1. Failing to Market Your Business Effectively
This one is self-evident…or so we thought. The reality is 90-95% of all Insurance agents with whom we speak aren’t marketing at the level they can or should be, or just plain aren’t marketing at all! Many agents are in a comfort mode where they are living or dying off the referrals they may accidentally stumble onto. Most agents think they are marketing their services yet, when we ask for a specific, step-by-step marketing plan, the telephone usually goes dead for a minute.
Remember this statement, “Marketing is the ONLY function of your business that makes you money! Every other function is an expense!”
Thus, if you are sitting back and waiting for a minor marketing miracle to happen and not optimizing your time, money or talents to become a top marketer in your field, you are causing yourself to lose thousands of dollars monthly. This could be one of the reasons why many agents drive cars that have over 150,000 hard traveled miles on them. I still believe insurance agents have a right to make a six-figure income and be able to enjoy life to the fullest. You need to be marketing every day to generate a steady flow of leads.
2. Not Fully Utilizing Your Invisible Insurance leads Asset
If you have been in the Insurance business for any amount of time, you have built up a substantial amount of goodwill among your clients. You have brought value and piece of mind to their lives. This asset, however, hasn’t been performing for you the way it should.
We will show you how to convert your customers’ goodwill into ready cash-and actually strengthen your customers’ loyalty to you at the same time. And if you are new in the business and don’t have a client base we will show you how to use “parasite marketing” to tap other professional sources within your community.
3. Using the Same Old Insurance leads and Annuity lead Ads that Get a Terrible Return
Ads, postcards, and direct-mail pieces cost you the same regardless of whether they bring in 1 new customer or 100. Knowing the secret techniques of creating award winning ads and direct-mail pieces can easily be the difference between driving an old car with 150,000 miles on it versus driving a brand new Mercedes, BMW or some other luxurious car. By testing and using dynamic headlines in all your marketing pieces (like postcards, ads, newsletters, flyers and direct mail pieces) your response can skyrocket by 1,800% and more.
We will show you an easy 7-step method that anyone can use to create ads and direct-mail promotions that will bring in floods of new clients.
4. Failing to Customize your insurance lead Letters
I have had some outrageous responses from prospects and clients when I mail them a hand addressed envelope with a message pad sized “While You Were Out” message saying, “Evidently you didn’t get my message.” We have also experimented with several other sayings on the message sized pad “While You Were Out” mailings that are great for annuity sales.
Another agent we know uses this concept to recruit agents and has had a 75% response to his letters using the “While You Were Out” message pad technique.
5. Relying on One Shaky Pillar for Insurance Marketing
What you want to strive for in your marketing strategy is to build strength through marketing diversity.
Think of your business as a Greek Temple supported by numerous, sturdy pillars. Each of these pillars represents one aspect of your marketing campaign. For example, you could have pillars for direct sales, telemarketing, direct mail, postcards, flyers, endorsements, referrals, parasite marketing, and joint ventures. The reason that there are so many is if you have failure in one or more pillars you will always have a few pillars holding up your marketing program.
We have had dozens of agents who tell us that if this home office flyer fails, they will be out of the business. This concept will almost guarantee you failure in this business. However, could you imagine the commissions you would generate if you combine a wide array of marketing approaches, stabilizing your business with several pillars?
6. Stunting the “Growth” of Your Insurance Business
We have read countless books and attended dozens of seminars on how to increase your business. However, we have discovered just three ways to grow any business. Now you may think these techniques are too simple or don’t apply to your situation, but could you imagine if you actually implemented these as a foundation for your business?
1. INCREASE your average sale of an Insurance policy. Instead of quoting $82.00 per month round it off to $90.00 and give them more coverage.
2. INCREASE the number of clients. By doing consistent, target marketing to a niche market, you will increase your sales and client base dramatically.
3. INCREASE the frequency of repurchase. Always have other products you can sell your clients. Always contact your client at least every six months. A monthly, client newsletter will help you build your business. If you need a client newsletter check out our “Annuity Pro Lead Capture Web Page.”
7. Investing Thousands of $$$ in the Wrong Insurance leads Ads
Before you invest thousands of hard earned dollars in direct mail, postcards or newspaper ads, wouldn’t it be great if you could know exactly which offer would pull in the most leads and qualified prospects?
What you need to do is conduct your own marketing test. Try mailing two or more versions of your sales letter or flyer to a small portion of your mailing lists you intend to use. One version of a letter might have a powerful headline along with a special free report titled ” 8 Secrets on How You Can Get the most Out of Your Retirement Years.” Also, hand-address the envelopes. Another version of the letter may have a different headline and different benefits. Then, after testing, you can mail the most effective letter to the entire mailing list with confidence.
By the way, if you can have your envelope hand-addressed or the prospect’s name typed on the envelope instead of using a label, you can sometimes increase your response by 15%. People today who receive an envelope with a label on it consider it junk mail.
8. Having a Poor Attitude
Having the right mental attitude will make your business work, no matter how many obstacles get pushed in your way. In any business, there will always be problems that come about and you need to address them. Deal with them immediately, and don’t wonder “Why in the world do bad things always happen to me?” Bad things happen to everyone. Successful people just know how to work through them. For them, when they have a problem, they put on their work clothes and go to work. They don’t assume the end of the world is coming.
Tony Robbins says that the definition of insanity is doing the same things you have always done and expecting to get different results.
Example: If you have been afraid to invest any money in marketing for yourself and continue to do that, your income will remain the same. If you never try to improve your sales presentation, letters or advertisements your results will remain the same.
However, if you are willing to test new marketing approaches and new products, your income will go up. If you will implement the following formula in every sales presentation, letter to your client, and advertisements you will greatly improve your income.
1. Get Attention!
2. Arouse interest and emotion.
3. Tell interesting stories that are believable.
4. Offer a reason to act…NOW!
5. Make it easy for people to take the action you want.
Remember, the most important thing you learn is to: GET PEOPLE’S ATTENTION!
9. Blaming Insurance Marketing “Conditions” for your Lack of Success
Many Insurance agents who have failed in the Insurance business always blame someone or something for their failure or for a low income. If you want to be successful, not only in your business career but also in your life, you must own up to your shortcomings and realize that your success, or lack of it, is totally, 100% your responsibility!
Have you ever heard anyone, including yourself, say the following: “It’s a slow time of the year. I think I’ll put more effort in my business after the first of the year. I’m really busy right now. I don’t have time for any new products or marketing techniques. I can’t afford to hire a secretary to do the $8.00 an hour office work that I’m currently doing myself. I tried an ad or flyer once and it didn’t work!”
All of these lame excuses are justification for not being more successful in the Insurance business. From this day forward, stop making excuses and start making things happen for yourself.
10. Not Offering Additional Insurance Products and Services to Your Customers.
It is a known fact that existing clients are far more likely to purchase from you than cold prospects. They will, at least give you a few minutes to offer additional services. Unlike prospects, your clients should trust you and enjoy doing business with you again. However, you must treat your clients with respect and they must be satisfied with your service. If you can provide your clients with the proper service, they can reward you for a lifetime with additional business and qualified referrals.
Now let’s talk about specifics.
Many of you have clients or their friends who may be interested in alternative financial products that are safe and pay an excellent rate of return on their money! If that is true for you, our office can help you with several products you can use as an alternative to CD’s and Annuities.
Do you think if you mailed out a postcard offering a special report titled, “10 Deadly Mistakes Most People Make when Planning for Retirement and How to Avoid them,” some of your clients might respond to this postcard and request a copy of the FREE report? Do you think some of the people who receive your FREE report, (which are essentially sales letters) might want to come into your office for an appointment to discuss these issues? Of course they will and when they do, guess whom they will ask to help them.
It should be obvious by now that if you had additional products or services to offer your clients, a percentage of them will want to hear about several of your new products.
Hope you have a great selling year in 2009.