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Success Story: Amerida Price

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Fran Majidi November 4, 2020
Amerida Price of Allstate Insurance

For Amerida Price, selling insurance happened by accident. She didn’t plan on becoming an agent at all. She got her degree in organizational leadership and worked as a 911 dispatcher for years. She finally got into insurance, but on the claims side for 2 years at Germania. She was then offered a job at Allstate as a customer service representative. Today, she's an independent agent.

“Allstate needed someone to service their books,” she says. And she knew her stuff from her years in claims. Her background in organizational leadership, which is part management and part psychology, made it easier to pick her clients’ brains efficiently.

“Still, I never thought I’d become an agent,” she explains. “In claims, agents only make your life harder.”

Price still can’t believe that in April 2021 it will be 5 years since she started her own agency. Now, with the experience she’s had with claims, Amerida and her team have been able to work efficiently and effectively in resolving Allstate claims.

“We make sure everyone is on the same page because we are all truly in this together,” says Price. She understands that just one bad claims experience can mean losing a client.

Price has been working with SmartFinancial since fall of 2019, buying calls and data leads. She’s had some wins and not too many losses. “Leads are what they are and what you make of them. If I haven’t closed any deals, it’s probably my own fault because the quality of SmartFinancial leads is good.”

Tweaking her account with her account manager has helped Price get the right amount of leads that fit within her budget, she explains: “I’ve had to adjust the live calls to increase volume by upping my bid. That’s pretty much done the trick to get more calls.”

Amerida Price’s 6 Tips for New Insurance Agents

1. Even when you miss a live call, call the prospect back right away. You paid for the lead. If you miss the call, bounce on it right away.

2. Be confident, even if you’re not. It goes a long way with putting clients at ease.

3. Sometimes there’s a lag between the call and the email with all of the prospect’s information. Be prepared with an elevator pitch. Keep talking until the email with their info comes in so they are just confirming answers you repeat.

4. No matter how qualified you are, the wrong introduction will defeat the purpose. I explain to people how they came to me from SmartFinancial. Avoid a generic “How can I help you?” greeting. Don’t lose engagement in that hand-off from SmartFinancial. Just keep a conversation going so the prospect doesn’t get frustrated.

5. Do whatever you can to get across that you may be able to get them a discount by asking questions like, “Do you own your home?” They’ll be more patient with going over all the questions again.

6. Leads are what you make of them. If you don’t succeed, it’s probably your own fault.