December ends another year. While it is traditionally a time to start thinking about New Year’s resolutions for those in the insurance world, it is a fantastic time to assess the closing year from an insurance lead perspective. You can use that time to recap this year and strategize for the next. The following are some tips to help you towards getting the most out of leads in the coming year.

Close Out Old Leads

If you still have some leads that have not hit closure yet, this is an excellent time to do something with those irons still on the fire. With what is sure to be a busy year ahead of you, it is good to close up old business good and proper. Look through your file of open business and consider which ones are your most promising options. Send an email to those prospects; remind them of the previous discussions regarding policies you have shared. Definitely remind them of any current promotions or added benefits you are able to offer them. Frame the email to encourage them to contact you before the end of the month. This is the perfect time to create a new growth base, and there is nothing like going into the New Year with a bang.

Update Your Internet Presence

Your web presence is your window to the world, when was the last time you gave it a makeover? Go over it with a fine toothed comb and make notes of where you can make improvements and updates. Update any information that is out of date. Add fresh content regarding any new benefits and options you are able to offer. There are many simple and effective ways to put a fresh look to your business, and the return on investment awaiting you is more than worth it.

Expand Your Knowledge Base

Practically every day, there are books published on advances in the insurance industry. Commit yourself to picking up a couple of them and turning their wisdom to your advantage. Sites like Amazon and Goodreads offer a wide selection of the best books on the subject. Both sites have reviews from other readers, making it even easier to find which books are right for you.

If sitting down with a book does not fit into your schedule, audio-book services like Audible put the goods at your fingertips, or ears as the case may be. You can turn your daily commute into productivity.

Beyond these options, the internet is a wealth of free information relevant to your interests. Get yourself up to date with blogs that can increase your knowledge of practices and products that can expand your power, as well as your value as an insurance agent.

Expand Your Network

One of the best ways to attract success is to surround yourself with successful people. The experiences and insights of your fellow agents is one of the greatest resources you have towards building your business. Be on the lookout networking events that come up around the office and use those towards building a vital resource base. Websites like Meetup and Eventbrite are also excellent ways to meet and connect with new, like-minded agents.

Self-assessment

Despite it being a bit down on the list, this one is probably one of the most important actions you can take towards having a big year. Look over the last year and ask yourself these questions:

  • What were my drives this year?
  • What were my successes?
  • What were my challenges?
  • What values did I provide?

As you ask yourself these questions, give yourself three steps you can take to improve on each of them. They do not need to be huge, just simple, achievable benchmarks that you feel will expand upon your current successes and reduce barriers. This does not need to be a one time, beginning of the year practice either. As soon as you check off the second success step to a particular question, start thinking of three more. Do this all year and you will probably be amazed where you end up.

Assess KPIs

Analyzing your key performance indicators will be the backbone of any success strategy you create now.  Consider where you want your target goals to be at the end of next year. Whatever goals you set your sights on, make sure they are quantifiable and measurable; “Increase revenue 30%” is better than “increase profitability”. Use the following metrics as the foundation of your growth process:

  • New prospects - What channels do you use to generate new leads? What were the most successful ones? Which ones were the most challenging? Which ones have you not tried yet?

  • Closing ratio - Did you hit your close ratio for the year? What were the factors that aided or impeded that? How can you improve either?

  • Average sale size - What steps do you take to optimize the sale to achieve greatest value? What new resources have you acquired over the year that can help you optimize further?

  • Referrals - Where are most of your referrals coming from? Why did those sources refer you?

  • Connections with clients - With which of your clients do you have the strongest relationships. Why?

  • Customer satisfaction - What values of yours do your clients appreciate? How are they expressing appreciation? How do you make that known to potential clients?

  • Business retention - What are the main reasons previous clients gave for moving on? What preemptive steps can you take towards

You can utilize many more measurable factors towards growing your business over the coming year. The above are only a starting point. The more expansive the analysis of your KPIs, the greater the opportunities to surpass them.

Send Those Cards!

This is a simple way to get yourself to the forefront of your client’s mind, and to build your relationship in a friendly, personal way. Furthermore, a holiday card is mail that people actually enjoy receiving, and that is worth its weight in goals.

As the holiday season wraps up and a New Year approaches, get excited for the opportunities that come with it and get ready to make them real. Happy New Year from QuoteWizard!