According to the U.S Department of Transportation there are more than 221 million licensed drivers in the U.S. Almost one in five is 65 years or older and 57 million are between the ages of 20 to 34. Millennials make up 1 in 4 drivers. Teen drivers, now called Gen Z, are increasing steadily and they account for nearly 9 million of U.S drivers.
These are such starkly different demographics, yet all of these people need car insurance. Even when the coronavirus began to plague even the smallest town, people realized they could do without their gyms and nail salons but they couldn’t do without a car or car insurance.
Because people are driving less, many insurers have been offering price breaks and credit towards upcoming payments not just as a gesture of fairness and kindness but also because it’s smart business.
People have more time on their hands and they are weighing their options. They don’t have to make calls at whispered tones from their respective cubicles anymore. If they are working, they are probably working from home.
Even when measures are lifted due to the coronavirus, many employers are allowing their workforce to stay home when they can now that they see it works. This means more freedom to contend with personal finances as a way to save money.
As an insurance agent, you’ll want to connect with these folks as they begin their insurance buying journey. The new normal restricts your ability to get out and meet them. But you can still help them find the right coverage. The only difference is that you’ll do it virtually.
Auto insurance leads are the way to grow your business in a post-COVID world.
Buying Auto Insurance Leads: The Basics
You’ll want to be able to take control of your leads, so work with a provider that offers an easy-to-use dashboard where you can jot down notes about clients and turn campaigns on or off without restrictions. You’ll also want to have the ability to play around with different filters to test the different kinds of leads you get. It’s good to start broad and cast your net wide, but you may want to tweak your options as you and your account manager begin to see progress.
You should also be able to change bids and budget whenever you want. The option to change your schedule and lead delivery preferences is key. Again, it’s so important to work closely with an account manager who is invested in seeing a growth in performance over time to really tweak the system to your advantage.
There’s never any reason why you should have to buy minimum orders of leads, so make sure your provider is as flexible as you want to be. Also, your exclusive leads should really be exclusive, which is sometimes not the case with inferior lead sources. Certainly, there’s always the off-chance that a client may have also shopped elsewhere before being converted into a lead, but a top-notch lead provider will weed most of those folks out of your exclusive lead batch. This is why your auto insurance lead provider should also have a good credit policy for leads with wrong information, which should be a rare occurrence but do find their way into the bunch on occasion.
You should also closely monitor your budget so you don’t go over and so you don’t overpay for leads by going over bid. With a reliable account manager, this will be easy to do. With SmartFinancial, you’ll also be free to pause your account whenever you need to, as soon as you want to.
Are There Different Kinds of Car Insurance Leads?
Yes, you can buy data leads, which are affordable and predictable in that you can control how many leads you receive per day. These have a moderate amount of competition and are inexpensive.
If you want to be the only person speaking to the lead, you can buy an exclusive lead, which will cost more but is more likely to close due to the lack of competition.
Shared leads are great too and should never be underestimated, especially at such a great value. However, you must prepare to jump on these before the competition beats you to it. You must also be ready to nurture these for days, maybe even weeks.
With live transfer insurance calls you are not only making contact with the prospect right away, they are only being transferred to you when they are close to getting quotes directly from an insurance agent. In marketing and sales lingo, they are ready to close at the right price.
Where Should I Buy Auto Insurance Leads?
First, it’s important to make a distinction between one lead provider and another. Each year, thousands of consumers look to SmartFinancial to help them compare insurance rates and coverage options. According to JD Power’s 2016 U.S Insurance Shopping Study, 74% of shoppers use lead resource websites to get insurance quotes. You’ll want to work with a lead provider that provides you with high-intent insurance shoppers who are searching for insurance using Google, Yahoo and Bing.
These shoppers are converted into real-time leads which are delivered to you after reading our blog posts, clicking on our ads and searching for car insurance offers on the internet. They submit a request for car insurance quotes, our technology picks it up and begins to do a clean sweep, by verifying each lead.
How Much Do Car Insurance Leads Cost?
Typically, auto insurance leads range between $5 and $25 depending on filters, geography and exclusivity Also, there are three different types of leads that you can buy. They vary greatly in price, but as with most things, you get what you pay for. The most expensive, for example, will have a very high probability of closing and the cheapest will have more competition. If you buy exclusive leads or live-transfer calls, you may be the only agent the lead speaks with, which is a good thing for everyone involved. SmartFinancial’s team of in-house call center operators will connect you with callers who are actively pursuing insurance quotes. Live-transfer calls are another product altogether and have exceptionally high conversion rates.
Retention, Retention, Retention
Retaining existing clients is always top priority so don’t forget it because these people are your bread and butter. However, it is now more important than ever to keep the lines of communication open with any existing clients, who may also consider getting a new quote or dropping their car insurance altogether.
Hopefully, the carriers you work with are offering a discount due to COVID-19. That’s always a conversation opener and makes for a positive phone call. If you have clients who’ve been silent and are paying rates on the higher end of the spectrum, consider calling and seeing if you can offer a better rate, even if it’s with a different carrier.
Everyone’s looking to cut costs these days. A little prevention will go a long way and a check in with your clients will surely be appreciated.
