How to Get Call Backs from Millennials: Advice From Your Youngest Prospects

Have you ever wondered why your insurance prospects aren’t getting back to you? You’ve called, left voicemail's, and you’re sure your product is ideally suited to their needs. So, what gives?

Take a second to consider the lifestyle of the person you want to do business with. According to Pew Research Center and the 2015 Census, Millennials are the largest generation alive, which makes them an ideal lead. They’re young, starting to have disposable income, and they’re ripe for the picking. However, the individuals born from 1981 to 1997 require a much different approach than you’ve used with their older peers.

We asked Millennials what would make them return contact to an insurance salesperson, and here is what they said.

Stop Calling

Calling prospects and leads might be how you close most of your previous deals, but if the person on the other line is a Millennial, put down the phone. Millennials don’t want to talk to you on the phone, period.

“In some cases, for Millennials, taking a phone call can feel as outdated as using a fax machine. Over 85% of Millennials use a smartphone, and the call feature may be the least used. So used to screen time, this generation prefers corresponding through text and email,” says Sarah Lisovich, Senior Editor and Content Strategist at CIA Medical.

“When it comes to phone calls, you're wasting your time as well as mine. I grew up with email, instant messaging, and eventually text messaging. Many people in my generation hate talking on the phone now, because we rarely have to do it. Now that there's an app for anything from ordering a pizza to signing up for car insurance, there's almost zero reason to ever talk to someone on the phone if you don't want to. If I do need to call a friend, I tend to text them to make sure they're free, because they may not be in a position to talk (busy doing Millennial things I guess, like drinking craft beer and playing Pokemon Go), and calling feels intrusive now. We're multi-taskers, and being on the phone feels like I'm monopolizing more of someone's attention - so if you're going to call me or I'm going to call you, it better be important. If you are soliciting me with a service or product I didn't specifically choose to be contacted about, you're intruding on my time.” Carlo Barajas, Founder of Surface SEO.

Practice storytelling

If you can’t call your prospects, what can you do? There are still many ways to capture the attention of your prospects long before it’s time they need your services. In fact, the more effort you put into content marketing, the more leads you’ll have. According to Demand Metrics, 70% of people would rather learn about about a company through an article than an advertisement. Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing, and for every dollar spent content generates approximately three times the amount of leads.

Barajas continues, “I think that more and more inbound marketing is going to be the way to reach Millennials. Advertising and soliciting needs to come in the form of useful content and/or media. We want to see value up front before we spend money, and we want to do it (or at least feel like we're doing it) on our own terms.”

So, where do you start? The best way to share content is to first think about the type of questions your leads ask of you. If you can answer someone’s question in a blog post, they’re more likely to pay attention to the rest of what you share. However, you can’t just sell yourself with how to’s. To really engage your audience and nurture leads, weave stories throughout your articles.

How did you become a salesperson? What were some of your top moments in your career? Your lowest? How did you come back from the bottom? Why is it that you continue to sell? The answers to those questions can be told throughout the articles you share.

“Millennials don’t buy what you’re selling — they buy why you’re selling it, and how it’s different. Most salesmen forget this crucial lesson!” says Max Soni, Director of Marketing at a NYC law firm.

Connect on Social Media

Sharing content is the first step to getting the attention of prospects who may never have found you if you were simply advertising. However, you can’t stop there. Storytelling is like a monologue, but social media turns your story into a conversation. Be active on social sites and engage your followers. They may become your customers one day.

Danielle Hutchings, Public Relations Specialist from FreightCenter, says, “Share an article you think they might be interested in. Reply to an article they've shared. Whatever you do, make sure your communication is genuine and personalized and don't send cookie-cutter messages.”

Paul Lemley, Chief Digital Strategist at Lemley Media says, LinkedIn would be a great start for Insurance Salespeople, as the Millennial’s you find there are in the professional world and can expect to receive messages from salespeople. It’s just part of being in the LinkedIn community. After an introductory message on LinkedIn, be flexible enough to contact the person anyway he or she chooses and level set their expectations by telling them exactly when the next time you’ll reach out. I’ve always appreciated when Salespeople tell me exactly what to expect instead of being surprised by a random phone call.”

Remember to Individualize

Here’s the thing. No two Millennials are identical. While we grew up in the same world and at the same time, our preferences for dealing with salespeople vary. While some individuals prefer email contact, others will welcome text messages. Always identify the best way to interact with each lead before reaching out. When in doubt start with the least intruding option, such as an email.

Lemley continues, “Personal preference ranges exponentially today, as individuals can choose what platforms and devices to value more. One Millennial may get a kick out of a personalized Snapchat message from a salesperson, but the next would abhor the idea of another social platform being used to sell to them.

My preference is not so much in what medium I’m contacted on, but how “nurturing” the sales person is. Are they looking to churn and burn, expect me to buy a full coverage auto insurance policy after one interaction, or are they looking to get to know me as a person, invest in me as a long term client, and provide me with more than boring basic auto coverage?

There is no better way to find out the best way to get a hold of someone than just asking them outright. If they provide you with a medium they prefer, the responsibility then falls on them to respond in kind.”

The Bottom Line

Millennials are tired of intrusions. They don’t want salespeople calling without prior consent, and they don’t want advertisements forced on them. What they do want is quality lead nurturing: provide worthy content, engage online, and you’ll build relationships over time.

Are you a Millennial? What type of contact would make you motivated to call back an insurance agent?

If you’re an agent, do you have any success stories for how to get callbacks from your youngest prospects?