Medicare supplement insurance can be a lucrative area to focus on as an independent agent. Every day, 10,000 people in the US turn 65.
What’s more, Medicare supplement insurance can be very confusing for the average person. This means that Medicare leads have a high need for your help, which makes them more likely to convert.
However, this doesn’t mean you can neglect your leads. The key to increasing your sale numbers is to nurture your Medicare supplement leads, find good quality leads, and use the right approach on them.
Are you tired of losing leads and not seeing the sales numbers and commissions you want? Keep reading to find out how you can optimize your leads and your nurturing process for better results.
1. Reach Out Quickly
One of the most important tips around optimizing Medicare leads for agents is to reach out quickly. Whether you generated a lead organically, through advertising, or purchased leads—you need to get in contact as soon as possible.
The quicker you can respond to a lead, the more professional and organized you will seem. If you take days to get back to a prospect or lead, it will look like you either a) don’t value their business, b) aren’t an active agent or c) don’t have the right systems in place to give good service.
Imagine if you are shopping for a product or service and you reach out to two different places. Which one are you most likely to go with, the seller that replies within a couple of hours, or the one that takes a few days to get back to you?
The same principle applies to Medicare leads.
Keep in mind that other agents might also contact your Medicare supplement leads. If your leads are actively seeking out information and solutions, the longer you wait to contact them, the higher chance they’ll enter another agent’s sales funnel.
If you buy insurance leads, it’s even more critical to contact them as soon as possible. Bought leads have invariably already aged somewhat before they hit your desk. If you dally over working the list, they’ll age even further, losing quality along the way.
The best Medicare leads are fresh leads, so don’t let them go stale on your desk.
2. Think of Yourself Like a Consultant
Another important tip for increasing conversions with your Medicare leads is to think of yourself as a consultant, not a salesperson.
Why?
Because what most Medicare leads need is someone to help them navigate the confusing waters of Medicare supplement plans. Balancing the right plan, that meets their potential medical needs, with their budget is a very important decision.
If they choose the wrong coverage, they could end up paying out of pocket for medical expenses they can’t afford. Or they could end up overpaying on supplement insurance they don’t really need. In other words, the wrong choices could impact their finances and health.
As an independent agent, your job is to help them assess their needs and sort through their options. If you try to hardsell certain products to them, your Medicare leads will pick up on this and you might erode their trust.
No one wants to be stuck with an insurance product that’s not right for them because their insurance agent pushed it.
3. Address Your Leads’ Needs
As an independent insurance agent, you have the unique opportunity to truly serve your Medicare leads’ needs. Because you aren’t captive and affiliated with only one provider—you can offer your Medicare leads a wide range of options.
You can identify Medicare supplement products that are the best fit for their needs, without being limited to one carrier’s options.
Like we said above, the key to being a successful insurance salesperson (especially when it comes to Medicare) is not to act like a salesperson. By thinking of yourself as a consultant, and focusing on what your leads need first, rather than getting the highest commissions—you can achieve far higher levels of success.
If your driving focus is helping people find the right solutions, your Medicare leads will pick up on this. When leads realize you have their best interests at heart, they will trust you over any other agent that’s just trying to get the highest commissions and close sales as quickly as possible.
Leads, who trust you and feel like you really helped them, are also more likely to refer you to friends and family. Referral Medicare leads are some of the best there are.
4. Contract With Multiple Carriers
Contracting with multiple carriers takes time and effort, but it is well worthwhile. The more carriers you contract with, the wider range of products you can offer your Medicare leads.
Instead of being limited to a couple of different options, you can isolate products that are the best fit for your Medicare supplement leads.
If you can offer a diverse range of Medicare supplement products, this also makes a good impression on leads. You’ll come across as less of a sales agent, and more like a knowledgeable consultant.
5. Target Leads Early
The window period of Medicare enrollment is relatively tight, so it’s important you target leads at the beginning of this period.
Instead of waiting until the last minute, when leads will be targeted left and right, you can gain an advantage by early targeting.
If you target leads 6, 5, and 4 months ahead of their 65th birthdays, you’ll have less competition. This increases the chance of conversions.
Also, don’t forget that there are some instances where people with disabilities under age 65 can enroll in Medicare. Currently, 14% of enrolled Americans are under 65.
6. Buy Good Quality Leads
Buying insurance leads is an invaluable way to kickstart your insurance sales business, and keep an ongoing stream of leads coming onto your desk.
However, if you buy insurance leads, you need to make sure they are top quality.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of lead providers out there that won’t hesitate to sell you stale, unqualified leads. Although many of these providers might claim their leads are top quality, when it comes time to work them you’ll run into issues.
Working leads takes time and energy. If you’re working low-quality leads that don’t have a hope of converting, you’ll be wasting hours of effort.
To maximize your time and conversion rates, look for a provider that offers proof of quality with their leads.
Here at Final Expense Sales Lead, we give agents concrete proof that the leads they buy are genuine. For example, all Facebook leads come with a PDF of responses from the prospect. All of our telemarketing leads come complete with recordings of the initial interaction.
7. Implement Automation
If you want to optimize your Medicare leads, you should also look into leveraging automation in your marketing process. An automated marketing system not only reduces your workload but can also provide a more seamless experience for leads.
By automating follow-up and lead nurturing steps, you can ensure you never miss an opportunity or let a lead slip through the cracks.
8. Use a CRM System
Speaking of letting leads fall through the cracks, want to know the most common way this happens? Disorganization.
Keeping track of dozens of leads at a time is no easy task. You have to remember who to call, when, and why. Not only must you keep track of where each of your leads is in the nurturing process, but you also have to remember details about them, from their specific needs and budget to the name of their spouse.
Doing all of this manually can be a tough task, no matter how organized you are. The best way to keep track of all your leads is through a CRM system.
CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. With a good CRM, you’ll be able to keep track of all your leads and any important details about them. A CRM system will also ensure you contact your Medicare leads at the right time and never slip up on follow-up.
9. Establish Yourself as an Authority
If you want to optimize your Medicare leads, you need them to trust you. One of the best ways to trigger trust in leads, before you even speak with them, is through establishing yourself as an authority on Medicare insurance.
You can do this by creating content such as blog posts, infographics, and videos, or sharing your knowledge on social media. You can also attend networking events and host seminars and talks on Medicare insurance.
The aim of the game is to share your knowledge and answer prospects’ questions. Not only will this generate leads for you, but it will also make leads trust you and think of you as the person to speak to about Medicare.
10. Practice Empathy
Last but not least, if you want to make the most of your Medicare leads, start exercising your empathy muscle.
If you can put yourself in the leads’ shoes, and experience real empathy for them, you’ll be far more likely to connect with them and truly serve them. Leads tend to respond far better if you display empathy for them because it’s a sign that you understand their problems and pain points.
Are You Looking for the Best Medicare Leads?
There are a lot of things you can do to optimize and make the most of your Medicare leads. The two most important areas to focus on are the quality of your leads, and what you can do to genuinely serve them.
Are you looking for the best Medicare leads? Wondering how to get Medicare leads that will actually convert? If so we can help.
Organic lead generation takes time, something not all agents have. That is why we are here to fill the gap.
Not only does Final Expense Sales Leads provide some of the highest quality leads, but we are also dedicated to the success of our agents.
To get started, browse our lead types today.