Marketing Yourself

[packers2010]

I have a job with a decent sized company and I was wondering what types of things you do to market yourself to the public.

Is there a benefit to a personal website or printed items like postcards or rack cards?

 

[insurancesmarts]

I have done MANY different things. Here is a list:

1) Created ads in Craigslist, Facebook Market Place, Oodle, Ebay Classifieds, Backpage and Inetgiant
2) Created profile in Linked In (great way to network w/other professionals and you can join groups and post articles)
3) Create a seperate business page on face book
4) Create a profile on Hot frog
5) Create a personal webpage
6) Create a blog with useful information on products you sell (not necessarily a sales type article, but useful information and a link to redirect interested people to contact you)
7) Mass market email (depending on what type of insurance you do will depend on who you mass market. For example if you are primarily selling home insurance you could target real estate professionals. You can get email addresses for them by visiting real estate company webpages and entering info into excel spread sheet. Spread sheet can than be imported to email marketing software - suggestion if you don't have email marketing software try Vista Print online. For $9.95 per month you can have 250 contacts - which can be switched out and they import excel files)
8) List your name and contact info in any free business directories that you can (Yahoo Local - Google)
9) Write an article/blog for another busienss related website (example - again if you are selling home insurance write an article/blog for trulia and have it link back to you to contact)
10) Attend networking events
11) Attend community events (I attend hurricane seminars and will be attending a FEMA flood revision forum)
12) Leave a business card when you leave a tip at a restaurant or post one on a bulletin board of a place of business.

I have also sent out postcards and found that this was the most expensive way to get my name out and provided minimal prospects. Most of the other options I listed for you above are free or very low cost. They do involve a fairly decent time commitment, but can result in some pretty impressive results. Also when you do get new clients don't be afraid to ask for referrals. Good luck to you!!

 

[TheKoenigGroup]

I have a job with a decent sized company and I was wondering what types of things you do to market yourself to the public.

Is there a benefit to a personal website or printed items like postcards or rack cards?

If you are going to spend the your financial resources and time on a website, you may want to consider becoming an indy agent. I just can't see the point of spending money to boost anothers organization...not to sound rude, just throwing that out there...(it can turn costly quick)

 

[black knight]

Insurancesmarts, very good post. My own list included many of the same topics, but I appreciate your sharing as I grabbed two more ideas to add to my arsenal.
Was reading a sales book this weekend (Gitomers - Little Red Book) and a thought from it has stuck in my mind for a few days now. It was simply this:
Become known as a resource for people (not just a salesperson) and they will always come to you. This has become my little mantra for this week and as I continue to chew on this concept I will embed it into my psyche.

 

[insurancesmarts]

I just started an insurance forum too. If you search google you can find forum websites that allow you to set up your forum and manage it for...........$0.

So true bk. You need to be a resource and a go to person for information.

 

[soulchild]

Has anybody had any success with craigslist?

 

[arnguy]

There was a medical school student in Boston who did very well with craigslist: however, he done himself in!

 

[CHUMPS FROM OXFORD]

I put a few adds on Craigslist and was spammed to death. I still get emails that ask me to verify fictitious ads by logging into my account.

 

[avaloninsurance]

I have had pretty good success with Craigslist however you do get a lot of spam from those who scrub Craigslist for email addresses.