I am in the process of starting an independent health insurance agency here in Maryland and I would love some help on a few topics.
Specifically, I would like to hear how some of you have put together your marketing plans and how you track your efforts.
The bulk of my future will will be based off a B2B/Telemarketing strategy in select counties. I am experiencing trouble devising a system that allows me to track my marketing efforts. I know where I want to do business, I just do not know how to keep track of it all.
Do you narrow down your marketing efforts to counties, zip codes, streets, occupation, etc.? I have thought about narrowing things down to specific zip codes and focus on one specific zip code at a time until I get through all of the small business owners, via B2B and telemarketing. Then I could track the biz owners using some type of CRM software like contstantcontact.com to stay in touch with prospective clients that were not ready or able to buy when I first made contact.
I am in the process of starting an independent health insurance agency here in Maryland and I would love some help on a few topics.
Specifically, I would like to hear how some of you have put together your marketing plans and how you track your efforts.
The bulk of my future will will be based off a B2B/Telemarketing strategy in select counties. I am experiencing trouble devising a system that allows me to track my marketing efforts. I know where I want to do business, I just do not know how to keep track of it all.
Do you narrow down your marketing efforts to counties, zip codes, streets, occupation, etc.? I have thought about narrowing things down to specific zip codes and focus on one specific zip code at a time until I get through all of the small business owners, via B2B and telemarketing. Then I could track the biz owners using some type of CRM software like contstantcontact.com to stay in touch with prospective clients that were not ready or able to buy when I first made contact.
I appreciate your time.
-J.R.
Send John Petrowski an email. He is a member of this forum and does exactly what your looking to do. He is informed, experienced and helpful.
Are you looking to start selling, yourself, or do you already sell, and you are looking to start up an agency with writing agents?
I am looking to sell for myself with my agency. Later on down the road I might look to add writing agents, but I am content with my own production for now.
I know what counties and cities I want to cover, I am just having a hard time coming up with a system that allows me to spend my time effectively. I already have a system in place to track my progress and production.
As I stated above, I am focusing strictly on B2B and telemarketing. My thought are to divide up the information that I get between the marketing ideas. However, I don't how how to organize everything so I can keep track of what areas I have called and/or visited, as well as future areas. Some agents I know call potential clients first and then stop by if they cannot get an appointment. I think using alternative zip codes is a good place to start (i.e., B2B in one zip code, while I telemarket a nearby area I have chosen). I am always open to suggestions from the pros though.
It is a lot easier to use alternates when calling then when going b2b. Any calling list you have will detail the zips, but if you just go driving, it won't be as easy. In any case, the best advice I can give you is that you should just start calling and driving, with no tracking system. You should be so lucky as to have overlap!
I'm new and doing the same (in the Sacramento, CA area) as the OP.
I use the GoLeads system and have downloaded all businesses in my zip code that have from 1 to 9 employees and have started there with calling. Many of these will be home-based businesses and are good prospects for health coverage. I think there were about 1600 of them (it's a suburban zip area.) I've had good luck getting leads with telemarketing. Maybe I will not do the B2B.
As for B2B I plan to go to small strip malls and walk into any storefront that is not part of a large chain (i.e. Wal-Mart, McDonalds... most fast food places here are owned by large corporations that own more than one... no longer a mom/pop biz.)
What I wonder about, and have not done, is going into an office building and going office to office.... or maybe going very early in the morning or after 5:30 in the evening and just leaving a flyer under the door or using a doorhanger. Any ideas anyone?
BTW, if any of you use Macs and want to use the $10/month GoLeads system that requires a proprietary Windows-only CRM program, it runs great under Parallels with XP.
Boy I wouldn't use telemarketing on the front end. That's going to be extremely laborious.
What I would do is segment your list by products, income, age or whatever key variable you plan on using to niche your market. Secondly, I would either mail or email to this group offering a free report or video series that focuses on the problems and issues that people have around this particular niche. Naturally they have to go to your micro-website in order to get the information which requires them to opt-in.
By setting up your marketing in this manner you now have a group of prospects who have "raised their hands" and expressed interest in what you offer. That's the group that you want to follow up with on the phone.
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