Yellow Page Ads - Worth it or not...

[Bob_The_Insurance_Guy]

You might as well put your ad in the automotive section, since all you are going to get are "tire kickers". By the time you run the quote and call them back, they have found it already, and won't return your call.

I'd rather play naked Twister with the Golden Girls

 

[SME]

That is one picture I didn't need!

 

[STIBROKER]

I'm not sure I want to client who still uses the Yellow Pages

yer killing me....you don't like yellow page leads....you don't like telephone sign leads....you don't like internet leads....trying to do a mailer is a waste of time....so....were do I get the fell out of the sky with a check in their hand leads.....

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

Telemarketed leads baby!

 

[somarco]

I'd rather play naked Twister with the Golden Girls

Wish you hadn't said that. Can't get that picture out of my mind. Beatrice Arthur can take us both out.

 

[somarco]

I have done YP ads in the past. Didn't get much bang for my buck. Another I know locally advertises everywhere (or so it seems) and has for years. Gotta figure it must be working.

I have seen his advertisement for "Bottom Line Insurance" on telephone poles, in the YP, on buses and in the coupon envelopes in the mail & newspaper.

If you are going that route, plan on spending some $$$ and you may have to play with it to find something that works.

I suggest you go to a library and pull out last years YP and see what is in there. You might also go to Reference USA (in the library) and do a search for agency's that do what you do. See if any of them have YP ads. Look for agents that have used the YP for 5 years or longer, then look up their ad.

Better to copy what works than fall for a pitch from someone hawking ad space.

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

I've done a lot of avertising locally - papers, magazines, etc...Generally very poor results. The people who call - which isn't often - are uninsurable broke tire kickers. Not to say I didn't get the occasional deal, but not worth it enough for me to keep renewing those ads.

I mean it's no great secret that out of the top 5 reasons for failing in this business 1 through 4 are an inability to generate quality leads.

 

[djs]

I've long since figured out that there isn't much new you can do in this business. If you think its new, almost always somebody else has tried it before and it didn't work. There are also no shortcuts. I keep looking for them, but in the end, good honest hard work is what pays the bills.

I've tried newspaper ads, wasted money, I've tried hiring telemarketers, wasted money, I've bought internet leads, sometimes good, sometimes not, I've tried mailings, wasted money, I've tried giving away gas cards, wasted money.....

Now, it's been suggested that I rent some prime retail space, get some girls from the local 'Hooters', and have them hold a free car wash in front of my retail space.... While this would probably be a total waste of money, it would probably be the most fun waste of money I could do

And yes, I can't see me paying for the yellow page ad. I was hoping a few would step up and say they had ads and they were highly successful. Unfortunately, this isn't the type of thing you can try and tweak as you go, once printed, you're done....

Dan

 

[STIBROKER]

Telemarketed leads baby!

WOW..THATS A NEW ONE....

 

[NHB_MMA]

P&C will get the most calls. Health will also get some calls. Beyond that, you won't get much from it. Depending on the size and presence of your agency it can be worth it, for credibility purposes, whether it pays for itself directly or not. In the small town (15,000) area I'm in outside of Pittsburgh, there is nobody that has been in business any length of time without a YP ad.