As a new P&C Producer I need to do a lot of follow up to create flow. That is what I’ve been working on. I’m following up with commercial customers that have mailed an information packet. I’m getting a good response. A couple of appointments and good contacts. Following up on calls, mailings or just with former relationships is the best way to gain new business and renew relationships for future business and referrals.
My first Personal Lines mailing is going out today. I have 100 names of personal contacts to start out with. I have many more but I figure I’ll hit up my very close contact to start off with. I worked flyer type of letter with my picture on it (what a handsome mug) and a brief introduction from me. Included was brief information about he company, logo, contact info and companies we are appointed. Added a bunch of color to try to catch attention as well as a magnet and business card. I’ll let you all know how that worked once the results start coming in.
I did some cold calling for commercial yesterday and had a couple potentials that I need to grow. I went away from existing contact and went straight cold to see what I could get and it wasn’t all bad. Got some business cards and contacts that I will later hit up with mailings and phone calls. It is all about follow up. That is what I’ll do.
Ok…so you have your slogan and you know where you need to market to. Now what do you do? How are you going to reach your demographic. Well….how are you? You have many to choose from and I’m not going to tell you which works the best because if it works for me, it may not work for you. “One mans trash is another mans treasure” and that goes double for advertising. I hate to say this but you are just going to have to try something that fits your demographic.
The older the demographic, the more TV/Newspaper/Talk Radio. The younger the demographic, the more music radio/magazine/other. I hate to tell you but you need to look at a “media mix.” That’s right, you might have to spend in more than one outlet. If you want to take the simple route you can look at Direct Mail but then again you could be sending out to 10,000 and spending a bit of money for a 1% return or you might be lucky and get a 10% return (good luck with that). I know this seems like a tease but if you don’t try you will never know. As many have said before me…”You gotta spend money to make money.”
This statement holds very true when talking about advertising. If you want to know what the specific markets…check back and I’ll give you a crash course on as many as a can think that are out there. Then we’ll move on.
So far I’ve been a licensed agent for 1.5 months. I’ve sent out commercial letters to a bunch or ex-commercial customers from a previous job. I’ve also sent out personal letters to potential personal customers. I made some phone calls to follow up but have not gotten anywhere. I’m going to concentrate more on the commercial P&C end and my background has been road work. I’m looking at going back to my strength this week.
With my previous advertising positions I’m used to driving and stopping out and seeing people on a whim. I enjoy and have been successful with that. I need to bring in business. I need to start utilizing what I have learned or I will start forgetting what I’ve learned. Keep checking back to see how it’s going.
So, I came from the advertising world into the Insurance Business. How? A former client has become my current employer. I now handle all of the Marketing for my company. Many of you already know, but as a refresher, you must get specific when figureing out how to market your company. I know…you don’t like to or it takes too much time. Do it…it’s worth it.
Figure out who you need to go after…not want. Who we need to go after is not who we want to go after. But as you get those needs and grow your business you can steadily grow those wants. When being specific…focus on age, gender, geographic, race (yes I said it), income level, career, even religion.
Now a slogan, your lead to your potential customer. What do you want to say to these people. Make it one line and to the point. One thing I learned a very long time ago…K.I.S.S. –> Keep It Simple, Stupid. Don’t get bogged down with details. Your main reason for any type of marketing is to draw interest and get them to call you.
Check back in a couple days to discuss more…