For independent agents, online insurance leads have often been something of an afterthought. Even though many independents are aware that leads allow them to connect with in-market shoppers who have filled out a quote form online, getting started can sometimes be difficult. While captive agents get a whole host of support from their carriers—including lead-buying education, lead-management software, subsidies, and even free leads to contact—independent agents are largely on their own.
Absent these perks and technology tools, independents have historically looked elsewhere when searching for prospective customers to pursue. If you’re one of them, maybe you’ve relied on developing relationships with your local realtors, mortgage brokers, or auto dealerships. Or maybe you’ve tried pressing the flesh at Chamber of Commerce meetings, building a referral program, or sending direct mail to consumers in your area.
But ultimately, none of these options provides the unique combination of high-intent shoppers and unmatched scale you can find when you buy online insurance leads. And with MediaAlpha’s easy-to-use platform and hands-on customer service, getting into leads has never been easier for first-time independent buyers. In fact, there are certain aspects of how online leads are created that actually make independent agents especially well-positioned to turn these in-market shoppers into customers.
Here are three reasons independent insurance agents should consider buying leads:
1. Online insurance leads offer independent agents access to high-intent shoppers at an unmatched scale
There is simply nowhere else for agents to reach in-market shoppers at the scale that leads provide. Indeed, while your local realtor might be able to connect you with new homeowners who are likely to be looking for a policy, there are only so many new consumers any one realtor can introduce you to each month. Meanwhile, direct mail and other forms of traditional marketing can give you plenty of scale, but there’s no guarantee that the people you’re reaching are actually looking for an insurance policy. As a result, you wind up paying to get in front of consumers who aren’t actually shopping and won’t be won over by even the most enticing offer.
By contrast, leads deliver the best of both worlds. When you buy an online lead, you’re able to call, text, and email a consumer who has just finished filling out an online form to request a quote. This means they’re actively shopping for insurance when you reach out to them. Because leads are generated from a wide range of insurance shopping websites, you’ll have the opportunity to connect with far more consumers than the ones who are directly connected to the business contacts you’ve made personally.
If you’re licensed to sell insurance to consumers outside your own state, you can even expand your geographic footprint and sell policies to shoppers who live far away from you. After all, today’s consumers increasingly prioritize speed and price over a personal connection with the agency they’re buying from—if you can offer an on-the-go shopper an affordable policy at the time they want to shop, there’s a good bet they’ll consider buying from you.
2. The consumer experience makes leads especially valuable to independent agents
Due to the way leads are generated—when a shopper fills out a form with a list of personal details in order to receive a quote—independent agents have a unique opportunity to help consumers find what they’re looking for.
That’s because many consumers fill out their quote forms on comparison shopping websites, where they are presented with the option to click a link to visit one of several insurance carriers to pursue a policy. Since most leads are shared between several agents, you’ll likely wind up being in competition with at least one captive agent who is also pursuing the consumer—unless you’ve paid extra to purchase an exclusive lead or a call transfer that puts you on the phone with a live shopper. As a result, it’s best for agents to reach out to each new lead as quickly as possible. But when captive agents call, they only have the ability to offer these shoppers policies from a single insurance carrier. In fact, the captive agent could very well be trying to sell a policy to a consumer who has already chosen not to click a link to their carrier’s website.
But if a consumer can’t find what they’re looking for in the listings they’re shown after filling out the form on a comparison shopping site, independent agents have the ability to give them far more options than their captive competitors. When you buy leads, you’re able to provide unique value to the consumer by offering them access to a much broader spectrum of the insurance marketplace.
3. We’re making lead-buying easier than ever for independent agents
MediaAlpha’s easy-to-use lead-buying platform and industry-best customer service empowers independent agents to get started quickly and comfortably.
When you meet with your personal client success manager, we’ll walk you through the MediaAlpha for Agents platform and show you how you can use it to target the right shoppers and pay the right price for every lead. And once you start buying leads, our team will be with you every step of the way to help you work your leads more effectively and adjust your buying strategy to acquire more customers, more efficiently.
As the Washington, D.C.-based independent agent Eric Hardiman put it, “I’ve never received attention like I have from MediaAlpha’s client success team. They want me to be successful, and that partnership is really important.”
Want to learn more? Let’s talk.
MediaAlpha for Agents helps independent agents grow their businesses by connecting with in-market shoppers at scale. By tapping into our user-friendly lead-buying platform and unparalleled customer service, you’ll have the opportunity to start generating new sales in short order.
Ready to find out more? Schedule a meeting with us today to see for yourself what MediaAlpha can do for independent agents.