Failure to Launch Your Marketing Campaign

Posted on June 19th, 2013 by John Scranton

In sales, it is important to plan and prepare.  Those who are ready to present and close a deal usually beat those who are not.  This system works well for salespeople because there are built in deadlines.  If the meeting is Tuesday, you must be ready Tuesday.  If the account renews Friday, your quote must be ready to go by Friday.

But in marketing, timelines are typically created internally and are set as “goals.”  Meaning an organization hopes to be finished this week, but next week would be acceptable too.  There is no deadline.  This leaves ample time for all parties involved to review and refine the project – which is a positive, unless the cycles invested push your campaign out weeks, months, or even to infinity.

Failing to launch a campaign is not a solution.  Eventually, the trigger must be pulled.  Choosing the color of paint for the bedrooms cannot delay the pouring of the foundation – or the house will never be built.  Make the goal a deadline.  Plan and prepare as effectively as possible, then launch the campaign.  Measure results, review and refine.  Just make sure to begin.

 

July Webinar Schedule Posted

Posted on June 18th, 2013 by John Scranton

StartUpSelling’s insurance agency marketing and lead generation webinar series schedule for July is now finalized.  To view the complete schedule and webinar details, please visit: http://startupselling.com/blogs/alanblume/webinars/.

 

Webinar: Top 5 Insurance Agency Lead Generation Tactics

Posted on June 17th, 2013 by John Scranton

Join us for this brief, complimentary and educational web seminar. We will review the Top 5 Insurance Agency Lead Generation Tactics. This 20 minute webinar offers agency executives the opportunity to learn about effective lead generation strategies in use by a many highly successful agencies and how campaigns can be exclusively targeted for your prospects. Topics include:

* How can email marketing create targeted leads?
* When is telemarketing most effective?
* Are websites creating leads for other agencies?
* What is the role of social media marketing?
* PLUS: Your pre-submitted questions answered live

Date & Time: July 17th at 1pm EST

To Register: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/736398320

Updating Your Agency Website: Open Source Code, Content Management, Analytics, HTML 5

Posted on June 14th, 2013 by John Scranton

Insurance Agency SEOJoin us for this brief, complimentary and educational web seminar.
We will review insurance agency website best practices including:

* Advantages of Open Source Coding
* Easy to Use Content Management Systems
* Integrated Analytics
* HTML 5 Compatibility
* Search Engine Optimization
* Blogging Best Practices
* Social Media Marketing

Date & Time: Wednesday, July 10, 2013 12:00 PM – 12:30 PM EDT

To register: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/137659264

Agency Telesales Best Practices 2 Minute Video Approaches 1,000 Views

Posted on June 13th, 2013 by John Scranton

Top 10 Tips for Insurance Agency SEO Success – Recorded Webinar

Posted on June 12th, 2013 by John Scranton

Insurance Agency Marketing – Top 5 Tips in 200 Words or Less – Tip #2

Posted on June 11th, 2013 by John Scranton

Tip#2: Create Your Unique Value Proposition

This sounds simple, but you would be shocked by the number of agency principals that struggle to explain what their business does and why it is unique and valuable.  This includes executives from large agencies.

Lets begin by reviewing what does not work: we provide great service, all the competitive markets, and have been in business since 1938.  Although commendable, this is not unique.  It is the story of 100′s of agencies across the country.  Even worse is an obtuse and unclear message, like “we manage the cost of risk.”

Here are a few examples of a value proposition that works as fuel for an insurance agency marketing campaign:

  • We only insure trucking companies and have for over 80 years.
  • We provide employee benefit solutions and proprietary market analysis tools to companies with 250 to 5000 employees.
  • We are a virtual agency with minimal overhead, creating deeper investments in talented service and safety personnel.

The reason these value propositions work is that they are different, clear and direct.  In the first two examples, the agencies have also followed Tip #1 (focusing on a clearly defined target prospect profile).

Insurance Agency Marketing – Top 5 Tips in 200 Words or Less – Tip #1

Posted on June 10th, 2013 by John Scranton

Tip #1: Clearly Define Your Target Prospect Profile

A wise man once told me: “If you try to be everything to everybody, you probably won’t be anything to anybody.”

Attempting to develop deep expertise in many areas is a very challenging and often futile objective.  How likely is it that the best pitcher is also the best hitter, or that the best quarterback is also the best linebacker?  This logic also applies to insurance sales – particularly when creating a marketing campaign.

For example, I previously worked with agents who specialized in unique niche markets such as car washes or fire departments.  In each case, the agent knew nearly everything about the risk – not just from an insurance perspective, but from a business perspective.  If you can discuss car wash equipment or ladder trucks intelligently prior to taking applications, you present a distinct and highly marketable advantage.

A message of value was created as a result of a clearly defined target prospect profile.  In these examples, the profile was defined by industry – but size, location or product could also be key characteristics of an ideal prospect.  This tip is a crucial first step to the development of an effective insurance agency marketing campaign.

 

Webinar: 10 Tips for Insurance Agency SEO – Inbound Lead Generation

Posted on June 7th, 2013 by John Scranton

Join us for this brief, complimentary and educational web seminar. Our team of insurance agency marketing experts will share ten tips for a successful Search Engine Optimization campaign. Search algorithms are constantly changing, and agency executives must have an effective strategy in place to remain competitive. Agencies leveraging these concepts dominate their rankings. In this webinar you will learn how to leverage these best practices to improve results and attract targeted traffic. Topics include:

* How SEO Builds Credibility and Shows Expertise
* How Insurance Agency SEO Attracts Prospects
* Why Link Building Schemes Damage Rankings
* What Your Agency Needs to do to Keep Up With the Competition

Date & Time: June 12 at Noon EST

To Register: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/168657641

Insurance Agency SEO – 3 Minute Video Interview with StartUpSelling CEO

Posted on June 6th, 2013 by John Scranton

We are receiving many inquiries regarding next week’s Insurance Agency SEO webinar.  We will be posting a webinar preview in the near future.  To provide additional background, here is a brief interview with StartUpSelling CEO Alan Blume discussing this important topic: