Insurance Seminar Tips
The biggest concern is “What if there are no insurance agents at my seminar?” It should be changed to “What if all my marketing and recruiting money is spent on a seminar, but not one qualified agent signs a contract?” Even worse, there are no contracted agents available to help you produce business.
It is entirely up to you to decide what seminar topic to choose and how to present it. We will only offer suggestions for insurance seminar topics and tips for inviting licensed agents. You will be pleasantly surprised at the results of your seminar.
PLAN FAR ENOUGH TO IN ADVANCE
To begin planning your sales seminar recruitment plan, you should start at least two months in advance. Take a look at the calendar to determine the date(s). Your turnout could be affected if you have a conflicting religious, ethnic, or patriotic holiday. Remember that salespeople are often not available if it’s a Friday or Monday. Remember that many Career salesperson office meetings take place on Mondays or Fridays. You can save yourself from having to call more agents in the middle of your seminar sales mail by planning ahead. Planning is never done yesterday.
HOW MUCH AGENTS DO YOU WANT TO RECRUIT
This is the failure point of many insurance seminars. This is not a guessing game! It is not possible to say “give a seminar, they will come”. It is not possible to say “give a seminar and they will come”, because you don’t know how many licensed agents are out there, how much experience in sales these agents have, how far these agents will drive, how many seminar mailers you need to mail, and how many of your contracted salespeople will be attending.
DRIVING DISTANCE
Although you might think that all insurance agents in the United States should attend your seminar, it is important to be realistic. 55 miles is a good distance for a small town. Limit driving distance to no more than 45 miles, and maximum to 60 miles. Even 40 miles may be too far if the seminar is in a major metropolitan area. A slight increase in mileage will result in a decrease of response. Reduce the size of your seminar mailing if it is too large.
QUALITY INSURANCE SALES PEOPLE
It is important to consider which type of agent will be most beneficial by driving to your seminar. Are you wasting your time and money trying unsuccessfully to recruit Property & Casualty captive agents? What about new agents and career life insurance agents who are too captive? Do you want to get rid of the majority of health insurance producers? Set a goal of eliminating 60% or more of your seminar’s total license agents. This small detail can make a huge difference in the quality of your sales seminar. It’s much better to have 12 sincere, receptive participants than 50 who may have nowhere better to go. They will happily eat your freshly brewed coffee, bagels, and donuts. A free lunch is also available for seminar mailings. However, it does not necessarily mean that you will reach your goal due to the sheer number of participants. Tape the phrase “Quality” to your computer.
RESPONSE RATE
After you have decided on the quality of your insurance salesperson and driving distance, it is important to check on the availability of qualified agents or brokers. This is crucial. You can fine tune the mailing by using precise numbers. A well-prepared sales seminar mailing can often get a response rate of close to 2 percent. While your response rate will be different, there are ways to increase the broker’s success. One way is to call a few agents who haven’t responded. Smart marketers will plan to send out a mailing around 20 days before the seminar and another about 4 days later.
FACE SAVER HINTS
Don’t rent too much space for your seminar. Don’t forget to set up the chairs as soon as you arrive. It is worse than having attendees scattering around the room. It is possible for weather and other factors to make an embarrassing impression. Set up 12 chairs if you have 30 people attending. Set up two more chairs if a sales representative arrives. You should ensure that there are no more than six empty chairs. It will appear to everyone that you are giving a full seminar.
Additional tips for insurance seminars: Place your presentation space right across from the entrance, but not too close. This creates embarrassment in attendees and makes it difficult for them to get up or leave. Each agent should be provided with a $1.00 pen and a new legalpad. Avoid using tables unless absolutely necessary. Don’t be a preacher. Ask each agent to fill out their business cards upon entry. If there is no email address, write it on the back. The business cards can be used to select the winner of a nice prize at seminar’s end. As they depart, shake hands with everyone.
Send a thank you email to the attendees within 24 hours of the seminar. Ask them to return the email with a brief comment about the seminar. For their cooperation, reward them with a motivating eBook. If they don’t sign up immediately, you now know which agents to add to your email list. You can send up to three emails to get their feedback. For signing a contract quickly, call the top responders and give them a small bonus or gift.