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Tips for Networking Insurance Agents: 8 Smart Ideas

Tips for Networking Insurance Agents: 8 Smart Ideas 1) Always Give Your Card Business cards are cheap. Ever find yourself thinking, “Should...

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Friday, 6 April 2018

Tips for Networking Insurance Agents: 8 Smart Ideas

  April 06, 2018    

Tips for Networking Insurance Agents: 8 Smart Ideas
1) Always Give Your Card Business cards are cheap. Ever find yourself thinking, “Should I give this man my card?” or “Does she want a card?” The clear answer is always yes. Give it to everyone 10 times.
 2) Don't Have Big Handouts business-cards-too-bigI understand what this type of person thinking… “In place of handing out business cards I'm going to provide people a 5×7 postcard. It'll really stand out.” Here's what I'm thinking once you hand it to me: “Thanks a**hole. Now I need to retain this stupid thing until I will get a garbage can.” Don't be that guy. People may smile and take your postcard but annoying people is not good networking.
 3) Do The Follow-Up Just like in sales, poor follow-up could make all of your networking efforts worthless. Do you think someone's going to purchase insurance from you or refer your agency after one meeting at a networking event? Obviously not&hellip ;.You need to develop strong relationships. Devise a follow-up plan that serves to deepen the connections you make at networking events. (Try to not creep anyone out.)
 4) Use LinkedIn To Follow Up LinkedIn is really a perfect low-effort tool for forging stronger relationships with people you meet at networking events (or anywhere else). There's no social stigma against requesting a connection on LinkedIn from someone you met and had a discussion with. A LinkedIn connection isn't the end goal, in fact it's really just first but it is a superb first step toward developing a deeper professional experience of anyone.
5) Follow Their Business on Twitter and Facebook facebook-twitter-follow-upMost agents I understand think of Twitter and Facebook only as tools to reach out to current and prospective clients. It can be used very effectively as an expert networking and monitoring tool. Use your agency's twitter account and use Facebook as your agency page (not as yourself) and follow and like all the businesses who's owners you meet. Likes on Facebook are free so that it won't set you back a penny to “like” every business you meet and “like” every post they make. That's lots of potential free goodwill! While we're about them, click here to “like” My Facebook page and click “like” everything I post in the foreseeable future ;) I DO NOT recommend using Facebook to “friend” a person you meet professionally if you don't have an association with them that is deeper than business.
 6) Follow Up Via Email After meeting someone you're feeling a strong connection with send them an email. You can create a template for emails such as this, however I strongly encourage one to customize each email to reference something you discussed with the individual. If there isn't anything specific to say to the person, have a peek at their website and mention something about it. Wouldn't it get your attention if someone mentioned something on your agency's website? (When I obtain a generic form email that I understand was also provided for everyone else at a networking event I usually report it as SPAM.)
 7) Phone Call Follow Up Have an excellent networking connection you're trying to construct into a great one? Call them up out of the blue with a question about their business. You can just make it up if you want to… Say you're doing research for a client. Everyone loves being the expert and they'll think it may be a sales lead so they'll love it. If they're a vital connection, use it your calendar to touch base once a month.
 8) Read “How exactly to Win Friends and Influence People” read-about-networkingIf you haven't heard about or read this book you should really check it out. It's been around for pretty much a century and the information it gives is fundamental, but powerful. I have an audio version on my phone that I listen to about once a year. (It also helps me get my kids to do what I them to. Not by much, but I'll take all the help I could possibly get!)

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Networking Strategies for Insurance Agents: 7 Smart Ideas

  April 06, 2018    

Networking Strategies for Insurance Agents: 7 Smart Ideas
 I don't like the fake smiles, cheesy jokes, overbearing personalities, awkward conversations, and unsolicited advice. And obviously I can't stand the sales pitches for crap I will never ever buy. On the bright side… sometimes there's alcohol. Although I'm a die-hard internet marketing guy I know both of these things as fact: The more people you realize the more insurance you sell. Networking events are one of the finest ways to meet people. So I figured, considering my disdain for networking events, I is the perfect person to offer ideas for getting the absolute most out of something that I consider to become a necessary evil. Here they're, 7 networking tips for insurance agents:
 1) Be described as a Connector I'm sure you've heard this one before, but there's more to helping people connect together than you could have considered. When you're the individual introducing two others you'll naturally assume a situation of power within that number of three. With time, the more individuals you connect, the larger you'll climb up the energy pyramid in your local community.
 2) Show Around Events Early I am aware the temptation showing up fashionably late – it's much easier to blend into a full room of individuals and its more likely you'll see someone you already know. Show up late though, and you're missing an integral opportunity – meeting the organizers. Event organizers hold lots of “connection power” and when you're one of the first people showing up you can help, get to know them, and compliment the setup. There exists a decent chance it'll even enable you to get a “shout out” during any microphone time later in the event.
 3) Don't Talk Insurance insurance-networking-conversationsNot only is insurance boring, but every business networking event I've ever been to is crawling with insurance agents. Sooner or later, every networker has been stuck talking to a super-boring insurance guy and they're forever searching to steer clear of the situation. Even if someone wants to fairly share insurance, make an effort to push it off until after the event. That way you will be in a much better situation to market and you will discover out whether they're really interested or were just making small talk.
 4) Find More Networking Events There are certainly a lot more opportunities than just the neighborhood chamber of commerce. Think away from box, ask around, and have a look at this list to get you thinking: Chambers of Commerce Business Networking Groups Mastermind Groups Meetup.com Groups Charity Events School Board Meetings High School Sports Games Local Youth Sports Events City Government And have a look at local event sites like Eventbrite, Eventful, and Patch.com
 5) Send Your Staff You do not have to accomplish most of the networking yourself. In fact, it's probably more important that your producers are available shaking hands than you are. Don't just send them blind, give them some goals and objectives and make sure they are read this information! 6) Have Memorable Cards funny-business-card-for-insurance-networkingPeople expect you (the insurance guy) can have some boring business cards. Surprise them! I'll write another article with ideas for business cards that be noticeable so I'm not digging deep into that here but be creative and cause them to become stand out. At the very least, put your picture on there. And in addition, for anyone captive guys who say they're stuck with the company issued cards… The marketing police don't head to your chamber of commerce meetings and nobody can stop you from marketing yourself (not the agency) though the heck you would like to. Or put a funny sticker or stamp on the back.
 7) Set Networking Goals Like anything running a business, proper goals will boost your results. Create a measurable goal for networking like adding new LinkedIn Connections, giving away a particular amount of business cards, or sending a particular number of follow-up emails to your contacts. Like any goals you add, these should be centered on the activities that lead to sales, not the particular sales themselves.

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8 Referral Marketing Suggestions to Get Referrals And Sell More Insurance

  April 06, 2018    

8 Referral Marketing Suggestions to Get Referrals And Sell More Insurance
 1) Help Clients Identify Referral Targets Here's a workout to illustrate this time: Exercise #1 - Excluding your coworkers and family, consider someone you know that could be very happy to win $200 today&hellip ;.Don't move ahead until you've thought of someone… Exercise #2 - Now think of a friend that could be very happy to win $200 today. The first question is harder for most people to answer because it's hard to think about just one person out of tens and thousands of qualifiers. The next question has fewer options to select from, but I bet you almost certainly just had a mental image of your neighbor holding one hundred dollar bill with a large smile on his face. Am I right? The purpose is, whenever you ask clients to refer your agency, give them a specific group to choose from. Instead of making a broad request, say something like, “Is there anyone in your church group that may really take advantage of saving a hundred or so dollars on insurance?&rdquo ;
.2) Recommend-a-Friend Functionality on Your Website Honestly, I don't discover how effective something like this is for you, but having a full page or even a box somewhere in your agency website which allows people to send an email to a pal recommending your agency might work. I believe a whole page could are better when compared to a little box somewhere because I expect it'd take a little convincing to have people to really stop trying their friend's email address and you'd have to get rid of the perceived threat of having your friend spammed.
3) Email Signature Your email signature is just a block of text that shows up automatically in the bottom of one's emails. Most agents have their contact information and maybe an url to their website. They are a good places to request a referral because it's really easy for the recipient who is already reading your email to forward it to someone. Use “Forward My Contact Information” as your actual call to action to remind the reader specifically how exactly to recommend you and encourage them to do so.
4) Remove the Risk One reason people hesitate to refer your agency is basically because they're afraid of looking bad if you don't execute a good job. By recommending your agency to a friend they're putting their reputation on the line. If your agency is rude, doesn't return telephone calls, or has horrible rates they'll look bad for recommending you! Reveal to your clients the way you handle referred business. Emphasize that you give referred leads very special treatment and that you're not planning to hound referrals with 20 calls during dinner time and put them on a message spam list. (Save that for your web leads)
5) Thank Referrers on Your Facebook Page When you receive a customer referral, venture out to your Facebook page and thank the one who so long as referral out in the open for all to see. This accomplishes many things. It shows the referrer simply how much you appreciate their gesture which should get you more referrals from them. It shows everyone just how much you appreciate referrals which will allow you to get more referrals from other Facebook fans. In addition, it reinforces to your existing clients that other folks are so happy along with your agency that they're sending their friends. This social-proof should enhance your client perception and retention.
6) Give Two Business Cards This one is sort of simple, whenever you hand out your cards give everyone two and inquire further to hand out the next one. Produce something cool to state like, “Here's one for you and one for your friend who drives probably the most expensive car and has probably the most speeding tickets.
7) Identify Clients With the Most Friends Okay, I understand it's a bit devious, but in many cases you will look at someone's public Facebook profile and see just how many friends they have. You are able to do the same for connections on LinkedIn too. The more friends they have the more important it's to deal with them right and look for referrals. You could make it element of your new business process or check out all the folks who already like your agency Facebook page. Set up a special category of clients which can be uber-connected and walk out your means for this group of clients to wow and amaze them. They can probably generate a lot more leads than your agency's FB page can. Bear in mind – younger individuals have much more Facebook friends but that doesn't indicate they're better targets for generating referrals.
8) Use LinkedIn for Targeted Referrals LinkedIn has an appealing feature which could help you obtain referrals for specific prospects that you're attempting to sell to. Once you look at the LinkedIn profile of someone you're not associated with and you are both associated with a next person, LinkedIn will show you who that third person is. This implies you are able to send an informal message to the person you're both connected with requesting which they introduce you. Obviously a lot depends on your relationship with this third person but you never know.

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7 Referral Marketing Suggestions to Get Referrals And Sell More Insurance

  April 06, 2018    

7 Referral Marketing Suggestions to Get Referrals And Sell More Insurance
 I know several agents who hate asking for referrals because they're afraid of bothering clients or asking for “too much&rdquo ;.I realize the mentality, but it's wrong. Whenever you allow it to be easy and risk-free for clients to refer your agency, you're doing them a favor! Why is that? Because referrals are social currency. We all prefer to recommend quality companies and products together because it is a means of helping one another. Unfortunately, many insurance agents are never properly taught just how to request referrals in a highly effective and comfortable way. This results in conversations such as this: Agent: “If you value the service I've provided you, please tell me 3 people that might also benefit from my excellent service…” Client: [awkward pause] “Oh… Um… Well… I suppose you may call my… I don't genuinely have any phone numbers with me right now…” Agent: “Sorry… can't let you go until I get my names…” I'd hate for you yourself to deprive clients of the capability to help their friends and I must say i don't want you to have an awkward conversation so… Here's 7 referral marketing ideas to get you started on the right path:
1) Change Your Attitude About Referrals Stop telling yourself you're “requesting referrals” and imagine this instead: “I'm helping my clients increase their social status by which makes it easy for them to recommend a nearby business that's easy to work with, cares about it's customers, and can save their friends tens of thousands of dollars” If you have trouble convincing yourself of this, your challenge might be deeper than just needing more referrals.
2) Create a Referral Reward Program A referral reward program is an established system you employ to thank clients who refer your agency. It may include many different ideas within this informative article, however the important element is that its an established, repeatable, and easy-to-follow procedure. Establishing the state referral reward program offers many advantages: It's easy for the producers to explain to customers. It makes an “un-thanked” referral less inclined to happen. You can generate promotional materials about it. (flyers, etc.) Your web visitors will know what to anticipate should they refer someone and will be more likely to accomplish it.
3) Be in Your Clients'Cell Phones If your clients don't have your contact information on them somewhere they'll be less able to totally recommend you to their friends. Make certain every client has your contact information inside their address book. Program it inside for them and don't stop at getting just one single person in the family. Insist on having your contact information into each phone in the house. It's easy in the event that you frame it right: explain the benefits of having your phone number on submit case there is ever an emergency. I understand agents that go so far as to insist the client input it within the office and they'll followup with new customers to ensure the agency gets programmed in the rest of the family phones. It really looks to the client like you truly want to be available for them, which really is a good thing!
 4) Referral Cards to Hand Out Make-up some cards together with your logo, agency contact information, and a spot that says: “Referred by _________&rdquo ;.Handwrite your client's name in the blank space and give it for them to pass along. You may mail these out or put them in your business packet, but I'd recommend actually handing them to your clients at a time when they'll be required to put them within their wallet or purse.
5) Check Out Rocket Referrals I looked into this business out following the fifth different agent told me about them and I'm convinced they have an awesome system. It's called Rocket Referrals and it is a turnkey system that identifies the clients who are usually to refer your agency and reaches out to them by mail and email to request referrals. It's pretty cool system and I saw the demo but I don't really discover how everything works so if you'd be thinking about making the referral process automated check out their website here.
 6) Practice Your Referral Talkpaths Think you're too cool or too good to rehearse your sales conversations with a pal or facing the mirror? You're not. The average NFL football game has about 11 minutes of actual playing time. If Payton Manning can spend 100 hours every week get yourself ready for 11 minutes of execution (half of which he's on the bench) I believe you are able to practice your referral scripts a few times per week, right?
7) Describe Your Target Customer One reason clients hesitate to refer your agency is really because they don't really want to check bad when they recommend your services and your prices are sky high. Remove the danger in your clients'eyes by explaining they kinds of customers you've probably the most competitive rates for. For example, “We have the lowest priced rate around 95% of that time period for homeowners with good credit and a clear driving record&rdquo ;.Or, “If you know someone with a DWI previously 2 years, we're the most effective agency to help them out.” Just be careful not to inform customers your target client is the opposite of them. They'll question whether they've got the right agency!

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6 Welcome Kit Ideas For New Insurance Customers

  April 06, 2018    

6 Welcome Kit Ideas For New Insurance Customers
 In fact, making a sale is so very hard that agents often forget the most important section of developing a successful insurance agency: Developing a ROCK-SOLID relationship with every client. There's no better time forge that relationship and boost the lifespan of one's clients than soon after the intital sale, but it's an easy task to miss because it's so exciting simply to close the deal. That's why I will suggest creating a formal Welcome Kit for new clients. Traditionally, a pleasant kit is really a folder saturated in papers for you to explain face-to-face but it doesn't need to be the same as that. The purpose is simply to have something formal to walk every new client through all the most crucial things they should know as a customer of yours. Here's 6 ideas to get you started on building your brand-new customer welcome kit: 
1) Conversation Checklist Create a simple one-page checklist of all the things you intend to discuss with each new client. (this article would be a good starting point) The checklist ensures everything is covered and also keeps the client engaged and receptive by outlining the info you're likely to cover. Use it because the introduction in the beginning and to review at the end.
 2) Everything We Sell Sheet Unless your agency is like the Progressive commercials with shelves saturated in policies, your clients won't know what else you sell if you do not tell them. Why don't you allow it to be easy yourself? Produce a simple one-page sheet that shows all the various policies and products you sell. Show it to every new client, use it in their welcome kit, and take a couple of minutes to proceed through it. Here's a some of the benefits: You might produce a cross-sale right then and there. It can help you collect x-dates. It prepares the client for future conversations about additional lines. It prevents the client from buying another distinct insurance somewhere else. It trains the client to be always a better referrer of one's agency. It reinforces the concept as possible support almost all their insurance needs forever. Hmm&hellip ;.After discovering dozens of reasons I'm thinking maybe you must wear it a refrigerator magnet!
 3) Referral Program Explanation I believe a lot of agents don't create an established referral program since it sounds complicated and they're confident they're already handling referred business well. That's fine, I'm sure you are. But if that you do not establish a proper referral program you're passing up on a huge opportunity – making it easy for the producers to share referrals with clients. Produce a one-page sheet that explains: The way you “reward” clients who refer you. The manner in which you handle the friends they refer. The forms of clients who you have the very best products for. Giving your producers something to fairly share reduces the anxiety over “asking” for a referral because they're not requesting anything – they're just explaining the program
. 4) The Client's Policy Documents If you print out your new clients actual policy (or application), they'll be more prone to hang on to the whole package. (Along with the other marketing goodies you add in there.) Inform them they may require it someday so use it in a secure place and don't throw it out
. 5) ID Card Holders I'm a cheapskate, but I don't think this can be a place to skimp. Acquire some nice ID Card Holders for your auto insurance clients. They're paying a large number of dollars and all they disappear with is a bit of paper. Put it in a nice package for them
. 6) Connect With Us Sheet I'd prefer your brand-new clients walk from your agency having already liked your Facebook page, followed you on Twitter, and connected with your staff and you on LinkedIn but that's not totally possible, is it? Create a simple one-page sheet that explains your different social media marketing accounts with URLS to each. As I've written before, don't just ask them to connect, explain WHY your clients should WANT for connecting with you.

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5 Approaches to Sell More Insurance by Practicing and Studying Sales

  April 06, 2018    

5 Approaches to Sell More Insurance by Practicing and Studying Sales
 It's like saying you're born to be a world-class athlete and effort has nothing related to it. Try telling that to Ray Lewis. Sure, we're all born with different abilities but: No-one ever achieves greatness without practice. Practice makes everyone better no matter ability. But you do not need practice, right? You're a natural. You're a born salesman. You are able to sell ice to eskimos and plastic surgery to Joan Rivers. Right? Then I suppose that you don't need to learn this article. But if you'd like to offer more insurance, make more money, and take better care of your loved ones you need to practice. Here's 5 ideas for practicing and studying sales techniques.
1) Work with a Mirror mirror-for-sales-practiceIf you believe it's stupid to practice facing the mirror you're missing the point. The mirror doesn't give you magical insight about the body language or facial expressions, oahu is the foundation of sales practice. Selling to the mirror is similar to shooting hoops all on your own in the driveway. It's much less fun as playing with others but it's always available, always helpful and time spent on your own on personal development gives you more confidence. Have you been one of these simple kids who needs private lessons to obtain off the couch or have you been self-motivated enough to get better on your own?
2) Role Play with a Colleague Co-workers are good for role-playing since they know the material, they know all of the objections, and they've much more experience with different insurance sales situations. Afraid of how your co-workers will react in the event that you ask them to assist you practice sales conversations? Ask them anyway, leaving your comfort zone is one of many first lessons in sales!
3) Role Play with a Non-Insurance Person Sometimes you are able to gain deeper insight by practicing with somebody who doesn't understand most of the intricacies of insurance like you do. It's the best way to find out if you're overdoing the jargon. And in the end, your target clients are not your co-workers, they're people who don't know jack about insurance.
4) Record Yourself on Video If you're squeemish about role-playing to begin with, maybe just skip to the next one and pretend you didn't read this. It's challenging seeing yourself on video but I promise it can be helpful. Try to find things such as: Proper amount of eye contact? Do you appear confident? Are you currently fidgety or visually distracting? Have you been listening attentively or waiting to talk again?
5) Record Your Voice Whenever you watch a movie of yourself there's a tendency to pay more awareness of visual cues while auditory ones may be lost. Also, it's easy to use a voice recorder or your smartphone to record live sales conversations without your prospect even knowing.

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Just how to Make Your Insurance Quotes Stand Out – 5 New Ideas winning-insurance-quotes

  April 06, 2018    

Just how to Make Your Insurance Quotes Stand Out – 5 New Ideas winning-insurance-quotes
It's great when shoppers get an insurance quote from you and no one else. Before you wake up. This happens occasionally from a referral or networking, but it's much more common that your quotes are competing with several others for your prospect's attention. So how will you make your quotes stick out? Obviously having the cheapest price is very helpful – but it's out of your control and isn't as vital as you think. And there's salesmanship – but that you don't always get a chance to utilize it with every prospect. If you wish to be successful, your quotes ABSOLUTELY MUST stand out from the competition, otherwise your only chance would be to win on price. And when you can only win on price, you won't be employed for very long. Here's 22 ways to produce your insurance quotes stand out so you will get more callbacks, sell more, and make more money:
 1) Make use of a Picture of the Insured Item insured-item-pictureIf you actually would like to get your prospects attention, work with a picture of that they're attempting to insure. It is possible to use Google Images to get a picture of any car, boat, or motorcycle and for property insurance you can use Google Earth or Google Streetview, and the “Bird's Eye” imagery on Bing Maps is extremely cool. A photo of that to be insured will give your quote a much more “custom” feel and it'll grab their attention so don't put it on page 9, use it front and center. And in the event that you can't change the way your quotes look, maybe you can include an address page or something by combining multiple PDFs.
 2) Work Around the Technology Sure it's cool whenever your system automatically sends the chance a quote, but does it generate the most breathtaking layout and messaging? I doubt it. Be creative and think of ways you can work for this (without violating your carrier's rules of course) Is it possible to email the quote to yourself, make adjustments, and then send it to the client? Are you able to create a custom cover page and merge it to the PDF quote document? Are you able to print the quote on something besides standard white paper? Keep reading for more ideas…
3) Use Color I know this sounds such as a very basic idea, but lots of bright colors will grab people's attention. Especially if they're looking through a lot of boring black and white quotes. And if you can't change the way in which your quotes look, you can still print them on bright colored paper if you're planning to mail them out. Or bright colored envelopes!
4) Put in a Personal Video Message I am aware it sounds such as a pretty daunting task, but if you have a webcam and you create a simple 30 second script to record a custom video message with every quote you'll really stand out. Check out a site like CoVideo to create it easy. You can find similar services with a simple Google search. If nothing else, making a custom video to incorporate along with your quotes should get prospects to call you back!
5) Custom Quote Summary Image quote-summary-imageThis idea is really a bit out there, but open your brain and give it a chance. Individuals are busy. They don't want to learn by way of a 12 page PDF document filled with insurance jargon if you're able to suggest to them everything they need in one picture. Why do you think people engage more with images on Facebook and social support systems like Pinterest & Instagram are removing? Use a free online photo editor like PicMonkey and allow it to be quite simple for individuals to obtain the major points at a glance. Possibly even use Tip #1 to create it really eye-catching. I am aware it seems like a lot of work but once you produce a template to put it to use wouldn't take more than a minute or two to create each one.

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