Internet Lead Generation Companies

[AZINSAGENT]

I am interested in others experiences (primarily P&C) with leads furnished by these sites. The good, bad, and the ugly.... I am considering trying one or more of these services, and would really appreciate your input. Please name names!

There was an article today in Insurance Networking (I think) where they reviewed the company direct sites for personal lines and indicated that sales from the internet now account for 51% of that business, and phone derived quotes are now at 49%. In the PHX metro area, Progressive and Geico are literally flooding the market with TV and Radio spots promoting both their sites and 800#s.

Additionally, what about commercial P&C and auto leads from such sites?

TIA!

Hot in the desert

[mhutch69]

Internet leads provided to 4-8 producers are a joke. Costly but a small return. If the lead company is as confident as they claim, pay for only leads which are sold at a higher rate.

These companies charge $3-$8 per lead to 4-8 agents. I would prefer to
pay $10-$15 only on sold leads.

[d's insurance store]

My experience with these leads draws a few conclusions.

First, don't even try this stuff unless you're sure of your competitive position in your marketplace. The vast majority of people seeking leads are hard price shoppers, and any value added services you provide will be gravy to them, but will not drive their buying decision.

Secondly, if you can button up a sale via the internet or over the phone with credit cards, you'll stand a whole lot better chance of closing a deal. Your carriers that require wet signatures, inspections, prior dec pages, etc just don't lend themselves to fully participating in the internet lead game.

Third, spend the extra to buy the exclusive leads. As the prior poster mentioned, you'll feel bad if you're competing with 3-4 other agents. Some of these agents have this game down to an exact science...they run around with email devices and laptops and will generate a call to a lead within seconds of receiving it. You'll call 3 minutes after receiving the lead and find the person already on the phone with the more agressive agents.

Fourth, expect a large number of 'tire kickers' and casual price shoppers. Remember, they don't care that you've just spent $12 to talk to them. They sometimes think that they'll get their quote on the internet just as soon as they click the send button.

Finally, don't expect all or even most of the phone numbers to be valid. These kinds of shoppers have no problem giving false phone numbers so they're not bothered by sales calls. And expect a bunch of the email addresses to be bogus too.

The key is being able to make enough contacts with a competitive price and make the selling easy. Then you have to watch your average premium to make sure you can gross enough to cover the cost of your leads.

It can certainly keep you busy...but just make sure you do the math and can actually turn a profit or break even. These kinds of acquired clients don't necessarily help your retention because they may be back on the internet when the renewal dec arrives in 6 months to try and find a better rate. If you're counting on retained business to recover your costs, you may find yourself upsidedown in the revenue department.

[AZINSAGENT]

Well reasoned suggestions. Any names you would like to share on either the good or bad side?

TIA,

Sweaty