How to Generate Life Insurance Leads

Editor’s note: This post was originally published on 4/13/17 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehension.

Have you ever said to yourself, “I have enough leads?”

Didn’t think so.

I’m not sure I’ve ever heard of an insurance producer who was content with the number or quality of leads.

So if you've been wondering how to generate life insurance leads, you're not alone!

It's a simple numbers game: The more leads you have, the better your chances of increasing revenue.

A lot of that success depends on what you do once you get the lead. But that’s another article.

We’re going to give you some ideas for how to generate leads for life insurance so you can power your business to the next level.

How to generate new life insurance leads

Here's our best advice.

1. Do 1 hour of work

Record yourself talking to your ideal client covering a subject that meets one of their pain points, like taking care of their families after they pass.

Then, take that material and write an article you can publish on your blog.

From the main points you discuss in the blog, create a landing page, which you will use to entice people to sign up for your email newsletter.

The next step is to post the video to YouTube and use that specific page URL on the landing page.

That's how to get new life insurance leads rolling in.

2. Get on Google Places

It doesn’t cost a penny to claim your Google Place, but it’ll go a long way toward getting local attention  – and generating new life insurance leads.

Make sure that you include lots of detail in your listing and use keywords that connect to your products and/or services.

The best way to write your listing? Think like a customer. What would they be looking for and what words would they use to search? Take that data and write your listing.

3. Get top-of-mind

You need to be everywhere digitally so that you stay at the forefront of your prospects’ minds.

That means having a strategic content marketing plan to be on social media, publish blogs, push press releases and offer social proof.

When it comes to social media, you need to do more than just have an account. Here are some tips for getting the most out of your social media accounts.

• Be accessible. Open relevant conversations and engage with your audience. Share valuable information in a casual, open way so people aren’t afraid to ask questions or give their opinions.

• Keep up with trends. Stay up-to-date with the trending hashtags in the life insurance business. Using the right hashtags can give you exposure to new audiences you might not have access to otherwise.

• Share content. Don’t just post a motivational quote or a joke every day, though they do have a place in your social media strategy. But, your main offering to your audience should be content that is of some value.

• Be responsive. Do your best to respond to the questions and comments left on your social media posts. You want your audience to feel heard – not just hear you.

• Be authentic. People can spot a sales pitch a mile away. Stick with sincerity and honesty to build trust.

4. Extend invitations

Extend your reach by inviting customers to a webinar or seminar.

This idea isn’t new, but it works  – if you know how to position it.

Talk to clients about the economy and having peace of mind as a result of working with you and purchasing just enough insurance to assuage their fears and protect their family and assets.

Then, ask them if they think their friends could benefit from that same level of protection and peace of mind.

Invite these customers to your next workshop and give them a few extra invitations to pass along to their friends.

They’ll do the work for you, sharing their own experience with friends and convincing them to work with you.

Check out some of the compelling reasons you should be serious about offering webinars.

• High-engagement level. You can build a more personal rapport with your audience through a webinar than from any free ebook or email.
• Shows you who’s serious. There’s a big difference between signing up for an email list or taking advantage of a free promotion and joining a webinar. The commitment to attend shows a stronger interest level.
• Learn about your audience. The questions that the attendees ask will give you insight into how they’re thinking. You can gauge their life insurance knowledge, which helps you strike the right tone when you’re engaging with them.

If you're wondering how to generate life insurance leads, webinars are a great option.

5. Get exposure

Visuals perform really well on social media channels.

Create a visual (such as an infographic, chart or video) on a hot topic, such as the cost poor nutrition has on our health, and your visual will get shared across the internet.

Videos, in particular, help you to connect with your audience in a personal way.

Some insurance producers discount the idea of video because they think it’s too complicated, but that’s not the case.

No fancy, high-tech equipment is necessary. All you need is to present valuable information in a professional manner and you’re good to go.

You’ll increase brand awareness, and eventually, some of the audience will take steps to get to know you better (like visit your website).

6. Pick a niche

Casting a general but wide net may get some results, but choosing a niche means your targeted marketing will better speak to your audience.

So, if you want to focus on young families, speak to their needs of developing a good financial foundation, investing for the future, and providing for their children’s education.

Consider how different this audience’s needs are than people getting ready to retire in 10-15 years. You’ll get much better results  – and more leads  – if you speak directly to the audience.

7. Don’t buy leads

It just doesn’t work anymore. So don’t try it.

What you should buy is traffic – targeted traffic – to get visitors to your website and THEN generate leads from there.

If you spend a few hundred dollars sending traffic to your website, and once they land there, you attract leads that eventually spend hundreds or thousands of dollars in premium, that’ll pay off.

Keep the leads flowing through your sales funnel and try some of these lead-generating tactics.

8. Develop a lead magnet

This is something of value you offer on your website in exchange for contact information – usually an email address but possibly a phone number.

Common examples include a free ebook download or a free consultation.

People generally don’t want to give out their information, so the offer of something free is a compelling reason to share their email.

Then, you can use the leads’ info for your future email marketing efforts.

How to generate life insurance leads – easily

It’s really not as hard as it sounds – when you try some of the tips and tricks laid out for you here.

Engage with your audience and get the most out of your website and social media.

Your efforts will pay off – big time – in new life insurance leads.

Here's how to generate leads for life insurance:

1. Do 1 hour of work to create resource material.
2. Get on Google Places so customers can find you.
3. Get top-of-mind so your prospects think of you when insurance needs arise.
4. Extend invitations to educational events.
5. Get exposure on social media.
6. Pick a niche and specialize.
7. Don’t buy leads - they inevitably lead to dead ends.
8. Develop a lead magnet to attract new leads.