How to Sell Postcard Advertisements to Insurance Agents
Insurance agents are prime candidates for many types of marketing services. Agents are continually searching for ways to reach specifically targeted prospects, such as homeowners or individuals who live in a specific location near the agent's office. Direct mail can be an excellent way to reach targeted audiences. Because postcards present an affordable way to deliver an eye-catching, succinct message to prospects, firms that provide targeted postcard mailings offer a value that other marketers cannot. Fortunately for postcard and direct mail vendors, insurance agents happen to be one of the easiest classes of businesspeople to contact.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Choose whether you will target property and casualty agents (who sell home, auto and business insurance) or life and health agents. Most insurance agencies run property and casualty sales from one department and life and health sales from another. An agent will typically work in one of these two departments. If you are sending a message about how your advertising can reach prospects for life and annuity products you will want to be sure you are contacting agents that deal in this area.
-
2
Request a list of agents. This is easier than you might think. Insurance agents are licensed by each state and most states compile the information about their agents in the National Insurance Producer Registry. You can visit their site at www.nipr.org to order detailed reports that provide mailing addresses for the agents you want to reach. You can also find out what types of licenses the agents hold (property and casualty, life and health, or both).
-
-
3
Present an example to agents. By sending agents a well-designed postcard you will be able to prove, firsthand, the benefits of such advertising. The front of the card should have rich graphics with a concise message of the value your advertising brings the agent. The back of the card provides space for examples of how you can tailor a message for that agent. This can include targeting specific products such as homeowner's insurance, auto insurance, life insurance, disability insurance or health insurance. If you are also providing agents with a mailing list, you will want to indicate the freshness of your leads and your ability to narrow mailings down to specific ZIP codes or demographics.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
If you are unable to find the information for the agents in your state using the National Insurance Producer Database, try contacting the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
Some states require their agents to list their home address, so be advised that your postcards may arrive at a residence and not a business.
If you are using home phone numbers to follow up, be sure to check the national do not call registry.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit bisinessman image by Siberia from Fotolia.com
