Many insurance brokers and agents feel that if they can't close most every single lead they buy, they're wasting their time and money. After all, leads can be very expensive and time consuming.

This could not be farther from the truth.

While leads do not necessarily translate immediately into more profit, they are one of the best business building tools available.

How is this possible?

Use the few leads you do close to build your client base. On average, every lead you close will result in 2-4 referrals per year if you work them properly.

The following are some ideas on how to properly work with leads.

* Ask for referrals from every prospect you speak with, including the ones you never sell anything to. Referrals are the best prospects one can ask for. But if you don't aks for them, chances are, you won't get any.
* Sell a package deal to improve credibility and retention. The average persistancy of a health insurance policy in which the client only purchased one insurance product is about 8 months. By comparison, if the client purchased 2 or more products as part of a package deal, the average persistancy goes up to about 2 years.
* Try offering service over price. Do not be fooled. If they've been online, they already know the price. This helps tremendously to separate yourself from the crowd. This is incredibly important because the prospect will almost certainly hear from multiple agents.
* And finally, create a professional email campaign, sending a minimum of 1 email per month to every single lead you purchase, whether or not they buy.

There is one other point to consider. There is rarely such thing as an exclusive lead.

How so?

Even if your lead source only sells their leads once, your the prospect has probably filled out their information with other sources.

Also, not all leads are created equal.

Look for leads that were generated from people actually searching for your products and services! Leads produced through SPAM, surveys and flashy pop-ups promising a free trip to the Bahamas or an ipod cost less, but overall prove to have poor conversion rates and retention.



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Agents all over the world have acquired a bad name for being untrustworthy and reckless. However, there are still a few good ones left and the challenge is in how to compare insurance agents. Note than an agent is an invaluable resource when one is looking for insurance, be it for the car or for health. This is because they are well versed, and they have a large corpus of knowledge that can prove very useful. They also have a specialization in the industry and as such have all the time to shop around for the best packaged on your behalf.

Many of the mistakes that have made agents untrustworthy include issuing illegal investment sales, affinity fraud, which means that the agent uses the money entrusted to him to pay his personal bills, and selling fake promissory notes. Hence these are issues that you need to be well aware of as you compare insurance agents.

The reason why you need an agent is because they have a large base of customers and therefore, precisely know what customers normally look for. As such, as the insurance company, you will be able to attract more and more customers through affiliation with the agent. On the other hand, and as an insured person, the agent will be able to connect you with the best and most reliable firms that he has worked with or is working with. Having an agent gives you some form of security because of the connections he has and this is one thing that should be in your mind when you compare insurance agents.

It is also said that many agents are honest in their financial dealings. This means that sometimes when mistakes happen, agents are not always squarely to blame for the fault. Sometimes they suffer losses as well, just like the customers. Research shows that some of the agents who were involved in the fake promissory notes scams lost their money and jobs as well. Hence, do not be too judgmental when you compare different insurance agents.

It is important to compare insurance quotes before getting signed up with an insurance policy. When you compare insurance quotes you can rest assured you are saving both time and money because you are guaranteed to get the lowest insurance quote.



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Have you ever needed the help of a professional for a service in which you have little or no experience? Tasks such as a home or auto repair seem complicated to those who are not experienced in those professions. Shopping for personal health insurance plans can be complicated as well. Consider these reasons for using a professional broker or agent.

Professional service with no fees - Insurance agents and brokers are paid by commissions from insurance companies.

The cost of those commissions is already built into the price of the policy, therefore, you will pay no more than if you had gone directly to the insurance company without the services of an agent. An experienced agent can help you determine which type of coverage will work best for you or your family. The agent can also assist with helping to select a deductible amount, co-pay amounts and whether or not to purchase optional benefits such as maternity or dental insurance. Once a decision regarding the coverage is made, the agent can be a valuable resource in helping complete the application and with the underwriting process. Using the services of a professional comes at no additional cost to the customer.

Service after the sale - Insurance brokers are motivated to provide good service after the sale. Questions may come up regarding your coverage or changes may need to be made to your plan. Having a broker handle those little details for you is a valuable resource. Examples of some simple service issues include answering questions about your policy, adding a dependent to the plan, making changes such as address and telephone number or ordering you a new identification card.

What type of broker should you look for? Here are some important features to consider when searching for a broker:

Experience - The value of experience cannot be purchased. Brokers that have many years of experience will be able to guide you in the proper direction and help you avoid problems. Experienced agents have seen nearly every situation that may come up and can guide the customer so that potential problems will be avoided.

Independent - Look for a broker that represents many competitive companies from which to shop for your coverage. Captive brokers can only use a single insurance company and should be avoided. An independent agent is working for the customer rather than the insurance company.

Professional - While looks can sometimes be deceiving, it is important to locate a broker that runs a professional business. This usually means having an office location in which to do business along with sufficient staff to service their customers.

Reputation-There is nothing wrong with asking for references when looking for an insurance agent. You need to know the reputation that the agent has within the community and the level of satisfaction that customers have with the agent in question.

Local - There is nothing more frustrating than to need service from a large company and having nothing more than a customer service phone number to work with. All of us have experienced the phone maze of recordings and out-sourcing of services departments. Having the services of a local broker that can personally be of help is very valuable. There are times when it's important to sit across the desk and look the person in the eye with whom you are conducting business.


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In today's fast paced world, where everyone is in a hurry to make more and more money, life is full of risks. Starting from rash driving to contaminated food products, you constantly face different types of risks. Therefore, it makes perfect sense to get some kind of security cover for you. One way to secure your life is by getting a life insurance policy. Today, almost each one of us has at least one life insurance policy, which is provided to us by an insurance agent we know. However, have you ever thought whether the agent provided you a policy with the best insurance quotes? Not sure, are you? This is because you believe whatever the agent says and do not do your bit of checking. However, you can change all that now. With the Internet offering you the world at your doorstep, you can check different life insurance policies online and also make a comparison of life insurance quotes from different companies.

An insurance quote is the approximate value of the insurance policy provided by the insurance company. Today, insurance quotes have become a pretty strong marketing weapon for insurance companies. Insurance companies can attract a lot of prospective clients to avail their insurance policies by advertising the best quotes. However, you need to understand that an insurance quote is simply an estimate and may vary when the actual policy is drafted. This is because the actual policy depends on various factors. For example, the factors that govern the actual life insurance policy are the present physical condition of the customer and his/her previous medical history. Also, for car insurance, the actual policy considers factors such as the model of the car, its present market value, and the depreciation. Still, insurance quotes are more or less on the target and are extremely helpful in selecting the best insurance policy.

While looking for insurance from various companies over the Internet, you need to understand that there are some Web sites that offer you this comparison for free while others do it for a fee. If you need a preliminary comparison, it is suggested that you go for Web sites that offer you the comparison of insurance quotes for free. However, you need to fill a short online form on these Web sites that includes entering your personal information in order to get the quote. These are a great way to get an overview of any insurance policy. They can help provide an understanding of the insurance policy even before it is drafted. Therefore, insurance allow you to select the best insurance policy without having to go to an insurance agent. This helps you save a lot of your precious time and money.

Insurance has become really important in today's world, be it life insurance, car insurance, or health insurance. Therefore, it is extremely important that you choose an insurance policy that offers you the best rates and quotes. This can be achieved if you have a good understanding of the insurance quotes offered by different insurance companies.


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Insurance continuing education is a customary insurance training course which helps insurance brokers, agents, underwriters and sales force to upgrade their knowledge base about different insurance products and enhance their sales pitch to generate more sales. It is a formal training as well as certificate course which you can subscribe for online. There is no nationwide accreditation given to insurance agents as the laws and rules governing insurance policies vary from state to state for the entire gamut of insurance products. Insurance continuing education usually establish credit review requirements for a period of time usually after two or three years after which insurance professionals need to undergo a training course to polish their skills as well as learn about the latest regulations and policies governing insurance sector. This course can be done online as there are many companies and third party organizations that provide online insurance continuing education along with certification at cost effective prices. This proves very advantageous to insurance professionals who work full time as this would help save their valuable time and money which they can invest on meeting new clients and generating more sales. Alternatively insurance professionals may have to go to regular insurance training schools and spend good number of hours in learning concepts sacrificing their work time. The online insurance continuing program provides courses on all kinds of insurance policies namely, health , property, casualty, ethics, long term care as well as several other insurance products. All online insurance CE courses are devised on the basis of credit hours required as per the State's Department of Insurance.

The online insurance CE courses offered today are transparent in the fee structures and course materials offered and there are absolutely no hidden surcharges involved. You pay only the quoted price and also get your online certification based on the online test that you write. Many insurance companies, brokerage houses, multinational companies, insurance agencies as well as individual insurance agents undergo insurance CE services to ensure better quality of sales through effective sales pitch training and knowledge enhancement. Life Insurance is a delicate subject to deal with and has many policies, terms and conditions regulating it with laws that are volatile and subject to change from state to state and time to time. Hence, selling this insurance product requires able and skilled professionals who can do justice to this product and drive sales effectively employing good sales and marketing techniques. The insurance staff should also be in a position to answer any questions related to life insurance, health, commodities, property and almost anything with utmost confidence and clarity to close a sale. Moreover even if you are a part time insurance agent or underwriter, you can grab some exciting career opportunities with this education program. Therefore it is of paramount importance for insurance professionals to undergo insurance continuing education online to equip themselves with the latest skills and thereby boost insurance sales in their sales which would eventually yield more revenue or commissions for them.



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