Connecting Clients With One Another

If you read this blog often enough, you know I’ve been targeting a lot of auto repair shops lately.  Well, a few days ago, I was talking with a new potential client who mentioned to me that the garage he currently rents out is getting way too expensive for him.  I happened to remember a client I signed a few weeks back mentioning that he wanted to rent out one of his beys so he could retire sooner.  So I put the two of them in touch and, long story short, the new guy ended up leaving his current garage and renting out the bey of my client at a more reasonable price.  And because of my actions, I ended up not only making my current client happy, but I made a connection for the new guy that allowed him to save money every month and, of course, he now insures through me.  Both clients have already told me they have a few business owner friends they’d like for me to meet to insure them as well.  I’d say this was a win-win-win situation!

My point is, if you have the opportunity to help out a client or two, do it!  Expect nothing more than knowing you went above and beyond for these clients who will remember that in the future when they are talking with their business owner friends.  I have no doubt they will recommend you!  And, if they don’t?  No worries, you can still sleep at night knowing you did a good thing for someone else.

Although you may not always come across a situation like I had where it would be easy to see the connection, you can be prepared in case an opportunity comes along.  Make sure you keep a list of reputable professional contacts (handyman, plumber, electrician, real estate agent, etc – preferably those that are already your clients) so that when a client mentions a certain need, you can open your file and recommend a great person to help them out.  And, on the flip side, request to be recommended from these people as well if and when they come across someone in need of insurance.

Your turn.  Have you had a similar situation where you were able to help out a client or potential client in a way you didn’t expect?  How did it work out?

Melissa Ash/NJ’s Business Insurance Lady Irwin Edelstein Associates, Inc. Tel: 732-549-1800 | 732-317-1979 http://www.njbusinessinsurancelady.com

Get Clients to Advertise For You

As a business insurance agent, I’ve been writing a lot of auto repair shops lately.  And, one thing I’ve noticed about all of these shops, is the abundance of posters and banners in their waiting area.   Posters advertising the brand of tires they sell, posters listing state maintenance requirements and posters stating what the shop isn’t responsible for, among other things.

Looking around at all these posters gave me an idea.  If these business owners are willing to hang all of these posters around their waiting area, why wouldn’t they hang an insurance poster?  I think next time I sign a client, I’ll ask him or her to hang a small poster or banner stating, “New Jersey’s Business Insurance Lady Protects Us!” or something to that effect and see what happens.  The worst that could happen is the business owner says no, in which case, I’ll take my poster to the next client.  If the business owner says yes, maybe other business owners will see it and question my client about my customer service, coverage and prices and I could get a few additional clients out of it.  You never know until you try!

Here’s a look at the poster I created through Your Life In Print for this purpose:

Here’s to thinking outside the box!

Your turn:  Do you do something similar to attract new clients?  What is it and how has it worked for you?

Melissa Ash/NJ’s Business Insurance Lady Irwin Edelstein Associates, Inc. Tel: 732-549-1800 | 732-317-1979 http://www.njbusinessinsurancelady.com

 

 

Cold Calling Like A Pro

Ahh, the dreaded cold calling post!  But, since we all need to do it (at least in the beginning of our career), I might as well post about it and, hopefully, get some good feedback from all of you.

In my opinion, cold calling is an art.  Don’t get me wrong, everyone can pick up a phone, dial a number and spit out a script but the art of it comes in being able to sell.  Whether you are selling your product, your company or just an appointment, it’s important to have a plan before you start.

Before you pick up the phone, you’ll need a few things prepared ahead of time (and this list may seem obvious but bear with me):

• A targeted list
• A reason why you are calling
• A basic script
• A way to track your calling success/failures

Let’s break these down a little more:

• A targeted list:  Who are you calling?  Will you focus on restaurants today or contractors?  Are you taking numbers right from the phone book or have you discovered a way to narrow the list down to only include those who are paying out the premium range you are looking for?  Knowing these answers will help you go from one call to the next seamlessly since there will be no floundering between calls.
• A reason why you are calling:  Are you calling to give a quote over the phone, get the expiration date of their current policy or set an appointment with you?  Keep in mind, most people will only stay on the phone with you for a few minutes (if that) so you will want to get your question answered as quickly as possible.
• A basic script:  I’m a big fan of not using a script at all because the last thing you want is to sound like you are reading something word for word.  But, having a general script in front of you, to remind you of your goal with the call, is a great way to have a little bit of a safety net, just in case.  Be prepared, however, to be interrupted by the person you are calling who may have questions to ask you.  You certainly don’t want to be so stuck on that one script that you can’t break loose to answer a question.
• A way to track your cold calling successes and failures:  I keep a piece of scrap paper on my desk next to the phone with these categories – leads, call boss back, x-date, rejection, no answer, total calls.  Then, as I make each call, I put a small line next to the appropriate category.  This helps me keep track of how many calls I need to hit my goals.  It also helps me come up with ways to overcome any rejections since next to the rejections line, I list why I was rejected (my cousin does my insurance, I’m happy with my current company, etc).  I also have an excel file for leads, call boss back, x-date and call ratios.  Each excel sheet is updated appropriately at the end of each call.  At this point, I have 35 leads (those who want to get a quote now), 23 call boss back (with boss’s name), and 80 x-dates (all organized by month I need to call them back).  These are all potential customers and what I call cold calling success!

Since this is a post about cold calling, I should also address cold calling reluctance.  I hear over and over again that agents hate cold calling and dread picking up the phone to do it.  What I say to them is, “What is the worst that could happen?”  You may get hung up on, yelled at or just told no thank you.  But, these people will NEVER be able to jump through the phone and wring your neck!  So, who cares?  Just start dialing and the rest will fall into place!

Here are a few tips for getting over your reluctance (and/or your potentially robotic, monotonous tone):

• Smile while you dial.  The person on the other end really can hear a difference in your voice.
• Stand up while you talk.  You will sound more confident and your words will flow easier.

There are many other factors to consider as well when cold calling.  When is the best time of day to call?  How many hours should I be calling?  Where do I get leads?  What are some examples of scripts?

These are all valid questions and are ones I will address in tomorrow’s post.  For now, it’s your turn.  Have I forgotten anything on my ‘be prepared to cold call’ list?  Feel free to share with us all so we can learn from each other.

If you have any ideas or requests for future posts, please feel free to email me at melissa@njbusinessinsurancelady.com

Melissa Ash

New Jersey’s Business Insurance Lady

www.njbusinessinsurancelady.com

Stand Out From The Rest

It seems as though every time I talk about marketing ideas with veteran business insurance agents, I’m told there really isn’t much you can do other than cold calling, walking into businesses and gaining referrals but I’m not convinced!  And I assume that since you read this blog, you are not convinced either.

While those three things definitely need to be a huge part of your marketing strategy, I truly believe there is more we can do to stand out. My goal is not to be known as every other insurance agent who has called or stopped by.  I want clients and potential clients to remember me.  To want to stay with me because they feel they know me.  And to refer me to others not only because I can do a great job for them, but because I’m not the same as every other agent they’ve ever come across.

So how do we do become memorable? Think about the most memorable and successful businesses in this world.  They all have a hook related to what they do, right?  When you think about a junk removal company, you aren’t thinking about the little known truck down the street.  You are thinking about ‘Got Junk?’.  When you think about researching something online, immediately you think ‘Let’s Google it.’   This is all due to great branding on the business owner‘s part.

That’s why I decided to brand myself as New Jersey‘s Business Insurance Lady!  And while clients may not initially know my real name, they do call and ask to speak to The Business Insurance Lady so my branding efforts seem to be paying off.  Once you’ve decided how you will brand yourself, here are some ways to make sure you become known for your brand:

• Create a website for your brand.  Even if you are a captive agent, you should have your own personal business website dedicated to getting clients to call YOU specifically.  Make sure you market your brand throughout.
• Change your business cards, flyers, postcards, etc. to reflect your brand imaging (cohesive colors, fonts, etc)
• Create a facebook page specifically for your brand.
• Answer the phone with your tag line (Ex:  Thank you for calling New Jersey’s Business Insurance Lady.  How may I help you?)
• Introduce yourself to others with your brand/tag line as the focus.
• Cold call using your tag line.
• Create a blog to supplement your branding and show you off as an expert in your field.
• Make sure your email address reflects your branding as well as your email signature. (For example, instead of Independent Insurance Agent under my name, my signature always has New Jersey’s Business Insurance Lady as my job description and my email address is melissa@njbusinessinsurancelady.com.)

Time to get your creative juices flowing!  How will you brand yourself?  Here are some questions to ask yourself as you are getting started:

• Pick what you want to be known for.  Do you want to write all insurance for auto repair businesses or apartment complexes in your state?
• Create a catchy name or tag line for yourself that creatively describes who you are and what you do.  For example, would anyone need to ask me, New Jersey’s Business Insurance Lady, what I do for a living?

Now get out there and start branding yourself!

Your turn.  Have you done any branding in the past?  What have you found to be successful and unsuccessful?  But, if you are just getting started, please be sure to come back and tell us what your name or tag line is!

If you have any ideas or requests for future posts, please feel free to email me at melissa@njbusinessinsurancelady.com

Melissa Ash

New Jersey’s Business Insurance Lady

www.njbusinessinsurancelady.com

Become An Expert

We all aim to get to the point of being an expert in this field.  We all hope to one day (if you aren’t already), become known in your area for being the go to person for business insurance.  But, the question is, how do we get there?

Of course time spent in this business and knowledge of our products will help us get where we want to go but how do we make it known how knowledgeable we are?  We certainly don’t want to turn everyone off by constantly talking about nothing but insurance since every time we come close to anyone we would just see their ass as they run away!  So, obviously, we need another forum.

In my opinion, free press releases and articles are the way to go!  Even if you are just starting out in this business, you can always just write about what you know.  Have you been focusing on restaurants lately?  Write an article giving insurance tips to restaurant owners.  Does it seem as though you encounter business owners on a daily basis with the same questions?  Answer them in a press release.

Make sure in your article you include an engaging title, an introduction paragraph that will draw in your target audience and, after the body of your article, a conclusion that sums it all up.  While you will not include your contact information within your article, information about you and your business will be displayed when the article is published.  The more articles you write, the more you will be seen as an expert in the field.  And, the hope is, people will begin to come to you for guidance and to buy from you.  Doesn’t everyone prefer to work with an expert as opposed to someone who may not know the details of their business?

Once you’ve written your article, you’ll want it published for the world to see.  Here are a few sites I like to use:

www.prlog.org

www.freepressrelease.com

www.ezine.com

You may also want to look up online and offline magazines and newspapers who target the audience you are writing to and see if you can submit your work for free to them as well.

Here are a few articles I’ve written myself:

http://prlog.org/11812278

http://prlog.org/11797583

Your turn.  How do you think writing articles and press releases will help your business?  And, of course, please feel free to add a link to your article so we can check it out!

If you have any ideas or requests for future posts, please feel free to email me at melissa@njbusinessinsurancelady.com

Melissa Ash

New Jersey’s Business Insurance Lady

http://www.njbusinessinsurancelady.com

Beyond the phone book…

As I’m driving around to clients or taking my family to the park, I always notice service vehicles and lawn signs of businesses (usually service businesses) and want to take down their information so I can cold call them.  As much as I’d love to stop every few minutes, interrupt my family time and visit each and every one of these businesses, I can’t. Nor is it safe to try and write down the info while I’m driving with me knee.

Instead, I pulled out my trusty old mini tape recorder and began recording every business I see that I want to contact when I’m back in the office.  The tape recorder remains with me at all times and any time I’m sitting at a traffic light next to an HVAC (or any other type of service for that matter) vehicle, I turn on my recorder and tell it the name of the company, phone number, what type of company it is and that there is a service vehicle as well (so I know to offer commercial auto).  Also, anytime I see lawn signs or billboards with companies I’d like to quote, I do the same thing.  Pull out my recorder and tape any and all info I can gather from the billboard or lawn sign.

Does this generate more leads for me?  Absolutely!  I’ve gotten quite a few new clients using this method and even though my family gets a bit annoyed every time I pull out my recorder (because that means the kids need to be quiet for a minute), I’m sure they’ll enjoy eating again next month from the money I make off my tape recorder.

So, pull out your mini tape recorder and start finding businesses to contact not listed in the phone book!

Your turn.  What other methods have you used to find businesses to contact who aren’t in the phone book?

If you have any ideas or requests for future posts, please feel free to email me at melissa@njbusinessinsurancelady.com

Melissa Ash

New Jersey’s Business Insurance Lady

www.njbusinessinsurancelady.com