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We live in the age of instant gratification and consumers often don’t give you a chance to explain the value you think you can provide. They are too busy, and have too little faith in the hordes of producers and companies that reach out to them on a daily basis. Unfortunately, they have learned through experience that these knee-jerk objections are the best defense against people wasting their time. This forces agency owners and producers to be more assertive and persistent.  Even when you are using an inbound marketing solution like Avenge Digital, you will deal with objections.  That's just the part of any business but the vast majority of the time what happens is a knee-jerk reaction from busy people who don’t yet see the value in working with you. That's not a reflection of you!  Nearly all objections at the prospecting phase of the sales and quoting process fit into one of two categories either they don’t understand the value & are too busy to think about it, or they are not ready for a buying conversation. Also broken down very simply: "Time or Money"

Topics: Insider, Increase close rate, ROI, insurance marketing, follow up, insurance agent, insurance specialist, insurance marketing group, insurance consultant, marketing ideas for insurance brokers, insurance marketing systems, insurance marketing organization, insurance marketing ideas, insurance marketing agencies, tips

Agency owners often play an important role in helping their producers close sales with clients who have very specific insurance needs. This is a big part of the value many agents provide. Here are a few tips for honing your producers skills in this area.

Topics: Increase close rate, ROI, insurance agent, insurance specialist, insurance consultant, tips

It can be tough out there for insurance agencies. Changes in Obamacare is shaping the way employers provide health insurance for their employees.  Rate increases on the Property & Casualty front are always present and a constant objection many agents must overcome. In fact, the new legislation is trying to curtail the role of insurance agencies in the insurance procurement process. Persistent slow economic growth has reduced business investment, which adds additional steps and approvals to the insurance buying process.

Topics: Insider, Increase close rate, ROI, insurance marketing, insurance agent, marketing ideas for insurance brokers, insurance marketing systems, insurance marketing organization, insurance marketing ideas, insurance marketing agencies

With Memorial Day weekend upon us, summer is almost here! It’s time to pull out your patio furniture, dust off the grill, and get it ready for the upcoming season. When selling insurance in the summer, many people are more eager to talk about their summer plans and incorporating that into your sales pitch is a great relationship-building exercise to engage with your potential clients!

Topics: insurance marketing, insurance agent, marketing ideas for insurance brokers, insurance marketing ideas, tips

Many agents know that the time comes when your business growth can no longer rely on referrals alone.  There is a reason why many companies exist to help agents and independent business owners succeed.  Everywhere you look there are lead companies, call companies, SEO specialists, website builders, direct mail opportunities.  It can be overwhelming!

Topics: Insider, Increase close rate, ROI, insurance specialist, marketing ideas for insurance brokers, insurance marketing systems, insurance marketing organization, insurance marketing ideas, tips, referrals

Every time I speak with an insurance agency owner I ask, “What do you do to market your business?”  The most frequently answer I get?   “Referrals.”  This is the story consistent from agency to agency, from California to Florida and everywhere in-between. So much so that our most recent blog post was about bringing the VIP treatment to referrals.

Many larger agencies have advanced advertising and marketing initiatives, but most of the mid-sized and smaller agencies are doing little to market their business.  As a marketing professional, it’s hard for me to understand why a business would elect to forego marketing, it’s the fuel that drives your business. And as we've noted previously about thinking like a million-dollar business owner, your marketing is an investment into yourself, your staff, and your agency because after all, how can you be successful without marketing or advertising?

Topics: Increase close rate, marketing, insurance marketing group, marketing ideas for insurance brokers, insurance marketing systems, insurance marketing organization, insurance marketing ideas, insurance marketing agencies, tips, referrals

When I began my career as an marketer, I was more than lucky to be mentored by a few of the best insurance marketers I have ever met. They knew their products, were quick with their sales pitch, but most of all, they were the VIPs in our office.  These people were always looked upon with high regard by both their peers, their bosses, and their clients alike.

Topics: insurance marketing, follow up, marketing ideas for insurance brokers, insurance marketing ideas, referrals

I know... I know... even seeing the word "leads" makes many agents shutter.  In just over 6 years of being in the industry, I have heard countless horror stories from agents on a lead program gone bad.  I've heard lead companies buying each other out and then not having enough supply to support their staff.  I've heard of auto-denying credits for bad calls.  I've even heard of stories where companies have taken their clients money and then shut their doors, never to be heard from again. 

Topics: Insider, Increase close rate, ROI, insurance marketing, insurance leads, insurance specialist, insurance marketing group, insurance consultant, marketing ideas for insurance brokers, quality insurance leads, insurance marketing systems, insurance marketing ideas, insurance marketing agencies, tips

Every year I try my best to make it to as many trade shows as I can so I can get in front of agency owners and producers to learn about their customer acquisition techniques.  Last fall I was speaking with a rather well known agent who was discussing his customer acquisition costs. This is a guy who is very in-tune with digital marketing, and just marketing in general as he had worked for company doing SEO marketing  before becoming an agent, and someone who is very numbers-oriented when it comes to his processes.

Topics: Insider, Increase close rate, ROI, insurance marketing, insurance agent, insurance specialist, insurance marketing group, insurance broker, insurance consultant, insurance marketing systems, insurance marketing ideas, tips

In today's marketplace, anybody can sell on price.  It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that the only thing that matters to consumers is price.

Topics: Insider, Increase close rate, ROI, insurance agent, insurance consultant