With even the best aged leads, your success still depends on one thing: the follow-up. But not just any old follow-up plan will get you the results you want. If you don’t have the right insurance agent sales tools on hand, you’re going to have a much more difficult time managing your sales pipeline and seeing the sales growth you want.
The answer is in working smarter, not harder. Many tech tools today can make your life easier on the job, letting you work more efficiently, methodically, and quickly, than you may think possible. Here’s a list of some of my favorite agent tools and when to use them.
Cold-Calling with a Dialer and CRM
Cold-calling leads can be one of the tougher parts of the sales business for a lot of people. An extended period on the phone, hang-ups, busy signals, and answering machines, and folks who you may catch at a bad time. But you know as well as I do, cold-calling is crucial for business, the key is to get smarter about how you do it.
I can’t recommend an autodialer and customer relationship management (CRM) software pairing highly enough. WIth preview dialing or even progressive dialing capabilities, a simple autodialer software setup can really speed up your calls. By some estimates, you can call four times as many numbers in the same block of time with a quality dialer like those by Velocify or CallFire.
Organizing and sorting your leads, making notes, setting follow-up alarms and so on can really streamline your work. A CRM lets you do all this and more. Radius, an option made just for the insurance business is one solid pick with good features. Another great option is Agency Prospecting, the Aged Lead Store’s own private label edition of Hot Prospector. This software is a great all-in-one option with a CRM, dialer, email and SMS marketing, and more.
Warm-Calling with a Script Tool
Warm prospects are those you have a bit more connection to, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t work to do and a tool to help you do it better. It’s rare you’ll have that one lead you met at a business event and far more likely you’ll have hundreds of leads you’ve sent information to for one product line or another. A script tool is a great boon to following up with these leads.
A tool like SalesScripter, software which helps generate sales scripts and email templates, can help you automate your follow-up work, making the most of your warm lead calls. Writing and rewriting scripts the old-fashioned way can take a lot of trial and error, especially if you’re starting from scratch. I like that this kind of tool offers a library of scripts and templates that are custom-tailored to your particular business line of products and services.
Lead Nurturing with Marketing Automation
Of course, in today’s marketplace, a couple of phone calls usually isn’t enough to close a sale. Research says many leads require six contacts to close, though close they do. With the volume many agents working with aged leads have to deal with, this can be overwhelming. That’s why another important tool in your arsenal should be a marketing automation solution. It’s absolutely a must for nurturing leads through to a sale.
Beyond its CRM, Radius also offers a series of automation tools, such as autoresponders, email drip campaign capabilities, and text messaging capabilities. GoGoClients is another affordable option, that allows agents to easily build and host landing pages where you can send your leads. SharpSpring and Marketo and further options for agents or agencies looking for an automation solution.
Closing Thoughts
Remember, the first rule with aged leads is: follow up, follow up, follow up. That is the key to working these leads, and really any leads in today’s competitive insurance sales world. And of course, if you have many leads to follow up with, you are going to need the right tools so that you can work smartly and efficiently. So get a dialer, get a CRM, use a script tool and automate your lead nurturing and marketing efforts. Give yourself the advantages you need to build the kind of sales business you dream of.
Ready to put your new automation software to the test? Fill your pipeline with a fresh supply of high-quality aged leads from The Aged Lead Store. You’ll find thousands of sortable aged leads, ready to boost your sales, whether your business is auto, life, health, Medicare supplement or homeowners insurance, annuities, auto warranty coverage, mortgage refinance, or solar installation.
