Whether you handle the implementation of customer outreach in-house or use a third-party vendor like Engagex, you need to have a system in place so you know who you’re contacting, when you’re contacting them, and ensure that you’re tracking the results of your calls to keep your customer’s information up-to-date.
Each agency is a little different, so you’ll need to evaluate your book of business to know how many households you need to contact each month to make sure you’ve reached out to everyone with the opportunity to review once a year.
Use our free custom insurance review plan generator to figure out how many calls you’ll need to make each month and how much new commission you can generate from these appointments.
(You’ll need to enter some basic information about your agency for us to generate the plan for you.)
Once you know how many clients you need to contact each month, how do you decide which customers to contact and when?
To get through your whole book of business in a specific amount of time, here are some ways you can ensure nobody will slip through the cracks:
Alphabetically
Organize your book of business alphabetically, and then break down that list into smaller chunks for each month.
Birthdays
Another way to ensure nobody slips through the cracks is to organize your lists by birthday.
You can use these lists to contact people at a time near their birthday to make sure you reach out to everyone.
Customer Segmentation
This strategy will take more forethought and time up front, but it can also yield better results for your outreach efforts(more quality referrals, cross-sell opportunities, higher retention rates.)
Lynn Thomas details how to segment your customers in this article from The Independent Insurance Agents of Dallas. If you want to learn how to do this, you should read it from her, but I’ll briefly summarize what she says.
Each agency has a customer base made up of different markets (personal lines, commercial, construction, etc.)
Identify your markets and then segment them into “A,” “B,” and “C” customers. “A” customers being the most profitable and “C” being the least.
Recognize that your “A” customers are “the primary source of your agency’s future growth.”
While you’re still aiming to contact all of your customers annually, make sure each month you have a list that consists of category “A” customers, “B” customers, and “C” customers. This way, you’re always in the process of contacting your most profitable customers to keep their business and get in touch with their friends (who are likely to be “A” customers as well).
Read her whole post here: Customer Loyalty And Retention Primer (IIAD)
Policy Specific
As you know, things change in the insurance world, and it’s your job to keep your clients updated on any re-writes that need to happen, changes in coverage, etc.
A great way to ensure that these calls don’t halt your systematic calling strategy is to outsource your appointment setting.
This doesn’t mean you have to outsource ALL of your outreach.
One of the agents we work with, Carly Kildare, shares a strategy that includes in-house and outsourced calling that works wonders for their agency.
Here’s a quick video of her explaining that strategy:
Properly Tracking Call Info
All this outreach without properly tracking and documenting the correct information will limit your agency’s potential growth and improvement.
WHAT information should you track?
And HOW can you track that information efficiently?
Info to track:
Time and Date of Calls
Disposition (the result of the call)
Updated Information (spouse name, wrong phone number, etc.)
Call Back Requests (specific times)
Specific notes about what was said or discussed
HOW to track call info:
The easiest way to keep track of this information is by using dialing software that automatically tracks calling metrics and keeps records of your calls.
These systems may be expensive or difficult to implement but are standard at most outside vendors like Engagex.
Unique to Engagex, our software allows you to customize your list scrubbing options based on results from previous calls made.
For example, if you accidentally submit client names who we've scheduled appointments with in the past 0-36 months (customizable by you), we'll automatically scrub that name from the list to prevent them from getting calls until the time is right. Same goes for people we've spoken to who weren't interested, wanted to reach out to you directly, and more.
Many agencies who don't outsource client outreach track information manually in customer files; it just takes more time and effort.
Check out this post to get a little more familiar with tracking call info: How Tracking Call Information Boosts Efficiency
You’ll cultivate a lucrative and valuable book of business by systematically reaching out to all of your customers annually to offer them a review meeting.
What tips do you have for other agents regarding systematic customer outreach? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
Comments