Folks,
Many of you have asked for some advice in terms of crafting your prospect communications.
To begin with (and contrary to popular belief), you don't have to spend a lot of money and have professional graphics people create effective marketing materials. Something as simple as a business letter can be very powerful in getting doors opened for your producers.
The purpose of this email is to offer some ideas to help you improve your communication and get that first appointment.
This message describes an initial e-mail or letter called the Opener. It is designed to be the initial personal communication from the producer to the prospect - they know very little about you or your agency. There are some rules below that we believe will make your Opener (and any other communications) better.
Rule 1: The very first test of an effective communication is: Will it GET READ?
To begin with, nothing you send a prospect is going to sell a prospect.
This is key, because most agencies try to cram way too much information down the throats of their prospects prior to the first meeting. I've seen very well-written 3 page e-mails devoted to getting that first meeting or call.
The result? Completely ineffective because they're just too long - nobody ever reads them.
Brevity wins. Use the 2-by-4 rule: Try to keep to no more than 2 paragraphs with no more than 4 sentences per paragraph.
Rule 2: The communication should always challenge the status quo in concrete, not subjective terms.
Bad: "Are your health plan costs spiraling out of control?"
Good: "Our clients averaged a 6% premium increase in 2009 versus a national average of 19%."
Bad: "We provide valuable services and do more for you than your current broker..."
Good: "Below is the 12-month schedule we use to deliver the 7 free value-add services we provide every client. Are you getting this kind of value for the dollars you now spend?"
Almost EVERYBODY is "happy" with their current broker. It's your job to show them exactly why they shouldn't be...
Rule 3: The communication keeps it "Their World".
Bad: "We've been serving Atlanta for 23 years and our owner is the head of the local chapter of the HGAKA Association..."
Good: "We know today your bottom line is what counts - but most businesses we talk to don't really know how to uncover their plan's real bottom line. They shortchange themselves by just measuring coverage and premium."
Rule 4: The communication has only one purpose and keeps the prospect off the "high-dive".
Most communication we see is purposeless. It lacks a clear "call to action" and just focuses on telling the prospect how great the agency is. The call to action is the MOST IMPORTANT piece of a communication - and every word should drive the prospect to execute that call to action. Even when it has a CTA, most look something like this "If you'd like to learn more, call me at (xxx) xxx-xxxx". By doing this, we put the onus of action on the shoulders of the prospect who is frantically busy, and ask them to jump off the high-dive without knowing much about you. Most prospects simply won't do it. It's ALWAYS better for the call to action to be something like this:
"If you think the above may be valuable, I would appreciate your taking my call later this week..."
An Opener Suggested Example:
Many companies today accept double-digit premium increases as a fact of life. They believe that declining coverages and ever-increasing out of pocket expenses for their employees are unavoidable.
The impact? Employees feeling increasingly squeezed - adding to the stresses of layoffs, reduced staffs, and demands for higher productivity. But, it really doesn't have to be that way - you can buck the trend. In fact, during 2009 75 of our clients beat the national average 19% premium increase by more than 13% - averaging a 6% increase.
If your trend is headed in the wrong direction, I'd love to take a few minutes to share some ideas that might help you buck that trend.
I will call in a day or so to see if we can set aside 20 minutes to chat next week. If you would like to speak sooner, I can be reached at (xxx) xxx-xxxx.
Bill, no matter what - I promise you I'll never waste your time.
Ty Shewmake is the co-founder of Nurturity. His company helps small & medium insurance and benefits agencies market better.
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