When you work in insurance, it feels like every prospect has different questions and needs, and it can be difficult to give them everything they want.
Here are five prospecting strategies designed to help address the most common insurance concerns and requests. As a bonus, most of these strategies can be automated to help save you time.
For the prospect who’s short on time
You can easily lose a prospect who’s in a rush to get their coverage if you don’t make the process easy and efficient. Many leads will start by trying to get a quote online, so make sure your website is easy to navigate. Include forms to make it convenient for them to fill out their information so you have everything you need to quickly put together a quote.
You should also include a web chat option on your site in case people have questions and need an answer quickly. Make sure your agency’s contact information is readily available, including the best phone number to call or text and an email address for an inbox that is regularly checked.
For the person who doesn’t want to talk on the phone
Many people avoid picking up the phone and will refuse to schedule a call with your insurance agency. For these prospects, you need to be available in a variety of other ways, such as via text, web chat and email.
Make sure your contact options are clearly listed on your website so you don’t lose new business due to missing information. You can even include an automatic prompt on your website, encouraging prospects to fill out a quote request form and provide mobile opt-in to text them. Once you know which contact methods a person prefers, you can automatically schedule follow-up emails and texts.
For someone with many questions
Insurance can feel confusing to many, which is why people often want an expert like you to guide them through the process. Indicate your expertise by including a blog on your website with answers to commonly asked questions and explanations about different types of insurance.
Even though keeping up with a blog can feel like a tedious task, it will save you time in the long run when you can send a link to a blog post instead of a lengthy email to answer client questions. You can even send these blog posts out to policyholders throughout the year to keep them informed and proactively answer questions.
When you receive the contact information of a lead who has many questions, try to schedule a call to go through policy details line-by-line if needed. This will save you the hassle of emailing back and forth for days or even weeks and will mean a lot to your prospective customer. You should also include web chat on your website to make it easy for leads to reach out with questions if they can’t talk on the phone.
For the cold lead
Sometimes you may receive a list of prospect emails, phone numbers or even addresses. It can feel awkward to start reaching out to people who may not know you, but there are several things you can do to automate the process and help your agency stand out.
Depending on what sort of contact information you receive, you can send them warm, handwritten cards in the mail, letters introducing your agency or postcards with a QR code that takes them directly to your website—just make sure your site is user-friendly. These special touches aren’t something your competitors are likely doing and will help you stand out as an agency that cares.
If you receive prospect email addresses, you can easily automate a campaign to reach out to them regularly during the quoting process as well as around their ‘X’ dates. Once you’ve collected mobile opt-in from leads, you can schedule texts to follow up with them as well.
For the prospect who needs convincing
Some people just need a little bit more time and persuasion before they’ll do business with your agency. For prospects like these, your current clients can be a powerful tool to prove how great your agency is. You likely have many happy customers who can speak to the level of service you provide, so make sure you’re encouraging these promoters to share their experiences.
Ask your most loyal clients for testimonials you can display directly on your website and see if they’d be willing to leave a review on Google or Facebook. When prospects see these reviews and testimonials online, it acts as social proof that your agency takes care of policyholders.
Many people ask friends, family, and coworkers for insurance recommendations when they make a new purchase or are looking to switch. This is another place where your best clients can become your biggest referral sources. You can gently encourage referrals by surprising your happiest customers with a handwritten card thanking them for their loyalty and reminding them you’re there for their friends and family as well.
And sometimes prospects who need convincing just need a little extra attention. Try mailing a handwritten note during the prospecting process to show how much you value them. Offer to schedule a call to thoroughly go over their quote and answer any questions they may have.
By providing consistent, clear and high-quality service throughout the prospecting process, you’ll write more policies and grow your agency.