We're sure you know that you can't grow your business without growing your sales pipeline. Successful sales lead management begins with identifying prospects who have expressed an interest in your products or services. Life Insurance leads can come from a variety of prospecting efforts such as lists, social media, direct mail or email. Regardless of how you find these leads, it is important to always nurture them, a forgotten lead is unlikely to become a customer. Below are tips on how to handle and track each new lead as well as grow your lead base.

• Ask family, friends and prospects: Who do they know who recently had a baby, purchased a home, had a child go to college, lost a job, etc.?
• Conduct seminars and hand out feedback forms that ask, “Are you interested in meeting with a financial professional?”
• Participate in a social media program
• Use city directories
• Ask centers of influence as well as current family, friends, and clients for referrals
• Purchase lead lists (e.g., new homeowners)
• Join the welcoming committee of your neighborhood or town
• Sponsor a booth or seminar at a local trade show
• Conduct local advertising
• Publish articles and/or press releases online, in local newspapers and magazines to position yourself as a thought leader
• Serve on a committee or join a local civic group (e.g. Rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce)
• Attend local fundraisers, business meetings, and town halls
• Share gated content like ebooks, whitepapers or case studies online
• Host or attend networking events
• Receive leads through your producer home page or websites

Nurture Your Leads

Right from the start, lead management focuses on building buyer interest through education and lead nurturing efforts. Lead nurturing simply means obtaining permission to stay in contact with prospects that are not yet ready to buy. 

It’s important to note that most leads will not be ready to buy the moment you receive their name. In fact, most individuals will only buy from someone they know, like, and trust. Therefore, building relationships with individuals over time is critical. By providing the education and information they need, over time, you will build awareness and affinity to your brand. This, in some ways, is more important than closing the sale. Stay top of mind by following these simple tips.

Tips for Nurturing Leads: While some may seem like Sales 101 it is their combination that will generate a winning strategy.

1. Place an introductory phone call the moment you receive the lead. If the individual voicemail comes on, leave a message with your name, company, and why you’re calling.
   1. Call back the next day at a different time; then two days later—continue to follow up until you successfully reach your prospect. Remember, you can’t establish a business relationship unless you make contact.
      
      
2. Follow-up phone calls with an email and/or letter providing information about yourself, the company, and the products/services you provide. A digital personal brochure is a great way to provide this important information.
   
   
3. When you make contact, use open-ended questions to identify his or her needs/interests. Also ask questions so you get to know him or her better, such as birthday, anniversary, email address, etc.
   
   
4. Don’t hang up without asking for an appointment.
   
   • Use the appointment-setting mastery language to set appointments. If the lead doesn’t wish to meet with you now, ask if you can keep him or her on your distribution list and stay in touch from time to time.
     
     
5. Stay in touch constantly- some ways to do this are to remember to send a card for their birthday or holiday along with some storyboards and checklists, send newsletters, or send annual review invitations. Ensure communications are targeted for each individual and that they demonstrate your understanding of his or her financial challenges and reinforce your relationship.
   1. When you send something via mail or email—always follow up with a call. Sending a newsletter only keeps your name in front of a lead. If you want to build relationships, you’ll need to call and say “Hi John. I was reading the Newsletter I recently sent you and was wondering what you thought about the article on college funding?”
   2. Don’t be promotional—early-stage buyers don’t want product pitches or sales offers but rather want to be educated about your products and services only.
      
      
6. Develop a marketing calendar and map out when you will send information or invite them to an event such as a seminar. Here are a few examples of when you should reach out to leads:
   1. When a product change occurs
   2. When the prospect has a life change
   3. When you find an interesting approved article or marketing piece to share
   4. When you want to personally invite him/her to an event
   5. When you see their name or a member of their family listed in the local paper or on social media (e.g., the prospect’s son had an incredible football game and was noted in the paper).
   6. To check their RSVP for an upcoming seminar
      
      
7. Implement a turnkey sales strategy to help turn prospects into clients.
   
   
8. Never throw out a lead. If you know for sure they have no authority, ability, need, or interest in buying, don’t throw it out but put it away and revisit it in the future. Everyone’s life changes and so do their financial needs.
   
   
9. A strong lead nurturing program needs good content. Be sure to send leads:
   1. White papers
   2. Thought Leadership pieces
   3. Checklists
   4. eKits
   5. Informational brochures

Tracking Leads

Generating leads is only the first step to lead management. It’s important to have a well-defined and organized system for tracking leads as they move through the sales pipeline. Using a customer management or CRM system to keep track of calls, appointments, and outcomes will make a big difference in your success. Once a lead becomes a customer—your job is not done. If you want to really be successful in this business, you’ll need to cultivate those client relationships using many of the same tools noted above. Selling more to clients you already have is much easier than looking for new clients and your existing clients are often your best source of new leads.