By Lori Liles- New Business Consultant

Finding Leads and Contacting Them

You’ve probably heard the Chinese Proverb, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.”

If you learn how to fish, you’ll never go hungry, right?  I worked for a company that wouldn’t provide leads to their employees. What they did offer was a lot of training on how to go out and find the business ourselves. I learned how to find clients inexpensively, or without using any money at all. It wasn’t easy at first, but I tried a few different ideas. I got creative. I learned what worked for me, and I started talking to more people. I used the tools I learned to go out and get business, instead of just hoping something would just fall into my lap. I was proactive, and things started happening for me. It was great, and I started getting referrals from the people I helped, and talked to. I felt like I had control over my business! The work I was putting in to gaining my own clients was paying off. I learned how to fish!

Below are some ideas on how you can go out, and find our own business.

Talk to People

  • Talk to your family, friends, neighbors, people you do business with, people in clubs or organizations you’re involved in, former classmates, church groups, have random conversations with people you don’t know.
  • If you’re new in the business, or just opening your own Agency, send everyone you know a letter explaining who you are, what you’re doing, and why you’re doing what you’re doing. Be genuine. Handwrite the address on the envelope.
  • Make sure people know what you do. You never know when someone you come in contact with has a need for the services you provide.

Professional Networking

  • Join the Chamber
  • Social Media (ex. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter threads)
  • Professional Meet ups
  • Networking Events
  • Community Forums
  • Trade shows

Educate People

  • Host a webinar on your Insurance Specialty.
  • Give a class to real estate agents and/or mortgage brokers.
  • Give a class to new home buyers on homeowners insurance.
  • Email Monthly or Weekly Newsletters to everyone on your email list– Be a source of information and changes in your industry.
  • Write a Blog on your website .
  • Guest Blog on other relevant websites with a link to your own site.
  • Offer free Policy Reviews and Consultations.
  • Host a Cross-Promotional Event with another business.

Cold Calling

  • Buy a list of internet leads.
  • Ask if you can exchange leads with other business’ that pertain to yours.
  • If you hear of an Agency that’s closing, ask if you can have their old leads. They may already have their x-dates, and they won’t be getting bombarded with calls, so they may be more open to listening to you.

Warm Calling

  • Call people you’ve had prior contact with.
  • Follow up on Quotes you’ve sent out, but are waiting for a response.
  • Call on Referrals that are aware that you’ll be reaching out to them.
  • Check in occasionally with someone that expressed an interest, but hasn’t made a move yet.

Sphere of Influence Calls

  • Try to come up with a list of 150 names of people you know that you can call on, and organize them into different categories. These could be friends, family members, colleagues, clients. Let them know what you’re doing, and ask if they know of anyone that needs help with their insurance policies.
  • Check in with these people at least once a quarter, once a month, or once a week, depending on what’s comfortable for each relationship. You don’t need to ask them for business every time you talk to them. Just check in. Maybe mention a situation with a customer that you were able to help out that you’re excited about.
  • Ask them questions about their life. Ask them about what new things are going on in their life. Remember, people like to talk about themselves, and they may bring up an opportunity for you to help them.
  • If they own a business, ask how their business is going. How can you be of help to them?

Door Knocking

  • Meet your community neighbors. Let them know, if they ever need anything they can come to you.
  • Meet your business neighbors. Tell them where your business is located. Give them some business cards, and ask if they’ll send business your way, and tell them you’ll reciprocate.

Create a Team

  • Create a team of vendors that you know would give your clients excellent service. (ex. real estate agents, mortgage brokers, attorneys, title companies, property managers, storm restoration companies, auto body shops, catering services, computer repair specialists, moving companies, etc.) Make sure to ask for permission to include this person or business as someone on your team that you want to recommend to your clients. Include a list of your team members as part of your marketing and information packet you hand out to clients. Ask the people you’re referring business to if they would be willing to send referrals your way when they have an opportunity. Promise to them that you’ll make sure to give their clients excellent service.
  • Creating a team gives your clients the feeling that when they call these people for service, they’ll be taken care of, because this is part of your team.
  • Having a team of individuals together assists you in getting referrals, because if you’re referring them, chances are they will also refer you.

Ask for Referrals

  • Ask every client you help if they know someone that would benefit from the same level of service that you’ve given to them.
  • Ask friends and family if they know of anyone that needs your help.
  • Create a Referral Program. Every time someone sends a lead to call on, immediately send a handwritten thank you with a small gift, whether you make the sale or not. (ex. movie tickets, gift cards for coffee or ice cream.) You just want to show appreciation for the referral. The person who referred business to you could have given their referral to anyone else, but they chose you.

Set up a table at a Community Event

  • Offer to give free Quotes
  • Set up appointments to go over their current policies to find out if there are weakness in their policies, or if they have coverage they’re paying for that they no longer need.

Use your Cell Phone Camera

  • Take a picture of a business that you’re passing, or company trucks, so you can call on them later.

Past Customers

  • Contact past customers on their next x-date who used to have insurance with you. Tell them that you valued having their business, you’re sorry you lost them, but you’d like to try to earn their business back.

Types of Business’ and Organizations to Develop Partnerships with:

  • Mortgage Companies
  • Real Estate Companies
  • Car Dealerships
  • Boat Dealerships
  • Property Management Companies
  • Apartment Complexes
  • Senior Living Communities
  • Title Companies
  • Storm Restoration Companies
  • Church Groups
  • Volunteer Organizations
  • Parent Groups
  • Any Business that you do business with
  • Any Organization that you’re a member of

I hope these ideas will give you a good start on coming up with some creative ways to get new business for yourself. In the long run, learning how to fish will be much more beneficial for you in getting new business. Hopefully some of these ideas will stick with you, and you’ll be able to use them throughout your whole career.

For help connecting with your clients, please contact Lori Liles at lori@midwestga.com or 847-631-6621.