Best Practices for Closing Online Leads
Over the past five years, AgentInsider® has delivered over six million insurance leads. We've learned a lot from our participating agents about how the techniques they use to close their leads. Of course, every agency is different, but these six simple strategies are a great way to help increase your close rate.
Follow-Up Quickly
Agents who are successful with their leads treat the lead as though it were a person who just walked into their office. It is important to remember that when you get a lead from AgentInsider, the lead is from a consumer who just spent 7 to 10 minutes online providing all of their information so that you could provide them with a timely and accurate quote. Our leads are sent to you within seconds of the consumer submitting their information to us, and AgentInsider® allows you to turn off the flow of leads at any time so there really isn't any excuse to let a lead sit.
We recently looked at the amount of time it takes AgentInsider® agents to access their leads once they're delivered. We found that 28% of leads delivered during business hours are opened within 5 minutes of being received. What's more, 55% of AgentInsider® leads are opened within 30 minutes. A whopping 82% of leads are opened within the first three hours and 93% of leads are opened in the first 24 hours.
Follow-Up Multiple Times
While following-up quickly on each lead is the most important factor in making an leads program successful, the most successful insurance agents don't stop there. Be sure to make multiple attempts to contact a lead in the first couple days. Online insurance shoppers are busy people and it may take a couple times (varying the time of day you call) before you get the consumer on the phone.
Be sure to set a reminder to call the consumer again after about a week. Since most leads are sent to multiple agents representing different carriers, an insurance shopper can get a little overwhelmed as they try to understand what is, for most people, a very confusing product. Once the dust settles after a few days, give the consumer a call to see if they still have any questions. Often times, this is when you'll have your most productive conversations.
Tailor Your Message
Each lead AgentInsider® sends you is packed with useful information about the consumer who has requested quotes. By tailoring your pitch to each consumer's individual situation you can greatly improve your close rate.
For instance, you probably want to approach a 26-year-old who rents differently than you would pitch an older couple with three cars, a home, and a couple kids. Remember that the younger generations may prefer to interact primarily via email at first while older consumers are more likely to want to talk over the phone.
When emailing a consumer, make the subject line relevant to them. For a consumer who owns a Honda Accord, you may want to try including the car model name in the subject of the email - "Your Honda Accord Quote". A personalized email is more likely to be opened than one that sounds like it could be spam.
Ask for Their Business
This is sales 101, but it's worth mentioning. When you receive a lead from AgentInsider®, it's from a consumer who is actively shopping for insurance. After going over coverage options and your quotes with the consumer over the phone or via email, don't forget to end your pitch by asking the consumer if they're ready to buy a policy.
Don't Rely on Price to Sell Your Product
A common misconception is that leads are from consumers who are just looking for the lowest price. While it's certainly true that consumers, both online and offline, are becoming savvier buyers of insurance and care a great deal about what they pay for it, consumers also understand that there is more to an insurance policy than price. Be sure to outline what makes your agency/carrier better than your competition - better service, financial strength, claims service, policy features, etc.
Ask Us For Help
With every lead you buy from AgentInsider®, you have access to a team of experienced and trained people who can help you to get the most out of our lead program. Our client services representatives have an insurance background and many were formerly insurance agents who worked online leads.
If you have any questions about how to manage your AgentInsider® account or would like to sign up for the Lead Program, please contact our Client Services Team at clientservices@agentinsider.com or call us at 866-892-4080.
