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6 Things to Consider Before You Buy Insurance Leads

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Fran Majidi April 11, 2023
things to consider before buying insurance leads

You probably already know that big carriers buy leads -- lots of leads. So do larger agencies. You know that to boost revenue buying insurance leads is essential. While there is no strict formula for success with insurance leads, there are a few things you should know even before you set out to test a vendor to see if it’s right for you.

Follow our tips below, and you’ll get the most for the money you spend on insurance leads.

1. Don’t Pay Too Much

If a company is making outrageous claims about success rates and they set really high prices on leads, you should be wary. You only need to buy competitively priced insurance leads. The leading insurance tech companies are all selling leads in the same price ranges, and for a reason, so if you're offered a deal that sounds too good to be true, it is.

There is also a way to work around a tight budget. You have different kinds of leads to choose from, including exclusive leads, shared leads, live-transfer calls and data leads. Each type of lead has a different price point, and it is standard to pay much more for an exclusive lead that no other agents receive. Live-transfer calls also cost more than data leads, but that doesn’t mean that data leads are not valuable.

It’s important for you to know all the options there are before you decide which type of insurance lead fits your schedule and budget. An account manager will answer all your questions to help determine which type of lead will bring you the best results.

2. Buy Enough Leads

One of the biggest mistakes insurance agents make is they buy very few leads and over a very short period of time in order to test out the vendor. This strategy doesn’t work because you need a sizeable sample to test properly. You need to adjust campaigns as you go and that takes time. You also need to buy enough leads to continuously bring new business to your agency because you'll only sell a percentage of what you buy.

How many insurances leads you buy depends on the size of your agency and your budget. On average, it’s a good idea to buy 10 leads per day per agent or per producer as you test out the lead source you are using. You can’t restrict yourself to one or two leads per day when testing. Some leads will be better than others too. This is, after all, a game of numbers!

After you’ve tested a nice-size batch of leads, the analysis begins. By working with an account manager, you should look closely at your successes to replicate them. Go over call scripts and listen to calls to see where you could've done better. In the beginning, we advise against buying too many filters in the quest to find “the perfect consumer.” You may not get enough leads this way.

3. Don’t Restrict Yourself

Think of the initial batch of insurance leads you buy as test leads. First start by not adding any filters, unless you’re restricted by where you can sell. Avoid restricting your leads down to one town or city, however. You may be surprised to find that you sell the best in areas you weren’t even considering selling until you bought leads in those area codes. Only through trial and error will you learn what your ideal demographic is. At that point, you may consider adding filters after going over the data with your account manager.

Buy as many leads as you need in order to meet your goals. Agents are often very surprised by what they learn about their successes with leads. You may find that you close one out of every four leads or one every seven! Run your cost per acquisition with your account manager too, to see what kinds of profits you can expect to see with your close rate.

4. Keep the Competition in Mind

Remember that your competitors are probably also buying insurance leads, as most agents do these days. The reason you need to think about these other agents and producers is that you have to consider what’s best for you in terms of buying shared or exclusive leads. If you know your rivals tend to offer lower prices, it may make sense for you to buy exclusive insurance leads. Otherwise, you may overlap with them, when they have that edge over you. It’s not a bad idea to pay a little bit more for an insurance lead you don’t have to wrestle over.

Live-transfer calls, like exclusive leads, are pricier too, but you’re actually being connected with the client after a thorough pre-screening. The work is done for you, and the consumer is invested in buying insurance even more, after spending some time answering questions before being transferred to you.

5. Keep Other Agents in Your Company in Mind

Make sure that you mention which carrier you’re with when you sign on with a lead vendor. Also, make sure other agents in your company assign their carrier settings. You will not be sharing leads with agents with the same carrier if you enter this information in your settings. If you don’t, you’ll be creating unnecessary competition for yourself.

6. Avoid Giving Quotes Prematurely

As soon as you give a quote, you’re stuck, especially if you quote the prospect before verifying some information that may change the rate entirely. Even if you get all the information as accurate as possible, you still don’t want to give the quote until you get some information first. Why? Because as soon as you give a quote the conversation becomes all about price. There’s a lot more to the coverage you’re offering than price alone, so make sure to go over the important parts of what your client needs before showing the client the sticker price.

 

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