The insurance industry pays for a ton of research to understand consumers, how they think, what they respond to, etc.
A few year’s ago I was having a conversation with the Chief Marketing Officer of a publicly traded brokerage firm and he told me about a recent study he had read regarding the individual insurance market.
What this study found was consumers who bought one policy from an agent considered that person to be little more than the person who helped them buy a policy. Essentially there was no relationship created at that point.
But, the minute that consumer bought a second policy from the same agent, the relationship changed and they considered that person to be “their agent”.
At first glance, this may appear to be insignificant, but when you dig deeper it is a very meaningful change.
To consumers, “their agent” is
- The person who they will call first when they have an event and need another policy
- The person they will call when they have a baby and need more life insurance or family coverage on their health insurance
- Who they reach out to when they start their own business and they need their own disability policy, health policy, dental plan, etc
- When their child is leaving the house and they need their own auto policy or renters insurance
- Who they refer when a friend tells them they need to do something about their insurance
Insurance agents who serve their customers well and make sure they meet their needs will easily sell two or more policies to that person. After they make that second sale, if they continue to serve that customer well they will have a career long source of income from additional products and services that are sold as well as referrals.
Agents who have a stable of customers who see that person as “their agent” have long and successful careers.
As we enter a new era in the world of health insurance we need to remind ourselves that when we get a new customer, regardless of the commission on that sale, you have the potential of gaining lots of other sales and new customers from the referrals you will get.
Over the next few years, the cheapest lead you will be able to get for individual insurance will be for individual health insurance. And since I have personally never met anyone who has enough life insurance, disability insurance, long term care insurance, or doesn’t need home owners or auto insurance, etc. you are getting a lead for far more than just that one sale – 100% of the time.
My advice is to stay the course, take advantage of the cheaper lead pricing and really focus on serving customers. If you do that, you will make those second sales and you will build a stable of customers who see you as “their agent”.
Happy Selling!
