Continuing the celebration of the 1,000,000th AgentInsider™ lead, we turn to the perspective of the agent that was fortunate enough to purchase the lead with the “golden wrapper.” What better way to randomly sample an AgentInsider agent and learn how the leads are working for them and the strategies they employ to convert leads to closed policies?

Regardless of how most agents get their start, many can probably identify with Patrick Geaney; the New Jersey agent that purchased the millionth AgentInsider lead. Just out of college, Patrick joined Liberty Mutual in August of last year. Young and motivated, he used the 4th quarter of 2006 to settle in and overcome the learning-curve of the P&C environment. By January, he was primed for his inaugural 1st quarter seasonal wave and he used online leads as his weapon-of-choice.

Targeting 710 ZIP Codes, Geaney applies a 2 per day lead volume cap for auto leads. “I quickly found that you have to find the right amount of lead volume for your agency so that you can properly manage each lead as a potential customer.” Applying such wisdom, his close rate on auto leads hovers around 30%. Further extending the value of each customer, Geaney is successful at cross-selling a homeowners policy to one-third of his new auto customers. “I find that you can make a good policy better for a consumer if you cross-sell an additional policy given the multi-policy discounts. Because our Auto product is more competitively priced in New Jersey, it is easier to cross-sell the home policy to an Auto consumer than vice versa.” For Homeowners leads, Patrick targets 532 ZIP Codes with no limit on his lead volume. A slightly more challenging lead to close, his close-rate on homeowners leads is approximately 25%.

If you’re wondering how Patrick maintains a 1-in-3 close-rate with a similar cross-sell rate, look no further than his lead follow-up techniques. “I have a deliberate process that I continually adjust, underscored by a lot of practice of course.” His follow-up strategy looks something like:

1. Open lead as quickly as you can upon receipt of the notification email.
2. Print out the lead.
3. Make outbound telephone call.
4. If unsuccessful at making contact by telephone, immediately email and snail mail follow-up message and preliminary quote.
5. Follow-up call at least 3 more times.

Geaney maintains a competitive advantage with his average lead access time of 15 hours, and 99% access rate. Collectively, AgentInsider agents average a 20 hour lead access time, with a 92.8% access rate. Essentially, he never lets a purchased lead go to waste. And if he goes on vacation, he’ll pause his leads accordingly. Patrick puts it simply, “If you don’t take enough volume, you miss out on opportunities. If you take too much volume, you throw money out the door.”

AgentInsider is honored to award Patrick Geaney with one year of free AgentInsider leads in recognition of purchasing the milestone 1,000,000th lead. His online lead strategy and supporting sales techniques are the perfect example of the results that we intend for all AgentInsider agents.