Need more insurance marketing ideas? Your insurance company representative will tell you to spend, spend, spend.
But you can still create a strong, successful agency without draining your bank account and sending out hundreds of postcards (that never seem to get you any business!)
You won’t see expensive TV ads or newspaper inserts here…
Start implementing these insurance marketing ideas TODAY.
1. Create a process to follow up with all quote prospects in less than 24 hours (the faster the better). Write the process down and teach it to your staff.
2. Write down what makes you different from the agent down the street. Can’t think of at least 5 things? Start creating them. Otherwise your prospect has no choice but to shop based on price. (Learn why some insurance agents are getting rich and others aren’t.)
3. Who is your ideal client? A young family, a high risk driver, good credit, bad credit? Define them. Make sure you have the right products to fit their needs at a competitive rate. Then figure out where you can find large groups of these people at inexpensive rates. And start marketing!
4. Have a professional Insurance Agency Facebook page. Clients want to be able to reach you in the methods they use most. Social media is important for that reason alone.
5. Get a cell phone just for the office so clients can text you (if you’d prefer not to use your personal number). Text is an easy and fast way to communicate! You could even swap out which staff member is “on call” from one week to another.
6. Join a local networking group (check out BNI or your local Chamber of Commerce). Making sure that people know who you are is critical to marketing yourself locally. The more connections, the better.
7. Start a workshop for 1st time homebuyers. They see you as an expert they can trust when they make their first home purchase.
8. Network at local apartment complexes for Renters Insurance quotes. Drop off brochures, meet the staff, explain to owners how your coverage protects them in case of renter negligence.
9. Post on your Facebook page DAILY. Make it conversational and not all about boring insurance specifics. (Use Mega Posts for content.)
10. Start speaking at local organization meetings! One favorite topic? 5 Ways To Save Money On Insurance.
11. Win back those clients who’ve left! Do regular marketing to past clients to get them back. “Our rates have changed, can we quote you again?”
12. Follow these steps to a great marketing campaign – warm ‘em up with a postcard, follow up with a phone call, and then send a reminder email. (Life Sales Mastery has 6 different life insurance marketing campaigns inside!)
13. Create a website that generates quotes (not just a boring branded site from your company.) Make sure your site has a blog and that you are posting on it at least twice a month. This improves your Google ranking and shows that you’re an insurance expert!
14. Create a simple Referral Rewards program. A favorite format? A small $5 gift card for each referral and a monthly drawing for movie tickets. Share your winners name and thank all referrals each month in your blog, social media, and email newsletter. Build some buzz around it! (Check your state laws on giving referral gifts first.)
15. Send birthday cards to your clients. Wait…even better…send a birthday card a few weeks early. Include a life insurance quote with a reminder that rates will go UP after their birthday and to lock them in now. (More on this in Life Sales Mastery)
16. Follow up with every client after a claim report. Be their advocate and make sure they are getting taken care of during the claims process. This builds long term loyalty.
17. How can you give your clients more value than they expect? What extra service do you provide?
18. Cluster your appointments so you have more time for marketing. If you spend all day on the phone putting out fires, you’ll never get around to making new connections and building your brand.
19. Do an annual campaign for Life Insurance in the fall to families with young children. Use the Life Sales Mastery program!
20. Understand that selling insurance is NOT your purpose. Marketing your agency, bringing in more prospects, and getting quotes is your purpose! Train staff to handle the details so you can make the business more profitable.
21. Where have your best clients come from? Hint: You won’t know the answer if you aren’t actively tracking the source of every quote. Create a simple spreadsheet or written form and gather the information from staff each week. The more data you collect, the better decisions you can make.
22. Use technology to your advantage! Make contacting your agency simple for your clients.
23. Keep a “Hot List” for easy follow up with current prospects. These are prospects that have been quoted very recently and are in the process of making a decision. Keep the list front and center at every sales producer’s desk. These are the daily target!
24. Ask your circle of contacts for referrals. Make a goal to have at least two coffee dates or lunch meetings with potential referrers each week.
25. Get testimonials when a client is happy! Remember that specific situations make better testimonials. “Joe saved me $1000 a year when I switched!” “Karen contacted me personally after my accident to help get me into a rental car in under 12 hours.”
26. Take lots of photos. Use them on your website, social media, brochures, everywhere. Show your personality. People like real people! They don’t want to see stock photos of cars and umbrellas.
27. Don’t just “sell” a client, show them how you solve a problem. See what is causing them pain and fix it. You’ll have a client for life.
28. Tell everyone you meet what you do. No exceptions.
29. Sponsor a local charity and give $1 for every new “Like” on your Facebook page. Ask that they share the fundraiser to their social media followers too. It gets your name out and helps a great organization at the same time. (I’ve seen this work great with local animal shelters…)
30. Team up with others who share the same clients – Realtors, Mortgage Lenders, etc. See how you can help them at the same time that they help you. These are great people to team up with for fundraisers and client workshops.
31. Strive for 100% referral based business! It might take time to build it up but the benefit is worth it.
32. Make your office efficient, create systems for everything. Don’t trust your staff to figure it all out. Train and coach them to handle clients and business just like you would.
33. Delegate mundane tasks to your staff. Focus on your strengths. If you bring in most of the sales, you should never be sitting around filing paper or bookkeeping.
34. Use scripts for everything from answering the phone, quoting a policy, to making an endorsement.
35. Break the rules – be open at different times then other agencies, give out a cell phone number, be different! Unexpected actions get people talking (and referring). 
36. Get on organization boards, get involved in the community, be everywhere. Consider yourself a local celebrity (like the weatherman).
37. Prioritize – only work on things that make MONEY during your work hours. Delegate the rest.
38. Celebrate each sale! Sales are what grow your business. Ring a bell, cheer, get your team excited (after the customer leaves of course. 😉
39. Ask for suggestions from your clients. Pay attention when they complain. Accept criticism and always keep improving.
40. Be an expert. Know your products inside and out. You should ALWAYS be the most informed person in the room when it comes to what you are selling.
41. Be picky with who you choose to work on your team. Monitor, coach, and consistently work to improve their skills. They can make you or break you.
42. Make press contacts – when there is a local story about insurance, you want them to call you as an expert. Meet reporters at the newspaper and local news station and send them story ideas when they come along.
43. Have a great email signature with links to your social media profiles and website.
44. Have a monthly marketing plan and checklist. We publish these towards the beginning of each month at AgencyUpdates.com if you need ideas to get started.
45. Write handwritten thank you notes.
46. Keep a spreadsheet with all new sales and where they came from (Walk In, Referral, Yellow Pages, Internet, etc)
47. Make a list of local organizations that need speakers. (Rotary, Chamber, Lions Club, etc) Send an email or make a phone call to each and offer to speak at an upcoming meeting.
48. Remember, people don’t want to understand insurance. They want to trust that you’ll take care of it for them. Focus on making the process easy, quick, and affordable.
49. Write your goals down where they are visible for your entire team, every day. Review progress weekly with team meetings.
50. Do a semi-annual marketing campaign to clients who need a Personal Umbrella policy. (High net worth, multi-line, etc)
51. Role play closing the sale with your team members. Throw out objections, keep them on their toes. The practice will make them stronger when they talk to real prospects.
52. Check the newspaper or Meetup.com for local networking groups that meet on a regular basis. Try them out!
53. Send a monthly email newsletter using a system like Mailchimp.
54. Do an annual review for all clients to review their coverage and look for discounts. These are a great opportunity to multi-line a client and build trust and loyalty.
55. Surprise clients with a special extra when they show up for an annual review or life insurance appointment. (What about a free car wash while they wait?)
56. Do a regular marketing campaign to mono-line clients.
57. Do employee reviews twice a year. All employees from the part time receptionist to the long term sales producer should have measurable monthly goals in place.
58. Host a free seminar for your clients. Choose a topic like retirement planning or financial planning for new parents, etc.
59. Do a Flood Insurance Campaign to clients in flood zones before spring storms hit.
60. Create yard signs to promote Homeowner’s Insurance.
Start implementing today! Marketing doesn’t have to be expensive to be effective, it just has to be consistent. Join Mega Posts today – the ONLY insurance specific social media content program that’s been around since 2010!