This summer, every Texas agent I’ve spoken to says that his lead volume has decreased over previous years.  As insurance agents, the Internet and social media have begun redefining the way we network and do business on a daily basis. Today, I am addressing those of you who still use purchased leads from lead sources like Netquote, InsureMe, and InsuranceLeads.com. 

To properly handle a purchased lead as an independent agent, you will need the following items:
1. Power Dialer or Auto Dialer   $99.00 per month
2.  Comparative rater – I use EZLynx  $75.00 per month
3.  Microsoft Outlook or comparable email client (one time fee)
4.  Dedicated resource to handle your leads. (commission split)
5.  Agency Management System or Follow up system

First of all, since purchased leads is a part of your insurance marketing plan, you should also dedicate a producer solely to using this system.  I recommend you dedicate a sole agent to handling your insurance and web marketing because  do so will help you track their results and conversion using this system.  As insurance agents, we like to quantify everything.

After you’ve picked the insurance salesperson to handle your purchased leads, you’ll need to obtain a serious power dialer or auto dialer system.  I’ve personally test driven two different systems.  Salesdialers.com and Mojosales.com have innovative systems that will dial up to 400 calls per hour.  The power on both systems will allow you to reach tons of customers.  Since we’re looking at purchased leads, we’ll talk about that idea in a later post.

After you’ve picked your dialer, you also need to pick a comparative rater.  When you’re choosing a comparative rater, you’ll need to choose a company that will allow you to work with the insurance lead provider of your choice.  My comparative rater of choice is EZLynx.  They seem to have cornered the market on handling insurance leads from 3rd party sites.

Of course having an email client is a basic tenant of this system.  I’ve found that having a desktop email client with a notifier is the best email system to use.  Personally, I use Outlook since it had the notifier option built into its system.  The important part to using Outlook is to have the system check your email server for new messages as frequently as possible.  This will reduce the chance of your missing an email.

Now that you’ve purchased these tools and signed your life away with your insurance lead account, how do we make this mess go?  Here are the steps to automating your insurance lead system.
1.  Ask your lead provider to simultaneously send leads to your producer’s mailbox (outlook email), your comparative rater id, and your power dialer.
2.  Have your dialer system setup to automatically dial new leads if you’re logged in.
3.  Have your agent monitor his email for new messages from the lead provider.

Now for the good part!

We’ll use Netquote because that’s the one I’ve had the most success with, but seems to be the hardest to use based on agent feedback.  (it might be my fault)  Unless your competition already does this, you will have a leg up on them.

When you get a lead now, do you print it out first and then hand it to someone to call?  How long does that take to respond to a client; 5 minutes, 10 minutes?  Give me a break!

By using the dialing system combined with the rater and outlook, your producer can now response in a matter of seconds instead of minutes.  As a result, you’ve removed the barriers of calling, and typing insurance information into the system. Not to mention you don’t have to print all your leads and waste paper.

Now you only have to verify the information the customer keyed into the system.  Ultimately, your agent is quoting and talking to the prospect while other agencies are still out to lunch.  If you have any questions about this marketing tip, or have problems implementing my system, feel free to add your comments below or email me at info@txinsurancepro.com.