101 Of The Very Best Insurance Marketing &

 Prospecting Tips, Ideas, Strategies & Advice

What most agents, advisors and planners are missing, is that if you want to make it much easier to generate a constant stream of your Ideal Insurance and Annuity Prospects, to set more appointments and close more and larger sales, then you need a competitive advantage. You need to constantly get your name out there, to become the most recognized trusted and respected financial advisor, in your local community. You want to become the trusted and respected expert that people want to meet with.

“Prospecting should not be a problem for anyone selling insurance. It should be a process.
However, prospecting IS a problem for most of us, simply because a process can take some
time and effort to set up - and even more time and effort before it begins to produce results.”
Dan Vinal
 

Important Note: There is a huge difference between the trainers who are really recruiters in disguise and will promise you anything and everything to get your business... verses people who are dedicating their lives to helping you to succeed in this business. We are dedicated insurance marketing and sales trainers, coaches and mentors... NOT recruiters!

Using the following strategies we've helped over a thousand agents, advisers, planners and 'MDRT' members EACH YEAR to double and triple their incomes within 60-180 days ...in spite of this economy!

The top advisers, we worked with last year, earned over $1,000,000 and many others who were earning $40,000-$60,000 per year, now earn $150,000-$350,000 per year. 

"You Can Make The Difference"

Here is a list of 101 of the very best, proven, and cost-effective insurance marketing and prospecting tips, ideas, strategies and advice we've learned over the past 30 years by working with the very best in the insurance and financial services industry. Plus, we've included samples and free white papers to help you. These tips, ideas, strategies and advice are designed to get you off to a quick start… but more importantly, if they are used properly and your message is focused on helping people to identify and solve their financial problems to make a difference, you will guarantee your long-term success!

The Basics...

1. Have a true marketing plan. Develop a contact strategy consisting of direct mail, free reports, telemarketing, newsletters, joint ventures and special events such as workshops and other educational formats that are designed to build a relationship with your 'IDEAL' prospects over time. The people that need and want what you are offering!
Free White Paper - How To Attract And Sell The 'Ideal Prospects!'

2. Be A Big Fish In A Small Pond. Your primary goal should be to get known as the most respected and trusted advisor in your local community. How much easier and more cost-efficient is it for you to get known in your local community, verses in an entire city.  Consider, the legendary Ben Feldman, one of the most prolific life insurance salespeople in world history, did all of his business in the small town of East Liverpool, Ohio. (Population 15,000)

3. Create a bio sheet. Use a professional photo and share both your professional resume as well as personal information on what makes you unique within the industry and identifies the problems you solve for your clients. It explains why prospects should work with you. Sample Bio Sheet

4. Let all of your friends, family, neighbors and the people you do business with know what you do.  Not that you sell insurance or are a financial advisor, etc. But, how you are helping people. Example, how you help people save for a tax free retirement… or how you can help them to pay off their mortgage 10 to 15 years early… without them spending any additional money or changing their current lifestyle. Simple Letter Idea

5. Ask Your Friends and Family For Their Help. One of the ‘Quickest’ ways to get started in this business, to get appointments, or get people to your educational workshops, is to ask for their help. You need to rehearse your approach, fact-finding and sales presentation in front of real people. And, the best place to do that is in front of your acquaintances, family and friends! Ask them if they will allow you to practice with them! It’s a non-threatening way to get them to hear your ideas, without them feeling obligated or put upon. And, if you do a good job, many of them will ask if you can help them to put the financial plan together for their situation and/or you can ask them for referrals.

Note: The more you practice your fact-finding and sales presentation, the higher your closing ratio will become, and the less leads you'll need. Free Adviser's Guide To Fact-finding

6. Identify your best customers. Stop wasting your time and money chasing poor-quality prospects. Create a perfect prospect profile based on your best existing clients, and only target great potential buyers. You’ll spend much less energy, time and money contacting people who are the most likely to buy. Find out what problems they are struggling with and how you can help them. Your insurance marketing strategy should focus on delivering a special message that addresses the needs and wants of that group. Free White Paper - Using Mortgage Insurance As A Door Opener

7. Establish and understand your primary geographical market area. Identify your geographic area by zip code, county, neighborhood or other parameters and understand the prospects that live there. Then, develop marketing campaigns to promote relevant offerings based on life triggers and other events that may be happening in your community, including new homebuyers, births, and marriages within this area. Target your products and services to those events.

8. Get known in your local community.  Be active in your church or a civic group. Get to know the members. Write articles about the group and what they are doing for the community. Include your by-line on the article, with your contact info and offer a Free Booklet or Report. The better known you become, the more cost-effective your marketing will be.

9. Use monthly newsletters. Newsletters create credibility and stimulate interest in your services. Send a monthly newsletter to everyone you know. By sending a newsletter to your friends, family, neighbors, clients and prospects, you are constantly reminding them of what you do (or in some cases who you are) in a very non-threatening way. It's non-threatening, because there's no pressure to buy anything. Sample Client Newsletters

10. Ask your clients and friends for names of people who would like to get your newsletter. Make sure your newsletter is not boring insurance and financial stuff. Put some personality into it. You will find your newsletter to be a very important lead generation and referral marketing tool. But like I said, it has to be fun, interesting, and helpful. Do it.

11. Send a thank you note to someone everyday!  Have you said thank-you to someone to show how grateful you are for them today?  It’s such a small thing, but it can have a huge impact on your life, and the life of that person. Send a thank you note for referrals, appointments and meetings. Find little ways to incorporate gratitude in your life, and you’ll be much happier … and you’ll make the people around you much happier as well… and you’ll stand out from the crowd.  That’ll have a ripple effect that will make your world a better place... with such a small gesture!

12. Make yourself referable. Do more than what’s expected to get your clients to talk about you to their friends and family… about how you’ve helped them.

13. Referrals are priceless. By making yourself known, either through local organizations or just by being an active member of your community, people tend to ask, "What is it that you do?" From there you will receive not only clients, but an endless supply of referrals. People prefer to do business with someone local.

14. Pick up the phone. I have yet to find a better way of 'marketing ones-self' then speaking with a prospect on the phone. It's way better than direct mailings and cheaper too. Looking for folks to call? Try whitepages.com or do a search on neighborhoods, it's free.

15. Develop a "drip" list. Create a list of your best prospects that you contact on a monthly (even weekly) basis with key information. Keep your name in front of your target audience.

16. Get published or speak. Be the author of an article in a local publication or newspaper, or participate in a speaking engagement - Do It. Nothing creates credibility faster than getting published or speaking.

17. Join the local Chamber of Commerce. Networking in these organizations offers great opportunities for us, as financial professionals, to meet more people and promote our services.

18. Be Creative! Your clients will remember the little things that you do if they are original and creative. For example, a monthly calendar of local events is a good way to stay in touch. It can be mailed or emailed, depending upon the client.

19. Plan to prospect. Set aside time on a regular basis to attend to prospecting.  Don’t wait until you run out of prospects or suddenly need more. Discipline your prospecting so it’s something you do every day, every week. Schedule time for prospecting each day, and have specific goals for the number of calls you make and the letters you send. At the end of the week, look back and assess how well you kept your activity on track. Pick a time each week when you schedule your appointments. Don't accept incoming phone calls during that time and you can't be interrupted.

20. Statistics show that 80% of sales happen after the 5th contact.

• 80% of all sales are made after 5 or more client contacts

• 48% of all producers give up after the initial sales call

• 25% more give up after the 2nd sales call

• 12% more give up after the 3rd sales call

• 5% more give up after the 4th sales call

Only 10% of all producers continue past the 4th call, which means that the persistent 10% are making 80% of the sales!!!!!!

21. Using 'Door Openers.' There are many agents that are using health insurance, Medicare supplements, dental programs, mortgage insurance, trusts, etc. to get in the prospects door. When done right it can be very effective.

Critical: If you are going to use a 'door opener' you must only use it in your target market and you must have a way to transition into the sale you really want to make... The easiest way to transition is to do a complete fact-find with everyone. Too many sales people end up selling only the door opener.

22. Lead Groups...  Another great way to get high quality leads is by joining or forming a lead exchange group with local business professionals that cater to your ideal prospects, and who have already built strong relationships with them!  A lead exchange group is a formal group of successful business people who get together every week, or every two weeks for breakfast or lunch, for about an hour to exchange leads. 

23. Having a great follow-up sequence is a key ingredient in improving your insurance prospecting results. The very best insurance agents have a systematic approach in place. This means that the system has been designed to deal with fresh prospects. Even an agent or planner with the worst letter and telephone skills in the world will have better and more consistent results than the guy or gal who doesn't have a system in place. You need to follow up with your prospects once your prospecting materials have been sent. Call them, or have another piece of direct mail sent. Consider using scarcity to entice the prospect to buy with some urgency.

24. Successful People Take Action! Successful people don’t procrastinate and they don’t spend their life waiting for the ‘right time’. They are busy, productive and proactive. While most people are lying on the couch, planning, over-thinking, sitting on their hands and generally going around in circles, successful people are out there getting the job done.

"You can have everything in life you want, if you will
just help other people get what they want."
Zig Ziglar

FREE Guide... How To Attract and Sell Your Ideal Insurance Prospects

Are you tired of chasing the wrong prospects and playing the numbers game, then we have some great news! You can attract more of your IDEAL insurance prospects to you in a month, than most agents see in an entire year!

"We have put together back to back 30k months" (commissions)

“Lew, we have put together our 2 most successful months in a row! I took your advice and focused solely on the things that would bring revenue into my business and cut all of the things that were distracting me from that core focus. For me, that effort is primarily speaking to groups of people. We have put together back to back 30k months (commissions) and are speaking to 2-4 audiences per month. The beautiful thing is the more people we help, the more referrals and momentum we build. I’m on track to finish the year two months ahead of my personal goals.”
Beau Henderson, FMM, RFC - GA,  (9 years in business)

"I am finishing my finest personal production year ever,"

"I am finishing my finest personal production year ever, and that is directlyattributable to
the change in marketing efforts I have instituted since meeting Lew and Jeremy. (Trusted
Advisor Success Training™) After 25-years in this business I guess I have proven that
you can teach new tricks to an "old dog."
Tony Brazeal, RFC, RFP, (MDRT Member) - TX (25 years in business)
President, Pathfinder Group, LLC a national brokerage agency

Beyond Basics...

25. Assemble A Media Kit.  Develop a strong biography and fact sheet that describes your accomplishments and experience to get speaking engagements, guest appearances and/or your articles published.

26. Be a guest on a local television or radio show. This will establish credibility and define you as a financial resource. You can advertise your financial workshops or offer a free report.

27. Host and produce a live, weekly financial radio program. This will establish credibility and define you as a financial resource. You can advertise your financial workshops or offer a free report. In addition, this will provide a forum for people to ask questions and for listeners to call and arrange for individual consultations.

28. Consider selling to ethnic specific markets. Become an ‘insider’ and you will find a tight knit community that will follow recommendations from their friends and family.

29. Knocking on business doors.  Visit local businesses. Or, send a letter that is focused on the magic of tax deferral with current rates or a tax free retirement. Follow up with a phone call to inquire if they received the letter. It’s a great way to get daytime appointments.

30. Write and distribute a press release at least four times a year. One of the most valuable single sheet of paper you can create in marketing is a press release. The media, particularly your local media, is always on the lookout for a great story, so write one for them. Use these stories to tell customers why you are different, and why that difference is a benefit. This must be done in every aspect of your marketing.

31. Council on Aging workshop. If you offer financial workshops or would like to start doing so, offer to stage a workshop at a local Council on Aging. If you can convince the council director that you are sincere and knowledgeable, he or she will be very grateful to allow you to offer a valuable informational service to their senior community. The only cost is for refreshments.

32. Offer a Lunch and Learn.  Get to know the large-scale employers in your area. Obtaining a favorable appointment with a handful of employees nearing retirement can yield big dividends. Also, obtaining referrals to co-workers will not require much effort and will provide an ongoing stream of prospects.

33. Use what you know best to become the local expert on that subject. Use that knowledge to write a column in at least one local senior publication. Many of the free senior newspapers that are available outside discount and grocery stores will let you write an article if you purchase a small advertisement. Don’t forget to make copies of the articles to send to other prospects.

34. Offer An Income Tax Review. Ask each client to review their form 1040 with you to uncover if they are needlessly paying taxes on money they aren't using. An annuity may be an ideal solution for these clients.

35. Run A Newspaper Advertisement Offering Your Free Information Booklets and Reports. Place a proven, INEXPENSIVE, Compelling Ad or Insert (in the right publications) that hits the hot button of a targeted group of prospects. The idea is to attract people who have money, and recognize they need help. As we are now in the "information age", giving away a free report or a free booklet is a great way to make your target market come to you.  It's the "try-before-you-buy" approach.  When done right, the people who come forward, have been indirectly screened and are qualified prospects for your products and services.

36. Marketing works on repetition. The more a consumer sees your ad, the greater the chance that consumers will buy your products or services. And understand that advertising is salesmanship. When you create an advertisement, it must sell just as a salesperson would. Use conversational language and words.

37. Offer Your Free Information Booklets and Reports In Everything You Do. In anything you’re doing, your seminar invitations, sales letters, newsletters, business cards, by-line on your articles, when you speak, etc., always offer your Free Booklet or Free Report.

38. Use Your Free Information Booklets and Reports To Get Powerful Endorsements From Local Attorneys, Accountants, P&C Agencies and Other Professionals… Imagine how much credibility you’ll have with prospects when their advisor recommends your services.

39. Teach An Adult Education Class On Finances.  The college will advertise your class. If you do it right, all of the students will become your clients.

40. Business Briefs Section of the Sunday Newspaper.  A free way of getting your name noticed is to send in your picture along with a short letter about what you do to the business briefs section of the Sunday newspaper. Most papers have this and most are free.

41. Offer A Free Educational Workshop For Everyone You Know. Invite your barber, mechanic, friends, family, clients and prospects who you are having trouble setting and appointment with.  If you can help your clients, friends, relatives, prospects and everyone you know to see that you can help them to solve their financial problems. And that they can have a brighter financial future, even with all of the problems in our economy. How valuable are your services to them?  Won’t they all want to set an appointment with you?

42. Joint Ventures.  Joint venture marketing is the ultimate ‘insider secret’ to generating literally thousands of new prospects, in your area, rapidly and with the utmost credibility.  Are you looking for a way to be in front of more prospects?  Are you looking for ways to attract high quality prospects to you?  Then, consider sharing your clients and prospects with other successful business people... in return for them sharing their clients and prospects with you.  When done right, with the right businesses, it can make your search for new and better prospects much easier! To make a joint venture work you must set up an active contact system that gets people to call you looking for help, more information, or gets them to come to your free educational workshop.

43. Share Clients. There are plenty of Property and Casualty agencies, LTCI agents, investment brokers, etc. who are not offering the same products and services you offer. Why not service each other’s clients.

44. Sponsor or organize high-profile events. Invite your first and second tier prospects to speaking engagements, which highlight industry leaders. Often organizations sponsor quarterly or bi-annual speaking engagements with industry leaders from your organization. By inviting your best prospects, you establish credibility and show them that you appreciate them.

45. Buying lists of people turning 65 to 66. Many people are confused that even though the age for full benefits under social security has risen to 66, the age to join Medicare A & B is still 65. A lot of people are continuing to work and pay higher-than-necessary costs for health coverage, due to this confusion. A quick call to offer to mail info regarding the real deal, and then a follow-up call to explain, has proved invaluable in gaining access to people's lives at a time when so many needs are changing.

46. Waiting room and bulletin board approach. Make up some flyers with pull tabs on them with your name and phone number. Then ask every 7-11, convenience store, gas station etc. or anyone with a waiting room, for permission to hang the flyer on their bulletin board. Most will let you. Do as many of these as you can and you will start getting calls. Offer a free booklet or a free educational workshop.

47. Finder’s Fee. Pay others in complimentary businesses a finder's fee to give you business.

48. Dinner Seminars...  While dinner seminars are somewhat expensive, ($4,500 - $5,000 with the mailing and dinners) they are still one of the best and quickest ways to generate lots of new prospects each month.  When done right, you can be in front of 50 or more high quality prospects in less than 6 weeks from now. 

49. Make your own confirmation calls for seminars. Although most direct mail marketing firms provide a confirmation call service, you want to make them yourself.

50. Set appointments at your seminars. Sign up people while the information and desire is fresh; a cooling-off period will leave you with fewer appointments set and kept.

51. Maintain a database of the people attending your seminars or requesting your free report. Drip on these people with a monthly newsletter. Remember just because they didn’t immediately set an appointment with you doesn’t mean they are not interested in your services.

52. Send birthday cards & anniversary cards to existing clients. Show that you care about them and strengthen the relationship.

53. Stay current on the issues affecting your clients. Follow trends in the industry by faithfully reading leading industry publications and learn what others are doing in the market. And send important changes to your clients.  Send an email blast regarding recent tax changes, etc.

54. Up sell your clients. When an applicant is approved at the top rate, make the suggestion that he take advantage of increasing the amount because he has qualified for the very best rate. Point out that he may not be able to qualify again for this rate, in the future, and that the premium for a greater amount is quite a bit less on an overall basis because there is no additional policy fee, and higher amounts are banded resulting in a lower cost per $1,000.

55. Articles in Association Newsletters and the Social Media...  Get yourself published in every local media source and on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.  If you need ideas, you can rewrite articles from the web.  Be sure to include your ‘BYLINE’ and offer a free report, in everything you do!  An article gives you much more credibility than running an ad for your services.  And, it's free advertising!  Remember to make reprints of the articles to send to your clients, friends, family, referrals and prospects.

56. Be a Guest Speaker for Local Associations and Religious Groups... As a financial expert, you have a lot of knowledge on how to help people to better manage their money.  Many groups are looking for a qualified authority to share their knowledge with their members. Let them know you are available. (Don't forget to send a press release before and after the event)

57. Golf or tennis tournaments. During the summer months host or organize a golf or tennis tournament and give a short seminar before the event. (Don't forget to send a press release before and after the event)

58. Stop prospecting for clients! Spend your time prospecting with people who associate with the type of client you are looking for. For example, if you are looking for clients who are transitioning into long term health care environments, network with people in that field. They are dealing with hundreds of your ideal prospects every year.

59. Brown bag it. One of the best marketing ideas is a monthly program called Women and Investing, Brown Bag Lunches. One day each month hold a free, no-sales meeting for women only, who want to learn more about investing, in your office conference room. They bring their own lunches and you meet for an hour on a specific topic that you briefly "teach" and then you all discuss. It's very interactive. They bring their real life examples and questions. It's easy to put together, it's low-cost and helps the public view you as an expert. The women bring their friends and help with spreading the word.

60. Community Calendars. Make sure you get all your events listed on the local community calendars. Almost every town, Chamber of Commerce, local library, church, and civic group has a web site. So get your seminar, workshop, adult education class, tournament, etc. listed on their calendar.

61. Don't stress about finding new prospects. Because according to LIMRA you're already leaving thousands of dollars on the table from your existing clients. The average family buys life insurance seven times throughout their lives and that doesn’t count Disability Insurance, Long Term Care Insurance, Annuities and more. Then, think about how much of your income comes from renewals and residuals. Therefore, it pays to make sure that your clients stay with you year after year instead of getting swept away by a competitor or direct seller. To do that, you need to keep in touch continually throughout the year -- not just at renewal time.

62. Annual Reviews.  In today's economic climate, even experienced financial advisors are finding it difficult to attract new clients. More than usual, successful firms are growing their businesses at the expense of less successful firms. Successful advisors are courting and winning over clients who are dissatisfied with their current advisors. That's why, if you want to be successful, you must focus on cultivating client loyalty. In today's highly competitive marketplace, you'll never be able to grow your business if you're losing clients.

63. "Don't Miss the Boat" event. One of the most successful strategies I've seen for raising the awareness of referrals and bringing in a stream of new business is called the "Don't Miss the Boat" event. Yes, it may be a little gimmicky, but this is an event we've never seen fail, it has consistently produced referrals and results. This event is similar to a client appreciation event. However, the only people that are invited to this event are clients that have referred others to your firm.

64. Client Dinners. An idea that works extremely well is taking your best clients at least once a year out to dinner along with the spouses. The clients meet your wife and this will take your relationship to a new level. Now when you speak to these clients, their first comment is usually, "How is Linda?" Furthermore, this process of involving the spouse will open up new sources of referrals.

65. Client Appreciation Events. A general rule of thumb states that it costs five times as much to attract a new client as it does to keep an existing one. Though we inherently know this rule of thumb to be true, most firms spend significantly more resources on new prospects than on existing clients. With a limited budget available, the marketing priorities are set on bringing in new prospects. But, this can be a costly mistake if existing clients are slipping out the back door.

A client marketing and communication strategy is an integral part of a comprehensive marketing plan. Successfully executing campaigns targeted to your clients will deepen relationships, increase the percentage of wealth you manage for clients, generate referrals and defend against your competitors' marketing efforts. Client appreciation events are one of the most common campaigns advisors use to market to their clients.

66. Practice, practice, practice! After years in this business, it is easy to become complacent. Practice your presentation, practice your close and practice your follow-up.

67. Successful People Are Persistent and Patient! Successful people don’t give up when the going gets tough. While the majority of people look for the quickest, easiest way (the shortcut), successful people look for the course of action which will produce the best results over the long-term.

"If you can dream it, then you can achieve it. You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want."
Zig Ziglar

“Dear Lew; As you are aware I have been in the industry for 39 years and am a consistent MDRT ‘Top of the Table’ qualifier. I have spoken at MDRT, and at several major companies top producer meetings. In 2000 I went from being a Agency Development General Agent to a Personal Producer. The transition was challenging, but it worked. The one thing I lost along the way was the focus on life insurance sales. I tried several refresher programs, and was able to modestly upgrade life production. Then I found your company. Eventually, I purchased several of your programs including Found Money Management™ and How to Close 9 out of 10™.  The material is excellent and I have spent many hours reviewing it. This year our life production is up almost 100% over last year and I believe it will double again. Thanks for your personal consulting time, the programs and most of all your sincere belief in the good work you and your company are doing.”
Richard C. Moldenhauer, CLU, ChFC, RFC, CEP,
'MDRT Top Of The Table' - NY (39 years in business)

Direct Mail

68. Using Direct Mail. The most valuable single sheet of paper, in all of direct marketing, is still a strong sales letter. Sending a well written, benefit-laden, sales letter, to a well-defined niche market can warm the coldest of customers, pave the way for an easy entrance to a tough-to-get-a-hold-of prospect, and soften the hardest entrance barriers to allow you the opportunity to make a sale. The message you want to get across, in your sales letter, is that you know and understand their problems and that you can provide a solution. It’s not about you, your company or products. It’s all about them and how they will benefit by meeting with you. An effective sales letter will warm up lots of cool prospects for your phone call, while the best ad, or even the best brochure, will still leave most prospects cold.

The primary objective of a sales letter is to generate a direct response from prospects that have a problem, rather than selling a product or service. It is quite difficult for a single letter to sell directly without involving further contact or human intervention.

69. If you'd really like a response from a personal letter, include a return envelope in it with a live stamp on it. It'll either increase your response or it'll drive them nuts.

70. In a direct mail solicitation, don't be afraid to ask them to take action several times. If the recipient doesn't take action (reply), the piece fails. For best results, be very explicit and tell the reader exactly what you want them to do twice in the body copy, and again in the PS.

71. "People will buy when they're ready to buy... not when YOU need to make a Sale!" Marketing experts like Dan Kennedy, Jay Abraham, Ted Nicholas, Al Ries, Jack Trout, and Jeff Paul all suggest a MINIMUM of 6 follow-up mailings, with a desired 12 step process, mixed with phone calls, faxes, letters and emails to maximize your marketing dollars spent!

72. There are two basic ways to use direct mail. You can send out 30 to 100 letters each week and follow-up each letter with phone calls. Or, you can send out 5,000 to 10,000 sales letters or postcards per month and follow-up each response you get with phone calls. Which of these two ways works best? It depends on the agent. However, with either of these two ways you need to have a well-rehearsed telephone script. You won’t get appointments by winging it.

73. Always offer your free information booklet or report at the end of your sales letter. It gives them another reason to respond.

74. Criss-Cross Directories. If you want a list of people to send your sales letters to, all you need to do is find the streets they live on and then go to your local library. In the library, you’ll want to look for the ‘Criss-Cross’ directories. Three common ones are the Hill Donnelly, Cole’s and Polk Directories. They have every street listed, with everyone on the street, with their telephone numbers. Plus, they provide lots of other good information. And they generally will tell you if they are on the “No Call” list. Make a copy of those pages and you have a FREE LIST of your ideal prospects.

Using Technology

75. Learn to use the computer. I know it sounds trite, but using the technology available to you is important. Research and communication are the two primary areas to focus on, but being computer-savvy may just save you a case or two because of your ability to quickly get the information the client needs.

76. The magic of the Web. The future of your practice has to be one that places your electronic business card, photo, information and ideas in front of people on who are searching for help.

77. Marketers can no longer push products on people. They have to think like journalists and create a dialogue with their audience to earn a prospect’s trust. Free or low-cost applications such as blogs and podcasts, in addition to social networking tools such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, have changed the old rules. In addition, free social networking applications can be used for managing your company’s reputation, conducting market research, monitoring your competitors’ efforts and collaborating with your colleagues. Twitter can also serve as a platform for your company’s customer service. Ideal clients can now be reached with targeted messages that cost a fraction of the old expensive advertising campaigns. In addition, social media marketing and PR efforts often allow instant feedback and measurable results, so businesses can immediately see which marketing strategies are working for them and which ones are not.

78. Develop an integrated marketing strategy. Contact your prospects through a number of marketing channels including direct marketing, Web site information, email, telemarketing and of course, personal meetings. For example, you can use direct mail to drive traffic online to your Web site for product information, rate calculators and financial goals worksheets. Promote your online resources with direct mail and in other print media.

79. Your Electronic database. It's very important to get email addresses from all your clients, with their permission to accept your information from time-to-time. Use this information to send them tips and solutions, up to twice per month. The info can be directly related to a product or service you wish to offer, or totally unrelated. This serves both to keep your name in front of them and also to maintain a "trusted advisor" status.

80. Put the accent on visitor experience, not traffic. Traffic is useless if you can't convert it into paying customers. A visitor experience optimized Web site with 500 visits per day can bring you twice the income than an un-optimized one with 10,000 visits per day.

81. Collect Their Email Address. When people visit your web, you want to know the people who are interested in your services, so you can drip on them. So, get them to sign up for your free report or newsletter.

82. Use Videos On Your Web Site. Recent surveys have shown that 5 in 6 people prefer to watch videos, rather than read pages of text, listen to a sales pitch, or click through PowerPoint slides. This makes sense. Video is a faster, easier way for our brains to process information. Videos are sales tools, not website content. If you don't use sales videos in your current selling process (including your website, your Facebook and LinkedIn pages, and your email correspondence) you're not communicating the need for the products you sell, as effectively or efficiently as you could be.

83. Suggest related Web sites in your own Web site's information area. That will make your web site more relevant to the search engines and bring some traffic.

84. Use sitemap services on Google, Yahoo and MSN. Not only will it provide you with invaluable server and Web site data, but it will get your pages in their index faster.

85. Social media is an important tool today.  For today’s financial advisors, social media is becoming an important tool as they search for newer ways to generate leads, build personal relationships with clients and prospects, and grow a reputation as a trusted advisor in their community. Don’t be overwhelmed, with Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ and Twitter!  There are plenty of social media platforms out there to choose from.  However, don’t feel like you have to use them all. Take the time to step back and consider your social media goals, as well as whom your target audience is.  Do you want to connect with other advisors?  Try LinkedIn.  Or, do you want to reach out to customers and prospects?  Then maybe Facebook is for you.  Whatever you choose, remember three things: listen, engage and share.

86. Facebook Profile.  People buy from people, not companies. Your Facebook Profile allows you to connect with customers on a more personal level. If used properly, it can provide a unique channel to connect with clients in a new and exciting way. - Amy McIlwain, Financial Social Media Marketing

87. Facebook Fan Page. You really need to set up a fan page or else you risk being left behind as more businesses shift to social networks. Facebook fan pages are different than profiles. You have a profile for you, John Smith, but your business can’t have a profile; it can have a page. A page is a place to house all the pertinent information about your company. They’re so useful because you can include everything that relates to your business in one place with a built-in potential audience, as well as include links to your website and blog in order to expand your network. - Amy McIlwain, Financial Social Media Marketing

88. Show Up In Google Search Results – Claim Your Google Business Listing. Fortunately, there is an easy way to increase your chances of showing up in Google search results. Even better it is FREE!  Google allows you to claim your business.  Essentially what you are doing is notifying Google that your business exists and where it is located.  You will be asked to answer a few questions about your business like the name of the business, your address, telephone number, etc.  After you submit this information Google will then verify the information you provided to ensure you are who you say you are.  The entire process shouldn’t take you more than 5 minutes. The following link will take you to the appropriate Google site to claim your business listing. Claim your business listing now!

89. Integrate Fundraising and community service into your social media strategy. Create an annual community service event that the entire office/clients can contribute to such as, a community walk, bake sale, or other event giving back to the community.

"You were born to win, but to be a winner,
you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win."
Zig Ziglar

“Many ‘experts’ claim to have the answers on how to grow your insurance business. It is nice to actually meet someone who really has the tools and strategies needed to succeed. Lew Nason is the person who truly delivers. I attended his (Trusted Advisor Success Training™) boot camp in 2005 and purchased his training kit (Found Money Management™) and it was the best investment I could have made in my practice!" Kevin Davis, NY (18 years w/Northwestern Mutual)

"$270,000.00 of Life Premiums in Only 2 Months"

"Thanks for everything.  I've written over $270,000.00 of life premiums in the past two months since attending the (Trusted Advisor Success Training™) boot camp in December... ($190,000 in commissions) Freedom Equity Group has asked me to do a teleconference to explain how I've accomplished this dramatic increase in my business.  I'll be recommending your system and your boot camp to everyone on the call." Randy Delph, RFC, LUTCF, FMM - IN, (Freedom Equity Group) (35 years)

Marketing Advice From The Experts

90. The more you sweat in training, the less you'll bleed in battle.  Too many salespeople are not only bleeding in the "battle" to sell their customers, they're hemorrhaging.  Refine your skills in private and you'll have more victories in public.  There are no shortcuts.  Training is not glamorous or overly exciting.  It doesn't work overnight.  But it does work.  Choose the "pain" of daily training and skill development or the "pain" of losing more deals.  Pick one or the other.  There is no third choice." by Dave Anderson, author of "Selling Above The Crowd".

91. The most common mistake newcomers to any field of business make is to think that by expanding their portfolio they will "secure" more business, and nothing can be further from the truth. The truth, however, is that specializing and narrowing your focus as much as possible will increase the likelihood of you getting more business. An accountant specializing in car dealerships will get more business than a general accountant will. An advertising consultant specializing in print media for home furnishing stores will get more business than a typical advertising agent will. A photographer specializing in weddings will get more business than a regular photographer will. And the list goes on and on." - Dr. Michel Fortin

92. In marketing, I've seen only one strategy that can't miss - and that is to market to your best customers first, your best prospects second and the rest of the world last. - John Romero

93. For a business not to advertise is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing but no one else does - Stuart H. Britt, US advertising consultant

94. You can have brilliant ideas, but if you cannot get them across, your ideas will not get you anywhere. - Lee Iacocca, former Chrysler CEO

95. A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well. - Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com

96. Your premium brand had better be delivering something special, or it's not going to get the business. - Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway

97. Early to bed, early to rise, advertise, advertise, advertise. - Ray Kroc, McDonald's

98. The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.  - Peter Drucker, US Businessman

99. The purest treasure mortal times can afford is a spotless reputation. - William Shakespeare, English dramatist

100. Next to doing the right thing, the most important thing is to let people know you are doing the right thing.  - John Rockefeller

101. It is time in the insurance/investment business for advisors to stop focusing on making money for themselves and start focusing on the client. Selling is simple, if you do the right thing for all of your clients. If you focus completely on helping a client without worrying about the commissions, you will build your practice better. - John Gotschall, CLU, Coaching Financial Concepts, Inc.

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