Most insurance agencies place a high priority on following up with hot new leads. Aged insurance leads, though, tend to slip through the cracks. Agents have been taught to think of them as "cold" leads, for the most part non-viable, and certainly not worth the time and energy it takes to follow through with them. The problem with this thinking is that it is seriously flawed.
Aged Leads Are Viable
A study recently completed by SoftVu shows that 58 to 76 percent of older leads remain viable for as long as 36 months, or three years, after initial contact.
If you adjust your sales strategy to reach out to these prospects on a regular basis, you stand an excellent chance of re-engaging them and eventually, through lead nurturing, converting them to buyers.
Are You Aiding and Abetting the Competition?
SoftVu's research also found that 16 to 24 percent of aged leads eventually purchased products or services from a competitor. If someone asked you to turn over one-fifth of your clients to a competing agency, you'd probably think they were insane. When you ignore aged insurance leads, though, that's exactly what you're doing.
Waiting for the Customer to Make the First Move
Many initial contacts that don't result in an immediate sale end with the sales agent encouraging the lead to call back when he or she is ready to buy. While this suggestion may seem appropriate, it is impractical on a number of levels. Prospects may forget the name of the sales person, or they may lose his or her contact information. In any event, the call back rarely takes place.
Develop a Sales Strategy to Handle Aged Leads
If you talk to your sales team, they'll probably tell you that they're already up to their ears just dealing with new leads. Assigning them the additional responsibility of nurturing aged insurance leads would swamp them.
One way to handle this dilemma is to use automated email to send applicable information to and to touch base with aged insurance leads once every two or three months. The emails continue until the lead opts out of receiving them, or until the lead is ready to buy and requests contact with an agent. In the latter case, the lead is turned over to a sales person for immediate follow up.
Aged insurance leads aren't a waste of time. In fact, with a little nurturing, they may convert to valued clients.