Leads

Insurance Leads – Where To Buy Them

Today I want to cover a polarizing issue among agents — shared insurance leads.

In recent years I’ve worked with many providers and have gotten a pretty good system in place to help my clients pull in a positive return with shared leads.

I mentioned the topic is polarizing because finding a combination of decent sources and working them in the right manner is the key to making them work.

Most comments you’ll find online about lead companies is pretty harsh.  This is understandable.  If you spend your marketing dollars and don’t have success few will actually blame themselves for failure even though that is the case more often than not.

You’ll be hard pressed to find a lot of positive reviews out there because…well….agents having success don’t really want to have any more competition.

So, this weekend I was talking to a buddy I’ve worked with in recent years that lives just a bit north of me in The Woodlands.

His name is Kevin Howard and it pains me to say that he can run circles around me when it comes to Internet leads.  He is absolutely fanatical about testing and measuring everything he does and it really pays off.

He told me about a website he’s been working on that I think is a great resource at InsuranceLeadReviews.com.  The site features over 18 real insurance lead review profile pages and he said he’s got more coming.

I really like what he also did with the comparison chart on the front page.  He has things broken down by line and also throws in some tips and promos.

It’s a really cool implementation and I think every agent should check it out.  There is nothing to buy and no sign up required so it’s free as it gets.  If you have a moment, please let me know what you think.

Robert

Senior Insurance Sales List Guide

Marketing insurance and financial products to the senior market can be a challenge for newcomers.  While the older generations are certainly warming up to technology, it is important to utilize traditional and comfortable outlets to reach a broad section of the market.

To do this I like to utilize marketing lists which can be used for both direct mail and cold calling (if scrubbed against the DNC).  Mail and phone are both channels that perform well with seniors due in large part because they have more time to read the mail, talk on the phone and take in-person appointments.

Regardless of how a marketing sales list is used I wanted to write this short guide for those of you looking to buy list for a specific senior product.

For starters I suggest testing multiple list providers.  Some will have rigid filters and fields and others will offer a lot more flexibility.  Most of them will have similar data from various sources, much of which is aggregated public data and data from credit reporting agencies.

What is important is the accuracy of the data which is most often related to when it was collected.  Look for an accuracy guarantee of at least 90% or higher.

When buying a list I like to get as many fields as possible for cross promoting, custom filtering and for informational talking points.  Most list providers will offer the primary filtered fields along with name, gender, postal info and carrier route at a minimum.  Additional non-filtered fields that may or may not be offered can include age, date of birth, homeowner/renter, length at residence, marital status, children (age), dwelling size, home value, income, net worth, number of vehicles,  and household size.  There are actually many other fields that vary across list providers but these are all typically in the service’s master file.

Senior Product Filters for Sales Lists

This list offers some of my preferred filters for senior market products.  I created it as a base starting point to narrow the audience.  You can filter additional fields to narrow down your ideal prospect even more.

Final Expense

Age: 60-80
Income: Under $75,000

Medicare

Age: 64-80
Income: $20,000 to $90,000

Notes: Marketing regulations prohibit cold calling for Medicare Advantage products so if you can get a lower cost for a list without phone numbers go for it.  If you plan to sell Medicare supplement products or promote alternative products first you may want to elect to keep the phone numbers.

T65

Date of Birth: Turning 65 birth date ranging 3 months before and after your send data (Tight Targeting)
Age: 64-65 (Broad Targeting)
Income: Less Than $100,000

Annuity

Age: 45-70
Income: More Than $50,000

Long Term Care

Age: 45-70
Income: More Than $40,000
Marital Status: Married

Again, these are just personal suggestions.  Feel free to tweak or add your own filters to meet your preferences.  I hope it helps you.

For those of you that might need a bit more info before jumping into senior products and marketing sources you can find some good info to get you on your way here, here, here and here.

A Health Insurance Leads Action Plan

keys to health insurance leads

Over the past year or so I have had an uptick in questions with regards to marketing and leads for health.  Confusion is still very high among consumers when it comes to the Affordable Care Act.  Add to that that there are a lot more people looking at their options and you have opportunity.

I have given my thoughts enough times that I figured it was time to put it down in writing so I could offer up a link.  This is a very general framework and you can add any ancillary techniques you like but these are the cornerstones I see working.

Please also note that most people asking are newer to the game and have more time available than marketing budget.  If you already have a strong book mailers are clearly going to be a better option than cold calls and door knocking.

My Health Insurance Lead Plan

I have found that a combo of marketing and lead buying in addition to great service and follow up (for referrals) is the best bet.  That said, there is no one size fits all magic formula to attack health insurance leads. Please consider these suggestions starting blocks rather than absolutes.

The combo that is right for you really depends on your available time and budget. My suggestions are based on personal experience and a number of folks I know that take different angles based on their target market. Clearly the audience is key and the same methods might not be as effective for Medicare sales as a 30 something SMB owner.

Low Cost / High Time – Marketing

Public data and data lists for mailers and cold calls have been good options for lead gen. The key is having a tight market and a proven mailer.  Once you have a list be sure to spend a lot of time on the mailer.  Take a look at mailers see from carriers, ask agents what is working at place like Insurance-Forums.net or hire a copywriter if you are not sure.  Also be sure to test different versions over time (both message and format) and stick with the best responder.

With direct mail the response will be slower than online ads but you can definitely get consistent and reliable results.

Obviously mailers are going to be more costly than calling or door knocking.  The trade-off is that they scale.  If you try your hand at calling you will want to scrub any lists against the do not call registry if you are working the consumer market.

Sources:
https://telemarketing.donotcall.gov/faq/faqbusiness.aspx
https://insuranceleadsguide.com/insurance-leads/insurance-agency-marketing-tools/ – See Direct Mail and List Services
https://island-of-freedom.com/senior-insurance-sales-list-guide/

Higher Cost / Less Time – Lead Buying

I have found shared internet leads to be the best bet for the time invested. Exclusive can be great if you have a good source but I they are often fleeting and much lower volume.

The caveat with shared health leads is that you have to test the market and find lead vendors that deliver well in your territory. Every vendor has strengths and weaknesses and they vary greatly by location / ZIP.  You have to put the time in and set reasonable expectations.  This is critical.

When factoring your ROI don’t base everything solely on the instant results. Also consider expected conversion with follow up, cross-sell opportunities, renewals and expected rate of referral from new clients.

Sources:
http://www.healthinsuranceleads.com/
https://www.insuranceleadreviews.com/leads/health/
http://www.insuranceleads101.com/health-insurance-leads/

Online Ad Automation

Regardless of where and how you market or advertise always be sure to include your website or agency profile page.

Hopefully you have some backend control that will allow you to place Facebook and Google Analytics or Adwords retargeting tags. This will allow you to create those ads that follow you around based on sites you visit. Yes, they can be creepy but they are crazy effective.

Anyone that hits your site will be added to the retargeting list which you can then create ads for users that have already shown some level of interest in your services.  You can target audiences by specific page visited so be sure to funnel visitors where you want them to go in your email or mailer.

These ads end up being very cheap compared to all other sources and help to automate the follow up process with more passive points of contact.

The return is as good as it gets, especially with traffic from paid leads.

Sources:
inboundascension.com/facebook-fishing-formula/
ppchero.com/ultimate-guide-to-adwords-remarketing/

The Key

There are a lot of turn and burn approaches in health.  I implore you to resist these tactics and focus on building something real and defensible.
Exceptional and helpful service is the key to everything in health. The masses are more confused and need advice. Given the high level of confusion you will find plenty of folks that will not ready to make a decision.  Give great advice, help solve problems, follow up and be sure to ask for referrals.

Before long you will see your marketing and lead buying expenses decrease because your funnel will be filling up with word of mouth referrals.