One of the most important things you can do as an insurance sales professional is promote and market yourself. It’s essential to building your brand, enhancing your reputation, and keeping your business going.
So, what are the best things you can do to market yourself? Below are five ideas.
Develop a Unique Selling Proposition
You’re competing against other brokers and agents, so it’s important you develop a Unique Selling (or Sales) Proposition. Take the time to identify what makes you different. How is what you can do for your clients not like what others are doing? Maybe it’s your market niche. Maybe it’s specialty training. Or, perhaps, it’s your past experience or personal interests. If it can help you set yourself apart from your competitors, it could be your USP. Write it down, and use it to market yourself.
Blogging
When you guest-blog on authoritative websites, you enhance your reputation by borrowing credibility from those sites. That can help you generate buzz about you and your agency, which can help drive new traffic to your site – and aid you in generating even more sales leads.
You’ll also want to blog on your own site. Share information about your posts with your local media, too. Depending on your market, the local TV, radio, or newspaper may be looking for an insurance authority to contribute a story or a quote to a piece on health insurance, private exchanges, or a related topic. This can help you spotlight your expertise and build credibility locally.
Website Optimization
It’s a big word – optimization – and it can make a big difference in your online success if you optimize your website by following a few key tips.
1) ABC
Always be current. Make sure your site is up to date. Your credibility is on the line, so don’t risk turning away prospects or current customers with outdated quoting tools or “old” info. Review your site regularly to ensure everything is accurate and current.
2) SEO
Make sure prospects and clients can find your website with Search Engine Optimization. Do a Google search on the topic and you’ll find a wealth of guidance on the topic.
3) Design and Write for Your Reader
If your target market is seniors, write and design your site with them in mind. (Use a larger font, for example.) If you’re targeting businesses, select work-related images and always be professional in your tone.
Social Media
Almost regardless of your target market, social media is important. It’s even more important if you want to reach Millennials and Generation Xers. Facebook and Twitter are full of prospects. Develop the right mix of relationship building with promotional content, but don’t be too pushy or you risk losing followers.
Ongoing Communications
You may want to consider the implementation of a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) program to strengthen your ongoing communications with your prospects and clients. A powerful CRM can help you turn up the heat on cold prospects, improve your relations with current customers, and enhance your ongoing retention and referral efforts.
There are many ways you can promote yourself without spending a lot of added money. (And there are a lot more ways if you have the money to spend.) The most important step is to get out there and get started. Take some action. The more consistent your approach to marketing, the more likely you’ll see results.
