Tips to Be An Insurance Agent Pt 3

25. Reach Out to Contacts Every Day – Make friends and increase referrals without looking like a salesperson by asking questions. Strong relationships within the community are perhaps the most powerful marketing tool an agent can possess. Strengthen these relationships by calling other professionals in the community and asking them questions as often as possible. You can ask things you already know! Over time the relationship will develop and they will send you referrals. Referrals are the sweetest insurance agency marketing.

26. Smoke Detector Batteries Use smoke detector batteries as handouts at community events or as an incentive for prospects who get a quote from your agency. You could also make an event out of it and invite people to visit your agency for free batteries. Promote the event on your Facebook page and invite all your friends and clients to swing by for a free 9-volt.

27. Carry Blank Business Cards – Have you ever made a really great professional contact and they don’t have a card to give you? Sure you can give them your card but then you’re dependent on them getting back to you. Carry blank business cards with you and when you meet someone without a card pull out a pen and one of your blanks and say something like, “Oh, don’t worry. I’m always prepared so I carry blank business cards with me everywhere. What’s your phone number?”. They’ll never forget you.

28. Geurrilla Marketing Kit - Create a kit of marketing materials to keep in your car so you’ll always be prepared for a promotional opportunity. Your kit should contain a wide array of materials and mediums. Here’s some ideas for what to include in your kit: business cards, pens, brochures, postcards, 8″x11″ flyers, tear-off flyers, safety information, signs, stickers, t-shirts etc. The idea is that if a marketing opportunity pops up you want to be able to embrace it. And if you do anything creative and cool take a picture and share it through your social media accounts.

30. Advertise on Pizza Boxes – I know several agents who purchase pizza boxes with their insurance marketing in exchange for buying the boxes. Many pizza shops need to cut expenses and will make a deal. Ensure they don’t cover your insurance marketing with theirs. Boxes are under 50 cents each. Another option is to pay for plastic pizza cutters. They are more expensive but people keep them.

31. Speak at High Schools – Find informational materials and videos to use while you speak about defensive driving with high school students. Also, teaching a brief class about insurance could be a great opportunity for the students in a “life skills” class. It will certainly help to have a personal connection with someone in the school.

32. Consumer Review Websites – Websites like Yelp.com and MerchantCircle allow you to set up a profile about your agency. Visitors can write recommendations about your agency and others use these services to decide who to call. I wouldn’t quit after those two though because there’s hundreds more, in fact I wouldn’t set up any agency listings myself, I’d use this service to do it for me.

33. Sponsor the Fire or Police Department – What says community involvement and protection better than the fire and police departments? Firemen and police officers generally have very wide social networks within your local community. Find a way to get some publicity in the paper and develop strong friendships with the members.

34. Chamber of Commerce – To make it worth your time and money, you must develog stronger relationships within and contribute to the community. Chambers of Commerce are full of salespeople…be a resource by helping others and you will reap the greatest insurance marketing benefits.

35. Facebook Advertising - Ever notice those links on the right hand side of your Facebook page that usually have catchy pictures and text? Those are advertisements and they’re the reason Mark Zuckerberg is a billionare. You can pay to have your own ads show there and it’s amazing how specific you can get with your target audience, but be warned: if you can’t get a high ratio of people to click and you don’t change your ads frequently, Facebook will not show them regardless of your how much money you have. If you’re too busy selling insurance to spend too much time on your Facebook page it’s still easy to provide engaging insurance agency related content for a Facebook page using the Facebook Content Dashboard.

36. Wrap Your Car – Consider the possibility of having your vehicle professionally wrapped with your insurance agency logo. It facilitates more conversations than you expect and traffic won’t bother you as much. You could also purchase an inexpensive car magnet to put on your car when it is parked in highly visible locations or in your parking lot closer to the main road. Always be marketing.

37. Burn Through Business Cards – At some point, every one of us has been embarrassed to say, “Sorry, I don’t have a business card on me right now”. That’s unacceptable. From this point on, if you ever say that again you should turn in your insurance license. Instead make sure you always have at least a hundred on you at any time. Leave them in fishbowls, post them on bulletin boards, leave them with a generous tip if you have great service in a restaurant. Give everyone you meet at least two and don’t ever run out…

38. Create a Google+ Agency Page - I get it, you’re already tired of all the social media stuff. Between Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and whatever the flavor of the week is next month it’s hard to keep up. But there’s one reason you really need to play along with this one – it’s Google and even if no one uses Google+, it can benefit your search results. Set up your Google+ page here.  

39. Hire Commission-Only Salespeople – Not many agents have the spare cash to bring on another full-time (or even part-time) producer right now, buy you may be able to bring on a commission-only salesman. Even if you give them 100% of your sales commission, at some point they’ll leave and the renewals are yours. Ads on Craigslist are free and there’s plenty of people in the market for a job right now.

40. Customer Video Testimonials – No one can sell the benefits of doing business with your agency better than an actual customer. Most agencies have a client or two that is bananas about you, ask them a few questions and film it with your iPhone. Shoot with the client and camera in a standing position away from a wall – it will have a more candid appearance and the lack of quality will be less noticeable. 

41. Donations for Quotes – Offer to donate a certain amount of money to a charity for every quote you get. Some of the big carriers get this one wrong by donating to a national cause. Donate to local charities and get your quotes from people that are actively engaged with the charity. Get them to post it to their Facebook page and let them do all the marketing for you.

42. Refer-A-Friend Page - Create a page on your website that allows people to enter in the email address of a friend and it sends that person an email with your contact information and a recommendation about the agency. People aren’t going to use this by themselves though. You can email them a link right after you help them with something they appreciate like a billing dispute or a claim.

43. Use Fiverr.com – Fiverr.com is an awesome resource where you can hire people to do all sorts of things for only $5. There’s a bunch of ways to use Fiverr for insurance marketing like designing flyers, writing press releases, business card design, content writing, video creation and more. You really wouldn’t believe what you can get for $5.

44. Google Alerts – Google Alerts is a free service from Google that sends you an email anytime they find a new website with information you’re interested in. You can set it up to notify you anytime someone mentions your agency or to make sure you’re in the loop about all local insurance and business networking news. Learn more about Google Alerts for insurance marketing here.

45. Twitter - I know that a lot of insurance agents don’t “get” Twitter. I understand because to be honest, I don’t totally get it and I’m an internet marketing guy. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t set up a Twitter page though. Just having the page for your agency gives Google a more robust picture of your agency’s online profile which should help search results. It’s not hard to set it up to just regurgitate your Facebook posts automatically either.

46. Get Free PR – HelpAReporter.com is a free service that connects reporters with experts to interview. When you sign up for an account as an expert you’ll recieve 3 emails a day filled with opportunities to be the “industry expert” for a reporter who needs to interview someone to write a story. If you want to be interviewed, respond quickly and sell hard on why you’d be the best expert to interview.

47. Downloadable Whitepapers – A Whitepaper is basically just a fancy term for an informational report. You can turn it into a PDF and put it on your website either to generate leads or to give out for free. Keep it simple and create something highly relevant to an insurance shopper like, The top 10 Insurance Mistakes Chicago Families Make and How to Avoid Them. It’s a bit trite, but you get the point.

48. Dominate Online Maps - People find local businesses using their mobile devices more and more. And if they’re already looking on a map, it’s a pretty good indication they’re serious about finding a local company too. Following the standard practices of local search engine optimization will also improve your visibility with online maps and smartphone apps. Click here for an insurance agency SEO plan that helps agencies dominate local online map listings.

49. Sponsor a Motorcycle Ride – Except for a few crotchrocket thrill seekers, motorcycle riders are often fantastic insurance clients. They are very safe drivers on two and four wheels and today’s motorcycle owner often has many other insurance and financial service needs. Motorcycle insurance marketing is a great lead-in to other insurance lines.

50. Post Client Letters – If someone writes a letter, sends an email, or posts a positive comment online about your agency, print it out and post it in a visible location. Shoppers look to others for guidance. Reading many letters from others about the knowledge, care, and protection your provide will only improve their impression of your business.

51. Buy a Closing Agency’s Phone Number – If you know any local agents that are closing down their agencies it may be possible to purchase their phone number after they close. It can generate a lot of phone calls from people who have the old agency’s information. Sure people will be calling in for the other agency, but you can still help them with any of their needs just as well. (and probably better, right?)

52. Photograph Local Events – I imagine you’re already going to local community events in order to meet more people and gain local connections. Start taking pictures of the events and post them to your website or your social media accounts. It can draw lots of people to connect with you on social media or to visit your website. This is really great for developing your connection with the local community. Have fun with it.

53. Park a Wreck in Your Lot – Convince a junkyard to park a wrecked vehicle in front of your office. It will draw attention and create a mental connection between your location and car accidents and insurance. If your local government or landlord gives you a hard time, remind them it is raising safety awareness and at the very least try to get them to allow it every once in a while.

54. Referral Marketing Exchange– I know many agents that offer cash incentives for real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and car salesmen to refer their insurance agency. (This is illegal in some places) There may be other options to reward referrals that are more affordable to you and/or more enticing for them, for instance you agree to pay for the publication and distribution of marketing materials. When a real estate agent sends you a lead, instead of paying them cash agree to send their client birthday cards in their name for the next five years. It may be easier for you if you already have a similar process in your office.

55. Join the School Board – The school board is obviously a fantastic way to meet both the big players and families in the community. Being on the school board will give you easier access to marketing opportunities to parents and young drivers also. Marketing insurance products to young families is an ideal situation.

56. Insurance Leads Fishbowl – Leave a fishbowl on the counter at a business where potential customers shop with a sign indicating you will be drawing for a gift card to the establishment. Use the cards for leads. If you like this idea and want to buy one right this instant here’s a link to fish bowls on Amazon.

57. Wear Your Business – Invest in some nice shirts with your business name clearly visible. Wear them everywhere, especially to school and community events. Include your staff and you can have a powerful insurance marketing effect. Shirts are expensive, so if you’re going to hand them out, give them only to people you think have friends that would make good clients.

58.Customer Surveys – Surveying people about service quality has marketing benefits. You can identify opportunities for improvement and you let clients know you value the quality of their experience. Another benefit is that many people will feel obliged to say good things and forcing them to do so will imprint the value of your agency into their minds. You can do this by email with most email marketing services.

59. Connect Locally on Facebook – Moving forward, insurance agents that have the strongest online presence will survive. That includes social media profiles. Read the Facebook marketing strategy that works for insurance agents for a new approach and check out this free resource we created with over 100 ideas and strategies for Facebook marketing for insurance agents.

60. Write in the Local Papers – Even if you pay for it, writing content for the local paper can be much more valuable than insurance advertising. Most papers are struggling right now and will be more open than ever to allow you to pay to write content. If you cannot inlcude insurance agency contact information in the article purchase a visible ad near it.

Connect with Author Dr. Alisha Broughton at https://www.facebook.com/alishabroughton