Searching for the best life insurance prospecting ideas can be overwhelming. As an agent or agency, knowing where to focus your energy is key to expanding your life insurance clients.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll discuss some of the top life insurance sales strategies for generating more leads, appointments, and clients.
You’ll learn:
- Free and paid prospecting strategies
- Innovative techniques
- Proven methods
- And more!
Let’s get started!
Key Takeaways
- Adopt a mix of traditional and modern prospecting strategies, including SEO-friendly websites, TikTok ads, and engaging direct mail to generate quality insurance leads.
- Leverage social media platforms, create educational content, and form strategic partnerships to establish credibility and expand your client base in the insurance industry.
- Embrace automation and technology for efficient lead management and follow-ups, while maintaining personal and authentic connections to nurture leads into clients.
- Rather than try to do everything, use the pareto principle (80/20 rule) to focus on the 20% of work that generates 80% of your results. See ‘step 4’ of this video for how you can do this.
What are the best life insurance prospecting ideas?
From leveraging the power of social media and search engine optimization to mastering cold calling and crafting engaging direct mail letters, there’s an array of promising prospecting strategies for life insurance agents.
While some of these methods require an investment, many others are free and simply require time, effort, and a dash of creativity. Adopting these tactics allows a life insurance agent to expand their client base and boost their life insurance sales.
Let’s uncover some of these game-changing strategies that could elevate your insurance business, including your insurance agency, to new heights.
1. Build an appointment funnel
Price: $120/month for funnel building software to automate everything.
An automated appointment funnel can turn strangers into leads and clients automatically. It integrates components like:
- Landing pages
- Surveys
- Forms
- Calendars
- Videos
- Automated follow up emails
And more!
This streamlines your lead capture and management process and best of all this life insurance prospecting idea can work with any of the life insurance sales strategies in this article.
Watch the video below to learn how to create an automated appointment funnel in more detail:
2. TikTok Ads
Price: Approx. $150-$250 per booked appointment with the right strategy
Have you considered TikTok for life insurance marketing? With over 1.53 billion users and an increasing older aged demographic, it offers a massive, diverse audience for your services.
TikTok Ads are also cheaper than advertising on YouTube, Facebook or Google.
Best of all, once your ads are up and running, the leads and appointments come through each month on autopilot.
For best results, your ad needs to have the right messaging combined with an automated appointment funnel.
3. Blogging
Price: Free
While blogging allows you to share your thoughts, it’s also a long-term strategy to build authority, enhance SEO rankings, and attract free traffic to your website. Start by blogging about different types of life insurance services, run a Q&A series, or share client stories.
Your blog is a reflection of your expertise, so make sure it provides value.
Blogging is an excellent way to generate a consistent stream of life insurance leads in an automated and evergreen way.
Regular audits and monitoring of your website’s performance through SEO tools can keep it optimized and increase your chances of organic visibility.
4. Facebook Ads
Price: Approx. $200-$300 per booked appointment with the right strategy
Facebook Ads can be an invaluable tool for life insurance agents looking to target specific demographics. Given Facebook’s vast user base, which encompasses a diverse range of ages and backgrounds, it allows for highly targeted advertising.
You can specify your audience based on factors such as age, location, job title, interests, and behaviors, ensuring that your ads reach the people most likely to need life insurance.
Moreover, Facebook’s advanced analytics provide insights into how your ads are performing, enabling you to adjust your campaigns for maximum effectiveness.
The platform also supports various ad formats, including images, videos, carousels, and more, giving you the creative flexibility to present your message in the most compelling way.
If you have the budget for it, investing in Facebook Ads can be a strategic move. By combining the right messaging with a well-structured automated appointment funnel, you can generate a steady flow of leads and booked appointments, making it a powerful prospecting strategy for growing your life insurance client base.
5. Local SEO Tactics
Price: Free
Local SEO is a great prospecting strategy to get local leads and clients. Employ local SEO tactics as a secret weapon to draw targeted leads in your service area.
To get started, you’ll need to sign up for Google Business Profile and collect customer reviews. The more positive customer reviews you get, the higher Google will rank you locally.
It also helps to include location-specific keywords in your website content, create dedicated pages for specific service areas, and conduct regular SEO audits.
6. Social Media
Price: Free
While social media can be fun, it is also a potent tool for connecting with potential life insurance clients and helping establish your credibility.
Whether LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube, each platform offers unique ways to engage your audience. Here are some strategies to consider:
- Share original content
- Showcase your expertise
- Engage with influencers
- Maintain a consistent posting schedule
By utilizing these strategies, you can effectively leverage social media to grow your life insurance business.
Tip: No need to be active on ALL social media platforms. In fact, for best results, I recommend focusing on just one or two channels to begin with. For best results, I’d recommend starting with YouTube, as it’s one of the best free life insurance prospecting strategies for long-term results.
7. YouTube SEO
Who doesn’t love a good video? YouTube offers a unique, visual approach to prospecting that can significantly boost your leads. Start by recording and uploading life insurance related educational videos that answer questions your potential clients ask.
Insurance agents who use YouTube to prospect will attract qualified leads who already want to work with them. YouTube does a great job of building trust with potential customers.
Optimize these videos with search terms and keywords to improve your chances of discovery.
Tip: An eye-catching video thumbnail can significantly boost click-through rates and help you generate quality leads.
8. Post short TikTok videos
Price: Free
Beyond dance challenges, TikTok is a powerful platform for posting educational videos and engaging with a broad audience. From explaining insurance policies to giving behind-the-scenes insights, there’s a lot you can do. And with the right strategy, your videos could even go viral!
And no—TikTok is NOT just for young people anymore. Our life insurance clients have successfully used TikTok to generate annuity leads, IUL leads, and financial advisor leads.
TikTok is one of the few social media channels that allows you to reach a large social media audience without needing to pay for ads. Of course, if you do have the budget to pay for ads, you’ll be able to boost your reach even further and get faster results.
Tip: Authenticity is key on TikTok, so keep it real and relatable.
9. Automated follow up emails
Price: $0 to $120/month for email marketing software
You’ve made the initial contact, but the work isn’t over yet. Following up is a crucial life insurance prospecting idea to convert potential customers into clients.
When following up with leads, make it personal, provide value through educational content and automate the process so that you do not follow up with leads manually.
10. Build Your Email List Strategically
Price: Free & Paid options
Your email list is a gold mine of potential leads. But how do you grow it? Start by offering potential life insurance customers a lead magnet in return for their name and email.
Email marketing extends beyond sending out newsletters. It’s a strategy for building trust, disseminating valuable information, and nurturing leads into clients.
From welcome emails and newsletters to personalized messages and event campaigns, there’s a lot you can do with email marketing.
Remember, consistency is key.
Here are some additional tips for creating emails that convert leads into customers:
11. Direct Mail Sales Letters
Price: $1,000+ per campaign
In the digital age, direct mail sales letters might seem outdated, but they’re still an effective way to prospect new life insurance clients. The key is to make them engaging. Here are some tips to make your direct mail sales letter more effective:
- Start with an attention-grabbing opening.
- Make your letter visually appealing by using images, colors, and formatting.
- Personalize the letter by including the recipient’s name and other relevant details.
- End with a limited-time offer to create a sense of urgency.
By following these tips, you can create a direct mail sales letter that grabs attention and drives results.
12. Creating Content That Resonates
Price: Free
Content creation goes beyond sharing information. It’s a process geared towards converting life insurance prospects into clients. Whether you send out welcome emails, follow-up campaigns, or newsletters, your content should be personalized, educational, and empowering.
Your content reflects your brand, so ensure it aligns with your values.
You can create content for free yourself or by using AI SEO Writing Tools like ChatGPT.
13. Automated handwritten mailers
Price: $1,500+ per campaign
In the world of emails and social media, handwritten mailers might seem like a thing of the past. Did you know that they have a higher open rate than standard direct mail? This makes them a more effective marketing tool.
With automated handwriting machines, you can create personalized handwritten mailers efficiently.
14. Referral Programs
Price: Free
Referral programs serve as a potent tool for acquiring high-quality life insurance prospects. By incentivizing referrals from satisfied clients and professional acquaintances, you can create a sustainable flow of targeted leads.
Insurance agents integrate a referral program by automatically emailing happy customers every 3-6 months asking for referrals. When you automate the process of asking for referrals, it makes it easy to build up your pipeline.
Referrals work well not only for insurance agents but also as an effective financial advisor prospecting strategy.
15. Engaging with Relevant Groups
Price: Free
Engaging with relevant groups can significantly boost your visibility and credibility. Whether it’s LinkedIn groups, forums, or Q&A platforms like Quora, these platforms offer unique ways to engage your audience and showcase your expertise.
There are also many online business communities where you can network with mortgage brokers, realtors, or new agents looking to work together and pass each other business.
16. Networking events
Price: Free & paid options
Networking is more than merely exchanging business cards. It’s about forging authentic relationships. Whether you’re attending Business Networking Groups, Mastermind Groups, or insurance conferences, remember to engage genuinely and build relationships.
A networking group I first joined when I started my business was BNI. It was a good way to generate leads and maintain relationships with potential clients.
However, these days, I do not belong to any networking group as I’ve found it’s a lot more effective to generate quality leads using online strategies instead.
That being said, everyone is different.
Going to networking business events can be a good way to prospect new life insurance clients, especially if you’re looking for local customers.
17. Mastering the Art of Cold Calling
Price: Free
Despite seeming intimidating, cold calling remains an essential aspect of prospecting. The key is to be prepared, confident, and ready to overcome objections. Practice makes perfect, so keep at it.
When cold calling it helps to:
1. Prepare a Dynamic Sales Pitch
A sales pitch goes beyond selling your product. It’s about connecting with your prospects and catering to their needs within the sales process. Start with a compelling introduction, adapt your scripts to your personal style, and always maintain a positive demeanor.
2. Overcome Objections Gracefully
While every sales conversation involves objections, gracefully overcoming them is key. Start by identifying the most common objections and preparing a strategic response for each. Every objection is an opportunity to provide more information and clarify any misconceptions.
3. Automate Follow-Ups
While following up is critical, it need not be time-consuming. With CRM features within appointment funnels, you can automate your follow-ups, ensuring that each individual receives the required attention.
From automated voice calls to pre-recorded voicemail messages, you can streamline your communication process efficiently.
18. Partnering with Complementary Industries
Price: Free
Forming partnerships can provide a significant boost to your lead generation efforts. Whether it’s real estate agents, mortgage brokers or other professionals, these partnerships can lead to a consistent flow of leads and potential collaborations.
A good partnership is mutually beneficial, so always find ways to add value.
The identification of potential partnerships is vital to your lead generation efforts. Whether it’s on LinkedIn or in local networking groups, these partnerships can expand your reach and boost your credibility. A good partnership is built on mutual respect and shared goals.
19. Cold Email
Price: $50-$100/month (approx.)
Cold emailing can be a highly effective prospecting strategy. With the right approach and a bit of persistence, you can turn cold leads into warm prospects. Remember, the key to a successful cold email is personalization, so ensure each email is tailored to the recipient.
Today, there are many AI cold emailing tools you can use to make cold emailing prospects easier and faster than ever.
Conclusion
As we’ve explored, prospecting in the insurance industry is far from a one-size-fits-all approach. It involves a mix of strategies, from leveraging digital AI marketing tools, AI lead generation tools, and platforms to building authentic relationships and partnerships.
With the right combination of tactics, you can generate a steady stream of quality insurance leads and set the stage for a successful career in the insurance industry.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ashley Davis (or ‘Ash’ for short) is the CEO & Founder of Skyline Social. For over 15 years, Ash has been helping business owners with lead generation. Ash specializes in helping businesses get high-quality leads, appointments and clients each month with automated digital marketing strategies. Learn more about the author here.
