How Do You Find & Acquire a Better Class of Customers?

Heather

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100+ Post Club
399
NY
My book is mostly non-standard. Its like a revolving door around here, loose customers, write new customers, loose more customers.

The bulk of my customers are all one paycheck away from financial meltdown. They finance 15 year old Fords from buy here pay heres. Or they own outright a 1995 Honda. The cars break down and end up being junked and they can't afford a new one. Or it gets repossessed. I had to institute a new rule that after I re-write your policy 3 times if it cancels again for non- pay we don't want you. Referrals are our bread and butter around here but when your clients are poor so are their referrals. We spend so much time servicing and doing collection work it is crazy. My commercial accounts are not much better either and really small like $500-800 year premiums.

How do you get the married middle class homeowners with two cars and the responsible people who pay for their insurance before upgrading to the new iPhone 6?
 
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Re: How Do Yu Find & Aquire a Better Class of Customers?

How do people typically find you?
How are only low income people contacting you? Do you think it is the area?

Could you be more aggressive with marketing, targeting higher income area?
 
Re: How Do Yu Find & Aquire a Better Class of Customers?

Mortgage professionals, realtors, financial advisers.
 
Re: How Do Yu Find & Aquire a Better Class of Customers?

My book is mostly non-standard. Its like a revolving door around here, loose customers, write new customers, loose more customers.

The bulk of my customers are all one paycheck away from financial meltdown. They finance 15 year old Fords from buy here pay heres. Or they own outright a 1995 Honda. The cars break down and end up being junked and they can't afford a new one. Or it gets repossessed. I had to institute a new rule that after I re-write your policy 3 times if it cancels again for non- pay we don't want you. Referrals are our bread and butter around here but when your clients are poor so are their referrals. We spend so much time servicing and doing collection work it is crazy. My commercial accounts are not much better either and really small like $500-800 year premiums.

How do you get the married middle class homeowners with two cars and the responsible people who pay for their insurance before upgrading to the new iPhone 6?


Sounds like you're cross selling with FE. :laugh:
 
Re: How Do Yu Find & Aquire a Better Class of Customers?

Start tracking where your current leads are coming from.

Hit the streets and network with business that attract the type of customer you are looking for. We work with mortgage brokers, high end apartment complexes, realtors, ...It takes time but is worth it.
 
Re: How Do Yu Find & Aquire a Better Class of Customers?

My book is mostly non-standard. Its like a revolving door around here, loose customers, write new customers, loose more customers.

The bulk of my customers are all one paycheck away from financial meltdown. They finance 15 year old Fords from buy here pay heres. Or they own outright a 1995 Honda. The cars break down and end up being junked and they can't afford a new one. Or it gets repossessed. I had to institute a new rule that after I re-write your policy 3 times if it cancels again for non- pay we don't want you. Referrals are our bread and butter around here but when your clients are poor so are their referrals. We spend so much time servicing and doing collection work it is crazy. My commercial accounts are not much better either and really small like $500-800 year premiums.

How do you get the married middle class homeowners with two cars and the responsible people who pay for their insurance before upgrading to the new iPhone 6?

hahaha, that was pretty funny.

Do you have preferred markets? Usually that dictates what kind of business you write. If you have the hot market for middle class people you should be writing some. That being said every insurance company under the sun wants 30 something married people with good credit. Its very hard to compete with direct markets for that segment (depending on what state you are in).

You can buy preferred auto internet leads. Join the rotary club, yacht club, golf club...etc.

Good luck.
 
Re: How Do Yu Find & Aquire a Better Class of Customers?

What preferred carriers do you have access to? What's your ability to close preferred business w/ your carriers?
 
Re: How Do Yu Find & Aquire a Better Class of Customers?

Yikes. It could be your location? Markets? Referrals sources?

The CIOs mentioned above are a good source of quality referrals.

And I DNR after 1 non pay. No rewrites. If they were canceled for NP by another carrier I decline to quote. Ain't nobody got time for that. Besides the servicing, the claims are horrible.

Go out and shake hands and get intros. Good luck!
 
Re: How Do Yu Find & Aquire a Better Class of Customers?

The people come from referrals and used car dealers. This is a poor area and the non poor people all know each other and are from here. I tend to get all the new people to the area that come up from NYC and all the screw ups. My mailers tend to go unnoticed because all the other agencies are mailing the same neighborhoods. Previously I was doing volunteer work and going to all the networking events and it really did not pan out other than a handful of policies over 3 years. These non standard people are absolutely eating up all of our time. I sold a policy March 9th on the 29th she rear ended a car in the McDonalds drive thru, April 30 she hit a pole while texting and on May 22 she side swiped someone in front of the mall. This is the daily crap I am dealing with.

When the standard people come along I have safeco and nycm to place them. We almost always beat nationwide, state farm is pretty much 50/50 if we can beat them.
 
Re: How Do Yu Find & Aquire a Better Class of Customers?

I get all my business from the realtors, mortgage brokers & financial guys. The only reason I'm able to perpetuate those referrals is because I close EVERYTHING they send to me. I have direct appointments with enough preferred carriers (and have access to more through SIAA) that I dazzle the referrals every time. I believe you're with SIAA too? You should have more preferred carriers then that?

Non standard business are BUMS. You need the demographic you're referring to who won't bother you unless it's to add a new car or buy something new. People who are too busy to complain about rate increases etc. I hate to always refer to my old posts...but I have alot of good information about how I found ways to get myself in front of the right sources.

Look...if I somehow get a bum who calls my office for a quote (we're located in an office building so we don't get walk ins..) I'm still going to write them. But the numbers (loss ratio, retention etc..) speak for themselves. Get out there & introduce yourself to the right referral networks.

So long as your genuine, dress/act professionally & genuinely express a desire in earning their business while growing yours...you WILL get referrals. Sure it takes time to develop & grow...but you WILL get them. Still to this day I'm going to new places doing the same old game. And I still feel like a dbag when I walk into a new place, but that's what must be done to grow & keep growing.
 
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