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 »

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.

If you aren’t keeping your clients happy and informed, there are thousands of other agents waiting in the wings to fill in for you. The one trick up most successful agent’s sleeves is building loyalty. When you work to create client loyalty, you take action that keeps clients happy with your work and the information you provide and makes them say “not interested” when approached by other agents. One of the easiest and most effective ways to create loyalty with your clients is to offer a newsletter.

1. Newsletters provide professional and informative content.

   We’ve said it before, we’re saying it now—and chances are we’ll say it again later. Content is king on a website, blog or newsletter. If you aren’t giving your readers content that informs and engages, you are going to breed contempt instead of loyalty.

2. Newsletters show how dependable you are.

   Believe it or not if you set a schedule for your newsletter releases, your clients will notice. When you fail to deliver on that schedule—they’ll notice that too. By making yourself dependable in a small way, you show that you will be dependable in more important matters as well.

3. Newsletters give you a platform for communication when times are tough.

   Clients are likely to be fearful when there are negative news stories about insurance companies—even if their insurer is not mentioned. It’s almost impossible to call all clients every day something happens that might concern them. A newsletter allows you to keep in touch with clients during the bad times, choose articles that will calm their nerves, and shows that you have the courage and dedication to deal with the issues head on.

4. Newsletters separate you from your competition.

   Not all agents or agencies offer a newsletter to their clients. In fact, some agents have very little, if any, communication with their clients after they sell a policy. Many of your clients will have dealt with this type of agent in the past and will be grateful for your level of communication and accessibility via newsletters. Not only will that help keep them loyal, but it’s something they’ll tell their friends about when they complain about never hearing from their agent.