How to Increase Insurance Sales – Ideas & Strategies for Agents

As an insurance agent, learning how to increase insurance sales is a top priority for your business. In fact, there is more pressure to do so now than ever before. A rather sobering data point from McKinsey & Co. suggests that one in four insurance agents will lose their jobs by the end of this year.

While this stat is unsettling, it can instead provide motivation for you to find simple yet effective ideas and strategies to increase insurance sales. Here are some tips for closing more deals no matter what phase of your career you’re in.

1. Keep Emails Brief and Clear

There’s plenty of data that suggests the most ideal length of a sales email is between 50 to 125 words. Long-winded messages are a waste of both your and your prospect’s time. Unless you are providing high-value resources or answers to direct questions, keep all sales related messaging short and sweet.

2. Know When to Cut Losses

There is nothing more frustrating than investing lots of time into a great prospect who ends up going with another option. To increase insurance sales, consider whether your persistence will pay off or not in the long run.

A lot of this comes from experience, but as a general rule of thumb try keeping your sales contacts to four main touches (in any combination of email and phone calls).

The first three should focus on providing additional value with every new message. If you don’t get a response, send a fourth message. In this final communication, remind them that the offer is a limited-time offer, and thank them for their time.

3. Have a Referral Rewards Program

If you don’t already have one, it’s time to start. Referral rewards programs have been a go-to move for agents wanting to increase insurance sales.

There are seven key steps to take when setting one up:

• List your goals.
• Explore and choose from customer referral sources.
• Create an action plan for when you reach out to prospects.
• Choose referral incentives.
• Provide valuable free resources for clients to share with their potential referrals.
• Set up tracking so you know where leads are coming from and who is sending them your way.
• Remember to thank the people who referred you to new business.

4. Be Proactive with Client Outreach

Your everyday insurance activities can and should connect with your social media efforts. Frequent posts to social media platforms and regular email newsletter updates are excellent for several reasons.

First, your brand will be instantly recognizable as your audience sees your name and logo in their feed on a regular basis. Second, it serves as a trust-building method for customers new and old.

Although it takes time and effort, it is absolutely possible to increase insurance sales through staying top of mind and being a thought leader.

5. Polish Your Website

Look at your marketing materials (think business cards, flyers, etc.) and your website as if you were a first-time viewer. Ask yourself a few questions as you compare the various marketing pieces your current network and future customers will see.

Are there colors you want to be included that reinforce your brand? Make sure those are used on your site.

Is your copy interesting and informative? Only talking about your services and selling 100% of the time is not going to hold your audience’s attention over time.

Do your photos look professional and make sense for your industry? For example, if you’re a real estate agent, images are often the deciding factor if someone will ask for more info on your listing.

Perhaps the most important question is, “does your website make it easy for visitors to find your contact info and reach you?” If this isn’t easily found on your website, you’re likely losing potential leads to competitors.

As a result of reviewing these questions, you may find your website could use a little updating.

6. Shift Your Energy Back to Sales

So much of knowing how to increase insurance sales has more to do with consistent, positive customer interactions than constantly pitching your product. There are certain marketing tasks that need to be done, but they often take up time you could spend on client-focused work that requires your expertise.

A simple solution is to outsource or automate your marketing. Delegating tasks like Facebook posts and email blasts to a team of professionals is a great place to start.

Once you have those essential tasks taken care of, you can focus your time and attention on your current and future customers.

Interested in finding more new ways to increase insurance sales? We’d love to help you find more time in your day by taking care of your business marketing, including social media and email newsletters. Check out all the ways OutboundEngine can help your insurance business continue to grow.