Internet Marketing for part time agents

[roger_lockless]

And now for the latest in my series of "Getting Started" questions:

Some background: I've been selling for a little while now, and for various reasons I'm not sure if I want to continue doing it full-time. I'm considering getting a regular job and just selling life insurance and long-term care insurance on the side as a supplement to that income. I would set up an LLC and a website. I would sell to friends, family, word-of-mouth, and whatever clients I can get from occasional mailings and weekends/evenings of cold calls. If it gets to be lucrative, great. If not, no big deal.

My question is: Bearing in mind that I'm not necessarily looking to generate enough leads to live on but just to put a little extra money in my pocket, is internet marketing effective? What I was considering doing is paying Google to have my website come up prominently in searches for Life Insurance and Long Term Care Insurance in either the state where I live or some of the local counties. Then, on the website I would have the usual hullabaloo, but also a place for people to enter name, address, phone number, e-mail, DOB, any relevant health issues, and which product they're most interested in if they want more information. Then, of course, I could contact them and have general quotes and info at the ready.

Is this sort of internet marketing effective? Is it costly? I believe Google charges you by how many hits your website gets, and--of course--hits don't necessarily mean "business".

Have any of you guys tried this sort of thing? If so, what was your experience?

 

[Tampa Bay Rep]

Re: Internet Marketing

Is this sort of internet marketing effective? Is it costly? I believe Google charges you by how many hits your website gets, and--of course--hits don't necessarily mean "business".

Yes, Google will charge you for each click through on your PPC ads so lke you said that does not mean business, just a hit to your site. If you do PPC you will want to make sure you put a max of how many clicks throughs you are willing to pay for each day so you don't end up with an unpleasant surprise.

 

[Larry Tew]

Re: Internet Marketing

Roger, this was discussed recently in another thread, but to repeat... if this isn't working for you with a full-time effort, what makes you think doing it part-time will work?

Personally, I've been in financial services since 1980 and I take pride in my work. I don't have one single client that would give a "part-timer" the time of day when it comes to their money or financial security. Why not take up dentistry or "lawyering" part-time? Final question... would YOU let a part-timer advise you on your insurance or other financial issues?

I'm not being harsh, just realistic. There are many things you can do to generate a 2nd income that would be better than financial services. Good luck.

 

[roger_lockless]

Well, I don't intend to walk up to people and say, "Hi, I'm just a part-timer at this insurance stuff; it's not really what I do, but would you like to buy some?"

More likely, I would choose a professional business name, set up a nice-looking website, get some nice letterhead and business cards, and I have some connections through which I can have access to professional meeting areas either cheap or free if needed. I would focus primarily on term life, universal life, and long-term care insurance.

The venture would cost very little, so I figure it's worth a shot.

 

[Bob_The_Insurance_Guy]

Roger,

I don't think the concern is what you are going to say on the phone. It more has to do with future claims, and who will be there for the insured, or their family, when the time comes?

If you are going to do something part time, and you want to make extra money, I can put you in touch with some Pre Paid Legal Representatives, or Send Out Cards Reps.

Please...

 

[Larry Tew]

Well, I don't intend to walk up to people and say, "Hi, I'm just a part-timer at this insurance stuff; it's not really what I do, but would you like to buy some?"

More likely, I would choose a professional business name, set up a nice-looking website, get some nice letterhead and business cards, and I have some connections through which I can have access to professional meeting areas either cheap or free if needed. I would focus primarily on term life, universal life, and long-term care insurance.

The venture would cost very little, so I figure it's worth a shot.

Roger, this just proves that anyone can spend a thousand to look like a million. Fancy company name to make prospects think you're something you're not, nice looking website for the same reason, nice stationery, cheap meeting places, etc. I hear all the ways you can appear to be what you're not, but to pull this off you are going to have to market yourself to some of the most undiscerning people on the planet. As Bob said, there are other opportunities that are a better fit.

 

[WinoBlues]

There are lots insurance salesmen.
Fewer Insurance Agents.

 

[BellaVega]

Using search terms like 'life insurance' on Google will cost you a pretty dime. I would get some help or learn more about online marketing and SEO. Your search terms would perhaps be better if it included the city you service or the state. Using the state still might be expensive for a PPC on Google.

 

[Frank Stastny]

I would focus primarily on term life, universal life, and long-term care insurance.

The venture would cost very little, so I figure it's worth a shot.

LTCi is one of the most difficult, time consuming products that I have sold. It isn't something I would remotely consider doing on a part-time basis. I even quit doing it full-time.

An excellent product for you to sell part-time that really doesn't require "time" or where there is a lot of service work is FE insurance. However, you will, for the most part, be dealing with people who have very little money. So much so that you will have to ask most of them if they have a checking account.

There are a lot of agents who claim they do very well in this market. I have looked at it and decided it isn't for me but that doesn't mean that you would not enjoy doing and be successful at it.

 

[RenegadeAgent]

like BellaVega said, going after terms like "Term Life Insurance" or "long term care insurance" for your state is going to cost you quite a bit with Pay Per Click. They are highly competitive terms. You may be better off targeting individual cities in your state. Those can still be fairly affordable.