The golden question for insurance agents is, “Where can I find reliable insurance leads?”. There are many sources of new insurance leads (especially cold leads), but these sources commonly create a retention problem.
Let’s discuss some of the most reliable sources for insurance leads, and how to retain them.
Where to Find Insurance Leads
Referrals
Referrals are one of the most valuable lead sources.
Referred leads have a retention rate of 92% over the first 3 years. Compare that with 67% for all other lead sources.
People find comfort in human recommendation, so when you obtain a referral, you begin your relationship with an element of trust and are able to sell more policies right off the bat.
"Referred customers generate 5 times more revenue over the first 5 years than non-referred customers."
If you don’t have an established referral program in place to capture as many referrals as possible, make it a priority.
Personal Network
Don’t be afraid to reach out to your family, friends, and old acquaintances.
Everyone needs insurance, and why would your network want to buy from a stranger rather than someone they already know and trust?
Internet Leads
Maybe the most popular source of new insurance leads is internet leads.
There are hundreds of aggregator and quote websites constantly collecting insurance buyers’ personal information, ready to send it to you for a price.
If you have a dedicated and skilled cold calling sales team ready to jump on these leads, they may not be a bad acquisition tactic. There will always be more leads for you to buy.
However, there are several problems with internet leads.
First, internet leads are often bombarded with calls from multiple agents. Just like lead information has been sold to you, several other agents have also purchased the same information. If you don’t call the lead within minutes, chances are you’ll find yourself going straight to voicemail or being told off by an angry consumer.
At Engagex, we used to perform lead prospecting calls for agents and found that only 1 out of 400 (0.25%) leads would schedule an appointment.
Another problem is that even once an internet lead is sold, they are often extremely price sensitive. The fact that you obtained the lead from a quote website shows that the individual was searching for the lowest-priced insurance.
Sales from internet leads have historically high lapse/cancellation ratios because if rates rise for any reason, they’ll jump ship and find the next cheapest agent.
These obstacles don’t mean you should not consider purchasing internet leads, just be aware that it may take some extra resources and effort to make them a viable long-term strategy.
Thrive Leads
“Thrive Lead” is a term we coined at Engagex to describe new sales opportunities that have been uncovered in your current book of business.
You could think of them as cross-sell or up-sell opportunities of your EXISTING clients.
Many agents are looking for new insurance leads anywhere they can think of, but don’t realize that some of their best leads are right under their nose - in their current book of business.
Some of the nation’s largest and most successful insurance companies have structured training in place to teach their agents to conduct customer insurance review meetings with their existing clients.
They constantly urge their agents to conduct these meetings because they know that meeting with existing clients consistently uncovers Thrive Leads.
Once new sales opportunities are uncovered, they have an 85% close rate because of the natural environment created by insurance review meetings.
Obtaining thrive leads is simple: meet with every client in your book of business annually and review all their current policies compared to their life circumstances. Having simple conversations about their life will painlessly uncover new sales opportunities.
You can then take note about upcoming milestones when you can follow up and close more sales.
Since your clients’ lives are constantly changing, this method is a never ending flow of new insurance leads.
To get in-depth information on how to conduct these meetings, visit the Agency Thrive Program
How to Retain Insurance Leads
According to Independent Insurance Agents of Dallas, the average insurance agency’s retention rate is about 84%.
Regardless of the method you are using to attract new leads, once you’ve sold a policy, you need a way to secure that sale. Keeping your clients in your book of business might seem like an ambiguous problem, after all, you can’t control the actions of your clients.
Our recommended process for retaining insurance leads is to show them first-hand the value you provide.
Any agent (or robot) can sell them an insurance policy.
However, it takes a skilled expert (like you) to effectively service their policies.
Conduct regular customer insurance reviews to make sure there are no gaps, overlaps, or unseen risks in their coverage.
Where possible, find ways to help your clients save money through bundling or other discounts they may be eligible for.
When a client gets the chance to associate with you face to face on an annual basis, to get to know you, and see your expertise at work, they are much more likely to stick around for the long-haul.
In a recent survey of insurance agents who consistently conduct customer insurance review meetings, 92.6% of agents identified improved client retention as a reason for meeting with clients
To learn more about customer insurance reviews and how to successfully conduct them, check out The Agency Thrive Program.