3 Tips to Close More Leads (Plus Free Sequencing Tool)

Whether you buy your leads or acquire them organically, there’s nothing more frustrating than losing a potentially promising lead and not knowing why. Did a competitor sweep them up before you could close? Did you annoy them? Did the lead simply go cold? We can’t explain every lost lead you’ll ever encounter, but we can give you data-driven tips to start closing more leads today.

1. The early bird gets the worm

   
   Data shows that when contacted by a lead, every minute that passes before you return the call reduces the chances of selling a policy. Responding within 1 minute makes you almost 5 times more likely to close. Within 2 minutes you are only 2.5 times more likely to close. 3 minutes later your chances start dropping. If it takes you 30 minutes to respond, you’re half as likely to close a deal, and after an hour that number is down around 30%. Lesson is, there’s not a second to spare. The quicker you respond, the better your chances of securing a sale. 
   
   

2. Persist, it takes on average 5 touchpoints to sell a policy

   
   Just because you respond swiftly, doesn’t mean you’ll close a sale in your first call. Our experience shows it takes an average of 5 touchpoints to sell an insurance policy. Some leads may take convincing or may need time to weigh options. Remember these touchpoints may be phone conversations, emails, or a mixture of both. Combining email and phone strategies, as demonstrated in the infographic below, will more than double your chances of closing a sale. Set reminders for yourself so you know how many times you’ve contacted each lead. If a lead still isn’t ready after 5 touchpoints, that’s okay. Rather than bombard them when they clearly aren’t ready, you can use tools such as AgencyZoom’s Smart-Cycle to revisit these leads when they’re more likely to close.
   
   

3. Know when to stop. Don’t annoy your leads.

   
   It may take on average 5 touchpoints to sell a policy, but that doesn’t mean you should chase a lead forever. Data shows that after 6 calls or 5 emails customers start to become annoyed. It is important to walk the line between persistent and annoying. Just how much can this affect your sales? After 6 calls your chances of selling a policy half, and after 5 emails they drop even lower.  We recommend a general policy of three emails and three phone calls, beginning as soon as possible and spread over the course of a week. As we mentioned before, if a customer still isn’t ready to sell after 6 calls or 6 emails, tools like AgencyZoom’s Smart-Cycle can make it easy to put these leads on the backburner until they're ready to buy.

Use this chart to plan out your calls and email:

With these tips you should start closing leads like a boss, but for even more information on the types of lead sand which you should pursue, check out our previous guide: The 3 Types of Insurance Leads and How to Work Them .

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