A lead is any person who indicates
interest in a company's product or service in some way, shape, or form. Lead
generation is integral to the success of any business, including insurance
agencies.
Broadly speaking, leads can be aged or real time. Real-time
lead generation is the process of generating high-quality leads on
autopilot or by some sort of online activities. With real-time lead
generation, your targeted prospects are already familiar with your
product/service, and they can be considered as “warm” leads from the moment
when they give you their contact information.
Aged leads are
those that you find online that are one to three months old. In reality,
they’re actually any lead that’s older than “real-time.”For example- A company generated the lead in the past and
continues to sell them, even if another agent or agency purchased them. In some
cases, you may find aged leads as old as six months or more. Another thing to
note is that aged leads may have been exclusive when a company first generated
them. Now, they’re available for multiple agents and agencies to purchase.
Benefits of Aged leads
What makes
aged leads so attractive is that they’re affordable. These leads are beneficial
cost-wise, especially if you’re on a limited budget. When it comes to aged
leads, it’s more of a numbers game. It’s been a while since a lead submitted
their contact information. Some may have made their inquiry as long as three to
six months ago. As such, there’s been a significant passage of time. You’ll
have to be convincing enough to convert these leads to confirmed buyers.
Since these
leads are older, you’ll likely need to buy a lot of them. You’ll also need to
be ready and willing to work with a larger number of people to find prospects
who might still be interested in purchasing an insurance policy.
When it comes
to large quantities of aged leads, you may have better luck with direct mail.
That doesn’t mean you can’t call them. Again, strategy is critical. If you do
decide to call them, prepare beforehand with a unique sales script. There’s a
good chance that other agents have already contacted them. You’ll want to word
things just right to set yourself apart and get the attention of your
prospects.
The primary
benefit of search-generated leads is that you can purchase leads as per your
requirements like age, geographic, financial and demographic criteria. This can
reduce unnecessary calling to people who do not fit into your criteria. Aged
leads have a higher close rate as they have been on your list for some time and
are likely to be more comfortable with you and your sales staff. These leads
know what they want. Aged leads are 70% more likely to respond to a sales call
than a fresh lead as they are more likely to be in need of your product or
service. You simply need the right agent to give them a call and complete the
deal.