There are many important uses for your newsletter and one of the most helpful is the way that it can assist your social networking plan. When you think of social networking you might not immediately find your newsletter to be a possible help, but consider the following: 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 »

One of the best benefits of having an electronic or print newsletter available for your clients is that it gives you a great opportunity for cross-selling other lines of coverage.  This ability opens up your agency and exposes you to sales opportunities you might have otherwise missed out on. Continue Reading »

It’s not always easy to be in sales. The poor sales practices of just a few agents and companies have been publicized enough to make some consumers overly suspicious–so much so that they think all sales people have ulterior motives to sell at any cost. When you meet a prospect who exhibits this line of thinking it can be very difficult to change their mind about your motives, but a free agency newsletter could make the difference you are looking for.

1. Newsletters don’t ask for a sale. While the purpose of your newsletter is to educate readers about the many different types of insurance there are, why they need them and, as a result, get more sales, newsletters never come out and ask for a sale. They are subtle marketing pieces as opposed to the louder, “Call me today to get this insurance” marketing brochures and flyers that are sometimes useful. When you do not ask for a sale, you start the process of changing consumer opinion.
2. Newsletters are free sources of information. While free advice from you in-person may be deemed a sales tactic, free monthly and quarterly information delivered via newsletter will likely not be. Because the overt “sales” element is removed your potential client sees it strictly as a source for free, close to objective information.
3. Paper has no ulterior motive. While your ulterior motives can be questioned, the motives of a paper or electronic newsletter generally are not. Newsletters without an overt call to action are usually taken at face value as educational resources and not ascribed a motive.
4. Newsletters show that you are not afraid to invest in your clients. When you show that you are willing to invest money in educating your existing and potential clients, it reflects on your character as a person. Instead of being just another sales person you become an authority, a business owner, and a valued resource.

Think about the newsletters you receive from companies. Have they changed your opinion about company motives over the years?

As an agent, time is one of your most valuable commodities. It is limited in availability and the more you are able to save for yourself and your family, the richer you feel. But because so much of your career is devoted toward customer service and education, your time can be easily used up by customer questions. Even if you have a staff to help share some of the responsibility, you are spending tens of thousands of dollars in payroll and personal time value on answering routine questions. When you have an agency newsletter, however, you can save yourself money and time by providing answers to commonly asked questions within the newsletter itself.

How Your Newsletter Saves You Money and Time

Many agents think of their newsletters more as a marketing tool but in reality they are also great for existing clients who want a better understanding of their insurance policies. Newsletters can decrease the amount of incoming question calls you get because your clients will find answers to many of their questions within the pages of your newsletters. In addition, newsletters can save time in annual customer meetings because–instead of saving their questions up for your meeting–your clients will have been reading your newsletter all year and gaining knowledge.

In order to help keep your clients informed and educated through your newsletters, be sure to suggest that they sign up after taking out a policy with you. It is a good idea to have both an online and print version of your newsletter available so that your client’s individual reading tastes are covered. Additionally, try to have archives available online to help create a virtual research center that your clients feel comfortable accessing.

An informed client is the best kind of client to have because information results in higher persistency, fewer complaints and more repeat customers and referrals over the years–just another way it pays to have a newsletter.

Clients and prospects are as individual as snowflakes. That’s why it’s a good idea to offer your newsletter in both print and electronic formats because while some clients prefer the no-muss, no-fuss approach of the electronic newsletter, others prefer the tangible, tactile sensation of a printed newsletter between their fingertips. If you still aren’t sure why you should offer both, here are some additional points. 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 »

Email marketing has been around for 10+ years now, but email open rates remain a point of contention among marketers. Some consider them irrelevant, others live and die by their open rates. Some marketers disregard them as pointless. Like anything there’s a happy medium to be found somewhere.

Methods to track open rates remain basically the same.  Most vendors insert an invisible image, usually a 1X1 pixel, the pings back to the delivering server when the email is opened. 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.

Whenever you consider adding another marketing method to your agency’s marketing plan, you must consider the method’s value proposition. A new marketing method that offers little value beyond those which you already use might not be a good addition—but a marketing method that has a greater value proposition could be a gold mine.

Email insurance newsletters are one marketing technique that has a value proposition that is fourfold. Email newsletters provide:

• A tool to ensure persistency and client retention.
• A means to generate leads.
• An educational resource that can show prospects and existing clients what they need.
• An affordable marketing solution.

Making the Most of Persistency

When an existing client gets the impression that you care about your relationship with them even after the premium has been collected and the policy issued, they are more likely to remain a client for the long term. That means any new insurance needs they have will be discussed with you and they will feel comfortable discussing with you any claims made by competing agents. You also gain the benefit of positive word-of-mouth as your client spreads your name to his or her friends and family.

Generating Leads with Email Newsletters

When you educate and empower people you not only make them feel good and trust you, but you also help them understand why they need insurance. While your email newsletter should never come out and ask readers for a sale, it should educate them enough that they understand the need for insurance on their own. This education will compel them to use you as their agent and to buy insurance that they may have thought unnecessary before reading your email newsletter articles.

What Makes Email Newsletters Affordable?

The best direct mail marketing pieces are professionally designed, color and content rich, and expensive to print and mail. Email newsletters offer you customizable, professionally written ghostwritten articles and a professional design with no postage or printing expenses. As long as you follow good emailing practices you can avoid the SPAM folder and build your email as a good resource.