Have you ever asked yourself if you believe? Believing is one of the most important aspects your agency must have if you want to increase sales. As Astonish Results CEO Adam DeGraide says, you must believe in yourself, the place you work, and the products you offer if you want to be successful.

If you walk into work every day with a negative attitude you are already set for failure and it is going to come across that way to the people that surround you. Having self-confidence is number one. Confidence is a trait that will make you happier, and the customer happier, because people feel better about a decision you are telling them to make, if you yourself are confident in it. Next, is believing that you can help the customer. The customer doesn’t want you to sell them something; they want you to HELP them buy something. Truly wanting to help your customers is a trait that will come off in a sales call. Showing that you are there to help them get the best rate and are willing to go the extra step when they file a claim will only deepen the level of trust you have instilled.

The second thing you must believe in is the place you work. Understanding the culture of the agency in which you work will help you feel in place, and your insurance agency culture is something you can use to differentiate your agency from competitors. If you aren’t sure what the agency stands for, ask your agency principal. Why did you start this agency? What is the message we want to get across to our customers? And if you are the agency owner, I would think about these questions. As the principal, showing your agents that YOU believe will only help them on their path to success.

The third part of your agency that you must believe in is the products you sell. You can’t sell anything in any business if you do not truly believe that it is the best choice out there for your customers. When following up with a lead the customer can tell if you are insincere about the product you are offering. Believing in the insurance policy you are offering them, that it will help them and is the best possible policy they can get, will shine through in your voice and attitude.

So ask yourself again. Do you believe in yourself, your agency, and the products you sell? If you answer no to any of these questions, then take a step back and assess the situation. Look for inspiration in yourself. Ask the most optimistic person in the office what they believe in, or approach your agency principal to better understand the culture at your agency. And lastly, believe in what you’re selling. If you can’t convince yourself a product is great, how can you convince the customer?

As the holidays approach the articles about Black Friday check-in’s and location based services, being harnessed by many retailers to offer customer deals, are being published hourly. The use of platforms such as Foursquare and Gowalla are becoming more popular among social media users and the new availability of Facebook Places and Deals on most Smartphone’s will result in an increase of holiday shoppers checking into stores to claim certain discounts.

For the third insurance marketing twitter chat we thought it was only appropriate to cover the topic of location based services and how they can be used to help an agency’s marketing strategy. I recently wrote a blog post about using Facebook deals in your insurance agency, but there are so many more applications and uses of location based services that many CSR’s and social media engineers do not take advantage of.

So in light of the topic’s recent popularity the Insurance Marketing HQ team would like to announce the third #INSchat scheduled for Monday November 29th at 1 p.m. EST. After the Thanksgiving holiday what better time to discuss the topic and share insights from those who participated in the Black Friday deals and those who have implemented such a strategy at their own agency.

The instructions on how to participate in the twitter chat are the same as before with the use of hashtag #INSchat of course. The IMHQ team will be compiling questions over the next week, so for any suggestions or specific topics you would like covered, feel free to email to acollins@astonishresults.com.

We hope to see you all there!

Ad spending by insurance providers hit an all time high in 2008, approaching $3.5 billion! While ad spending figures for 2009 are not readily available, the big two of Geico and Progressive combined spent close to $1.9 Billion in 2008, roughly the GDP of a small country.

 2008 Ad Spending By The Numbers:

Geico – $622.7 million – Adweek.com

Progressive – $470.4 million: Adage.com

 Ad spending is a part of any solid insurance marketing plan. It’s a necessary (and costly) line item that requires creative resources and well-conceived strategy to be successful, especially in a Goliath versus Goliath battlefield. Nielsen makes a case for why so much is spent (especially on TV) with a report issued earlier last year. Nielsen IAG reports:

 When asked about their own banks, insurance companies and investment firms, 55% of respondents who said they had seen more advertising for their financial institution reported having “complete confidence” in the financial health and soundness of their company and only 18% said they had “little or no confidence” in their company. However, among those who said they had seen less advertising, only 18% had “complete confidence” in their financial company and 45% said they had “little or no confidence” in their company.

Richard Khaleel, EVP of Nielsen IAG’s Financial practice explains the figures

 “This research shows that ‘out of sight’ can mean ‘out of business. The current economic climate makes it more important than ever for financial institutions to bolster confidence among their clients and this study clearly demonstrates the link between advertising and confidence levels.”

 Mr. Khaleel draws a clear line between “advertising” and “confidence levels,” but what are we really learning about our insurance providers from the commercials we see on TV? If you consider, both basically promise the same thing:

 So who’s telling the truth?

 More importantly, if the insurance providers are spending so many billions just to retain customers and develop the next reptilian, prehistoric or perplexingly sexy fauxsperson, something is being sacrificed. Considering the amount Americans pay for their insurance and the state of the economy you’d think insurers would want to scale back or reallocate some of those dollars into more tangible projects, say reducing premiums/deductibles, customer service or technology infrastructure.

Fortunately for agents, the Internet is an equalizer and the heaps of money Geico and Progressive are spending to drive people to their websites can be leveraged by creating an effective online presence and strategy. While independents will never compete with the ad spending of insurance Goliaths, the social web, insurance marketing programs and a customer-driven business model are a prescription for long-term growth. Furthermore, agents have an inherent advantage because customers are retained when they are serviced with personalized policy and claims support, not entertaining ad campaigns.

I love talking lizards as much as the next couch potato. But spending hundreds of millions of dollars to reiterate the same value propositions as the competition and convince existing clients of viability? The time is coming when “confidence levels” will have more to do with efficient and helpful insurance support and less to do with slick, saturated ad campaigns.

Viewed by some as lunatics who needlessly put their bodies in harm’s way for a thrill, realistically, storm and tornado chasers provide valuable, ground level data about the force and course of devastating storms. Information is relayed to a radio or weather update station and the public is warned, possibly saving lives.

Tornado chasing doesn’t pay well (at all?) and is more like a skydiving-type hobby, but anyone willing to confront a column of wind and debris swirling at hundreds of miles an hour would be wise to insure their body and car. Beyond insurance coverage, a customer like the storm chaser requires a local insurance agent who understands the perils of their hobby and the effect the storm has on the local community. 

An independent agents can explain liability and what’s at stake for the individuals auto, life and health should the worst occur.  Storm chasers are an extreme example but any profession or hobby that puts a person and their property in danger requires considerations when it comes to choosing insurance.

Marketing in 2010 is a bit like eating at a Las Vegas buffet. So many options to gorge yourself on: direct mail fliers, email campaigns, banner ads, airplane banners, billboards, product placement, guerilla marketing and good old-fashioned newspaper ads. However, only relics can deny that we live in a digital age.  What may have worked ten years ago IS not working anymore and it’s hard to change your ways. Who likes change, right?

Back in the olden days, the Yellow Pages were king and the rest of us were just humble dominions living within its kingdom. If you weren’t in the Yellow Pages, your business was virtually unknown. Search engine experts were actually predicting its demise as long ago as 2007. 

The simple question then becomes, where do people go to find information today? The overwhelming answer is search engines. Google is the number one most visited website in the world, and more than likely, the way your potential customers are going to find you (along with Yahoo, MSN and Bing).

8 out of 10 insurance leads search for insurance on the internet before they make a purchase. So the question you need to ask is, will clients find you? And if they do find you; will your website convince them to contact you?

If you’re unsure of the answer to those questions, you’re not alone. Most independent insurance agents haven’t taken full advantage of the growth opportunity the internet provides. The ones that have are generating insurance leads, writing more policies, making more money and enjoying the evolution of the landscape.

Marketing in the digital age can put independent agents on par with corporate behemoths, provided they have a voice worth hearing and the right tools to be heard. Welcome to Insurance Marketing HQ.