Today, I’m sharing a guest post written by Erica Kiefer, the Vice President of Marketing and Sales at AgencyBloc. She creates strategic direction for revenue growth and brand building, while removing obstacles for sales and marketing team success. Her favorite quote: "For the ocean is big and my boat is small. Find the courage." - Alanis Morissette
In 2014 I left the technology company I had worked at for nearly 5 years and started my own business, requiring me to find my own health insurance plan. ACA was in play and I did a lot of research online to educate myself on my options. After much consideration I decided to reach out to an insurance agent just to ensure that I was making the most educated decisions I could for myself and my family.
The Experiment
Ultimately I am a marketer, and I’m always curious to see how businesses run their marketing and sales processes, particularly in the digital engagement realm. Over a three day period, I reached out to six agencies via website contact forms, asking for an agent to contact me in regards to buying a policy for my family of five. What would you guess was the response rate? I bet you’ll be surprised. Out of those six I only received two replies. Yes, you heard that right. Only two agencies contacted me back AT ALL. Out of those two, only one contacted me back the same day...and that agency was the one that got my business.
Opening the Door
Here’s the lesson. It’s not a matter of arrogance on the prospect side, like “you should answer my beck & call!”. How you engage with a prospect prior to the sale gives them a glimpse into what they might expect AFTER they become a client. It’s like opening the door for someone to enter your business: simple, little effort, but conveys a strong message of attentiveness. My assumption was that if an agency didn’t have a great desire to communicate with me in a timely manner (or at all) prior to winning my business, it was unlikely to get better later in the relationship.
Proof is in the Pudding
In 2015 my choice was proven to be a good one when my daughter fell gravely ill and required emergency measures to save her life. In the flurry of admissions at the hospital, things came to a halt when the administrator said the system was not showing my daughter had insurance coverage. I immediately called my agent who literally took the “paperwork” out of my hands and allowed me to focus on my daughter and the fast moving decisions concerning her care. The speed at which my daughter was able to get treatment was a major part of saving her life. There will never be enough gratitude in the world to thank Lynn Schreder & Doreen Coppinger at KHI Solutions for what they did for us that day.
And that is what makes a good agent great.
