It’s no secret that closing deals is the bread and butter of every successful insurance agency, and continually prospecting for customers is an integral part of scaling growth. If you’re working with a lead partner like ZipQuote, you’re likely getting many qualified leads, but you must continue to work those leads and build relationships to find and retain the right customers for your products, encourage referrals and future-proof your book of business. The following 5 best practices may help you prospect successfully and create optimized sales strategies that can grow your business.
If you aren’t prospecting every day, you’re missing opportunities. Prospecting should become a consistent and ongoing source of engagement and revenue growth at your insurance agency. Set aside time in your calendar to jump on the phone, send an email or connect with prospects each day. During this time you’ll not only be setting up the possibility of closing sales at some point, you’ll be practicing your phone skills, including handling objections, and getting to know which customers best fit your business. Just like speed to lead, being on the phone and getting to know your potential customers is the surest way to make sure they remember you and not another agency as they make their purchasing decisions.
You’ve spent time hiring the right people, implementing the best training programs and stocking up on the most up-to-date and helpful technology, all of which will also help you with prospecting. Consider adding more trainings on prospecting, working on scripts with salespeople and consistently updating your customer relationship management (CRM) system so that it includes notes from outreach. As you add new products or your insurance agency grows, there could be new opportunities for nurturing prospects and ultimately signing new policyholders.
Reach out to your most loyal customers and ask them to refer people to you. 92% of consumers trust referrals from people they know and it’s a prospecting strategy that can solidify your relationship with existing clients and help you add policyholders. You can also offer small incentives like gift cards, but make sure to research applicable laws about offering gifts. Always be sure to send personalized thank you emails to make sure your referring customers feel valued.
Congratulations, you closed a deal! Your work with that now active client isn’t over yet, and they should still be considered a prospecting target for a number of reasons. First, as stated above, they may be a future source of personal referrals. Secondly, they can provide feedback that can strengthen your prospecting engine. Have they filled out a customer survey, written a review or talked with your customer service team about their experience? This information is invaluable to future sales and should be actively pursued. Lastly, if your agency adds life insurance, home insurance or pet insurance, existing policyholders are excellent prospects for cross-selling those new products. When you consider the importance of retention to keeping your business growing, a client with multiple accounts may be even more likely to stick around.
Be persistent! If you’ve promised to send prospects more information via email or text, make sure that you do. Additionally, it’s a good idea to follow-up any phone calls with thank you emails or text messages, and if possible and appropriate, personalize the messages. For example, a prospect may be looking for insurance for the new teen driver in their house. When you mention that nugget of information, it shows you were listening and that you care about their business. Many prospects may prefer forms of communication other than the phone, and by being aware of this and keeping in touch, you could stand out from other agents who aren’t paying attention. A multifaceted approach to prospecting is expected from many customers in the digital age, and should be a part of your sales strategy.
A regular, consistent and effective prospecting strategy is essential to long-term growth at your agency, but first you need great leads! Partner with a lead provider like ZipQuote – we’ll connect you with prospects in real-time so you can quickly start applying follow-up best practices that can scale your business. The experienced ZipQuote team is committed to helping you connect with high-intent prospects through lead generation and live call transfers, so you can engage high-intent prospects and scale your ROI. From first lead to a strong customer experience strategy, your agency can build from the ground up.
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