How do I generate health insurance leads? What types of health insurance leads produce the best results? How can I build an ongoing supply of new quality health leads?

My goal in this section is to help you, the new health agent, learn about the many health insurance lead types, how they are generated, and how you can make the most efficient use of your marketing dollars by generating your own health insurance leads.

You need at least three leads generation sources to build a sustainable and reliable income. The reason for this is that you can not rely on only one or two sources to give you enough potential customers.

This is the marketing phase of your income generation process. Health insurance sales is not a complicated process, but you have to understand that is primarily a numbers game.

How this works mathematically is as follows:

Leads worked=>appointments set=>sales made=advance$

The more leads you work, the more appointments you set, the more sales you will make.

To make sure you are making money use this formula:

$spent on leads & lead generation +

$spent on running appointments -

$made on advances = profit or loss

So the first step is finding out how to generate leads while maintaining and increasing your profit level.

When approaching health insurance lead generation, a well rounded approach is the best solution to grow your business. Do not make the mistake of putting all of your eggs in one basket.

There are four basic types of health insurance lead generation that you will need to use in order to be successful in your efforts. Just like a chair or table needs four legs to support weight, these four types will work to support your business. Keep in mind that if one of these legs are absent the table will fall.

Lets explore these four health insurance lead generation types:

Cold Calling

Quote Request Leads

Personally Generated Leads

Referrals

Study each one and find a mix that works best for you.

This method of health insurance lead generation is the least expensive, but the most work intensive, and is a good supplemental start if you have a limited start up budget as a new health agent.

Just  randomly calling people out of a phone book is not a good idea because you run a risk of violating the do not call list rules.

I suggest two types of cold calls for health insurance leads:

Small Business Targeting

Many small businesses owners and employees are on their own to provide health insurance and this is rapidly becoming a greater need nationwide.  Focus on targeting businesses that have people working for themselves (just like yourself).

Some good suggestions are real estate agencies, mechanics, hair salons, contractors, landscapers, and any type of mom and pop type establishment such as boutique stores, diners, gas stations, etc.

Another thing to think about when doing prospecting with this group is that they have a much higher rate of becoming long term clients and a great source of referrals because you offered them a solution that they were not actively shopping for.  Many of these clients are people who would never request an online quote.

Targeted Telemarketing Lists

These lists are generally inexpensive to rent and are scrubbed against the do not call lists.  In addition you can specify certain demographics such as age range, income level, zip codes, etc.  To buy these lists you will be required to register with the national do not call registry as a telemarketer.

Remember, these people are not expecting your call so they may be busy or not interested.  Always treat them with respect and be friendly when calling…

This type of health insurance leads are the most expensive but the easiest to work because the prospect is actively shopping and looking to buy health insurance.

Although many of these prospects are price shopping, you will also find a lot of these prospects needing to get some type of health product due to changes in circumstances such as financial, employment situation or health condition.  This creates a sense of urgency for your client.

Remember, your insurance carrier has a product for most every income level and health condition so do not disqualify anyone or you will be leaving money on the table for your competitors and will have wasted money on the lead itself.

There are several types of health insurance quote request leads to consider:

Exclusive Leads

You are the only agent calling this prospect.  These health insurance leads tend to be very expensive but also very effective.  As a new agent we suggest waiting until you become consistent with your sales presentation before investing in these.

Filtered Leads

These health insurance leads are usually less expensive option than exclusive but have some added expense  over shared because of added filters to target a specific demographic.  These can be extremely effective if you feel that you can relate better to a specific group of prospects and therefore stand out from your competition.  These can actually cut down on overall cost because it will limit the amount of leads a service provides.

Shared Leads

A mid cost option, these are sold to other health insurance agents so competition can be intense.  You will also receive more of these more quickly and have to work them quickly to stand out from your competition.

Dated or B-Leads

These leads are very cheap and can be very effective for several reasons.

1. The prospect was never contacted.

2. The prospect did not buy the first time

3. The prospect did buy but made a poor choice.

Uninsurables

These health insurance leads are extremely cheap and are considered a waste of time by many agents, but this is the group most in need of immediate help.  A discount plan or rx plan doesn’t sound like much but remember that these prospects need any type of help they can get and usually needed it yesterday.

Note:  Some of these lead companies generate leads from affiliate sites that have nothing to do with health insurance.  If you happen to purchanse health insurance leads from such a company you will be able to tell pretty quickly when you get comments such as:

“I was just trying to get a free x-box on the internet and now everyone is calling me..”

If you get leads like that you should drop that health insurance lead company quickly.  You will also find that lead companies that get their leads like that re-sell the leads over and over again.

This type of health insurance lead generation typically generates a higher quality of leads, but in many cases takes more time and effort. Most of the time this extra effort will pay off in a much higher appointment count and a more stable health insurance sales business.

Advertising Ideas

Newspaper and yellow-pages ads - Potentially very expensive due to need for constant exposure. Suggest new agents look into classified ads especially free online classified such as craigslist

Pole Signs - Very Effective, just be sure to know local ordinances regulating these signs.

Car Magnets - Will generate random leads and start conversations at the gas station or store parking lot.

Take ones and Fliers - Somewhat effective but a good method for walking and talking.  Inexpensive.

Walk and Talk

Randomly drop by small business and introduce yourself.  Don’t try to set an appointment at that time but rather leave them business cards, take-ones or a flier, and ask if you could call them sometime to talk about their health insurance needs.

Keep it short when doing this because these health insurance prospects tend to be very busy.

Direct mail

This is medium range in cost but it does allow you to cast a wide net and reach health insurance prospects who could not be reached any other way.  The leads generated are high quality because the prospect has made the effort of filling out a card and sending it back which demonstrates a willingness to buy.

I would suggest trying several of these out to find which works best for you.

Referrals are the single most important leg of the table.  Getting health insurance referrals is extremely important in growing your business to where you want it to be.  These health insurance leads are usually referred to as lay-downs because you have previously established a relationship of trust with someone the prospect trusts.And here is the best part: They are totally Free!

Referrals from existing health insurance clients

Many new agents know to ask for referrals at the end of a sale, but that is one of the last contacts they ever have with a customer.  Never make this mistake!

Always do the following and you will get your health insurance referral business going great.

1. Always send a thank you card to every person you have an appointment with even if you don’t make a sale.

2. Keep a list of client birthdays and send them a birthday card yearly, also Christmas cards.  Enclose business card.

3.  Send them a mailing at least quarterly.  This could be a newsletter, useful info, or personal note.  Always enclose a referral sheet and self adressed stamped envelope.

4.  At every health insurance appointment leave business cards and a refrigerator magnet.  “It is easy to loose a business card but hard to loose a refrigerator”-RM

BNI-Networking

You should seriously consider joining a BNI networking group. These allow you to make business contacts across a broad range of businesses and can lead to many good referrals.