Whether it’s the beginning of your career as an independent insurance agent, a relocation, or it’s just time to increase your book of business, it can be difficult to find new clients who need your services. The key to finding new clients is maximizing your expertise, network, and social skills. With that in mind, here are a few of our favorite ways to find new clients.
Find Your Niche
One of the best ways to demonstrate your unique value to prospective clients is by defining a niche. This could mean that you work with a certain industry or specific area within your field. When you define a niche, you are saying you have a specialty in a particular type of insurance. Clients who need your specific niche services will then search you out.
Network in Your Community
While networking with other insurance agents is a good practice, consider widening your circle. Think about who your ideal client is and go where they go—golf courses, school board meetings, and charitable events are a few places to start. Go to local trade shows specializing in your niche market and participate in panels whenever you can. Be a memorable presence in the community and your client tally will grow.
Partnerships
Strike up a partnership with other businesses or key influencers. You can either pay them a commission or offer a little quid pro quo. A word to the wise: only partner with businesses and people with a good reputation and who work with your ideal demographic. By working with like-client partners, you spend less time screening clients and overcoming objections. Offer to give partners business cards or to add a partner link from their website to yours.
Create Content that Engages
You have to do more than cold call and pitch to get quality clients. Try a few new techniques to both bolster your expert status and keep prospects thinking about you. Create a reason a prospect will need to give you his or her email before they get a quote for services. Use their email as a way to stay in touch with prospects after you provide a quote. While many insurance agents lament the inevitable pitch-and-forget method they are usually stuck in, you can re-engage prospects with thoughtful content you send in email updates.
Write blogs that demonstrate your experience. Hold webinars specific to the kind of insurance you provide that infuses humor and fun into what can often be a less-than-exciting topic. Create short videos that explain how a policy works. Share this specially curated content with clients and on your social media platforms. Your prospects will see it and remember you. Your demonstrated expertise will make them feel good about doing business with you. And let’s not forget, you’ll be attracting other leads on social media as a bonus!
New client acquisition is something agents are doing most of the time. Not only will these tips help you find new clients, but they also offer some built-in professional development opportunities. You won’t just get new clients; you’ll also be at the top of your professional game.
