September 1, 2008

Reap A Full Harvest This Season!

Posted by Rey Villar

Fall is just a few weeks away, and with it starts one of the busiest times of the year for health insurance agents. As summer comes to a close and the holidays loom ahead, many companies and individuals start to reconsider their health insurance plans. On top of that, Medicare provides a tight window starting November 15 for seniors looking to change their Medicare Advantage carriers.

It creates a big opportunity for agents who understand the importance of this season. Unfortunately, most agents fail to generate the record-breaking sales volume they know they can. Either they don’t know how to locate the prospects seriously looking for a plan — or they get so bogged down with admin tasks that they end up losing prospects to other, more efficient producers.

If that sounds too familiar, rejoice because you’ve got good news! More to the point, technology and the Internet now offer affordable solutions for agents and brokers who want to sell more policies — more efficiently.

But there is no “one size fits all” technology out there for health insurance agents. So before you spend thousands of dollars on the latest iPhone, notebook computer or “killer application,” you should first consider where you really need the most help. What areas of your sales process need the most improvement?

Here’s a detailed review of problem areas that drag down many agents during this season — and solutions that can quickly overcome those obstacles.

Finding Qualified Prospects

Lead generation and marketing is a big challenge for many producers. And it’s only gotten harder for traditional agents as more consumers are going online to shop for their health insurance plans.

Almost 2 out of every 3 individual plans are already purchased using the web. Celent Research estimates that by 2011, more than 90% of all individual plans will be purchased through the Internet. How do you find these qualified prospects?

Websites are part of the answer. But not just any kind of website will do. There are already thousands of insurance websites on the Internet. In fact, when you type “health insurance” into the Google search engine, you’ll see that Google has tracked more than 86 million web pages for health insurance.

One factor working in your favor is that most agent websites do nothing more than create a little-noticed web page with some basic contact information. They don’t generate leads! They don’t sell!

The really effective websites are designed to give online shoppers what they’relooking for: lots of information to make a smart choice and the ability to shop for the best price.

That’s why professionally designed websites with multi-carrier quote engines have become an absolute necessity for top producers. Prospects can compare multi-carrier plans side by side to find the best deals, as well as the coverage they need. Prospects can then complete and submit an online application immediately.

With a fully functional website, agents can generate leads, guide visitors through their choices, and lead them through the online application process without ever leaving their desks.

Besides websites, a more direct way to find qualified clients is by buying Internet leads. They may seem expensive — until you figure that buying leads allow you to skip over the costs involved with traditional advertising and marketing.

But you need to make sure that your lead provider can deliver high-quality leads: real prospects genuinely interested in health insurance. You also need to find lead providers who can deliver the niche leads you need for the season.

For example, if you want to capitalize on the coming Medicare Advantage 45-day change window, many lead companies can provide you with qualified Medicare seniors actively shopping for Medicare coverage.

New to the market are “100% contact ratio” Live Transfer leads that put you on the phone with double-verified shoppers. No more wasting time trying to get hold of leads — and then trying to gauge their interest. Lead companies do it for you by calling their search-engine-driven leads to double verify their interest in health insurance. And if that prospect confirms a desire to speak with an agent, they’re automatically put on the phone with you.

Drip Marketing Unclosed Leads

Of course, your leads will come to you at various stages of the buying process. Live Transfer leads tend to be more ready to close right away. Other leads may take a few more weeks or several months.

Don’t make the mistake of abandoning qualified leads just because they’re not ready to close right away — or you don’t have the time to nurture them.

Instead, consider using a drip marketing email autoresponder to stay connected with your “longer term” leads. An automated drip marketing sends your unclosed leads a steady drip of periodic messages to guide them to an eventual close. More importantly, it does so automatically, so you never have to worry about writing fresh emails and newsletters every week.

But are automated drip marketing systems worth it?

In our internal studies, we’ve found that agents using drip marketing with embedded quotes have reported a 1.9% close ratio.

That may not sound like a lot. But keep in mind that’s 1.9% with very little involvement from the agent. Also, if your team averages 11 unclosed leads per week, that’s an additional $5,000 in commissions each year!

Closing Qualified Prospects

Fall also signals the start of the football season. And in football, top quarterbacks distinguish themselves by their ability to score from the “red zone,” the final 20 yards to the goal line. Similarly, top producers know how to close qualified prospects.

If your closing ratio isn’t as high as you’d like, there is one powerful tool you can utilize right away to get immediate results. A multi-carrier quote engine helps you close qualified prospects by letting you give prospects exactly what they want and need:

• Best plans
Instead of trying to sell your favorite carriers, a multi-carrier quote engine lets prospects quickly select from dozens of available plans. They can then narrow their options to the ones that offer the benefits they need.

• Lowest prices
Multi-carrier quote engines give prospects a one-stop location for comparing the prices on competing plans from well-known carriers — as well as competitive plans from some of your niche providers. Most quote engine users make on-the-fly adjustments to the optional benefits and riders, so prospects can immediately see how it affects their premiums.

• A trusted ally
By helping prospects with their insurance shopping and letting them make their own informed decision, you become more than just an agent looking for a sale. You become their ally.

But a powerful quote engine helps more than your sales pitch. It gives you more free time and makes you more productive.

Look for a Quote Engine provider that lets you generate multi-carrier quotes from the states and carriers you work with AND is in the states you plan on expanding to. Running quotes manually and preparing a proposal would take at least half an hour just to get quotes from two or three carriers. A powerful quote engine can slash your quoting and proposal time by 96%.

That kind of time savings is what all of the tools discussed here share in common. Individually, a fully functional website, Internet leads, a drip marketing email autoresponder or a powerful multi-carrier quote engine can increase your marketing efficiency and effectiveness — while saving you time and money.

Together, they’ll help you dominate your marketplace during this busy year-end season.