Homeowners insurance is something every homeowner needs, even if they've already paid off the mortgage. Helping consumers understand how homeowners insurance works is important for many reasons. Too many people are confused about when they are covered for repairs, thinking that a home insurance policy works the same way as a home warranty. It is important to educate your clients about how home insurance is intended to work, so they avoid filing multiple claims which may result in higher rates or a loss of coverage altogether.
Why Home Insurance Leads Are Great
Home insurance is a great product to sell because it is often a gateway to selling other policies. A home is often the most valuable asset people own, so if you can gain the confidence of your clients, you may be able to sell may lines of insurance to homeowners policyholders, including umbrella policies and business insurance. There is also at least one car associated with each home, often more, and that means an auto insurance policy, sometimes two. If your insurance agency offers health insurance and life insurance, you may be in luck when it comes to cross-selling those products too.
Once you establish a relationship with a client, it's not awkward to upsell or cross sell.
Here are some great ways to make more homeowners insurance sales each month.
Buy Homeowners Insurance Leads
We are living at a time when people are buying homes based on virtual tours. Things have changed since the coronavirus pandemic began and so have home insurance sales. People are spending even more time online and looking for ways to save money.
Homeowners are realizing that they may have been paying too much without comparing rates. Others are discovering that their home insurance was purchased on their behalf by a lender who didn't really take the time to see if the homeowner got the best deal or the coverage they need to be fully protected.
Another reason homeowners look to switch insurance companies is after a bad claims experience. This should be a lesson to you in terms of retention (stay involved before during and after a claim is filed) but it is also an opportunity for you to pick up new clients that are looking for a better insurance company.
For more on how home insurance leads can help you sell more homeowners policies, read this agent success story.
Where to Meet Home Insurance Shoppers
When you partner with SmartFinancial, you're buying highly targeted leads, people who've been actively researching what homeowners insurance coverage means for them. Many of them are sharing important information after coming upon a claims-related article, looking for a cheap homeowners insurance quote. Not only can SmartFinancial connect you with these shoppers, but fact-filled articles have done much of the educating on your behalf. The marketing is done for you, now it's time to sell insurance.
How Likely Are Homeowners Insurance Leads to Close?
That all depends on your selling style, the products you're offering, the type of budget your prospect has and lots of other factors that depend on that particular person. A big factor is the lead vendor(s) you work with. Whether you sell personal lines insurance or health insurance, you'll want a dedicated account manager who services your account for optimal results.
Keep Dialing
Even if you buy the best quality insurance leads, the chances of closing after a single phone call are slim. You will need to follow best practices when it comes to following up with a lead.
While it's imperative that you call the lead as soon as you receive it, it's just as important to continue calling that person, with fresh insights with each call. You don't want to be a nuisance but you want to be top of mind for up to 90 days, even longer if you keep that person's information in your CRM as an ex-date.
Set Right Expectations
Contacting a lead multiple times is par for the course in the insurance business. The average insurance lead takes five call attempts to make contact, and 95% of leads need time to mature and will not convert right away.
Why Buy Homeowners Insurance Calls?
If you buy live transfers of homeowners insurance leads, you're just a bit closer to closing a deal. The caller has already been qualified by a SmartFinancial Call Center Concierge, before transferring the call to you. Psychologically, the caller has already put in the time and effort to purchase insurance even before reaching your insurance agency.
Greetings Are Important
It's always a good idea to immediately say that you'll be offering a quote so the caller doesn't get confused. Believe it or not this is where many insurance agents fail to make a sale. They answer the call with a generic greeting, which makes the caller feel like all the effort they made has been a waste of time. The homeowner needs to understand that this is a continuation of the call from SmartFinancial.
The beginning of the call is where you need to keep the conversation going until you receive the email with their information in your inbox. This is the perfect time to let your personality and warmth shine through. Tell the customer a little bit about yourself. Ask questions.
Offer More Than a Free Home Insurance Quote
Remember, this is a person's home sweet home, so it's the perfect opportunity to start forging a relationship with this person. Your sales strategy should be to learn all you can about this person and their household and business.
Ask if they are married, if they have children, and so forth. Learn about this person's lifestyle and their assets. They may need more insurance than they have, leaving them prone to financial disaster.
Are There Free Ways to Generate Home Insurance Leads?
There are other ways for an insurance agent to generate home insurance leads with minimal or no cost, but the results may be varied according to location and demographics.
Social Media
Social media is a free tool for casting a wider net. Many insurance agents find clients on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and even Tik-Tok. Look at other insurance agents' social media pages to see what's gaining followers and what isn't. You may even decide to run relatively inexpensive Facebook ads.
Insurance agencies that cover a wider territory find it easier to sell insurance. The sales process is really no different from selling to someone next door. Most of the work is done over the phone and with e-signatures. Yes, the insurance industry has changed quite a bit!
Tapping Referrals
There's also word-of-mouth and referrals. Every existing client is a resource to be tapped. You may also consider reviewing your car insurance clients files to make sure you've offered them a better rate for bundling home and auto.
Working with apartment management communities is also a way of working with future homeowners. That's why renters insurance is a valuable product to sell, even though commissions are very slim.
Insurance Agent Marketing Budget
As with anything, you'll still have to spend some money on marketing materials when selling insurance, including business cards. Find out who's bought a house recently. Marketing to new homeowners in your neighborhood and beyond is a good idea. Welcoming these new neighbors with Home Safety Checklists and Homeowners Tips may be a great way to introduce yourself. It's easy enough to get a homebuyers list from a company like Experian, but you'll have to spend some money on the service, which will greatly depend on how far and wide your territory is.
