In order to understand how a lead should be properly nurtured, we’ve put together some useful tips to help you squeeze every drop of juice out of each one. If you are able to implement the strategies at hand, you will not only be able to increase your conversion rate, but you’ll also be able to establish client relationships that last for many years.
Lead Nurturing Defined
Before we get into the specific tips of how to nurture a lead, you need to have a solid understanding of what lead nurturing actually is. Unlike lead generation, where an agent works to discover as many leads as possible, lead nurturing is the act of actually creating relationships with the leads that you already have. In turn, these relationships will open up doors for you to help pair clients with an insurance product that fits their needs. When someone is on their consumer journey to find an insurance policy, even if you have all of their information, they are probably still going to explore various insurance options.
By nurturing the client lead, you will be able expedite their decision-making process, so that they are more confident in working with you over other competitors. This is why in an industry as competitive as insurance, the best way to stand out from other agents is by effectively managing and nurturing the leads that you have.
6 Tips for Nurturing Leads
When it comes to working your leads, the reality is that there are a small percentage of them that are ready from the start to make an insurance policy purchase. These would be the leads discussed earlier that take very little effort to close on. On the flip side, there are a large number of leads (some estimates say over 50%) , that are simply unqualified. This could mean that they aren’t actually interested in insurance, the lead was generated by a bot, or another reason.
When it comes to lead nurturing, we will be focusing on the leads that are in the middle ground, between these two categories. So think about the leads that won’t automatically convert into a sale, but that are also properly qualified or interested. By having an effective lead nurturing strategy, you will be spending your time wisely, and ultimately will increase your return on investment.
1.Identify the Serious Candidates
As we’ve discussed, with insurance there can be a fine line between a sure sale and a lead that isn’t qualified. To make sure that you don’t waste any time, one of the first nurturing steps is to actually identify which leads are serious and which leads aren’t worth working. In the insurance industry this is sometimes referred to as “lead scoring.” While your specific agency may have certain practices at hand to discern the leads that are most valuable. It really comes down to two main traits that need to be looked at:
- Do the consumer’s characteristics fit the insurance product that you are trying to sell them? For example, you wouldn’t try to sell a Medicare plan to someone who is 40 years old, just like you probably wouldn’t sell burial life insurance to a 20 year old.
- How engaged is the lead? Depending on how the lead was generated the consumer may be very interested in obtaining a policy, or they may not even want insurance. For example, leads generated through paid or organic search traffic will likely be far more interesting than someone who you are cold-calling from a local list.
Once you get to the bottom of these questions, your life will be much easier. Since you are able to weed out all of the candidates who aren’t serious, you will effectively increase your chances of closing more sales. The best way to gain insight into your base of leads is to understand your target market as well as the demographics of your leads.
2.Categorize Your Leads
The second tip that will help you be more organized is to categorize your leads into various segments. Create four or five categories of where the lead is currently at in their consumer journey. Your categories can be different, but to help you get started you could use categories such as:
- Brand new contacts
- Leads who are actively researching the market
- Leads who are looking to change plans or providers
- Leads that are ready to make a purchase
- Leads who have already purchased from you and may be interested in other products
The way that you approach and communicate with a lead may be drastically different depending on where they are in their purchasing process. By segmenting your leads accordingly, you will be able to develop more effective sales strategies and reel in more clients.
3.Provide Informational Material
A simple way to nurture a lead who may not be ready to make a purchase is by regularly providing them with useful and educational content relating to insurance. You can email or text them things such as articles, infographics, videos, and more that provide explanations to common insurance questions or concerns. Topics could include industry trends, coverage options, defined terminology or anything else that is relevant.
When you send this information to a lead, remember not to be too pushy. You could type something like: “Hope you’re doing well! Even though you may not be ready to purchase an insurance policy, I thought you might appreciate this infographic that explains many misconceptions about health insurance.” Obviously, it doesn’t have to be word-for-word, but the general gist will show consumers that you care, but don’t want them to feel pressured. It will also be worth your time to get into the routine of regularly updating your content, so the information doesn’t become repetitive or seem like spam.
4.Use Various Channels of Communication
When it comes time to research your prospects, pay attention to how they like to communicate. What do they use the most? It could be SMS, phone calls, emails, social media, or maybe a website that they frequently use. Now that you have a good idea of their preferred method, you have a starting point, but you should also reach across as many other channels as you can find them. When contacting them, try to get your message across but in different ways for each mode of communication. By spreading your eggs out, instead of putting them all in one basket, you will be sure to increase your chances of reaching interested prospects and converting them into sales.
5.Use a CRM System
While it’s great to manually keep track of where all of your leads stand. When dealing with a large volume of prospects, using a customer relationship management (CRM) system will benefit you greatly. These software systems are made to track and manage your leads and interactions. So you never have to worry about forgetting anyone. Some CRM systems are even able to send out automated emails and automatically schedule follow-up appointments. Additionally, a CRM system will hold all of your current clients and prospect’s information in one place. By streamlining and organizing your leads based on information like demographics and where someone is in their purchasing process. You’ll spend less time sifting through bad leads and more time focusing on high-value targets.
6.Nurture Existing Clients
Suggestions include sending them personal emails, sharing a newsletter with them, offering them a policy review. Or simply checking in to see how their year is going so far. Whatever you decide to do, make it known that you are genuinely interested in them and want to do everything in your power to make sure that they’re satisfied. By nurturing your existing clients, they will be likely to refer friends and family to you. And they will likely come back to you when it’s time to renew.
Conclusion
Selling insurance is competitive and takes lots of time, effort and hustle. Due to the nature of the industry, when it comes to nurturing leads you want to be as efficient as possible. To do so, it’s important to understand your target market so you can handpick the most serious and qualified prospects. To help organize your leads you should always categorize them into several groups depending on their status. In addition to using tools such as a CRM system to keep track of everything. When it comes time to contact your leads, you want to make sure to provide them with useful, relevant information. And try to touch base with them through multiple channels.
Lastly, you never want to forget about your clients that have been loyal to you throughout the years. By communicating regularly with established customers you will likely get more leads via referrals, while continuing to uphold your reputation. It may not be easy. But if you keep all of these tips in mind you will likely make more sales. And your business will soar to new heights!
If you are interested in growing your business with exclusive insurance leads, Benepath has got you covered. We specialize in generating data leads and inbound phone calls in the following verticals. Individual health, group health, Medicare, life and commercial insurance. All of our leads are produced in real-time and only assigned to one agent each. If you want to inch out the competition with our lead services, simply fill out a form or give us a call at 888-684-3121.
