Suddenly and rather unexpectedly, you receive a document file three times as large as you ever thought it would be. Moreover, the cost was cheap and the source was official. That source being the State Department of Insurance. Sensational. At least it sure seems that way. It appears you have just discovered this jumbo directory, that you and most insurance marketers think will solve many recruiting problems. An Insurance Department Agent List is designed merely to provide state data. It is not designed to be your income source for mailing and telephone calling agents.

For the thousands of insurance marketers that use department lists, here are my hands on, experienced opinion. Especially of those marketers who rely on these lists to do more than half their recruiting. My opinion relates to over 70 percent of your fellow insurance marketers. This marketer/recruiter is stupid, ignorant, uninformed, ill-trained, cheap, selfish, ego-centric, unrealistic, impractical, immature, out of touch, naïve, penny pinching, green, untalented, unrealistic, unskilled, incompetent, amateurish, inept, unqualified, incapable, and in need of help but unwilling to look for it. Thousands of marketers have failed in the last year for this same reason.

You will NEVER become successful in insurance marketing by using state department of insurance lists as source that is going to provide your income. Your recruiting source is your investment in yourself. Certainly, it is not logical to think that going the cheapest route is the best route. I doubt if you own the cheapest car made, buy the cheapest suits, suits, ties, and shoes, and buy all our presentation supplies at yard sales. For the cost of investing in one new suit, you could have invested that same amount in your prospecting source. See the difference your career could have held.

Does it matter when you receive certain Insurance Department lists that they are 30% to 35% undeliverable when you first obtain them. Apparently not, to the insurance marketer that obtained them. He saved money by not using a more refined list from an insurance broker, or a custom designed recruiting list from an insurance list compiler. He found a treasure trove, full of fool's gold. Who can you can complain to when you are investing so little in obtaining the list. Certainly a marketer cannot perceive negativity if the state produced it. Who could be more accurate. Beware the list broker or compiler who has a list 10% to 15% undeliverable, their entire list is junk. 500 annuity specialists have been mailed, and 60 returned as not reaching the intended destination .They refuse to mail the other 3,000 producers, considering the list to be junk

You can never make money off deliverability. It is possible to have a 4,000 name list that is 98% deliverable and never receive a single reply. On the other hand, you could mail a targeted list of 4,000 agents and receive 500 undeliverables and 42 interested responses. Do not go any further until you can honestly say and believe which is better. An established list broker or compiler has a refund policy for excessive bad addresses, while the DOI does Mailing and phone calling never have guarantees. If you are afraid to expose yourself to risk, never become an insurance marketer. A phone directory can change up to 25% in a 12-month period, with an agent list, that amount of change can easily exceed 33%.

Consider these factors to stop wasting time and money. The agent names are often not separated by experience. The masses of insurance reps with under two years of experience, are intermingled with the pros. Further polluting this list by up to a third, are the super captive, Allstate, S.F., Nationwide, Farm Bureau, Geico, AAA, Liberty Mutual, and similar agents. Where is that big red warning label? There should be one stating:, "CAUTION, over 90% of the agents with fewer than four years experience will no longer be licensed and appearing on upcoming list updates." Are you building your operation to last 4 years or less and then fade away. If you do not heed this advice, you are.

Here is the mother load dream list of dreaming insurance recruiters. Out of the deep blue it appears. You discover a jumbo Department of Insurance list with agent names and almost all with phone numbers. You easily forget the information already mentioned, instead grabbing a phone and your dialing fingers. Portions of the list are passed along to your sub-marketers so they can feast in this bonanza before the competition attacks. Big meetings take place, carefully crafted is what is considered to be a masterpiece plan. Over 90% of the agents have phone numbers, and these are numbers from the official insurance department. It takes at least 50 phone call attempts, until smartness squeezes through your fat brain. All the phone numbers listed are those that the agents entered on the form when first becoming licensed.

HERE IS A FLASHING NEON BILLBOARD so you sink in another point. Almost all the desirable agents have over 4 years experience, and have obtained new phone numbers in the mean time.

Let us be fair and compare. One list is the state insurance department list of agents, which it never promoted for or claimed was ideal for getting agents to market your products. The other list does claim to be ideal and contains mainly names of agents already selling a product similar to what you are brokering. The state list contains 20,000 licensed life and health agents. The compiled list has been refined to just 5,000 agents. The state charges you only $200.00 for their list, while the list compilers cost of slightly over $400.00 is twice the amount, and you get a measly 1/4 the number of agents.

Is this $200.00 an internet rip-off? Be fair and do not jump to a conclusion. Depending on a variety of factors, it costs $400.00 to $500.00 per thousand to print your mail piece and used standard mail postage. You have a maximum of $5,000 to spend. Using the state DOI list, three thousand names were not on the compiled and 2,000 were. Realistically 45 leads were obtained, and 18 were of quality. On the compiled lists, the replies added up to 40 leads, of these 35 were top-notch. Now you can answer, which recruiting campaign had the superior results?

What trap is your mind caught in? Is it of thinking DOI lists are great? Alternatively, do you think that phone dialing is fantastic, ever though your fingers have phone letters/numbers tattooed in them? Take out a permanent magic marker. On you left hand write the word target. On the right hand, write the word marketing. Staring you in the face are two words that when practiced can make you an insurance marketing recruiter legend.

Well published author, Don Yerke likes to concentrate on what you don't know or what no one else dares to print. Tell it like it is.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Donald_Yerke

The definition of a lead is very simple; an invitation to a relationship. They are nothing more than that. Many agents think a lead is going to be a sale and when it isn't then thee unhappiness sets in. So how do we set up guidelines so the leads we invest our hard earned money into make financial sense?

The first rule of working leads is the "Law of Large Numbers" this means it takes a constant flow of leads over a fixed period of time to determine their true value to your business. If you use a few leads for your evaluation then you are going to fail and it is a classic mistake.

I personally like internet leads much more than I do direct mail or other direct response leads. The reason is simple, they are delivered to my computer instantly. The person requesting the information expects to receive it quickly and promptly and the internet should be able to provide that service.

There are many different types of annuity sales leads.

There are two "secrets" in working internet leads:

1. Call as soon as possible! If you delay making the call the lead will get stale. The internet provides instant response and making tat instant response is essential to successful lead marketing.

2. Exclusivity. Make certain you only deal with a lead generation company that provides leads to only you. In the past companies have sold and resold leads numerous times.

Internet leads allow you to outsource your marketing to a lead provider. This allows more time to focus on getting in front of people who will listen to your story about these wonderful insurance products.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bill_Broich

Insurance agents and brokers are suffering an increase of policy cancellations. In this current economy, policy holders are debating if there is anything to protect. Homes are being foreclosed on and certainly the policies that went along with the home are being canceled as well. Insurance agents have to compete with lower rates, premiums, and of course a diversified policy holder.

The question then is, "How can an Independent Insurance Agency increase production without having to increase marketing?" The answer is a simple marketing mix to improve client relationships. Actually connecting with a client shows a higher ability to retain, cross sell, and get referrals from policy holders regardless of the economy. This can be accomplished in a strategy of 3 simple marketing approaches.

1. Create an email marketing strategy, one that connects with policy holders. I have found that agents who have done "email marketing" are not successful, because they do not connect with policy holders. Sending an email with the obvious attempt to cross sell does more to offend and risk cancellations. Commit to sending emails to reconnect and inform, not cross sell. A simple, "Thanks for being such a loyal customer. A lot of people have questions nowadays, if you do give me a call and let's get together soon." Sending something like this every month shows value to the customer and keeps you in close with them.

2. Have a solid follow up system. New policy holders may not know what to do with the policy when it arrives, so have a follow strategy that helps them understand they bought a policy to protect them and they need to protect it. Set it up automatically in an email format to be sent for you in 5-7 days. It should read something like, "By now you should have received your policy in the mail. Please read the first page and write the phone numbers everywhere you can so you can get them if you need (God Forbid.)" I have found the "referral sources" are the ones who read their policy information and start referring in the first 3 -4 weeks of having received it.

3. Get clear on the direct mail. Also automated, have a card or postcard set up in a system to send out a birthday wish or anniversary. Quick and easy, simply input the information into your system to have the notification sent to a printer who will print, sign, stamp, and send the card for you. People are looking for more than just bills in the mail. They are looking for encouragement, send them a note of encouragement.

Employ these 3 strategies and watch your personal economy in the insurance business or any business grow in 2009.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tyson_C_Russell