aggregating local knowledge: the hidden gems, the helpful staff, the funky décor, the unique vibe, the colorful barkeep and, just maybe, the exceptional insurance agent.

Check it out: Yelp.com