As an insurance professional, one of the most critical requirements of your job is to establish credibility with your clients and prospects. But how do you reach this goal? In other words, how do you position yourself as an industry expert, as someone with the answers to all of the difficult questions?

The best thing you can do for your audience is to build trust by providing invaluable information.  One way of doing that is by regularly submitting articles to a local business journal, or even to a national trade journal.  Now if you consider yourself an excellent writer, a big pat on the back to you.  But the reality is most agents do not have the time or comfort in their own writing ability to consistently pen articles on topics of importance to their target market.

And that’s where we come in. We provide a vast library of ghostwritten insurance articles for you to use in a variety of circumstances. We have 2,500 professionally written articles covering topics of vital interest to your clientele. Even better, the sky is the limit in how you choose to utilize the content.

Choose to run an article in a local publication, post an article to your web site, or reprint content as a seminar handout, without giving credit to Foresight Publishing. You can even add our ghostwritten articles to your own personal print or e-mail newsletters.

Writing articles is a full time job, but it doesn’t have to be yours. Let us help you keep your clients informed. You’ll stand out from the crowd by providing the most current information available in personal and commercial lines topics, new opportunities in benefits administration, and sound financial decision-making advice.

Take a look at our library for yourself, and publish some articles providing strategic information to your clientele. Find your voice, and establish yourself as a trusted industry expert!

In April, The Nielsen Company introduced a report that showed online video viewers had increased to a total of 131.7 million viewers in March 2010. Studies like these indicate that online video watching is on the rise and if you have a website and blog and are not using podcasts as another means of getting your message across to viewers, then you are missing out on a large market. Continue Reading »

One of the great ways you can get new clients without even trying is to create a newsletter that is “Forward-worthy.” A forward-worthy newsletter is one that your readers will read and find so valuable that they quickly want to forward it on to others within their online and offline social circles. This exposes your newsletter to a much wider audience and acts almost like a testimonial for your knowledge and services. Continue Reading »

While every agent has his or her own sales process, they all generally contain some variation of 4 important actions:

1. Introduce yourself to the client.

2. Create value in the relationship.

3. Build trust.

4. Individualize your sales pitch. Continue Reading »

You probably don’t realize just how valuable your insurance newsletter is when it comes to prospecting, making sales and client retention. Let’s look at each stage to get an idea just how much difference an insurance newsletter can make.

Prospecting

Prospecting is never a fun task. Trying to find qualified leads, marketing yourself and buying lists can be expensive, time consuming and hit-or-miss in terms of your success rate. Newsletters take much of the pain and expense out of prospecting because they serve as a form of pre-sales communication with potential prospects, some of whom may eventually call you because of the information they found in your newsletter.

But newsletters allow you more than just electronic options. You can use printed newsletters as mailable marketing pieces. A professional look and helpful tidbits will ensure that they are one marketing piece that gets read and not circular filed.

Making Sales

It is difficult to determine the exact amount of sales directly attributed to your newsletter campaign. Often, that is because sales are made for many reasons—not just because of one single part of your sales process. But when you have a newsletter to use as a leave behind that shows your knowledge of the subject matter, your authority within the industry and your dedication to keeping your clients informed, it can definitely be that final straw that encourages prospects to pull the trigger.

But more than just the initial sale, your insurance newsletter can actually help round out client accounts for you. Choosing the right articles can introduce them to insurance products they never realized they needed or knew you offered–but do realize it once they read your newsletter.

Client Retention

Finding a client and making a sale is one step. Client persistency is another. When you have dedicated clients who want to keep you as their agent, not only do you have less to worry about in terms of commission chargebacks but you also get word-of-mouth referrals that put a gigantic foot in the door of your client’s friends and family members.

If you’ve been in the insurance industry for any length of time then you know that there isn’t always a direct correlation between the amount of marketing you do and the sales you close in a week. You don’t get one sale for every phone call you make or flyer you send, which means you don’t get an immediate return on your marketing dollar.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you get no return—obviously marketing works in the long run or it would not be done. So how, exactly does marketing work if it doesn’t generally result in an immediate sale?

Taking Up Brain Space

Marketing of any kind works by placing your business, your service, and you in the minds of your potential clients. Your radio ads, direct mail pieces and follow-up calls all work to carve out a space for you in the subconscious of your prospects. Then, when they actually have a need for your service, they remember you from your tireless marketing efforts and, hopefully, call you.

Of course, some marketing efforts work better than others and some are viewed by prospects as annoying or pushy. That’s why finding the right marketing method is important.

Marketing with Newsletters

One of the easiest ways to stay on the minds of your prospects without being relegated to the “annoying and pushy” column is to send those who opt in a regular newsletter. Newsletters work in two ways:

• First, they are a form of marketing that is not considered pushy, urgent or invasive. They get the word out about your business but do not aggressively ask for a sale.
• Second, newsletters are valuable on their own as sources of information. Most marketing pieces do not have any intrinsic value. They are simply tools to create sales. Newsletters teach readers about the insurance they own, inform them about different types of insurance they may not have considered before, and can help bridge the gap between insurance as an intangible product and the tangible needs it can fulfill.

When you send a newsletter to your prospects you not only get the benefit of a consistent marketing effort that keeps you and your agency on the mind of your prospects, you also create value within the relationship that increases the likelihood of your prospects calling you for their insurance needs.

It’s time to enter the 21st century, even if you have to do it kicking and screaming; and by that, we mean it’s time to get a Twitter account. Wait! Before you start thinking that Twitter is only useful for finding out how Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore’s relationship is going, you need to understand just how great Twitter could be for your insurance agency.

Twitter is one of the quickest and most effective ways of connecting with millions of people and developing a relationship with them. Sure, you aren’t going to become BFFs (uh, that’s Best Friends Forever in case you were wondering), but you can create a personable agency identity and sew the initial seeds of your relationship with millions of people who need insurance. Continue Reading »

In case you haven’t heard, the internet is making waves in insurance prospecting. Not only is it widening your network of referrals and prospects but it can put you in touch with an entire generation of uninsured individuals that rely on the internet for much of their shopping and researching.

In 2010, these are the web marketing trends you need to get on top of:

• An agency website

• A blog

• An electronic newsletter

• Email marketing

• Article marketing

• Online networking

  • Twitter

  • LinkedIn

  • Online community forums

Let’s take each of these methods and look at them individually.

Agency website: A well written, informative agency website does not need to be complicated or expensive. Be clear about your message, write with personality but keep it professional, keep the content updated and make sure it has a call to action. Contact information should be easy to find and the site should have some SEO to bring in more traffic.

A blog: A blog is a great way to deliver timely information to your prospective clients and develop a stronger relationship of trust with them. Be sure to update the blog regularly, allow it to have personality without being unprofessional, and keep the content easy to read and applicable to the topic.

An electronic newsletter: Newsletters increase your authority and professional image. They also create a great means of staying in contact with prospective clients without badgering them with incessant telephone calls and mailers. An electronic newsletter should look professional, have pictures and interesting articles that help readers learn about different types of products they might need. It should be easy to sign up for and easy to stop receiving.

Email marketing: Email marketing campaigns are another great way to promote yourself and your services and they cost less money than traditional mailers. Be sure to create a consistent message with a call to action that is not too pushy. Be sure to include contact information and any applicable deadlines.

Article marketing: Article marketing, the process of writing articles and placing them on websites like Ezine, helps to widen your exposure and bring more links in to your website. Be sure to create helpful articles on evergreen topics.

Online networking: Online networking, through sites like Twitter, LinkedIn and various online forums, is quickly becoming a popular way to snag a whole new generation of busy prospects. Be sure to let your personality show when networking online and NEVER just shout your message and leave. Just like in-person networking, you must be a resource and interact with others. If you were at an in-person networking event and just stood in the middle of the room shouting about your insurance products, everyone would think you were insane and nobody would become your client or refer you to potential clients. The same will happen with online networking. Another tip—be sure to network with your clients or people who are the gatekeepers to your clients. Networking with other agents might not be the best use of time.

The first step in developing the print portion of your marketing campaign is to determine what print items you want to have. Leave behinds? Postcards? Brochures? Seminar materials? Here is a list of some of the materials you can include in your marketing arsenal:

• Letterhead

• Envelopes

• Sales flyers

• Business cards

• Blank cards (for thank you notes)

• Address labels

• Newsletters

• Calendars

• Brochures

• Post cards

• Business reply cards

• Seminar materials

  • Notebooks

  • Handouts

  • Invitations

Things to remember when developing your print materials:

• Keep the design and message on all your print materials consistent with your website, social networking efforts, blog and other marketing elements.

• Make sure you have a call to action on every sales piece. If your sales materials don’t compel your prospects to take the next step—and tell them what the next step is–then they are not doing their job.

• Don’t ignore the details. If you spend the time and money on a uniquely designed letterhead featuring a similar design and color scheme as your website, etc. then don’t stick it in an ugly envelope that doesn’t match. If you must get envelopes designed to match your letterhead, don’t put a gaudy white address label on the front of it when you mail it. Pay attention to all those little details that can begin to chip away at your message and branding.

• Keep your information…informative. When you send a newsletter to your prospects and clients on a regular basis you become more than an agent—you become an educator, a journalist, an advocate and a resource. If your newsletter is lacking in quality writing and information then you are just another person trying to take up room in your prospect’s mailbox.

• Keep your message clear and concise. No one wants to read a paragraph of writing on your business card that outlines your entire business philosophy. Keep your message on small items concise and to the point. Generally, a tagline works best because it is no more than one sentence and can fit on all print and web marketing materials.

• Show your value. Let’s face it, there are other agents competing in your area for the same clients. As far as your client is concerned, you all start out on a level playing field. Each of you is licensed, combs your hair and dresses up real nice. You have to send a clear message on all your materials that explains why you are different from your competition and why you might be a better choice of agent.

2010 is coming whether you like it or not—is your marketing plan ready? Are you ready to make all the changes you need in order to unleash a full-scale marketing attack on your unsuspecting prospects? Are you ready to bring your website, blog, print marketing materials, local branding and social networking together into a total marketing plan? Have you thought about how to tie your branding in all these areas together? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with our 4-post Quick ‘n Dirty Marketing Plan series.

This week we’ll talk about all of the elements you need to decide on BEFORE you start developing your marketing items so that everything is tied together and sends the same message while establishing and strengthening your brand. Next week we’ll cover getting all your print stuff ready for 2010. On the 24^th, we’ll talk about your online presence and in our final post on the 31^st we’ll talk about other ideas to create brand awareness.

The Key to Effective Marketing

In order for all three points of your marketing attack to be completely effective, they must have a unified message, theme and style. Your goal is to cement the qualities of your brand into the minds of your prospective clients and referrers and to be seen as a trusted, consistent authority.

In order to maintain this consistency in all your marketing efforts there are some preliminary steps you must take:

1. Develop a tagline or slogan that will be used on all your marketing and networking items. Your tagline doesn’t have to be long or complicated, but it must sum up what your agency and service is all about. Some examples of taglines include:

“You’re in good hands with Allstate.” –Allstate

“Don’t leave home without it.” –American Express

“Reach out and touch someone.” –AT&T

“What’s in your wallet?” –Capital One

Chances are you knew the companies behind most of those taglines before we told you. That’s because their taglines work, they say something about the companies they represent and they are used on every single print, television, internet and radio marketing effort the companies make. And yours must do the same.

2. Create a logo for use on your online and offline marketing. A logo makes your company or agency instantly recognizable. Think about the Prudential rock, the Hartford stag and the Budweiser crown. Just like your tagline, the logo you create should be simple, representative, meaningful and present on all your visual marketing materials.

3. Decide on a style and color scheme for all your online and offline marketing. Not only do you need to make sure that all your marketing materials have the same color scheme [think Coors (blue and gold), Kodak (gold and red) and Prudential (blue and white)] but they also need to have a consistent style. You can’t choose an ultra-contemporary design for one marketing piece and then switch to a flirty, flowery design on the next. Think of your marketing materials as a form of nesting doll—each one must fit into the other and create a continuous flow that strengthens your brand.