To be a successful health insurance agent, it’s crucial that you have a steady flow of interested prospects. However, the truth of the matter is that not all health insurance leads are created equal.
While internal lead generation campaigns are a great way to build a pipeline of prospects, many agents look to outside sources to supplement their efforts. When doing so, it’s important to understand the differences between two of the most common lead types being offered—exclusive leads and shared leads.
Choosing the right type can make a huge impact on both your conversion rate and overall success. Keeping this in mind, let’s take a look at the key distinctions between both, to help you make an educated decision, and get the most return on your investment.
What Are Shared Health Insurance Leads?
Shared health insurance leads are prospective customer details that are sold by multiple insurance agents, oftentimes simultaneously. With shared leads, after a consumer interested in health insurance submits their information (usually via an online form), these details are generally sold to anywhere between 3 and 10 agents. The specific number of agents that shared leads are sold to can vary greatly depending on lead provider and other factors.
Shared health insurance leads are generated in a variety of different ways. Some methods include, search engine advertisements, social media marketing, quote comparison websites, content marketing, affiliate partnerships and much more. No matter how a shared lead originates, since multiple agents are receiving the information, it’s essentially a race to see who can contact the customer first, build strong rapport, and hopefully make a sale.
Characteristics of Shared Leads
- Sold to multiple different insurance agents.
- Tend to be cheaper per lead compared to other lead types.
- Very competitive.
- Require quick outreach and persistence.
Pros:
- Lower Upfront Cost Per Lead (CPL): Since these leads are sold to multiple buyers, they generally cost less than leads that are only sold to a single buyer.
- Increased Lead Volume: Agents are oftentimes able to buy more shared leads at a time, since they come at a discounted rate.
- Testing and Experimentation: Having a higher number of leads on hand affords agents the opportunity to try out new sales strategies and pitches.
Cons:
- Low Conversion Rate: Due to the high competition that comes with shared leads, the chances of closing sales are relatively low.
- Time is of the Essence: Since shared leads are in the hands of multiple agents, you’ll need to act very quickly to reach the prospect before someone else does.
- Can Waste Time and/or Resources: If another agent beats you to the punch, you can’t get back the time and effort you spent on pursuing the prospect at hand.
- Lead Quality Varies Greatly: While some shared leads might be highly qualified, others may have low-intent or could even be fraudulent, depending on the lead generation source.
- Lead Fatigue and Reputational Damage: Leads that are bombarded with calls from many agents often become fatigued or frustrated, making it difficult to engage with them. Additionally, leads contacted by multiple agents may respond negatively to you, which could hurt your overall reputation.
What Are Exclusive Health Insurance Leads?
Unlike shared leads, exclusive health insurance leads are sold to only one insurance agent. In other words, no other agent or agency has access to the exclusive leads that you purchase. With no competition at hand, these leads naturally have a higher chance of converting into customers.
Exclusive leads are also generated in a variety of different ways such as trusted partnerships, direct inbound inquiries, target advertising on social media, search engines, and email campaigns and much more. In general, exclusive health insurance leads are much more receptive to conversations and meetings, since they aren’t being pestered by multiple different agents.
Characteristics of Exclusive Leads
- Sold to only one agent.
- Tend to cost more per lead compared to other lead types.
- Typically higher quality (consumer intent).
- Outreach is direct and personalized.
Pros:
- No Competition: As the only agent with the lead, you don’t have to worry about anyone else reaching out to the prospect to offer their services.
- Higher Conversion Rate: Since exclusive leads have no competition, and higher intent, the chance of closing sales is far higher than when working with shared leads.
- Better Customer Experience: Clients tend to have better experiences if they aren’t being bombarded by multiple agents. This factor also makes it easier to build your reputation in the field, by providing top-notch customer service.
- More Time to Nurture and Build Relationships: With no competition, you can take more time to build up relationships and make clients feel comfortable, before attempting to close the deal. With that said, no matter the lead type, it’s always best practice to contact a lead as soon as possible, since the more time that passes by, the less intention they have to make a purchase.
- Reduced Lead Fatigue: With exclusive leads you won’t have to worry about prospects being worn down by other agents. When frustration is removed from the equation, the chance of converting leads is much more likely.
Cons:
- Higher Upfront Costs: Since exclusive leads have a much greater chance of converting, the cost per lead (cpl), tends to be higher.
- Lower Lead Volume: Due to the price increase, agents may need to start out by purchasing a lower volume of leads.
While there’s no denying that exclusive health insurance leads generally cost more than shared leads, keep in mind that you’re buying quality over quantity. Remember the old saying— “You get what you pay for”? Well, that’s exactly the case when it comes to exclusive leads. By making a bigger upfront investment, you gain the opportunity to build lasting relationships and increase your book of sales. In the long-run, you’ll get a far greater return on your investment.
Which Type of Health Insurance Lead is Better?
Many agents make the mistake of opting to purchase shared health insurance leads simply because they cost less upfront. While we’re all looking to save a buck or two, and get the most leads possible, the truth is that shared leads usually result in time spent chasing uninterested or over-contacted prospects. This results not only in frustration, but more importantly, a lower return in investment (ROI). So while the number of contacts you gain by purchasing shared leads may increase greatly, how much are they actually worth if you can’t close the deal?
On the other hand, exclusive leads present a much greater opportunity to convert highly interested prospects into long-term customers. While the cost for exclusive health insurance leads does tend to be higher than shared, you won’t have to deal with the competition of other agents. On the contrary, you’ll have the advantage of taking your time to build rapport, have more focused conversations, and close sales without chaos. Additionally, exclusive leads help you to build a positive reputation, since you’ll come off as helpful and genuine, instead of being “just another agent” who reaches out on a whim.
All in all, for agents focusing on building a solid book of business for the long-term, exclusive health insurance leads are the clear winner.
Why Choose Benepath for Exclusive Health Insurance Leads?
For over 20 years, Benepath has been a leader in the insurance lead generation space, helping to connect agents, agencies, and brokerages with high-intent prospects. Not only are our leads exclusive, and delivered in real-time, but they are never shared or resold.
In addition to our individual health insurance leads, Benepath also offers exclusive group health insurance leads, and commercial (business) insurance leads. We also offer advanced lead filtering, like geographic location, quantity, industry and more, so you only get what you want! When purchasing leads from us, you’ll also get the advantage of working with our customer support team, who provides everything you’ll need to increase your conversion rate.
So what are you waiting for? To get started or learn more, simply fill out the form on the righthand side, or give us a call at (888)-684-3121.
