26 July 2010

Well we’re now into the 3^rd quarter of the year and it’s time to get serious!  With only 5 months left to hit your goals this year, there isn’t any time left to waste.  We all know that August is when the fun starts to wind down and you have to get back to business. 

To help you get focused on your agency marketing and set up a clear plan for the upcoming months, I’m going to be hosting a very special teleseminar next week all about Referral Strategies!

Many of you have a Referral Rewards program now.  You give gift cards and have drawings for your clients each month and maybe even offer an annual Grand Prize.  Problem is, a lot of programs I see are copycats from other agencies and don’t really fit you or your business.  It’s great that you got started but it’s just not quite working yet or delivering the results you want.

Don’t worry – after next week, you’ll be on the right track to grow your referral business and hit your year-end goals.

Here are some of the things I’ll cover in this one hour teleseminar:

• The Life Cycle of an Insurance Customer and how to market at each stage of the cycle.
• How to create an agency that is blended with high touch and high tech.
• How to create a Customer Touch Point Map that will keep referrals pouring in.
• How to create turn-key branded tools for your marketing materials and referral programs.
• The difference between customers and strategic partners and how to market to each.

This information will help you define your referral process and make it even more effective.  I love helping agencies reach their goals and create marketing systems that work and I want this information to be affordable for everyone (whether you are a new scratch agency or an established 20 year agency).  You can register to attend for only $35.  You will, however, need to sign up quickly.  My bridge line will only allow for 100 participants so space is limited!

I know that the information I’ll be sharing will transform how you look at your referral programs and how you market your agency.  If you won’t be available at the time of the call, don’t worry – I will be recording and sending a digital copy to all registered participants so you can listen at your convenience or have a copy to reference later.

The Referral Strategies teleseminar will be held next Tuesday, August 3^rd at 7pm CT (5 pm PT, 6 pm MT, 8 pm ET).  You’ll receive the phone number and passcode in an email after registering.  Click the Add to Cart button below to reserve your spot via Paypal for only $35.  If you do not want to use Paypal, you can call my office at 325.338.8497 to pay by credit/debit card over the phone.

Remember, space is very limited and you don't want to miss this information (especially if your competition attends)!  Sign up today, you’ll be glad you did!

Insurance Agency Owners:

 Not attracting enough clients to your agency?    

Are your current clients and business associates not sending you enough referrals? 

Do you wish you could close more sales?  

Are you looking for new marketing techniques that don't require sending spam-like junk mail?

There is another way to market your agency without resorting to pushy sales tactics, expensive paper newsletters, and ineffective direct mail.

If you’re struggling to grow your agency and find new marketing methods, you are definitely not the only one.  Insurance marketing is changing.  The old marketing methods of knocking on doors, telemarketing, and sending direct mail aren’t as effective anymore.  Consumers have figured out how to avoid unwanted marketing messages.  And while more agents are trying to use referral programs, social media, and internet marketing, many just aren’t seeing real results.

To attract more clients to your agency and close more sales, you need a strategy.  You can’t just randomly create social media accounts and hap-hazard marketing campaigns and expect amazing results.  There are key steps that need to be implemented along the way.  I've taken all of these components and step-by-step techniques and put them together to create The Agency Marketing Makeover.

The Agency Marketing Makeover is my individual coaching program that moves you through six crucial areas to market your agency.  It is designed to give you all the tools needed to get more clients in the door and more sales on the books – guaranteed.  I work with you one-on-one to put in place the best marketing strategies to fit your needs and your agency.  Here are some of the components:

Step 1 – Develop A Plan – I focus on helping you find your ideal clients and networking partners.  We also work on time management to allow you to create time to truly work on your business and not just in it.

Step 2 – Develop A Brand – Many agents are only utilizing their company brand, which isn’t effective (there are hundreds of you in the same town!)  I’ll walk you through the process of developing branded marketing materials for your agency and show you how to promote them effectively.

Step 3 – Go Online In A BIG Way – Here’s where you start putting your agency out there.  We use various social media platforms, websites, directories, and local resources to get your agency where your prospects are already going.  I’ll also review your current marketing and make sure you are using it properly and getting the most exposure (leading to the most quotes!)

Step 4 – Network (In Real Life) – This is when you develop those key relationships (in real life – not just online) that will lead to more referrals and more new business.  There is more to networking then just the occasional Chamber Of Commerce meeting!  You’ll save time and get better results immediately with these strategies.

Step 5 – Close ‘Em – It doesn’t help to market if you can’t close the business.  I’ll review your current systems and help you implement new tactics to improve follow up and close more prospects every time.

Step 6 – Put It On Autopilot – Marketing can’t be too hard or it won’t get done.  We’ll make sure you have the right systems in place to keep clients coming in the door consistently every month.

If you’re like most agents, you simply don’t have the time or resources available to do this on your own.  You need someone else to keep you moving, step-by-step, to implement your plan, show you what you need to have, and give you the fastest and most effective ways to achieve it.  As you move through the coaching program, you’ll discover great marketing resources, fully utilize (free) online profiles, develop key networking relationships, create follow up systems, and automate your marketing.  All of these naturally lead to more brand recognition, more referrals, and more sales!

If this is your first visit to CaptiveAgents.com and you don’t already know me, my name is Robyn Sharp and I am an insurance marketing expert.  I spent eight years working in an agency day-to-day and experiencing the stress and demands of owning multiple locations, managing staff, and worrying about creating new marketing and hitting sales goals.  I spent hours researching, testing, and implementing new solutions for our agency as well as agency’s owned by my friends and family members.  When my husband and I sold our two Allstate agencies at the end of 2009, I decided to devote my time fully to developing the most effective marketing system for insurance agents.

I’ve tried other programs and styles and they just never clicked for me.  Many other coaches teach you to use direct mail marketing (complete with yellow highlighters and giant red print) to get attention.  I found the results to be minimal, the cost high, and the marketing just never felt right.  I seriously felt like I was sending out junk mail and spam!  Was that the professional image I wanted?  No, not at all.

My Agency Marketing Makeover coaching program will show you how to attract more clients, gain more referrals (from clients and networking partners), and close more sales while developing real relationships and avoiding forceful tactics.

If you are ready to grow your business, sell more policies, and have less stress in the process, take a moment to learn more about my individual and group coaching programs.

• Visit here to see my Programs and Rates.

• Visit here for Frequently Asked Questions.

• Email me ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) to schedule a complimentary Get Acquainted call so I can answer any additional questions.

 I look forward to helping you make over your agency marketing!

 The Agency Marketing Makeover

More Clients…Less Forceful Tactics

“Dealing with Captive Agents and Robyn Sharp has helped make my life a little easier. Robyn has been very helpful in helping me with office procedures and email marketing. I use them many ways and they have become a very important partnership with my agency. Using Captive Agents is like having another person on my team helping my agency reach our maximum potential and achieve our agency goals.

-Jerry Farcone, Farcone Insurance Agency, Inc.

President

Rancho Santa Margarita, Ca

27 May 2010

I usually don't spend that much time talking about actual insurance products here but I read an article today about flood insurance and thought I should mention it. 

We've all seen the terrible results of the flooding in Tennessee.  Today I read a newsletter that stated some clients are suing their agents in Tennessee for not offering contents coverage or excess coverage on their flood policies.

Use this situation as a reminder that now is a great time to educate your clients about their flood policies.  Unfortunately, documentation is key when protecting yourself from E&O losses.  I would sugget that you send out a letter to everyone in your agency explaining the need for flood insurance (even if not in a flood zone.)  Then have someone review every single flood policy in your agency.  Contact those clients by phone to review, document the conversations (with date/time stamps) in your agency management system, and consider having clients sign necessary documents if they reject coverage. 

Keep this in mind and protect your clients and your business in case of disaster.  You'll be glad you did. 

PS - Today is the LAST DAY to join CaptiveAgents.com for $14.99 a month!  Membership will go up to $49 starting Monday.  If you would like to join fill out this form and we'll get you started!

23 May 2010

Referral Rewards - it's one of the hot buzzwords in insurance marketing right now and for good reason.  The majority of agents build their business on referrals and report that referrals are one of their main sources of new business each month. 

I started hearing a lot about referral programs about a year and a half ago.  Everyone started thinking up gift card rewards for each referral as well as grand prize drawings for big screen TV's and shopping sprees.  Lately, I've seen more referral programs move online with web brochures and referral forms integrated into websites and Facebook pages. 

All of these things are great!  I'm not going against referral reward programs in any way but I think that we are occasionally missing a critical element.

You need to be worth referring. 

Ouch.  That stings a bit doesn't it?  One of my favorite marketing writers, Seth Godin, had a post about this topic over the weekend.  He said that to be remarkable you have to be worth remarking about.  I'm afraid at times that we get focused on the wrong elements of referrals. 

Let's imagine two different agencies.  Agency A is average.  I have no complaints but they are pretty much just what I expect.  I usually have to wait a while to get an answer when I have a question.  The staff are polite, but do not go above and beyond.  I don't feel any real connection to the agency and at times it can be difficult to get anything done because I have to call or go by the office.

Then there is Agency B.  They always go one step further then needed.  I can contact them via email, text, or Facebook.  The girl at the front desk always remembers me.  I know that if I need something they will take care of it in less than 30 minutes.  I can schedule appointments after hours or on the weekend.  The agency has a welcoming environment and I love doing business there. 

So which one gets a referral?  Even if you were offered a gift card to send someone to Agency A, would you?  Would you put your name on the line to say that this place is worthy of sharing with your best friend?  Probably not.  But with Agency B, you already want to share regardless of the reward. 

Now in my hypothetical example, you don't have to have those elements to be remarkable.  It can be anything.  The goal is to create a business that is so focused on customer service, so attentive to the client's needs and worthy of praise that your clients can't help but want to refer others to you.  And if you happen to offer a great incentive, it's just icing on the cake!

Don't Forget - This is the last week to join CaptiveAgents.com for only $14.99 a month!  Lock in the low rate before it increases next month.  Join and take your business to the next level in June.