A new study from IBM makes it clear that Internet insurance leads are a great way to grow your insurance business. Their new study titled “Powerful Interaction Points: Saying Goodbye To The Channel” indicates that consumers are spending much more time evaluating their options when it comes to insurance. While many consumers used to passively receive information and then sign the dotted line, today’s consumer wants to be an informed, well-educated consumer.

The study also underlines the importance of leveraging social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter to interact and engage with prospects and consumers.

The Internet is continually changing the way people shop – particularly for insurance. The team at Insurance & Technology magazine offer three suggestions for interacting with customers and growing stronger relationships:

1) Offer a variety of interaction points.
2) Track your customers and invest in analytics tools.
3) Improve the way you interact with customers and prospects.

As technology shifts and the insurance purchasing landscape continues to evolve, insurance professionals who stay abreast of these trends and focus on engaging insurance customers will continue to watch business soar.

Okay, so maybe they’re not your customer yet, but you should value them as if they are. One of the biggest mistakes insurance agents make is not staying in front of the consumer. If you’re investing in marketing and you’re not maintaining a routine follow-up pattern with leads, you are likely losing money. (This applies whether you’re purchasing Internet insurance leads or investing in some other form of marketing or advertising.)

Do you remember the post we shared about Leads360′s whitepaper which concluded that 6 is the magic number? Keep that figure in mind. If you’ve reached out to a prospect 3 times, you’re just halfway there.

Whether you use a robust lead management tool like Leads360 or use a handwritten follow-up tracking form, start tracking your activity so you can effectively measure your results.

As you reflect back on 2010, what significant contributions did you and your insurance business make in your local community? Did you sponsor any events? Did you volunteer with a local non-profit? How about offering an educational seminar about choosing the best insurance coverage?

Giving back to your local community is a great way to build trust, get the word out about what you do, genuinely connect with more people and, most importantly, make a difference in the lives of those around you.

Here are some things to keep in mind when you or your insurance agency staff are representing your insurance business in community:

- Participate with an organization you are passionate about. If you don’t have a true interest in the volunteer work you do, it will show. When you’re passionate about a cause, your positivity and excitement will engage those around you.

- Don’t be afraid to build your network. It’s likely other volunteers will be local business owners or area leaders, so get to know them in genuine, meaningful ways. You never know where a referral could come from.

- DO NOT wear your sales hat. When you’re volunteering, the focus is on the volunteer work, not your insurance business. It’s okay to share what you do, but don’t open every conversation with a sales pitch.

Community involvement is important regardless of your industry. It’s a great way to meet others, have fellowship with your agency staff and contribute to a larger cause. How are you making a difference?

The new year is just a few days away, so it’s time to roll out your 2011 goals and initiatives!

Before you begin your goal-setting, however, we recommend revisiting your vision and mission statements. These two elements are KEY to proper goal setting.

We recently talked about why the goals for your insurance business should be SMART. Today we’re going to share the types of goals you should consider setting for your business.

• Growth – Expansion-related goals, pertaining to adding new team members, additional office space, etc.
• Community – Initiatives regarding your local community (volunteering, donating, etc.)
• Service – Goals focused on increasing customer service and or customer satisfaction
• Profits – Goals geared toward increasing the bottom-line by a certain percentage

By examining these four areas and naming several goals for each, you’ll have a well-rounded set of goals to present to your agency staff for 2011.

I ran across a new insurance agent blogger today and wanted to share a few pieces from his most recent blog post – Planning, goals and inspiration from daily insights. I hope you’re inspired!

Accountability: “There is no such thing as can’t, only won’t.  If you’re qualified, all it takes is a burning desire to accomplish, to make a change.  Go forward, go backward.  Whatever it takes!  But you can’t blame other people or society in general.  It all comes from your mind.  When we do the impossible we realize we are special people.” - Jan Ashford

Determination: “Fall seven times and stand up eight.” – Proverb (origin Japanese)

Fear: “Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.” – John D Rockefeller

With a 3.3% increase in holiday spending this year, this is a prime time to be touching base with customers, purchasing Internet leads and staying on top of follow-ups!

High-dollar items like iPads and jewelry were among this year’s most-given gifts, which means increasing insurance coverage is an important conversation to have with your leads as we move into the New Year.

Although insurance may not be at the top of mind for many folks during the holiday season, this is an ideal opportunity to connect with customers and prospects on a more personal level and make sure these new possessions are adequately covered.

As 2010 comes to a close, it’s time to be solidifying your insurance business goals for 2011. It’s extremely important that your goals have been well-defined and include milestones for short-term, medium and long-term goals. These goals should also be SMART:

Remember that crystal-clear goals are vital to keeping you focused on your vision and mission. With these goals in place, you’ll be able to measure your progress and your team’s progress to ensure everyone stays on track.

Not sure where to start with those SMART goals for your insurance agency? Watch this brief video clip to learn more:

Whether you’re a one-person insurance shop or work as one of a handful of insurance agents in a larger insurance office, chances are good that you’ve over-committed yourself at one point or another.

Being over-committed is not a good feeling. You feel like the whole world is sitting on top of your shoulders OR like you’re drowning, but just barely keeping your head above water.

We’ve compiled this handful of tips to pull you out of the water next time you feel like you’ve put too many projects on your plate.

1) Sit down with your calendar. Are there projects or commitments you can delegate to someone else or push back the due date? Are there days you can reserve strictly for yourself or for you and your family? If you’re not keeping track of commitments and setting boundaries, it’s VERY easy to over-commit!

2) Focus on the most important task or project. When your plate is full, it’s easy to let yourself be overwhelmed trying to figure out where to start. Rank your tasks and projects from most time-sensitive to least time-sensitive, then focus on the most important. This way you’re accomplishing something versus spinning your wheels.

3) Get a good night’s sleep. There’s something about a restful night that makes it easier to accomplish things and give you the feeling that you can tackle the day. Focus on eating well and listening to your body when it’s tired so you’re more likely to be productive the next day.

4) Commit to setting boundaries for yourself. Only you can make change for the better. It’s by learning to say “no” that we begin to take control and prioritize our schedules. No one else can say “no” for you.

Hopefully next time you start to feel over-committed you’ll keep these tips in mind. We’d love to hear your tips and best practices for building a flourishing insurance business without over-committing yourself. Please share here!

Remember our post last week about price versus coverage? I just read a great post from the Insurance Goddess who urges prospects to weigh the costs associated with the risks. Here’s her closing paragraph:

“Cheapest price does not always mean the best coverage. Yes, there are many out there that will still want rock bottom premium, no matter what. But, for those that have livelihoods and assets to protect, I think the cost of not choosing wisely far exceeds any additional premium paid. And a trusted agent is the person that can provide the guidance and advice to help you make a sound financial decision. I still think this saying holds true- “you get what you pay for.” Don’t find out the hard way.”

Everyone’s situation is different. As an insurance professional, it’s your responsibility to listen to prospects’ needs and navigate them towards coverage that will give peace of mind. Whether you’re looking for the price-conscious consumer or the coverage-conscious consumer, we can help. Click here to connect with an insurance lead specialist and learn about who we can connect you with in your area.

Most people don’t like talking about insurance. Insurance discussions typically involve health issues, death, life, monumental purchases (a new home) and so on.

What are you doing to make these interactions and conversations fun and engaging?

We recently came across another entertaining insurance-related video:

While we don’t work with actuaries, we appreciate this light-hearted approach to explaining what an actuary actually does. If you missed yesterday’s video clip from Jason Cass over at JDC Insurance, click here to view it.

Your prospects are looking for that human connection. Find a way to use humor to engage others and make insurance fun. You won’t be sorry.

Do you specialize in a particular type of insurance? Are you passionate about a particular cause? Are you funny? As you build your insurance business, finding your points of differentiation is key to connecting with and retaining more prospects and customers.

Insurance agent Jason Cass knows how to use humor AND he’s not afraid to show it. Watch his most recent commercial:

Kudos to Jason for sharing his personality in a unique, memorable way. What makes YOU different?