This thing on?

Ping-o-lisciois Insurance Marketing

A quick referral lesson for your consideration.
Referrals …  my favorite form of insurance marketing.

One of my networking partners drops me an email the other day and wants to go to lunch. He is going to introduce me to a fellow Independent Insurance broker who he thinks would be a strong Strategic Partner for my firm and I. Odd thing is, I know this firm, and they are good … AND a competitor of sorts. I eagerly agreed to a meet over at one of my fav’s – Yard House in Irvine Spectrum. Crunchy AHI Salad mmmmmm.

Cutting to the chase – the lunch meeting went well [ imho ] and we’re poised to circle back next week and brainstorm on how we will "pro-actively" NOT passively incorporate each others businesses into our insurance marketing plans for the remainder of the year.

I bring this lunch meeting up for two reasons. Sometimes we get so focused on asking [ or is it BEGGING / IMPOSING ON ] our clients for referrals that we develop Tunnel Vision.  Here’s what I mean by this.

Does this resemble how some of your Asking for Referral experiences go?

To Self: How did that Referral Gurus world famous referral asking script go again?

Was it….

..Joe, I get compensated in two ways … blah blah blah …

..Bob, I have a list here of some firms in your industry I’ve been trying to meet can you look here and see if you know any of them …? Blah …

??????????????

Dang – thats so uncomfortable – thats not me … oh forget about it ….

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Shameless Plug:

The Most Powerful Referral System for Agents Ever Developed – No More Begging!
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Frankly, Im of the mindset that ASKING clients for referrals directly – face to face is not the most effective way to obtain quality introductions. Blasphemy you must be thinking … I understand – but hear me out.

Is putting your relationship with your current client into an unbalanced status really the most effective insurance marketing S-Y-S-T-E-M you can come up with for referrals? Unbalanced you say – whatever do I mean? Its now unbalanced. You originally proposed a solution to the clients needs. They reviewed and decided to hire you based upon that solution. They paid you for that solution, you delivered. They are happy. Relationship is IN BALANCE.

Now, you come along and put it OUT OF BALANCE. You are now asking them to do more than they originally bargained for. You are now asking them to effectively put their reputation on the line. Yet, there is little to No Value you can provide to them in return that would put the relationship Back Into Balance if they complied with your request. That is why you get uncomfortable and they get even more uncomfortable [ more times than not ].

Point of these last 3 paragraphs – there is other, more productive approaches to systematically generate high quality referrals. Get out of the box a little bit and think strategically – not just Old School Mantra …

The is another insurance marketing lesson to be learned from this lunch meeting and why it was a significant example. I no longer just look for 1:1 referrals from people. I spend time articulating to my Strategic Referral relationships the type of business people that are great strategic alliances for me and my business. They not only know the types of clients I like to insure but they also know [ because I automatically keep them aprised with a system ] who would make a good Referral Partner.  Someone who is not just a referral – but a continuous Referral Source. 

Don’t just hunt for referrals to sell an insurance policy to. Strategically hunt for other hunters as well. You need to develop a LARGE network of business people who KNOW you, LIKE you, and KNOW WHAT YOU DO. The key to this, is maintaining those relationships effectively over time. I say the only way to "effectively: manage all those relationships is with a S-Y-S-T-E-M.

I had the pleasure to meet one of the most connected businessmen on the planet at one of his talks.  Dr. Ivan Misner – Founder/CEO of Internationally famous BNI / Business Network International. He told us all in his talk, the S-Y-S-T-E-M he uses to manage his enormously vast network.  It’s also in his book "Truth or Delusion" on page 148.  Some of the most prominent authorities on Referral Marketing like Tom Hopkins, Bob Berg, and Bill Cates among others also use this system.  

CLICK HERE to see the system they use.

To your success,

Steve

This is simply a fantastic idea … Simple & Fantastic!

Sometimes is the simple and easy things that generate the best R O I for your marketing time and expense.  Rad this little system and marvel at its simplicity and effectiveness.

This would take about half an hr to implement in the Ultimate Referral Marketing System.

Enjoy!

Steve

Here is a simple postcard to get them buying

This is a sample postcard for an art gallery (it doesn’t matter that this is not your business – it only matters that you take the idea and MAKE it fit your business).

This was a whopping $100 investment – and made them a healthy $3,000 profit in 5 days (mailed out to 120 people). These numbers may seem small to you – but to this business it was huge … their biggest EVER. And after they implement the follow-up campaigns and lead generation sequences, they will see 10 times these numbers.

The postcards were done with a gold foil invitation look … and went out to their existing customers (and NO, you cannot use e-mail postcards to replace this – invest the money and do it properly! My offline marketing returns many times better response than online only (by 400% and more).

=================== Front of postcard ===================

A FREE $50.00 Gift Certificate has been gifted to YOU

By at

I was just reflecting, as most of us do with the _____ (insert your holiday or reason why here) _____ upon us, about people, and especially my most loyal and appreciated customers. I thought about some ideas of how I could say thank-you … What’s better than giving away money?

Come see us in the next 2 weeks with this $50 gift certificate. I will have some new help around the store to take care of your projects. Finally get that picture framed that’s been under your bed or in the attic.

It’s my way of saying Thank-You for your loyal patronage!

================== Back of postcard ==================

Welcome to the Michelangelo Club. You will be the first to hear of (and benefit from) all the new offers for our Michelangelo members … Look for them in the mail … Enjoy your FREE GIFT.

See you this week …

PS … Come see me in the next 3 days and I will add an extra $5.00 to your gift certificate!!

Thank-you for your loyalty over the years and welcome to the Michelangelo Club.

What to do with your $50? (make that $55 if you come in soon)

• use it for custom framing
• use it as a down payment
• please allow up to 4 weeks to complete the project

When you come in – let me know your e-mail address for future Michelangelo specials coming up this year!!!

******

That was VERY simple – they wrote it up in half an hour – had it printed and mailed in the next 48 hours. There is nothing difficult about that – and yes, there are ample ways you could improve the offer. The point is – IT WORKED. The point is not for you to critique it or poke holes in it – rather to find a way to make it work for your business.

There are undoubtedly more ways you can get your existing clients back to buy – to buy more often – and to become more devoted purchasers (through clubs like this).

So … what offer can you make to your clients?

The ideas are endless if you put some thought into it and find ways to get them back to buy.

Find a few ways to make these lessons work for your business …

http://www.makepeacetotalpackage.com/troy-white/balancing-life-and-business-while-building-your-fortune.html#more-376

From – Troy White Editor, Small Business Mastery Supplement to THE TOTAL PACKAGE

The Ultimate Insurance Marketing System

24 years in the insurance business and I feel like I’ve been chasing a Unicorn for all these years.  The Ultimate Insurance Marketing System … does it really exist?  Can it really exist?  If it did exist, what would it be like?  What would it actually do?  I mean if you’re going to stick the word "Ultimate" in front of something, it had better be pretty darn fantastic … Right?

Not meaning to provide more questions than answers – so I’ll stop asking them and relate a mental exercise I recently went through to get these answers.  If I could design the Ultimate Insurance Marketing System, what would I have it do.  Here are a few of the things that my mind came up with – as a P&C Broker focused on Commercial Insurance.  These are some of the "attributes" I desired.

• Affordability – a key component in this tightening economy
• Ease if Use – used a CRM App lately?
• Adaptable – it’s got to be multi function and flexible
• Web Based/Hosted – I’m tired of Remote Access and Database management

Following are several of the Functions I wanted it to be able to perform – Tasks I wanted The Ultimate Insurance Marketing System to Perform for me :

• Client Nurturing
• Prospecting
• Lead Warming / X-Date Follow Up
• Automated Campaigns
• Cross Selling Campaigns
• Testimonial Request Letters
• Claims Follow Up
• Thank You / Appreciation to New & Renewal Clients
• Referral Marketing / Referral Contests

I had a few more but, I don’t want to appear greedy …

So why was I going through such a mental exercise in the first place?  Well, I must admit, I wasn’t seeing the results I wanted after putting in a significant amount of time and effort into a certain "nameless" CRM app that gave me the SHAFT and not the GoldMine I was after.

I was seeking more Referrals … and from the reading I was doing, I needed to be building Better, Stronger Personal Relationships with my clients, prospects and referral partners.  Sending out some letters in A10 Window Envelopes with Metered Stamps just wasn’t getting the deal done – for me.

This is getting long, and I know I’m no Shakespear so I’ll Cut to the Chase.  I believe I have found my Unicorn of Insurance Marketing. A system I will confidently stick the label Ultimate in front of.

In fact I’ve made a little 5 minute video for you – as a form of Social Proof.  Seeing is believing.  Watch it and see how in 5 short minutes [could have actually done it in 3 mins.] I demonstrate the following attributes of an Ultimate Marketing System.

• Affordability
• Ease of Use
• Web Based
• Flexible
• Client Nurturing
• Thank You / Appreciation
• Referral Generating

 You can watch the video by CLICKING HERE.  I call it …

How To Go From "Policy Peddler" To

Trusted Agent / Friend / Referral Magnet

Pay Close Attention at about the 2:55 minute mark – I show you how I looked before I found this system, then at about the 4 minute point, you can see how I look AFTER I found The Ultimate Insurance Marketing System.

I’m working on the video right now where I show you how you can put lost clients on an automated Client Win Back Campaign in under 3 minutes! 

Until next time.

I will be working on some new campaigns for the Ultimate Referral Marketing System and wanted to see if any of you folks had a urgent need or pressing desire for a specific campaign.  Lets all discuss it here … would love to hear your feedback. Here’s some of the one’s I’m looking to finish up and convert over to the new editor.

- Lost Client Win Back – Personal Lines and Commercial Lines

- Quoted but Closed lead warming campaign – contact at next renewal

– X-Dated, but not ready for our appointment 3, 6, 9 ,12 months from now

- PL Cross Sell to Commercial Clients

- Commercial Lines Cross Sell to PL Business Owners

– Home Ins X-Sell to Auto policyholders

- Auto X-Sell to Home Policyholders

– Work Comp X-Sell to PKG Clients

- Group Benefits X-Sell Card to any Commercial client

- Did you know we Do … Umbrella / Health / Life

Ok folks – theres some of the ideas I have on the burner to either re create or create from scratch.  Votes?  Assistance?  Ideas … Contributions of successful content?  Let it rip!

Shared by Steve
So – with this gem in mind – it’s obvious where to focus our referral marketing rewards and customer service satisfaction efforts – no?

The more I read from this guy’s blog - the more I like it. Hope you all enjoy.

All the best,

Women are responsible for countless purchases, but they need help to create efficiency in their buying decisions. So what they tend to do is find a person who they can really trust, and then use that person as a filter when making specific decisions.

Take for example, someone with a legal issue. If they have someone who’s been doing great legal work for them, they will go to that person every time for legal issues, either for direct help or trusted referrals.

So you need to not only understand the core services you provide, but the appropriate referrals around your industry – how people find you, who they ask first for help, why people trust others in the professional world. This is especially important to do with women, because they have been found to refer business services at twice the rate of men.

On average, a woman will refer a person that she is pleased with 26 times, while men only refer about 13 times. It might take longer to get a woman as a client because she does two things more than men. First, she will rely on more peer and expert recommendations. Second, she’s going to ask around more and do research on the Web about your business.

The good thing is, once a woman finds the right candidate to serve her needs, she tends to stay loyal longer because she’s already invested a lot of time in finding the right one. And was mentioned, she’ll refer your business twice as much as a man.

These numbers should also encourage you to take extra good care of your female customers. Because if you don’t, then that means they’re handing off a negative message about your business at least 26 times.

Original Article link back here

Next in this series: What women want

This post is the second in a series of excerpts from OneCoach CEO John Assaraf’s interview with Lisa Johnson, CEO of ReachGroup, formerly ReachWomen, an international marketing consultancy. She also co-authored: Don’t Think Pink: What Really Makes Women Buy and How to Increase Your Share of this Crucial Market.
By OneCoach CEO John Assaraf’s interview with Lisa Johnson, CEO of ReachGroup)

This is an issue I have been sensing for quite sometime, especially as a 2nd Generation Insurance Broker who was force fed the mantra of the good old days … “Just Get Out There and Walk Into Businesses”.

Yes, action is critical, massive action is paramount for some.  The fact is now you can no longer – as in the old days  – merely Hang Your Shingle Out There and survive on sheer persistence.  You have to work both Hard and Smart in this economy and IMHO for the last several years.

The Insurance agency model has become much more complex.  Demanding volume commitments to obtain and maintain quality carriers [ for us Independent agents ], Loss Ratio requirements, and now more than ever the tremendous expense of Insurance Specific Technology and Training.

I feel the complexity of owning and running a small to mid-size agency has exponentially increased in the 24 years I’ve been involved in the industry. Staggering really, when I reflect back on our first FAX machine   Our first IBM PC with dual 5.25″ floppy drives.  WOW!

Tying in the timely piece below from Brian Tracy … We can No Longer as agents, expect to remain viable with the age old activities of sending our clients a bill at their annual renewal, and hope to survive.  Excellent service is the expected Norm.  Lightning speed and turnaround, and instant gratification are as well.

With the difficulty we go through just to obtain clients, shouldn’t we do everything we can to RETAIN them?

Is your retention strategy a nice smile, a few kind words, and a billing statement at renewal? If so, you better re-think that strategy, else your carrier field rep might be on his way with a form for you to sign … that you acknowledge you’re being terminated.

Develop a plan and a strategy today! I encourage you to consider the one I deployed.  One that is turnkey, cost effective and can start having an immediate positive impact. The Ultimate Retention and Referral System.

Take Action – Implement!

I wish you all the best,

The Complex Sale Today

By: Brian Tracy

The Sale is More Complex Today

The entire process of selling today is more complex than it has ever been before. It used to be that we would make a single call on a single buyer who would make a single decision on our product or offering. In this simple form of selling, we used the attention/interest/ desire/action (AIDA) model of sales presentation and focused intensely on numerous different ways of closing the sale. Then, once we had made the sale, in many cases we never saw the customer again.

Everything Has Changed

Today, however, everything is different. Today we must make multiple calls, an average of five or six, in order to make the sale. We deal with multiple decision makers in an organization, each of whom can influence the purchase. Much of the sale takes place when we are not present. Sometimes we never even meet the final decision maker who signs the check. And it is not unusual for a sale to be derailed at the last minute by something completely unexpected.

The Competition is Fierce

If that weren’t enough, there is more competition than ever before and it is more determined and resolute than it has ever been in the past. Not only must we compete on the basis of price, quality, services, capabilities, financing and warranties with many other vendors of our product or service, but we must also compete with every other vendor of every other product or service who is striving to get the same customer dollar that we are after. Our competitors are extremely determined, driven the same as we are by tight markets and careful customers. They are committed to starting earlier, working harder, and staying up later thinking of ways to take our customers away from us.

Customers Are Overwhelmed

Our prospective customers are beset on all sides by every conceivable sales offering. Because they are drowning in details, options and choices, they are in no hurry to make up their minds. With markets changing and contracting, the amount of discretionary funds they have available has shrunken and they are more careful today than they have ever had to be in the past.

The Key to Profitability

The purpose of a business is to create and keep a customer. If a business does this in sufficient quantity and with proper cost controls, it will make a profit. The profit is the result of creating and keeping customers efficiently.

Create and Keep Customers

As the president of your own professional sales corporation, your job is to create and keep customers as well. And just as a company must continually restructure and redesign its product and service offerings to satisfy the changing tastes of a demanding and competitive customer marketplace, you as a salesperson must constantly upgrade the quality and sophistication of your sales procedures and approaches if you are going to create customers in sufficient quantity.

Action Exercises

Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action. First, be prepared to make multiple calls on a customer to close a large or complex sale. Plan your sales work systematically so you always have a new reason for calling back. Second, think continually about how you have to change and improve your selling and your offering if you want to succeed in a tough market. Work on yourself every day and never stop getting better.

Brought to you by World Class Sales Trainer - Brian Tracy |  http://www.briantracy.com

By Seth Godin