While it's always helpful to provide tips to our own prospects and clients, I wanted to chat with one of our top clients who went from being a producer to being an agency that is now licensed and writes business in eight states across the country.  Joe's agency has seen explosive growth with our service, and I knew he would be the right person to fill in the gaps for agency owners looking to refine their processes. Here's what he had to say...

What does your sales process look like (from prospect to close)?

My team and I always aim to answer call and immediately figure out the consumers' needs.  We cater the conversation to the clients needs whether it's saving money, getting better coverage, or a different carrier altogether. We build rapport while having a casual conversation about their insurance needs. We strive to close each lead on the first call but if not, we schedule a follow up usually based on when they renew or when they are able to pay. We do most of our business on the phone so we also like to digitally touch our leads via text, email or call so whether they buy now or down the road they know to give us a call.

How do you assess the quality of your leads or calls?  What makes a lead "good"?

 Intent, we can generally tell if it is going to be good based on opening questions. We always ask them what they are looking to do. This opens the client up to tell us their pain points or the issues they are having. We also like knowing they have proof of prior, a decent driving record and are actively looking for insurance.  

How do you nurture and process the calls we generate?

We do everything online and over the phone so digital/electronic touches, emails, text or phone calls. We are always trying to close on the first call. If unsuccessful we schedule a call back/follow up based on when the lead tells us to reach out. We generally make several attempts 3-4 to reach them before we put them on the back burner for a X-date follow up.

 What are your customer's biggest pain points? 

They are normally calling for a reason, the price increased, they had a poor claim experience or they were unable to reach current company/agent which is essentially bad customer service.  

On our end, our biggest pain points are driving record is much worse than they thought, or they don’t have the money right now or don’t have a bank account and we need to do EFT payments.  In these cases, my team is great about setting realistic follow ups and makes sure to close any loose ends the customer might have before we get off the phone.  Knowing going into it that some leads will be bad, makes it easier for my team to just roll with it and move on to the next.

What do you want your customers to do after they’ve purchased from you?

 Sign documents and complete enrollment process. We always ask for referrals and to let them know how to contact us. We have a spiel about the next steps and about the company, making sure our client has all our information if they ever have a question or concern. 

What would make someone choose you over someone else?

 We make it as easy as possible for them to get insurance. First by listening to what they are trying to do. Then by bringing the insurance to them through a complete electronic process, completing the process on their phone from e-signatures to texting ID cards. 

Joe brings up some really good points here, that are great take-away's for any agency owner, including setting realistic expectations, knowing that you need to take the good with the bad as it's a numbers game, and ease of use for your customer.  Due to their excellent service, Joe's agency has expanded in multiple states across the country, and rarely has issues with consumers wanting a brick and mortar agency which are great tips for any agency of any size!