For agency producers taking on sometimes hundreds of leads per day, it’s imperative to stay as efficient as possible. Insurance sales is a numbers game when it comes down to it—and by taking as many calls as your agency producers can work, you stand the best chance of growing your business. The trick is, how to do it the right way—without sacrificing quality.
Here are nine insurance sales efficiency hacks that can prevent your team from wasting time.
The best way for your entire team to be efficient is to use processes that are shown to make a difference in converting leads. (Tweet this!) The good thing is, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel to do this at your agency. Whether you’re a brand-new agent or an experienced agent who’s reevaluating your sales process, the following resources can get you started on the road to greater efficiency:
To be efficient, you need to make sure the time you spend on the phone is actually spent effectively. That means you need to make sure everyone you’re talking to is someone you can actually do business with—otherwise, you’re wasting your time and theirs. Having prequalified leads helps streamline this process. You can learn more about where to find the best leads for your insurance agency here.
At some agencies, it’s (unfortunately) the norm to miss calls. This is a terrible idea—especially if you’re paying for leads! Consumers calling a company want (and deserve) to speak with an agent right away. Making them wait creates a negative experience for them, and a negative experience for you; after all—you paid for a lead you won’t even get to work. Solve this by always having someone ready to answer calls; see #4 below on how you can make sure that happens.
One of the most important (and easiest to implement) insurance efficiency hacks is to make sure you, your agents, and your producers block out your days. That means that everyone on your team should have a daily schedule of hour or half-hour “blocks” of time set aside for specific tasks.
In our article, The Ideal Insurance Producer Daily Activity Schedule, we discuss at length the best ways to arrange your day so you can make the most of every lead that comes into your office. From an efficiency standpoint, when you have agents and producers blocking specific hours, they always know what to work on, and they can create routines that lead to more business for your agency. (Bonus reading: What Do Successful Insurance Agents Do Daily? (15 Experts Weigh In))
Speed to dial is the most important factor in your efficiency and effectiveness, because the first person to call out has the best chance to get the lead on the phone first (and thus a higher likelihood for success). Your goal: Dial out to the lead within 10-20 seconds of receiving the information.
To be efficient with insurance sales means if you don’t get in contact with a lead, having a follow-up process is key. That process should include both emailing and calling—and both steps should be repeated at specific times until the lead absolutely cannot be worked any more. Fortunately for agents and producers, there is a proven cadence you can use for your follow-up process that can boost lead revenue by up to 128%! You can get the guide here.
Scripts or talk tracks should include specific talking points for the sake of efficiency. These are crucial for calls and data leads, because you want to know if you can do business with the lead right away—scripts can help quickly determine this. Some common questions you may want to include in your scripts include:
Similarly, most insurance agents wish they had a better way to handle common objections from consumers. Do you know how to respond when leads say:
Instead of panicking when you hear these objections, try the four sample scripts outlined here.
Having this information about your leads can help you determine which ones should be worked first, second, third, etc. It can also help you categorize the lead (for example, preferred, premium, standard, etc.), which makes it easier to identify the appropriate products for each one.
One important way to be efficient is to make sure your entire team is trained in all aspects of your agency. We outline training in the following articles:
You may be tempted to save money on lead-purchasing, but beware—this is not the way to stay efficient! Just as you need to educate your clients on the hazards of buying cheap (a.k.a. junk) insurance, you need to educate yourself about the hazards of purchasing inexpensive, low quality leads. Working with a partner like EverQuote for leads has incredible benefits that can boost your agency’s sales. Here’s what you miss out on by not working with us:
Interested in a trial to see how EverQuote leads can boost your agency’s sales? Fill out this form to get started!