Finding commercial insurance leads is important for new or established insurance agents that want to grow their business. However, not all business owners have an immediate need for commercial insurance or have a reason to change providers. As a result, finding good insurance leads can be challenging.
So, in order to maintain a steady stream of leads, what are some of the best ways to find good commercial leads? Thanks to the role digital innovation is playing in the insurance industry, InsurTech is changing the way consumers are able to find and buy commercial insurance online. This digital revolution is the key to finding insurance leads and growing your business.
Optimize Your Website
Regardless of how traffic gets to your website, you want to ensure it is optimized to generate leads. An Agent’s/Agency’s website should be primed and ready to receive commercial insurance leads via lead forms, contact forms, and/or telephone number. Also, keep in mind, people use their mobile devices on a daily basis, so it is important that your site is properly formatted to be mobile-friendly.
Adding forms to key pages of your website will help drive qualified leads to someone who can further assist them. And placing strategic calls-to-action (CTA), such as “Request a Quote” or “Get More Info” throughout your website will give your visitors ample opportunity to take the next step to become a client.
Buying Leads
It may seem easy to pay for a list of commercial insurance leads. However, agents need to do their due diligence by vetting the companies that sell the leads as well as understand how they acquire their lists. Some companies may have generic lists that are accessible to anyone and may not provide you with quality leads. While aging lists might be less costly, pricier targeted lists with warm to hot prospects may have a higher ROI.
Here are a few things to consider when purchasing leads:
- Identify lead agencies with exclusive leads – start small and see if you convert any of the leads.
- Be aware of recycled leads – some leads may be continuously recycled and eventually age out.
- Work with local or specialized agencies – purchase leads from companies that align with the commercial insurance industry and your targeted areas for potential clients.
- Quality over quantity – investing in a quality lead requires less work and is more likely to convert.
Buying leads always comes with risk so it’s always a good idea to learn about lead generation agencies and the leads they are selling before committing to making a purchase.
Making Cold Calls
Cold calling is one of the most traditional and common practices for drumming up new commercial insurance leads and growing a business. Calling a business owner out of the blue may land you a new client, but the process is time-consuming, inefficient, and sometimes ineffective. Cold calling success requires deftness in communication that will put potential clients at ease and give them a reason to trust and listen to you. Potential clients can sense scripted and nervous agents so if you decide to use cold calling as one of your tools, be sure to speak clearly, concisely, and with confidence.
Ask for Referrals
When it comes to asking current clients, family, friends, neighbors, and others for referrals, some agents may find this method uncomfortable. Whereas, it should be a quick, inexpensive, and easy way to generate good commercial leads. This word-of-mouth approach leverages current relationship connections and can make a valuable pathway to gaining good leads.
Use automatic lead generation technology
Lead generation is the key to business growth. How much would your business grow if you were able to generate commercial insurance leads while away from the office, unavailable to answer the phone or respond to emails, or when you’re with a client? Advances in InsurTech are making this possible and Talage is at the forefront of bringing that technology to agents with our Wheelhouse tool. Key attributes include:
- Providing agents with a more efficient and profitable way to write small business policies
- Agents maintain complete ownership of the book and commissions
- Contact information for leads is sent daily and can be accessed anytime from the agent portal
- Businesses are able to receive a bindable quote in a self-serve platform in less than 10 minutes (on average)
- An ability to create unlimited, custom landing pages for your marketing and messaging purposes
A dedicated link empowers agents to utilize it across all digital channels including on your website, in email, on social media, and in digital advertising, enabling automated lead generation. This simple, streamlined, user-friendly platform is the dream solution for agents and will help you find commercial insurance leads.
Host a Contest or Giveaway
Agents can stand out from the competition by offering something different in order to generate commercial insurance leads. Holidays and special events that happen throughout the year are a great way for you to hold interactive contests that garner attention and make it easier for potential clients to leave their contact information.
People love to participate in contests and giveaways. You can offer a Q&A session, a gift basket from a local vendor, a gift card that can be used anywhere. The list goes on and on. Be sure to follow legal regulations regarding the contest or giveaway and make it easy for people to enter.
Regardless of what the contest is or what you giveaway, not all entrants will be your ideal client. But, that doesn’t mean it’s a waste of time or money. Take the time to introduce yourself and be a resource for them. You never know when a connection can lead you to your next client.
Employ Inbound Marketing Strategies
Inbound and outbound marketing is a great way to generate insurance leads. Commercial insurance agents should take full advantage of digital technology and innovations that make it possible for business owners to be informed consumers.
Inbound marketing attracts clients by continuously giving them value throughout the sales cycle and beyond. Educate and empower clients with content (hosted on your blog and shared through your social channels or in a newsletter) that matters to them. Strive to put forth relevant content that can position an agent as a thought leader with their pulse on the industry and issues that your clients may face.
Some specific strategies that you can use to create inbound marketing include optimizing content using Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in order to attract organic traffic to your website. Pay-per-click, Social Media, and Email marketing campaigns can be used to attract new clients.
Use Social Media to Find Commercial Leads
The global and diverse reach of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are robust platforms with tremendous opportunities to attract clients, research specific client niches, as well as engage, educate and empower prospective, current, and returning clients.
Even though each of these platforms allows an agent to manage their brand differently, agents can generate continuous client leads that can convert to customers. It is important that an agent builds a solid professional profile, and shares a variety of posts to consistently and effectively engage with followers.
When you are not actively engaged on these platforms, you should be scouting and studying them to learn more about the concerns, questions, and issues potential clients may have. By adding a link to your site in your profile, or where available adding a call-to-action on your profile can increase your leads from social media.
Study Your Competitors
Keeping up with what your competition is doing both on their website and on social media can help you find new ideas and tactics you can employ to connect with potential leads. Also, look at review sites (e.g., Yelp) to see who is complaining about their experiences and reach out to any unsatisfied customer.
Look for how their customers and visitors are engaging with the content. Read client reviews and the agency’s response to them. Research your competitors. Determine what they aren’t doing and use that as an opportunity to fill the gap and gain a loyal client.
Use Google to Attract Commercial Insurance Leads
Google has a wealth of information agents can use to find new leads. Using tools like Google Alerts, Maps, and Google Ads can help agents to find new commercial insurance leads. Just like leads are the engine to small business growth, Google is the engine to help insurance agents connect with niche-specific clients. Google’s tools can help you grow your business.
- Google Ads can help your brand to reach more potential clients, no matter your budget.
- Google Alerts allows users to set up an alert. You will automatically receive notifications when there is a match to the search terms you entered.
- You can use Google My Business to share contact information and details about your company.
- Google Maps is essential. It shows searchers where you are located or often offers contact information such as a website address and/or telephone number.
Events and Tradeshows
Besides generating leads, events and tradeshows can increase brand awareness and provide a chance to initiate customer relationships. Many times you will have to pay to either attend or host a booth. But it may be worth it if the attendees fit your ideal client description. When preparing to attend an event or tradeshow, here are some ideas to help make it successful:
- Make an announcement that you are attending the event. Then post information about where you will be located as soon as you receive the details.
- Create a campaign including a custom landing page, email, and social media posts.
- Request access to the list of attendees and send out a welcome email. Include an option to set an appointment with you or simply invite them to stop by your booth.
- Draw traffic to your booth by giving away raffle tickets for an item.
Join Groups to Connect with Commercial Insurance Leads
Joining groups and organizations like your local chamber of commerce can give you a way to connect with your immediate community and build relationships. These relationships could result in solid referrals. The chamber of commerce usually has a directory of members and local businesses. This is a valuable resource in generating leads.
Contact the membership division where you live. SCORE is a nonprofit business association that helps small business owners. They do this by helping you to develop skills, expand your networks, and defining and achieving business goals.
Partnership Advertising
Finding organizations that are complementary to your business and advertising on their channels is an excellent way to expand your business. Placing a banner ad in their newsletter or on their site can also be an effective tool.
Partnership advertising can help agencies to grow their business by increasing market visibility, creating credibility, and building brand recognition. However, good partnerships should also extend beyond just sponsorship. Research candidates that would make for a good partnership. Then, approach them about partnering opportunities. These opportunities could include writing an article together or creating a webinar series around mutual content or events.
Host or Participate in a Webinar
Hosting or participating in a webinar is another digital tool that insurance agents can use to generate good leads. To ensure success, create a profile of your targeted buyers. This will help you discover their pain points, frustrations, desired outcomes, and overall better understand your clients.
If you have limited client information it may be difficult to determine what your customers need. Try conducting a survey with your existing customers, email lists, or social media followers. This will give you direct feedback to see what they want or need. Discovering this information and then presenting a solution will make the webinar successful and drive qualified leads.
Finding good commercial insurance leads doesn’t just happen, but opportunities abound. It’s just a matter of knowing where and how to look for them. And the Internet, with a diverse number of social platforms and websites, is a gold mine for agents. You can find ideal clients to serve and grow their businesses.
Insurance agents need to take the time to learn about and implement ways to educate, engage, and empower potential clients. This will create a pathway for success. Investing time and a little money in the right places can pay dividends. Especially when it comes to generating commercial insurance leads and landing new clients.