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!

If you’ve ever shoe-shopped online, chances are good that you’ve seen a Zappos ad, read an article about Zappos or perhaps even purchased shoes from them. Zappos is known for its stellar customer service – which includes super-helpful customer loyalty representatives, free shipping both ways and overnight upgraded delivery.

Zappos focuses on creating a superb customer experience and every single day, Zappos employees live out their mission of “delivering happiness”. The company’s CEO Tony Hsieh has even released a book titled “Delivering Happiness” that covers how his company does just that.

Do you deliver happiness with your customers and prospects? Do you genuinely go out of your way to help others have a better day? What details do you focus on to make ensure your customers enjoy working with you? What would your customers say about you?

If you’re a “wired” insurance pro, you’ve probably heard about Foursquare. Perhaps you already have an account.

For those insurance agents who are still scratching their heads about yet another online social media tool, I’m hoping to clear the air today and shed a little light on how you can successfully implement Foursquare into your social media and online marketing plans. I also have real insight to share from an insurance agent (or Insurance Goddess) in Ohio who is using Foursquare to her advantage and has landed several new prospects via this online tool.

So, what is Foursquare?

According to Wikipedia, Foursquare is a “web and mobile application that allows registered users to connect with friends and update their location.” When users “check in” at venues, they can choose to update their Twitter and/or Facebook to alert friends of their location. Users may earn badges based on frequency of check-ins and other criteria.

For example, I walk into my favorite coffee shop, open the Foursquare application on my phone, click “check-in” and Foursquare generates a list of nearby locations. I find the name of my coffee shop and click “check-in” again. If I’ve connected Foursquare with my Twitter and/or Facebook, the application will automatically tell my friends on those networks.

Users can also view nearby tweets and see what other users recently checked-in at that particular location.

Foursquare currently has 1.3 million users and continues to grow rapidly.

How can Foursquare help my insurance business?

If you’re already using Facebook and/or Twitter for your insurance business, the idea really is the same. It’s another tool you can use to get your name in front of more prospects and find ways to connect with and serve people in your local community. Keep in mind that general social media etiquette still applies. The idea is NOT to sell. The idea is to serve and connect through genuine interactions.

Are other insurance professionals using Foursquare?

Yes. Carrie Reynolds is an insurance agent with Galvez Insurance in Ohio. I originally connected with Carrie via Twitter. Several weeks ago, Carrie shared that she had connected with several prospects via Foursquare. My interest was piqued, so we messaged back and forth a few times. I had several questions for her about Foursquare and she was kind enough to answer them and allow me to share them with you in this blog post:

HometownQuotes – How long have you been using Foursquare?

Insurance pro Carrie Reynolds – Since February.

HometownQuotes – What was the learning curve for implementing Foursquare in your insurance business?

Carrie Reynolds – I didn’t have much trouble, as Foursquare has some great help articles, plus I have a pretty good group of friends who use it and we’d talk about it amongst ourselves.

HometownQuotes – Is Foursquare helping your insurance business?

Carrie Reynolds – It can’t hurt. Every time I check into my office, I post a marketing message of some sort. It helps keep “top-of-mind” awareness.

HometownQuotes – Do you think the ROI will be worth the time and effort you put forth?

Carrie Reynolds – I don’t have to put a lot of effort into it. It takes me just a few minutes to come up with my message for the day. The actual checking-in process takes very little time with the phone application I use.

Thanks again to Carrie for taking time from her busy day to share her Foursquare experience with us.

With 1.3 millions users (and more being added every day), I agree with Carrie. Using Foursquare can’t hurt your business. You never know who you’ll connect with until you give it a whirl.

Are you on Foursquare? Do you have a positive or negative experience you can share? We’re all ears!

We’ll be posting more information about leveraging your insurance business with Foursquare soon. Stay tuned!

“I just wanted to pass along some positive feedback. I thought it was a great call that was worth my time. I got a lot of useful information that I’ll try. It’s been a long time since I’ve been on a webinar that I actually walked away with some useful information. So thanks!” – insurance agent in Nebraska

“Thanks for pointing out that insurance agents need to sound like human beings. It’s really good to hear that you made a good living without having to can a fake-sounding, corny speech. I’m encouraged.” - insurance agent in Texas

“I only attended the Q&A session at the end of the presentation but I enjoyed and benefited from it very much. Please let me know about any and all educational opportunities you have available. Thanks!” - insurance agent in Colorado

“Thanks for being up front and honest with no hype.” - insurance agent in Ohio

On December 2, we had a record-breaking webinar. More insurance professionals participated than ever before AND it was our longest-running webinar at 2 HOURS. Our CEO Hunter Ingram answered dozens of wonderful, thought-provoking questions supplied by the participating insurance agents. Here are a few of them:

Question from an insurance pro: How do you attract consumers to your site?

Hunter Ingram: Let’s start by discussing what we DON’T do. We do not attract consumers by incentivising them. No free poker chips. No free trips to Maui or new iPods. That is not in the best interest of the consumer NOR you, the insurance professional. If a consumer is incentivised to complete an insurance lead form, that is not a legitimate lead and you shouldn’t be paying for it. We attract the highest-quality leads by thinking like consumers and spending our marketing dollars with Google and other search engines.

Question from an insurance pro: What do you think about text messaging prospects?

Hunter Ingram: That’s a great question. I think it’s an interesting way to do business. We haven’t had any agents share their experiences with text messaging to prospects. When I ran my insurance agency, text messaging wasn’t really even in the realm of possibilities. I think it’s great to be cutting-edge with technology, but I don’t have any personal insight since I haven’t used text messaging in that regard. I’d like to get feedback from anyone who has used it in this manner. If any of you are texting consumers, how are they responding? (If you have feedback, please share at the bottom of this blog post!)

Question from an insurance pro: What type of prospects look for online insurance quotes?

Hunter Ingram: There is a wide variety of consumers who use the Internet to shop for insurance. From my experience with the YellowPages and other methods of advertising, the ROI was not good, the lead tracking was not effective and I was reaching a small segment of consumers. With Internet leads, insurance professionals have access to a vast pool of consumers, the return on investment is great and the tracking is easy.

Question from an insurance pro: What advice can you offer regarding followup emails?

Hunter Ingram: Following up with prospects is very important and I highly believe in email. It’s a good way to stay in front of the customer, but it’s not the only communication method you should be using. Pick up the phone and call the consumer. Just because the prospect searched for insurance online does not mean online communication should be the primary mode of contact. Make sure you balance the two mediums.

Question from an insurance pro: What is the best way to handle leads that come in after hours?

Hunter Ingram: For the online insurance leads you receive after hours, I recommend using an auto-responder indicating that you will call first thing in the morning. I don’t know about all the federal/state do not call laws, but I’m sure they vary per state. Most agents do not make calls after hours or on weekends, so your close ratio should really increase if you work the leads at these times.

Stay tuned for more great questions and make sure you email Krista (krista at hometownquotes dot com) if you’re interested in attending our next webinar about closing Internet leads!