5 ways to get 10 leads with 1 hour of work
Lead generation is a critical business activity for insurance agents, who rely on outreach to connect with potential customers.
Unfortunately, many agents shy away from doing as much outreach as they should, correctly recognizing that many lead generation activities are tedious and time-consuming. But they don’t have to be! Here are some excellent, high-ROI methods for connecting with prospective customers that agents could complete during their lunch hour.
1. Send Direct Mail Postcards
Postcards may seem old school, but in a world where capturing attention online can be prohibitively difficult, going offline can be a way to stand out. The idea is to mail postcards to existing clients with a message explicitly asking for referrals. You only need to write a single message, so crafting the postcard can be quick. Personalization is a nice touch – think handwritten signature – but much of it can be printed rather than handwritten. And it works: one insurance agency generated a 1,722% ROI (grossing $30k) in a single campaign. For best effect, combine with an incentive or strong special offer.
2. Share Visuals
People are visual creatures, and they respond strongly to compelling images. Insurance agents can use that fact to attract leads. Here, the agent would create an infographic or other visual to share via social media. You can outsource to a contractor, but you can also find free and low-cost Do-It-Yourself infographic services online. Just populate a nice template with some compelling stats or facts. One agency created a life insurance infographic and generated over 1,100 likes on Facebook and increased web traffic.
3. Host Online Quizzes
An online quiz is a surprisingly powerful concept at generating interest. Think of a few interesting questions; ideally ones that would help quiz-takers realize they would benefit from something you offer. Then, find a plug-in, add-on, or hosting service that works with the content management system (CMS) underlying your website to add the quiz to your site. One business went from getting 5 new subscribers a day to 100 after adding a quiz. Follow-up emails to quizzes have 150% higher open rates than traditional email.
4. Revisit Old leads
In general, old leads are cold leads; you can’t necessarily expect them to be any more receptive to outreach than a brand-new prospect. However, with a smart approach, old contacts can turn into new business. The tactic: message old leads with a compelling offer and, ideally, an incentive. It’s critical to include something persuasive in the message. Give them a reason to respond. One franchise generated a stellar 29% sign-up rate from a list of 5,000 old leads.
5. Remember Customer Retention
This may seem like an odd tip to include in an article ostensibly about lead generation, but remember, it costs anywhere from 5 to 25 times more to acquire a new customer than to keep an existing one. Thus, retaining even a single customer may be worth acquiring multiple new ones. Increasing customer retention by 5% can also increase profits by 25% to 95%. We'll write more about customer retention in an upcoming post, but even simple outreach – just checking in with current customers – can return dividends.
