It’s officially the start of the second quarter. Whether you experienced record growth in Q1 or if you are looking back trying to figure out how to boost a slower start to the year, one thing is for sure: nearly all insurance agents often wonder, “How do I increase my conversion rates?” In part one of our series, we will help insurance agents re-evaluate the ways they understand and approach the sales funnel.
It is rare that a consumer goes from contact to close without experiencing many milestones along the way. There are four key stages of the sales funnel: awareness, consideration, purchase and retention. No matter where your contacts are in the sales funnel, there are a variety of useful strategies to boost conversion rates. Sales is a process, which means insurance agents need to be successful in moving a current or prospective client through each step of the process. A strong sales strategy should be built on the concept of small wins at every stage of the customer journey.
Most insurance agents have likely seen the sales process represented by an upside-down triangle, creating a funnel image. The funnel is usually very wide at the top and more narrow toward the bottom. While this is a traditional and common representation of the sales process, it isn’t a one-size-fits-all model. The truth is, not all prospects start their customer journeys at the same stage in the funnel. Instead, it might be more helpful to imagine the sales journey as a ring. In the ring method, prospects move from the outer rings to the inner rings depending on where they are in the sales process.
Key Actions At Every Stage Of The Process
Instead of only thinking about conversions, insurance agents should broaden their approach to consider all key actions they want consumers to take. Each phase or stage of the sales process has different actions that are essential to driving overall conversion rates.
The attract and engage rings to occur during the awareness and consideration phases of the sales process. The educate and convert rings are represented during the consideration and purchase stages. Your core clients are recognized during the retention part of the sales process. As you might notice, there is some overlap between stages. When using the ring method to understand your insurance sales strategy, remember the following factors:
- Attract the audiences that are unfamiliar with you and your services
- Engage consumers interested in insurance solutions, but who are not yet connected to you
- Educate prospects at all levels of intent based on your experience and expertise
- Convert high-intent prospects that you have successfully identified, connected and engaged with already
- Re-engage your core clients to maintain strong customer relationships and boost customer retention rates
When aiming to attract and engage consumers, insurance agents need to deploy tactics that increase brand awareness. To educate consumers, insurance agents should use a multi-channel approach. This way they can deliver information in a variety of ways to prospects seeking solutions. Consumer education is essential during the consideration and purchase phases. Prior to the purchase stage, contacts will likely require more consistent communication, nurturing and follow-up before being comfortable enough to close a deal. Sales conversions become most important during the purchase stage.
Using the ring method can help insurance agents adjust their focus. This way agents can commit to a customer success strategy built on a foundation of achieving results throughout each stage of the customer journey. The most effective sales process amplifies customer experience through customer success.
Deploy Marketing Tactics That Align With Each Stage Of The Sales Process
If you are looking to connect with more consumers who are actively searching for insurance, ZipQuote can help. When you partner with ZipQuote, you can expect the assistance of a knowledgeable team of professionals who want to see you succeed. Click here to learn more about how ZipQuote can help you grow your business.