If you are working with a large number of insurance leads on a regular basis, you should consider getting a leads management system to organize your lead information and, on the whole, make processing leads easier. It can either be a software program that you install in your computer or company server, or a web-based tool that you access on the Internet. AgencyIQ, ALISS, EZLynx, Vertafore, Typhoon, Mojo, InsideSales.com, Prospector+, Leads360 and Imprezzio are just some of the companies providing this software or service. You will find that, with your leads organized efficiently and some processes automated, you will have more time actually following up on leads and getting ahead of the competition.
You may have tried using a spreadsheet to keep leads information or relying on sticky notes and printouts. Doing so is time-consuming, not to mention tedious and frustrating, but you need to have some sort of system to organize your leads. Unfortunately, encoding information into a spreadsheet or hunting for specific information from a pile of printouts and sticky notes is not very efficient and takes time away from contacting prospects and generating sales.
On the other hand, with a lead management system, you can:
- View leads immediately. Some leads generation service providers offer their customers access to their lead management system. This way, all the leads received from that provider are fed directly to the application, so that there is no encoding involved. Easy and quick access to lead information means you can contact prospects much sooner and get a head start on the competition.
- Organize information more efficiently. Some systems, particularly those that require installation to computers, require some encoding. Many systems, however, have made it easier for their users to pull leads information from various sources such as emails and the Internet. The data is stored and presented in such a way that searching for information is faster and easier.
You can also use the system to enter customer information or notes gathered from phone conversations or personal meetings. Then you can refer to them easily when you do follow-up calls.
- Automate follow ups via email. One of the more attractive features of lead management systems is the ability to schedule an email to be sent to all contacts entered in the system. The system could be set up to send an email to new and un-contacted prospects, thanking them for their inquiries. From the point of view of consumers, they are getting a quick response from the insurance provider, acknowledging their interest in their products or services. It tells them that the provider is attentive to their customers and is already aware of them as potential clients.
The lead management software has automated the first step, so now it is up to you to actually make the call to talk to the prospect.
You can also set up the system so that, if the prospect did not make a definite response, a scheduled email reminder to follow up on that prospect will be sent to you for action. This way, there is little chance of not being able to make a sale because a prospect’s response was not followed up.
Sales are not always closed after the first contact with a prospect. That is why follow ups are important. Companies that do this generate three times as many sales as companies who don’t.
You can also have your lead management system send out emails to customers when there are product updates. There are some sophisticated systems that come with a dialer, which automatically dials numbers and routes the call to an agent if the customer picks up.
- Send updates to customers. How can a lead management system help with customers who do not respond or give a definite answer after the first meeting or phone call?
You can still stir interest in them and passively convince them to buy insurance from you by sending them regular email updates on what your company can do for them in terms of value added services, new products or services and new company information.
- Measure your progress. Having centralized data means you will be able to tell at any time how a lead is doing. You will see immediately if a lead has not yet been contacted, if a lead is due to a follow up or if a lead did not result in a positive response and you need to move on.
Having all that data on your leads can also help you see which areas yielded more conversions (from lead to sales). This will allow you to refine your filter for leads for better sales figures in the future.
- Monitor renewals. Having a lead management system enables you to track and send email reminders to customers who have bought insurance from you and whose plans are up for renewal.
- Save money. Instead of hiring staff or losing sales opportunities because of too much time spent on manual processing of leads, invest in a lead management system. It is less expensive in the long run and configurable, so that you can set the schedule and email format however you like. It also makes your operations more professional and allows to you more time to do more important tasks.
- Get your ROI. You will not see a significant ROI with just a handful of leads. Dealing with 20 or 30 leads in a day without some sort of system may be a case of biting off more than you can chew. With a lead management system in place, you will have little trouble working with a large number of leads on a daily basis in order to bring about a significant profit.
- Be competitive. Keep up with your competition. They have not reached those sales figures without implementing measures that make their operations more efficient, such as using a lead management system. It helps them organize their leads so that they are able to get to prospects ahead of other companies and are able to monitor the progress of their dealings with customers.
Lead management systems are used in other industries as well, not just for insurance, so make sure that you get something that is suitable for your operations. You can use the following as a checklist for purchasing a lead management system:
- The system should allow you to automate sending email to prospective customers.
- The system should have all relevant information in a centralized location that is easily accessed.
- The system should allow you to keep metrics such as demographics (e.g. sources and types of leads) and conversation rates.
- The system should be able to handle an insurance industry-based workflow.
- The supplier should provide training on best practices for lead management.
- The supplier should provide adequate technical support and customer service.
- The system should have a set up that conforms to your requirements (either a software that can be installed in the company server or an application that can be accessed via the Internet).
- The system should be reliable.
- The system should allow you to retain, view, analyze and generate metrics / reports based on historical information.
- The system should provide reports and in the format that you need.
- The system can be integrated with other systems, particularly those of the leads generation service provider that you use