Find out how insurance sales pipeline management best practices can improve your process and earn you more business.
A sales pipeline is a great visual representation of actions a salesperson or sales team takes in moving a sales opportunity through the different stages of a sale. In the insurance industry, these stages can include prospecting, lead generation, qualification, quote/proposal, and closing the deal. When it comes to sales pipeline management best practices, each agent will have their own preferred strategies, but it’s important to keep everyone on the same page. There are sales pipeline management best practices that are beneficial and worth incorporating into your own systems. Here are seven sales pipeline management best practices every insurance agent needs to know.
1. Document your process
The only way to improve your sales pipeline management best practices is to have a reference point to compare it to. Before doing anything different, take a moment to document your current process. From prospecting and lead generation to closing a deal, track your consistent actions. By documenting your process, you’ll be able to compare and reference actions and processes as you adjust them.
2. Research your prospects
When building out your sales pipeline management best practices, researching your prospects is key. Without putting in extra effort in understanding who your prospects are, you run the risk of wasting time by clogging up your pipeline with prospects that will never become qualified leads.
3. Get rid of dead weight
There comes a point when reviewing your sales pipeline when you need to cut your losses and get rid of prospects and leads that are unlikely to convert to sales. This is one of the sales pipeline management best practices that can be tough to implement, especially if you reflect on the time and energy you’ve put into a particular lead. That doesn’t mean that all aging leads should be cut. You’ll need to build a system of indicators that will help you decide when it’s time to drop the dead lead based on lead age and engagement.
4. Track and review your data
Carve out time at least monthly if not bi-weekly to review your sales pipeline. You’re not just looking for sales numbers here. You’ll want to review the actions taken by you and your team and how those actions may have converted into moving a lead through your sales cycle. Using a customer relationship management (CRM) software is helpful in collecting and reporting this data, but you can also use a simple spreadsheet with effective results.
5. Keep your information up-to-date
Data is only helpful if it’s accurate. Insurance agents spend hours on the phone and computer talking to clients and sending emails. It can be challenging to find the discipline needed to record every interaction and metric. Find ways to automate using software or other technology. If you go to review a report and it’s missing key metrics, the report (and the time you took putting it together) is useless.
6. Add more content opportunities
When reflecting on your sales pipeline management best practices, be sure to give content a second look. Not just emails and newsletters, content like blog articles and video FAQs posted to your social media accounts can go a long way in building initial connections with prospects. Once they become qualified leads, the content can become more in-depth with a free webinar or video tutorial on the best ways to shop for home and auto insurance. By the time the leads are ready to make a decision, your content can be free insurance analysis tools or same-day quotes, and even discount codes. Content is a great tool to move your leads within your sales pipeline and it’s worth revisiting how you can use (and re-use) good content.
7. Use tools and resources to fill your pipeline
Customer relationship management (CRM) software is great, but it’s not mandatory to develop sales pipeline management best practices. Sometimes starting with a simple spreadsheet gives you a more hands-on approach. Even using automated rules and reminders in your email and calendar can benefit your sales pipeline efficiency. Other resources include outsourcing your lead generation so you can focus time and energy on nurturing leads and qualifying them. This can be especially helpful if you are working for yourself or have a smaller team of agents.
Add to your sales pipeline management best practices by having HBW Leads take care of your lead generation. Insurance experts at HBW Leads have leveraged the latest technology to get you and your agency unique double-verified insurance leads. Find out how they can help your business grow.