A newcomer to the insurance industry knows learning the lingo is like picking up another language. Between beneficiaries, deductibles, and BOP (business owner’s policy), it can be easy to get lost between the lines remembering every definition.
A common confusion we see from agents during our demos is this: what is the difference between leads and referrals? Both are insurance terms and are often used interchangeably but have drastically different meanings. Here’s why knowing the difference means so much to your agency.
What Are Insurance Leads?
Leads are often considered to be any means by which your agency lands business, but often, that isn’t the case. Leads are essentially a list of contacts who may or may not be looking for coverage. In many cases, leads come from local records to help agents target consumers who have recently bought houses, vehicles, or made any other significant life changes. The contact may not know why you are trying to reach them and may not recognize your agency, limiting your close ratio and narrowing the scope of willing, local prospects you could be working with.
Leads are most comparable to cold calls and don’t come with personal endorsements. In short, leads can be a gamble and may take extra time and energy to close, and many consumers will not answer a number or agency they don’t recognize. It’s easy to overspend on leads that don’t return a satisfactory ROI (return on investment) and, according to GettheReferral.com, leads only return about a 20% lead-to-close ratio.
What Are Insurance Referrals?
Like a lead, referrals are contacts given to an agent, but they don’t come from just any source. Referrals can be word-of-mouth or come from a trusted insurance referral site—like TrustedChoice.com—and target consumers who are actively shopping for insurance and have expressed interest in finding coverage. In the case of a referral, the consumer is more willing to speak to an agency because they are already in the market for insurance on their own accord.
While not every referral is a guaranteed close, the close ratio for referrals is typically higher, around 50%. Referrals do come with a personal endorsement, whether that’s another consumer or another organization, which help consumers feel more secure in their choice to find coverage. Because there is no chasing the consumer with a referral, the energy you put into it is more likely to reap some reward without demanding the hours to produce a quality lead.
TrustedChoice.com’s referrals are from local, high-intent, appetite-matching consumers that are also guaranteed to suit your agency’s preferred business appetite. We do this by means of our Appetite Engine, the smart algorithm we use to accurately match hot prospects with independent agents. See how our appetite engine works here.
What Are Claim-it Referrals?
Claim-it® Referrals are some of the most fine-tuned opportunities in the insurance industry and are exclusive to TrustedChoice.com’s Advantage Professional agents. Like insurance referrals, Claim-it Referrals are high-intent, and appetite-matching. Claim-it Referrals are delivered directly to local Advantage Professional agents who match the coverage criteria an active, prospecting insurance consumer is searching for in real time.
What sets Claim-it Referrals apart is that they’re exclusive. When a Claim-it Referral rolls in, we notify Advantage Professional agents in the area via text or email notification which provides a glimpse at the referral information, like line of business, insurance type, location, etc. By clicking the link included in the notification, an agent is redirected to TrustedChoice.com, where they can opt to purchase the referral should it match their preferred appetite for business. Once a Claim-it Referral is purchased, that referral and all its information become unavailable to competing agents.
Learn more about Claim-it Referrals and how to get started.
How Can I Get My Agency Referred?
TrustedChoice.com is not a lead generation site. With our technological know-how, we connect independent agents with the right online insurance prospects. You can get your agency started raking in the referrals by subscribing to Advantage and loading your online profile with all the information local prospects will be looking for, like…
- Logo and location
- Business hours
- Five-star reviews
- Team members
- Links to your site and social assets
- Video
- And more!
Don’t miss out on hundreds of hot, local insurance referrals. Find the right Advantage subscription for your agency, and schedule a demo with a sales representative today to get started. You could be one referral away from your next close!
