How Much Does Everyone Spend on Leads$$$

OHInsAGNT · 02-01-2009, 07:23 PM

Originally Posted by russelltw

I am currently ramping up to those numbers. I found that I was losing money for about the first 4-6 months. Then after constantly adjusting the filters, lead providers, incorporating ideas from here; I was able to make a profit. Now I take that profit and plow it back into the leads. I am hoping to get to $1,000 a month with good filters and a good lead provider.

I am current in the $500 to $600 range. All health, but this year will venture in to the life, annuity, homeowners, LTC leads.

You can't make money on homeowner's leads. The commission is to small.
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Usually I spend between $0 and $3,000. It just depends on what my other sources of business generation are producing. I buy leads as a fill in to everything else.
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Originally Posted by OHInsAGNT

You can't make money on homeowner's leads. The commission is to small.
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Usually I spend between $0 and $3,000. It just depends on what my other sources of business generation are producing. I buy leads as a fill in to everything else.

And, I would like to append to my homeowners comment and state that the case may be different if you are in South Florida or somewhere that everyone has flood insurance.

emptyeternity · 02-01-2009, 09:02 PM

I would like B2B cold calling data lists, internet leads, and mailers. But the biggest thing I think people are forgetting on this thread, is what TYPE of lead for what particular type of insurance. Mailers are good for med supp and FE, B2B cold calling is good for health insurance etc.
HOW BOUT
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Oops, sorry about that, as I was saying...
HOW BOUT the gurus or anyone else inconsequential tell us the particular type of lead for the specific TYPE of insurance.
That might clarify something better....

Frank Stastny · 02-01-2009, 09:44 PM

Originally Posted by emptyeternity

Mailers are good for med supp

I think they are the absolute worst.

An agent will spend around $400 for maybe 15 returned cards, over $25 each. I do not consider those "leads".

That is $25 for a name, address and phone number of someone who more often than not has no recollection of having filled out the card.

Everyone who is on Medicare is a prospect because they all believe that they need more than just traditional Medicare.

Med Supps are the easiest of all kinds of insurance to sell. If agents want to make money in the senior market they need to learn to prospect. Purchasing direct mail replies is not prospecting.

emptyeternity · 02-02-2009, 08:38 AM

What would you suggest frank for med supps?? what insurance do you like to sell??

OHInsAGNT · 02-02-2009, 04:45 PM

Originally Posted by ABC

I spend my money on my website.
SEO per month is $600
PPC per month $400

I have to say that I've been keeping this a secret for a while now, but I think it's time I contributed something other than my opinion. I've messed around with a lot of PPC with different search engines, read books, etc. One day, I was playing around, err working, and stumbled on something at Yahoo!

They will actually build your PPC campaign for FREE using their knowledge if you commit to setting your budget for at least $33 a day. There is no commitment or contract, just $33 a day budget minimum. (You can set click bids wherever you want.)

They did an interview with me for about 20 minutes to understand my business. Two days later they showed me the professional campaign tailored to our interview. From the first day I was getting cheaper clicks, and more clicks, than I have from PPC before.

The ads changed automatically to match search terms and display the searcher's own keywords, etc.

If you have a good website, you should try it for a month. They charged for this until recently.

Call Kris at Yahoo! Marketing Solutions 503 615 3842
He is expecting some calls from the forum.

They are on Pacific Time.

It's a lot different when the guys who actually run the search engine set up the campaign.

**I am getting no referral bonus or benefit from this post. Just sharing.

somarco · 02-02-2009, 05:29 PM

How long did you run this campaign?

Was it profitable?

What type of product(s) are you selling?

OHInsAGNT · 02-03-2009, 09:24 PM

Originally Posted by somarco

How long did you run this campaign?

Was it profitable?

What type of product(s) are you selling?

I only use PPC for health insurance, though I do sell for all lines. I just have a better set up for online health.

I think, much like online leads, everyone's experience will probably vary by goegraphy and competition.

If are using PPC now, I feel pretty confident that this will improve your stats. I wouldn't have recommended it if it wasn't a working program for me personally.

nilro · 02-05-2009, 12:33 PM

A bit under 2 grand, all P&C.

CHUMPS FROM OXFORD · 02-05-2009, 02:06 PM

I just spoke to Chris. Nice guy. But I'm not willing to spend $1000 per month at the beginning of the program. Perhaps a big mistake on my part.

OHInsAGNT · 02-05-2009, 02:25 PM

Originally Posted by CHUMPS FROM OXFORD

I just spoke to Chris. Nice guy. But I'm not willing to spend $1000 per month at the beginning of the program. Perhaps a big mistake on my part.

I agree, he is, thus my recommendation. I'm glad you at least called and checked it out.

Third Joker · 02-05-2009, 05:38 PM

I spent several hundred dollars on insureme.com leads early last year. They were all right, and I will probably do it again as time permits.

AgentOrange · 02-05-2009, 07:17 PM

Im getting a lot of free leads from MA carriers Aetna and UA. I pay $6 for a UHC lead.

Merlin · 02-06-2009, 02:37 PM

Originally Posted by Third Joker

I spent several hundred dollars on insureme.com leads early last year. They were all right, and I will probably do it again as time permits.

I liked insureme as well...I also had quite a bit of success with leadco, I was spending around $1000/month, then they just went off the radar....anyone know what happened with them?

russelltw · 02-06-2009, 03:21 PM

I just signed up for leadco and so far have been pretty disappointed. THe quality of the leads have been lacking. I got two where the person listed a friends phone number. One said she mailed something in (she was pretty clueless). Another was a kid who said he was trying to win some money on the internet, sounded like he was 10.

I decided not to renew. I will move on a try someone else.

Merlin · 02-06-2009, 07:30 PM

Originally Posted by russelltw

I just signed up for leadco and so far have been pretty disappointed. THe quality of the leads have been lacking. I got two where the person listed a friends phone number. One said she mailed something in (she was pretty clueless). Another was a kid who said he was trying to win some money on the internet, sounded like he was 10.

I decided not to renew. I will move on a try someone else.

Yeah, you'll have that with any lead provider from time to time...on a side note, the banner ad on your post is mispelled...not real sure if that's your ad or just a paid ad but they spelled insurance wrong

CHUMPS FROM OXFORD · 02-06-2009, 08:07 PM

"I also had quite a bit of success with leadco....anyone know what happened with them?"

After a lull, I have started up with Leadco again.

"Another was a kid who said he was trying to win some money on the internet, sounded like he was 10."

Stacy, LeadCo's owner is an upfront guy. Call him and ask him about that lead.

russelltw · 02-06-2009, 10:03 PM

I called and Stacy did exchange the lead. It's just a matter of the quality I have been getting. The lead manager interface is pretty poor compared to others I have used. It's more like something I would expect to see maybe 5-7 years ago on the internet.

They did respond to the request and have been good about that. I just don't want to get leads where it seems impossible to reach the people or if you do reach them, you can tell they want the best coverage for $10 per month.

I am expecting too much ; ). Seriously, I am finding that lead quality will vary from company to company and state to state. Some people say XYZ is good, while others may feel they are crap. It's just a bunch of trial and error. The best way is to test the landing pages as a prospect and see what you get...if you are bombarded with emails/phone calls, move on to the next lead provider.

CHUMPS FROM OXFORD · 02-06-2009, 10:10 PM

"The best way is to test the landing pages as a prospect and see what you get...if you are bombarded with emails/phone calls, move on to the next lead provider."

Dead on. It also never hurts to ask your lead what words they searched to find the site they used. Or...did they get an email? Did they enter a contest ? Etc...

Spellcheck was used in this post
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WebLeadChecker was used in this post

TheAscent · 02-09-2009, 11:39 AM

You are going to get what you pay for, as the old saying goes...

A serious single premium life/annuity agent generating 5-10% comps should be spending no less that $3000-4000 per month on direct mail leads. Personally I would even suggest more; however, you will want to ramp up slowly and create a system.

Consideration should be taken to determine what you are going to do with these leads...appointments, additional mailing, telemarketing? Our team turns roughly 30% of direct mail respondents into leads and the remaining 70% will receive our kit via mail. This is not cheap, but again it is a matter of getting what you pay for.

healthwriter · 02-09-2009, 11:48 AM

I spend next to nothing on my leads. $100.00 per qtr. Buy data and call for your own appointments. This way you can obtain information and know if you're wasting your time.