Getting in touch with your insurance leads quickly is key to success for any and all agents, but when exactly is the best time to reach out?
Let’s face facts. While we all want to believe that the sales we make come from hard work, experience, and questioning techniques, the truth is, the time of the week and day that you call makes a HUGE difference.
By looking at multiple studies and talking with hundreds of agents over the years, we’ve made some important realizations about timing when it comes to insurance leads, and sales in general.
In this article we’ll discuss what works, what doesn’t and how to level out the playing field, with the calls that you make. Let’s get started!
Speed is the Name of the Game
Before we get into the specifics in terms of days of the week and times of day, let’s talk about speed.
When it comes to insurance leads, following up with a lead in a timely manner cannot be overstated. Everyone’s experienced that moment where you get distracted and don’t follow up with a lead until a couple of hours after receiving it. Then when you finally get around to calling, they’ve already committed to another agent. While at the moment this is infuriating, it can be prevented pretty easily.
So what’s the answer? Well, MIT performed a Lead Response Management Study, and what they found was pretty insightful, and highly relevant to insurance agents. According to the study, you’re 100x more likely to connect with a lead if you call it within 5 minutes of receiving it. Every 30 minutes after that, the odds decrease dramatically.
While connecting with a lead does not guarantee a sale, getting someone on the phone is always the first step.
Best Days of the Week to Call Leads
Now that we’ve talked about the importance of speed when it comes to contacting leads, let’s get into the nitty gritty—the best days to call them. While there are outliers in any equation, here’s what most data shows:
- Wednesday and Thursday = Best Days: Wednesday and Thursday are consistently ranked as the best days to touch base with potential clients. During the middle of the week, most people are in their weekly rhythm so they’re more receptive to talking on the phone.
- Tuesday = 2nd Place: Tuesday is often overlooked but serves a great runner up to Wednesdays and Thursdays. On Tuesdays people are generally still feeling quite productive, and they’ve gotten over the stress and blues that come with Mondays. This is especially true for individuals working in a business setting, so if you’re focused on B2B sales, Tuesday might be your time to shine!
- Friday = Wildcard: Friday is sort of up in the air. While some leads may be in a good mood and very receptive to conversation, others are likely waiting for the day to be over. If you do choose to follow-up with leads on a Friday, try mid-morning, as opposed to the afternoon, when people are starting to wrap up their work-week.
- Monday= Worst Day: Cold calling and lead follow-ups are not ideal on Mondays compared to other weekdays. People are generally catching up on calls, emails and work from the week prior, not to mention that the overall mood of many is a bit more gloomy. Because of this, individuals are less likely to take unscheduled calls, and even if they do, they usually aren’t as focused. With that being said, some agents have success reaching out to existing leads on Mondays, particularly in the afternoon, as the day starts coming to a close.
Best Times of Day to Call Insurance Leads
So we’ve nailed the necessity of calling a lead quickly, and the ideal days to touch base, so let’s discuss time of day. Below are some windows of time, some of which are generally great times to call leads, while others should be avoided:
Best Times
- 10 AM – 11:30 AM: Mid morning is one of the best times to pick up the phone and start dialing. It’s early enough where people are still alert and responsive, but not so early that they’re still getting into their groove of the day. While some individuals might be busy already, for most, later in the day is more demanding, therefore this time is the perfect sweet spot.
- 4 PM – 6 PM: Believe it or not the late afternoon to early evening hours often serve as a great time to call or follow up with leads. During this time, people are usually getting to the end of their work day and are more likely to answer a phone call. While everyone’s schedule varies, for individuals working a traditional 9-5, this time can be particularly effective. Additionally, even if the lead doesn’t initially pick up your call, many agents receive more call backs during these hours.
Could Be Good or Bad
- Early Morning (8 AM – 9:30 AM): Success in reaching leads during this time depends on your audience. Agents working mostly with B2B leads, or older individuals oftentimes experience decent contact rates. Believe it or not, some people would rather chat before their day gets too crazy. For others though (think parents and 9-5 employees), the morning is not an ideal time whatsoever, as calls may seem intrusive.
Avoid
- 12 PM – 1 PM: While you may have success now and again during the lunch period, it’s usually a miss. During this time of the day most people are distracted, running errands, eating or busy making up work. The most common outcome for calls during this time is reaching an automated voicemail, and the percentage of returned calls from voicemails left during lunch time is quite low.
More Tips to Make the Most of Your Calls
Here are some additional tips and tactics to help you maximize your contact rate and the success of your calls:
- Call leads within 1-5 minutes of receiving them.
- Use a CRM system to help automate sales funnels and set up call reminders.
- Be persistent, especially within the first two weeks. Many agents see success when making at least 6-8 contact attempts over the first 10-day period.
- Don’t just call, text too! SMS has a much higher open rate compared to email. A simple text before or following a call can increase response rates.
Get High Quality Insurance Leads with Benepath!
When and how often you call your leads is only half of the battle. The other half is having a constant flow of high-intent prospects to contact on a daily basis.
If your book of leads is falling short, Benepath is here to help! All of our leads are pre-vetted and exclusive, so you don’t have to worry about competing agents. We lead both generated in real-time, and aged leads in the following verticals—inidividual health insurance, group health insurance, and commercial insurance.
To learn more about what our lead generation services can do for you, fill out the form on the right side of the screen or call us directly at (888)-684)-3121.
