The insurance industry has yet to catch up with the “sharing economy.” In particular, Airbnb has made the home and rental insurance picture more complicated for both insureds and insurers. There is a definite need for agents and brokers to ask whether an insured intends to use a property for Airbnb rentals.
Many people don’t believe they need more than the usual coverage for homeowners, health, auto, and other types of insurance—until suddenly they get into a situation where their current policy doesn’t provide enough coverage. These situations can be surprisingly common—and many insureds are surprised to find they’re underinsured. Here are a few situations where an insured might need an umbrella policy.
It’s not easy out there for insurance agents and brokers. Between new regulations and advances in technology, the industry is facing new challenges that can be detrimental to business. Here are just a few reasons why it’s tougher for independent agents and brokers to sell insurance now than it was a few decades ago.
Want to drum up more homeowners’ insurance business for the holidays? Here are a few tips to get you out of your current marketing rut and get in front of more customers who need homeowners’ insurance.
Market to new homeowners. Develop a marketing program targeted to new homeowners in your neighborhood. Send them something of value—like a checklist of tips for new homeowners that includes buying homeowners’ insurance.
Does your website need an overhaul? If you haven’t updated it in a few years, chances are it does. Your website can be an important source of business, and it’s crucial to keep it current and in line with what your customers and potential customers expect. Here are a few tips to make sure you’re getting the most from your website—and your customers are, as well.
Trade shows can be a great place to drum up business. But getting a good return on your investment can take some thought and strategy. Whether you’re exhibiting or attending with the hope of meeting new customers, here are a few thoughts on getting the most from your experience.
Twitter offers a great opportunity for insurance agents to market themselves. It’s free, it reaches a broad audience, and it gives you the chance to put a concise, powerful message out there. But there are rules and best practices for getting the most out of Twitter for your business. Here are a few tips.
LinkedIn can be a very powerful tool for discovering new insurance customers and making important industry connections. It’s particularly effective if you sell commercial lines. Most people who use it, however, don’t get as much out of it as they could. Here are a few ways to make sure your LinkedIn profile is as effective as it can be.
It’s the time of year when kids go back to school—from kindergarten to college. Even if parents have done this before, there’s always plenty to do to get ready for a new transition. One thing most parents don’t think about is insurance—and whether their coverage needs will change along with the new school year.
Insurance agents have an opportunity to market several lines of insurance to parents during the back-to-school season. Here are a few ideas:
“Closing a sale” is an essential skill for any insurance agent. But, contrary to popular myth, you don’t have to use high-pressure sales techniques or manipulate your prospects into saying yes. Here are a few tips to closing the sale more consistently, without using tactics normally associated with the “smarmy salesperson” stereotype.
Insurance agents don’t have any control over the premiums of the products they sell. The carrier sets the price, and many different agents might sell the same product in your area—at the same price. So how do you set yourself apart from your competitors? Here are a few tips.
Testimonials can be a very effective sales tool. Very few things appeal to prospects better than a list of happy customers—people so happy they’re willing to go on the record to recommend you. Of course, the more testimonials you have, the stronger your social proof will be—and you can’t leave that up to chance.
If you’re considering expanding your insurance practice to include new products, there are a few questions you should ask yourself first. Here are a few ways to determine whether expanding would be a good business decision.
So you’ve got a promising prospect who tells you they’re interested in the insurance you sell—and asks you to keep in touch. Or maybe you’ve got a list of leads that you’re trying to build into an effective business. There are plenty of ways to nurture those leads toward a sale, but it helps to have a specific system. Here are a few tips.
Customer service is more than crucial to an insurance agent’s business. It’s also an important sales and customer retention strategy. Here are a few ways to manage your relationships with customers better—and give back in a way that keeps them around, even if they get a lower quote elsewhere.
Even if a prospect needs the type of insurance you sell—even if you can score them better coverage at a better price—that doesn’t mean they’ll be an easy sell. People have all kinds of reasons why they don’t want to buy insurance. Some of those reasons are due to misconceptions, but some are quite valid—and both need to be addressed. Here are just a few common objections you might face.
No matter how much work you do on social media or how well-developed your website is, networking can still be of value to you—especially if you sell commercial lines of insurance, where your prospects are used to attending networking events and meeting the people they do business with in these venues. Still, networking isn’t a skill that comes easily to everyone—even seasoned insurance salespeople. Here are a few tips for those who want to get the most out of these events.
It can be tough to say no to potential business—especially when you’re just getting your insurance practice off the ground. And it’s easy to get into a mindset where you believe saying no is a privilege reserved for the successful, or at least those with a stable business. But no matter whether you’re experienced in the industry or just starting out, it’s essential to know which are your ideal prospects—and which you should pass on. Here’s a list of who to say no to.
Many insurance agents live and die by their customer service. It’s essential to take care of your customers—especially in the days of social media, where stories of customer service mishaps can spread quickly and turn into public relations nightmares. The good news is that stories of above-and-beyond service can travel just as quickly. Here are a few examples of what insurance agents should always try to provide when it comes to customer service.
Twitter is growing in importance as a way for insurance agents to promote their businesses to customers. It can be a great tool, for a lot of reasons—for little or no cost, you can reach a very large audience quickly and easily.
However, Twitter and other social media platforms do have a cost—in time, if not in money. And it’s not unusual for insurance agents and others to struggle with getting a return on their social media investment that makes the time they spend worthwhile.