X-dates for Homeowners leads

[Josh]

I talked to the folks over at Cole about their x-dates and adding them to the lists that I sell, but what they told me was that they just go off of the purchase dates on the home which is something I already have access to. How long have you been using Cole? How accurate do you find their lists to be?

 

[a2sinsurance]

Which virtual assistant service do you use to follow-up via phone call? Thank you

 

[timmonss]

I'm always amazed at the agents that can do the automation thing themselves! Kudos! I'm totally interested in doing mailers, but it's so expensive to start. @djs, I'm in the Sacramento area, you mentioned doing the mailers yourself, if you dont mind, could you share more on how I could start doing this myself? I'm having a tough time figuring out simply where to start

 

[djs]

Doing the letters is pretty simple.

Run the quote, put it in the envelope, mail it to the client.

Don't make it more complicated than it is. It just takes time. Start with doing 10 a day and work from there. I automated the process so I could do it in bulk, but that isn't necessary to start.

Dan

 

[g-squared]

DJS,

Thank you for the tips you have given. I have been mailing about 1500 a month based on the county data and getting about .08% call back. However, like you we are closing almost 100%. I'm in the Oklahoma area so would you mind emailing or sharing with me what your piece looks like?

Thank you,
Trent

I'm a little confused about your math. If you are getting an 8% return (which would be fantastic for a direct mail piece -- somewhere betwen .5 and 1.5% is the norm), that's 120 calls back a month, of which you say you are closing 100%. That's 1440 new policies a year, whew!

0.8% return would be 12 quotes/policies a month, which seems the most realistic. Not sure about your average premium or commission rates, but let's say you make $100 a policy, you're probably spending $500 - $750 dollars (depending on how you allocate your direct mail costs) to make $1200. Doubling your money is not too shabby, and of course, I'm not factoring referrals, cross sales of autos, umbrellas, life, etc.

.08% would mean you are selling one (1) policy a month from your 1500 piece mailing....not sure if I would do this for more than two months before I chucked it.

 

[Charlie@beaconmarketing]

Hi I know this thread is 3 yrs old but - where do you get the Home x-date info from ? _ My mom just started her own agency -Needs all the help she can get -

My company only provides leads for commercial lines- I have no idea which lead vendors are reputable for Personal lines

Thanks in advance
Charlie

ps if you dont want every one to know by posting -email me [email protected]

 

[Josh]

Hi I know this thread is 3 yrs old but - where do you get the Home x-date info from

A lot of folks use Cole x-dates. According to what they told me, all they do is use the home purchase month to determine the x-date which is something that myself or other data brokers can do. What's neat about Cole is the way they've packaged it.

 

[iiinycboi]

i use cole x date, just sent out 600 post cards this week and got 2 callers and closed one lol. hopefully to get better return soon, sending out 500 a week...

 

[djs]

This may be a strange question, but why would someone call you from a postcard? Seems like old style marketing to me, unless the postcard is personalized somehow.

Mailings themselves are very, very, very tough to turn a profit with, doing it without a personal call to action will make the returns pretty low, in my opinion.

Mail 100 actual quotes out a week. You'll spend a bit more time but get a better return.

Dan

 

[CaptivewantsIA]

If you prefer mail then send out 4-6 weeks prior to renewal with quote based on RC not MV. Include as many discounts as possible to spark interest. Then follow up on the phone. You shoulld scrub via DNC list.
You may also want to use centers of influence such as mortgage brokers and realtors. Those referrals are golden.