Company Background
As a second-generation Allstate Agent, Brian Weatherman has owned and operated his agency in Littleton, Colorado for seven years. Brian was drawn to the profession by his father who served as an Allstate agent for 31 years. He offers property & causality, commercial, and life insurance coverage. Wearing many hats, he is the owner, manager, principal, and leader of his team.
Executive Summary
With new expectations and goals to reach, Brian has turned his focus to increasing their volume of opportunities. Sales is a numbers game, and the more opportunities their agency has, the more sales they can convert. To do this, he decided to select a lead provider that can increase their conversation time and conversion rate. Brian chose HBW Leads.
The Challenges
Increase Volume
Like many Allstate agencies this year, Brian adapted his strategy to meet new restructuring changes that include new categories and goals. To achieve these new goals, the solution was simple. Increase volume. “We’re really pushing volume in terms of quotes and ultimately premium written items,” said Brian. The first step to increasing volume is to increase opportunities, but they didn’t just want any opportunity.
Increase Connections
While outbound calling is a simple solution to increasing volume, the challenge is connecting and generating interest from a cold list. His team performs well doing what they do best, having conversations. “They’re at their best when they’re in front of people and not dialing 100 [numbers] a day,” explained Brian. In addition to being tedious, dialing can be exhausting which can affect performance. Brian reviewed his options and remembered HBW Leads- a lead provider that he found success with in the past.
The Solution
HBW Leads aren’t just your typical lead provider. They’re 100% qualified and exclusive auto & home leads. Lead specialists call in the agent’s respective area. They’re also double verified to ensure quality.
Before he became an agency owner, Brian used HBW leads as a producer. He was pleased with their quality. He reflected, “They were some of the best follow-ups if you didn’t quote and sell right on the spot.” He was also pleased with the return policy. If he felt a lead was unsatisfactory, it was easy to return a lead for credit.
“The return system is a helpful one too,” he added. “We leverage that, and I think that’s feedback for you guys and your callers.” So, what else separates HBW Leads from other providers?
- They’re 100% qualified and exclusive auto & home leads.
- Lead specialists call in the agent’s respective area on their behalf.
- All leads are double-verified by a team member to ensure agents receive the best quality leads.
The Benefits
Long Call Durations = Sales
Brian’s producers have long talk times with leads from HBW. This is something that he attributes to their conversion success.
“A 30 even 45-minute conversation with an HBW lead means you’re having a good in-depth conversation, you’re building rapport, establishing that you’re a professional, giving advice, asking the right questions and, making yourself an insurance doctor that builds trust with folks,” Brian said.
The first step to a longer talk time is building rapport, and HBW Leads is providing them with the lead information they need to form a warm connection.
“I look at calls and talk time, too, because that’s really where we’re talking, selling and closing.”
Stronger Rapport & Time to Prepare
Each HBW lead the Weatherman agency receives is prefilled with useful information. For example, auto leads include the car(s) make and model, current provider, current rate & deductible, current address, the name of the lead specialist who called them, the best time to reach, etc.
By having this information in advance, Brian’s team can prepare themselves. They can start a quote before they call the lead. Then, when they do call, they just need to finish quoting. They can even mention the name of the lead specialist who contacted them which makes for a warm introduction.
Another way that gives way for a warm introduction is by calling the leads at the proffered time that’s written on the lead. It’s driving more connections. With this and the extra time to prepare, it’s a nice change of pace for his agency compared to live transfer leads. Brian explained,
“The live call transfers are, boom, right on the spot, you’ve got to be ready. Those are good, too, not saying those are bad, but [with HBW] we’re able to follow up with folks whose expectations have been set, to where they’re going to get a follow-up within the next business day or even next 24 hours. They’ll still be warm because of those expectations. So, we don’t get a live transfer call where we miss it, where it comes in, and everybody’s out to lunch, eating, or something like that. It allows us to work these more strategically, as we get them and get prepped.”
Leads With Bonus Value
In many instances, the leads they receive exceed their expectations. For example, leads may have one vehicle that the prospect wants to be quoted. Then when the producer calls, they uncover additional needs like more vehicles.
“We’ll call him and he’ll end up having four vehicles. That sort of thing is not uncommon. So, it’s kind of fun what you uncover, and a lot of those calls are warm,” adds Brian. Surprises like this boost morale and drive unexpected, additional growth. Brian continues to fill his agency’s sales pipeline with warm leads from HBW, and his team is on the right track to achieving their goals.
“We closed a six-car auto two weeks ago, and the guy had two vehicles listed. That was a biggie. Certainly, that was one that we liked.”
Learn how you can increase your conversation and lead conversion rate with HBW’s qualified and exclusive home & auto leads. Click here.