Insurance Agent Forum

[MattyB]

Does any one have any numbers on their avg contact ratio of shared vs. exclusive internet health leads?

[MikeLevy]

Originally Posted by MattyB

Does any one have any numbers on their avg contact ratio of shared vs. exclusive internet health leads?

Make sure that any data you get also has some indication as to who the lead came from. There is a big difference in how many times a lead is shared depending on the lead company.

I can tell you this, you are always competing against someone even if you buy them exclusively. People shop. They rarely take one persons word for it when they don't already know that person. The average number of agents they will get a quote from is 3. Therefore, if you buy an exclusive lead they will still go find 2 other people to talk to if the premium is anything more than nominal. Therefore, exclusive leads are rarely worth the extra money you will spend unless it is also call verified or has some sort of additional value added into it.

However, there is definitely such a thing as buying a lead that went to too many agents, especially if that lead was bought from another lead generator by the lead generator you are buying from. That happens a lot in this industry. Not all lead companies manage that process well. You need to always ask your lead provider just how many other agents the lead is going to and get other assurances that you are getting what you paid for.

[TXINSURANCE]

Mike is right on, very good points.

I have phone stats for many years and without breaking down complex numbers, the short answer is contact rate is not that far off.

People do not answer their phones, get used to it. In the cell phone age this has compounded the issue.

Contact rates can go up when your lead vendor gives you TWO numbers. Remember a lot of these leads are people at work giving you their home number or vice versa.

If you want to improve contact, this can largely be a process issue.

[healthagent]

Dunno - I'm seeing agents closing 1 out of 6 exclusive at around $15 a pop as opposed to 1 out of 15 shared at around $7 a pop.

Almost the exact same cost to gain a client however half the work on exclusive. Just thought I'd share.

As for working shared - you need some volume. If you're going to work volume you're either going to commit to calling twice a day for at least three days - minimum.

Most agents simply don't call enough. For working shared either use LeadPod or import your leads into an auto-dialer.

Also, never put more than $100 down for any lead source and make sure there's no commitment. If the quality's not there at least your money's not tied up.

[CHUMPS FROM OXFORD]

And...read what others say about lead companies. opinions will vary, but often you'll see a consensus. Also...google the name of the lead company with "complaint" behind it.

The general consensus seems to be that ASAP, VIMO and Leadco are OK.

PZ shared, MostChoice and NQ are ones to stay away from.

But make your own decisions and do a lot of research.

[loudee]

I have a very high contact rate with ASAP shared leads. Good quality too.

Lou

[healthagent]

ASAP is one of the crowd favorites with my members.

[moonlightandmargaritas]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: closing ratio, contact ratio, fart ratio - all meaningless!

Unless you're in it for purely altruistic reasons, that is.

There's only one stat that matters, your return on investment. How much did you make versus how much did you spend.

[Tina]

Originally Posted by moonlightandmargaritas

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: closing ratio, contact ratio, fart ratio - all meaningless!

Unless you're in it for purely altruistic reasons, that is.

There's only one stat that matters, your return on investment. How much did you make versus how much did you spend.

Aren't closing ratio and contact ratio built into ROI though? They're indicators of where/what changes need to be made to increases ROI.

From a mathematical standpoint, if your contact ratio is zero, your ROI will automatically be zero, if your closing ratio is zero, your ROI will automatically be 0. If you only know that your ROI is zero, you don't know where the problem is. Knowing you have a low contact ratio, but you close most of the people you do contact, means your lead source sucks, you need to do something different for advertising, etc... If you have a high contact ratio but don't close anything, the problem is either you or the product.

I don't know about fart ratio though....that might mean you need to cut down on the bean intake

[somarco]

closing ratio, contact ratio, fart ratio - all meaningless!

I have never bothered to calculate my fart ratio.

But then, I never saw a need to.

My wife might have a different opinion.

Aren't closing ratio and contact ratio built into ROI though?

No.

They're indicators of where/what changes need to be made to increases ROI.

Totally irrelevant.

It doesn't matter if you close 1:15 or 1:3. The only relevant figure is how much do you spend on leads to get a new client.

[healthagent]

Exactly - so if it costs $100 in exclusive leads to gain a client and $100 in shared lead - why would anyone want to go through the extra work involved with shared leads?

We now recommend 5 exclusive sources - pretty much don't even bother with recommending shared unless they are very inexpensive - then recommending only using them with a dialer or leadpod.

People ask me for stats - I don't have 'em. The stats I do have are this; with around 90% certainty the agents who only start out working shared leads fail. The agents who start out working exclusive experience far greater success. In fact, when member tell me "I'm just going to work shared" what I'm thinking is "don't lose your Monster resume."

That there are "no such things" as exclusive leads is false. A certain percentage of people will hit multiple sites - however, around 20% or so making 80% of your leads truly exclusive.

It's also false that prospects will still shop you until they speak to multiple agents. Prospects would rather walk on broken glass than speak to several agents.

What they want is ONE agent they can trust. If you don't or can't build trust then yes, they'll be off to speak to more agents.

[moonlightandmargaritas]

Originally Posted by Tina

Aren't closing ratio and contact ratio built into ROI though? They're indicators of where/what changes need to be made to increases ROI.

Agent A and Agent B each purchase 10 leads for $10 each, for a total cost of $100. They are selling a product with fyc of 20%.

Our friend Agent A makes contact with 5 (50% "contact ratio"), and "closes" 3 (30% "close ratio"), with the following annual premiums; $1,400, $2,800, and $3,600.

He puts $1,560 in his pocket (not bad). His return on investment is 15.6 to 1.

Agent B, like me, is a little lazier. He only gets ahold of 4 (40% "contact ratio"), and only closes 2 (20% "closing ratio"), with annual premiums of $3,800 and $5,850.

He puts $1,930 in his pocket. His ROI is 19.3 to 1.

Agent A has a 25% higher "contact ratio" (50 vs. 40%).
Agent A has a 50% higher "closing ratio" (30 vs. 20%).

But Agent B has a 23.7% higher ROI, and puts $370 more in his pocket that Agent A.

So just how important are "contact and close" ratios? Not very, unless you work pro bono...

[TXINSURANCE]

Buy shared, load them into a dialer and call it a day.

Exclusive is for those who do not want to work. :-)

Joke...

[moonlightandmargaritas]

Originally Posted by healthagent

What they want is ONE agent they can trust. If you don't or can't build trust then yes, they'll be off to speak to more agents.

Boy isn't that the truth!

I had an internet lead this past week, guy just moved to Florida from up north (common scenario).

High net worth guy, sold a company and retired at 42. Biggest priority now is his tennis game...

We had two conversations. I never gave him a quote. After the second one, he e-mailed me every single "proposal" he received, to get my "opinion".

The app was finished, and issued, this morning.

[healthagent]

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Originally Posted by moonlightandmargaritas

Boy isn't that the truth!

I had an internet lead this past week, guy just moved to Florida from up north (common scenario).

High net worth guy, sold a company and retired at 42. Biggest priority now is his tennis game...

We had two conversations. I never gave him a quote. After the second one, he e-mailed me every single "proposal" he received, to get my "opinion".

The app was finished, and issued, this morning.

All true.

I cannot tell you how many conversations I have with prospects who when I speak with later actually laugh about the other agents who called.

What do they say? "Thanks, but I'm already working with someone - bah bye."

That prospects want to speak with more than one agent is the most untrue statement I've heard in a while.

[robliano]

Y'all know I'm in total agreement here. Speaking to several agents is like pulling teeth, with a pliers and zero Novocaine!!

Originally Posted by healthagent

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All true.

I cannot tell you how many conversations I have with prospects who when I speak with later actually laugh about the other agents who called.

What do they say? "Thanks, but I'm already working with someone - bah bye."

That prospects want to speak with more than one agent is the most untrue statement I've heard in a while.