Getting qualified leads is often not easy in the insurance industry. There are ranges of techniques for getting people to give you their contact information—while prequalifying themselves as interested in and ready to buy the type of insurance you sell. But the process of building a lucrative list from scratch can be difficult, and companies selling lists of instant leads can be very tempting. Here’s a look at things you should consider when deciding whether to buy a list for lead generation.

If you’re just getting started building your insurance agency, at some point you’ll face a crossroads: should you keep doing marketing and outreach on your own, hire someone internally, or outsource that work to professionals? Here’s a look at the benefits and drawbacks of these options.

Going it Alone

“Get to know your customers”—it’s the first piece of advice given to insurance agents and other business owners, either getting started or building up their businesses. To build a truly effective marketing campaign, you need to know exactly who is likely to buy the insurance you sell, why they buy it—and the reasons behind the reasons, the emotional triggers that, particularly in consumer insurance markets, can make the idea of buying so much more compelling.

Sometimes you get lucky with referrals. If you’re very good at what you do and provide great customer service, chances are you get lucky a lot. But even if this is the case, if you don’t have a specific process to encourage your customers to refer others to you, you’re leaving money on the table. Here are a few ideas to make referrals not just a matter of luck, but the result of a system that works.