Exclusivefocus Summer 2012.pdf - National Association of ...

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sales and marketingCreating a Mega AgencyWithout a Mega BudgetBy Robyn SharpMaking sales is a big priority inyour business. There is alwaysa lot of pressure to producemore, retain more, and grow your agency.Unfortunately, a lot of agents don’t thinkthey can do it because they don’t have abig budget to work with. Between lowercommission rates, payroll and high overhead,marketing can quickly fall behind.But all marketing doesn’t have to beexpensive. When you look beyond directmail and internet leads, you’ll find a lotof budget-friendly options that lead tomore prospects and more referrals. Beloware eight cost-effective ways to getstarted creating a mega agency withouthaving a mega budget.Create anAgency Facebook PageFacebook is a free option that only requiresa little time and creativity to keep itfresh and up to date. Sign up for a free accountat www.facebook.com and you canbe up and running in less than 10 minutes.The key to using Facebook to generatemore quotes is by reaching a lot of localpeople and increasing your name andbrand awareness while showing that you’rean insurance expert at the same time. You’llneed at least 100 “likes” and be posting atleast one update each day. This will helpyou get out to the most people and ensurethat you’re attracting new business.Speak At Local OrganizationsThink about all of those luncheonsand groups that you attend throughoutthe year. There are organizations allover town that are looking for someoneto speak at their next meeting and youcould be just what they need.You don’t have to be a professionalspeaker in order to make this a usefuland easy strategy for increasing quotes inyour agency. Half the battle in insuranceagency marketing is awareness. You wantpeople to choose your agency over thehundreds of other options available inyour community and on the Internet. Inorder for this to happen consistently, youneed to reach as many people as possible.Start contacting local groups like theKiwanis Club, Lions Club, or Rotary.See if they need a speaker and offer totalk about ways individuals can lower insurancecosts. This is an interesting topicand will give you a chance to help peopleand attract quotes at the same time! Tryto book at least one speaking opportunityevery quarter at a minimum, but aimfor a monthly event. Once you’ve spokena few times, you’ll notice that people willstart contacting you often.Promote Referral RewardsReferral rewards programs are popularright now. A lot of agents reward theirclients for sending a friend to them fora quote by giving away a small gift card,a lottery ticket, or entering them in amonthly drawing for a larger prize likedinner and a movie.Beyond what you use as a reward, thekey to getting more referrals is to ask forthem! You want to make this programsomething you and your staff talk aboutall the time. Make flyers, mention it toevery client that comes in the door, postit on your Facebook page, and do anythingelse you can think of to make surethat everyone knows about your rewardsprogram. The more you and your staffmention it, the more likely that peoplewill remember to send business your way.Run an Annual Life InsuranceCampaignRather than just waiting for life insurancesales to trickle in throughout the year,make it a point to go after them. Create amarketing campaign for life insurance tofamilies with young children. While youmight not have a way to narrow down thelist specifically, you could easily target allof your clients that are married and betweenthe ages of 25 and 40.Send postcards, make phone calls, poston social media, and send an email toeveryone on the list. Talk about how importantand affordable life insurance is foryoung families. Make it a point to quoteas many as possible each year. Prospectingfor life insurance should be an ongoingprocess every day. Don’t wait until the endof the year when you’re rushing to hit youryear-end Expected Results.12 — Exclusivefocus Summer 2012
Support a Charityto Get Facebook FansIf you’re struggling to grow your Facebookfans, here is an affordable option.Choose a local charity to support andannounce that you’ll be donating $1 forevery new “Like” on your page. Make ita short deadline (no more than a week orso) and start promoting.Agents have easily gained 200 fans inonly a few short days with this strategy.It’s a win-win solution that supports agreat cause while giving local residents agreat reason to “like” your business. Andwhen you have more “likes,” you’ll be ableto use Facebook to attract more quotes.Network Three Times a WeekNetworking is an easy way to bringin new quotes without spending a lotof money. You probably already belongto your local Chamber of Commerce orBoard of Realtors. Now it is time to reallyfocus on connecting with the individualsthat you meet.Make a goal to schedule three one-ononenetworking meetings each week. Itcould be a quick lunch or a meeting at acoffee shop. Sit down with someone andlearn more about their business and seehow you can help one another.This helps build your reputation inthe community, while getting connectedwith a lot of new potential clients!Celebrate Each VictoryThis might not generate sales directly,but it will help boost morale in your office.If you want more sales, you need tomake sure that your staff understandshow important it is. Make it a point tocelebrate every time someone sells a newpolicy. Ring a bell, cheer, blow a partyhorn, anything to get everyone smilingand excited.Show your team how much you appreciatetheir hard work. Recognition goesa long way in fueling their performance.Monoline ConversionsWhile it may be out of your budgetto send out direct mail each month tounknown prospects, it can be quite affordablewhen your list is a little smaller.Monoline policy holders already knowyou and your agency. They are morelikely to be receptive to your marketing,especially if they have an opportunity tosave on their current policy with a multilinediscount.Send a postcard and have your teamfollow up with a phone call for a quote.You could break the list up and onlysend a few each month to keep it manageable.This will help generate newsales while increasing your retention atthe same time.Implement these eight marketing strategiesand start generating new quotes andgrowing your agency without breakingthe bank. EfRobyn Sharp is a former agency owner andwriter of the Mega Agency Marketing blogat www.MegaAgencyMarketing.com. Visitthe website and get a free copy of her checklist“59 Ways to Attract All the InsuranceClients You Need.”Summer 2012 Exclusivefocus — 13
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