- Image by Alex Osterwalder via Flickr
Today, buying insurance leads for many agents has become the norm. With so many options for Internet leads, many times it is difficult to know the best options. Most important is to identify just how much you are actually paying for leads. Calculate the cost per lead. Do the leads produce acceptable sales results?
Finding a good lead source is never an easy job. However, generally here are some great tips to keep in mind;
● Many agents avoid paid insurance lead options. You may hear good things about a service from one agent and horrible things about the same service from another agent. Several important factors are at play here to understand.
● Keep in mind, not all lead services are a good fit for each insurance line, example geographical region lead quality might fluctuate widely.
● Seasoned insurance agents are unlikely to disclose their most prized lead sources. These high quality money making lead sources are very valuable and protected by seasoned agents.
● There are many questionable insurance lead services so agents should do as much due diligence and testing with a lead service as possible.
● Most agents work differently, some are great at networking events. Others might be strictly Internet lead junkies that buy and surf the worldwide web for clients to call on.
How an agent works the leads plays a big role in whether or not sufficient sales result. Cold calling, email blasts, mail campaigns, and social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube are all tools of the trade when agents look to increase sales.
A good rule of thumb is to always research five or more insurance lead providers. Check each company’s reputation in terms of service and quality of leads delivered. Establish whether the insurance lead company sells exclusive or nonexclusive leads.
Price shop Internet leads by compare the pricing among the lead providers. Beware of any deposit fees that may be charged. You should avoid lead companies that charge high deposit fees, as they may be trying to secure a large upfront payment in exchange for bad insurance leads. Expect to pay higher prices for exclusive leads generated within the last 24 hours.
Work out a schedule of how often and what number of insurance leads you plan to purchase weekly and monthly. Create a budget for purchasing your insurance leads based on monthly minimums and your needs. Avoid companies that require you to purchase more than 10 leads at a time. First verify the leads are not junk.
Return policy should be clearly listed in your agreement. You will at some point get a list of bogus or junk leads. If that happens what percentage can you return? Clarify if there is a maximum number of bad lead claims you can make on a monthly or weekly basis. Look for companies that allow 15% or greater.
Determine how and in what format i.e. email, CD etc. your leads will be delivered to you. Work through this check list of items prior to making any Internet lead purchases.
