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Marketing & Prospecting Tips for 2010
Takeaway notes from Inspire A Nation Business Mentoring
webinar. By Aliza Bornstein, copywriter, Melissa
Data
There are five phases to building an agency that
every agent should concern themself with:
1. Creating agency wealth—money management
2. Laying the agency foundation
3. Creating and managing the agency process
framework
4. Branding—marketing and advertising the
agency
5. Insulating the agency from
failure—networking and referral processes
Phase 1: Creating agency wealth
Create a marketing account and have 10 percent of
your commission check transferred into the account
each pay period. That 10 percent, especially if you
take it out of your check up front before anyone has
a chance to look at it, can make a big difference.
If you make $1,000 a month and take out $100 to put
in a separate marketing account, then after three
months you’ll have $300 you can now use for
marketing. The trick is you have to do it
automatically, prior to seeing your commission. If
you wait and transfer the money yourself, the
transfer will never happen because the phone will
ring with a vendor needing to be paid, or some other
unseen expense.
Phase 2: Laying the agency foundation
Host a conference call with all mailed marketing
campaigns. (Try Freeconferencecall.com). So, why
would you host a conference call? Let’s say you
mailed out 1,000 postcards and less than one percent
of people who received those postcards responded.
So, your campaign is basically a failure and you
wasted money. Now, if you had hosted a conference
call with 1,000 people who were truly interested in
hearing what you had to say, you would have a
specific target market to sell to. Also, hosting a
conference call with all mail marketing campaigns
doesn’t cost you a thing.
Phase 3: Creating and managing the agency process
framework
Gather birthdays from everyone you talk to and
schedule their birthday messages to go out right
away. This is where database management comes in.
Database management has to be a primary focus in
2010. The major difference between an average agency
and an above average agency is database management.
(Two recommended databases: Outlook 2007 with
Business Contact Manager and Agency Resource Toolbox
http://sunriseinsurancesystems.com).
The major difference between an above average agency
and agencies in the top five percent of all agencies
in the country, are the database management
processes they consistently adhere to in the agency.
You don’t need 1,000 database processes to get a new
customer. You need each good database process to get
you 1,000 new customers.
How do you know if you have a good database? A good
database will allow you to:
• Easily import and export contacts
• Categorize contacts (prospects; customers;
business owners; etc.)
• Create calendar reminders about important events
• Create contact notes
• Track communications
• Associate contact records (linking records)
• Create reports and spreadsheets as needed to work
with other tools
• Allow you to easily share info between staff
members
Putting it all together—daily schedule
A lot of agencies don’t follow a daily schedule. You
want to make sure you’re managing your day, your
processes, and making sure everything that needs to
happen is happening in a day. It doesn’t mean by
day’s end you’re going to complete everything, but
you should work toward completing everything.
Phase 4: Branding—marketing and advertising the
agency
There are five different forms of marketing and
advertising:
Prospecting target: Exact prospecting target
Type of marketing: Internet leads; text messaging
Prospecting target: Specific target market
Type of marketing: X-dates; telemarketing
Prospecting target: General marketing
Type of marketing: Postcard mailing to specific ZIP®
codes and demographics
Prospecting target: General prospecting
Type of marketing: Mass quoting tool; robo agent;
typhoon for Internet leads
Prospecting target: General prospect
Type of marketing: Agency=video; audio; CDs
Regular phone book advertising is not as effective
as it used to be. Use Yellowpages.com to get a free
listing.
Phase 5: Insulating the agency from
failure—networking and referral processes
Three forms of advertising and marketing:
Prospecting target: Expertise marketing
Type of marketing: Write article, submit it to local
and national media outlets for reprint; conference
calls
Prospecting target: Expertise branding
Type of marketing: Blog; media interview; newsletter
Prospecting target: Networking and referral
Type of marketing: Develop five referral partners
Have five businesses give you discount coupons that
you can give away to anyone that completes a quote
with your agency. (In person, phone, or Web site).
This allows you to create partnerships and doesn’t
cost you anything, while allowing you to create
joint advertising programs. Scan the coupon to a
word document and save as a PDF that you can email.
(This is for clients you never meet with
face-to-face).
Networking and referral examples: Partner discount;
coupons; giveaways; CD handouts; joint networking
events=workshops; conference calls; promotions;
advertising; newsletters; blog articles; breakfast
meetings; scholarships; awards; welcome blankets;
new customer grab bags.
Following these five phases will better prepare you
for a prosperous 2010!
---Source: Inspire a Nation Business
Mentoring Jan. 7, 2010 webinar (www.inspireanation.net).
Billy Williams is the president and CEO.
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