Cold Leads Will Purchase Insurance Again
Getting your hands on a hot lead is always an exciting proposition. Whether it’s a fresh lead generated by Hometown Quotes, a referral from a friend looking for a policy or a customer calling you out of the blue for a quote, a hot lead can feel like a “good” lead—which then implies that other leads must be “bad” ones.
But that’s not necessarily the case. Just because a lead has gone cold, meaning that customer is not immediately in the market for insurance, doesn’t mean they don’t still have lots of potential to be an excellent customer down the road. Cold leads can easily be rewarmed, it just takes a little attention and care.
Leave a Positive First Impression
The first thing to recognize is that any lead can turn cold quickly. You may call what you think is a hot lead, get their voicemail, never get a return call, and then find out when you call them again the next day that they’ve already gone with a different agent. This will happen, and how you handle it matters.
Keep any frustration out of your voice and instead offer something like this, “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to connect with you sooner. I’d love to give you a quote the next time you’re shopping again to see if I can save you any money. Is your new policy for six or 12 months?” Asking them this specific question will usually garner an answer, which comes with an implied assent that they are okay hearing from you again. In effect, you’re putting this lead on a low simmer instead of allowing it to go entirely cold.
Track Renewal Dates
Any time you find out a renewal date, even if it’s an educated guess based on the fact that they are currently shopping for insurance, track that information. Then make it a practice to follow up with the cold leads that you’ve been tracking a few weeks before their renewal is set to occur.
“Hi, this is X from X Agency. I believe your TYPE insurance is set to renew shortly, and I was wondering if I could give you a quick quote to see if I can save you any money?” You taking the initiative like this makes it very easy for them to agree to a quote.
Switch Up Contact Methods
If you tried calling your hot lead the first go-around, try emailing later in the day and vice versa—especially if you had a hard time reaching a lead when it was still hot. Some people never answer their calls, others never check their emails. If you do both, you may better your odds.
Be Useful
Staying in touch with a lead is another way to keep it from going all-the-way cold. A good way to do that is to add them to a bimonthly or quarterly email list.
When you do reach out, don’t make it purely promotional. Instead, send something useful. For example, you could put together a downloadable emergency packing list. Or put together an ebook with definitions of insurance jargon or a list of questions they should consider when choosing insurance features. Include a “Courtesy of…” graphic that includes your branding and contact information so your name stays top of mind.
Adjust Your Mindset
Insurance is normally not a one-time purchase. Once people need it, they generally keep on needing it. So it bears repeating—cold leads will buy insurance again.
Given this truth, one of the best things you can do for yourself is change the way you think about leads. Looking at leads as either hot or warm—but rarely cold—is a subtle shift in attitude that opens new possibilities and effectively extends their life. There are a lot of future insurance sales to be made to these folks, and you could be the person making them if you don’t give up too soon.
Hometown Quotes is pleased to provide insurance agencies with high-quality leads filtered by policy type, geographic location and more. Call us at 800.820.8921 to find out how we can help you achieve your sales goals.
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