Finding good, quality insurance agents leads can sometimes feel like a search for the holy grail.  But while they may be hard to find, a source of good life insurance leads will easily spell eternal life for an insurance agent’s business.  The following are some tricks of the trade that have helped hundreds of insurance agents to find the quality lead sources they need.

First, there are many Field Marketing Organizations (FMOs) that act as  distributors for the life, annuity and other insurance products you sell.  In some cases, they will supply insurance agents leads in return for doing business through them (they collect an override form the carrier).  Investigate the source of these leads as if you were paying for them (you are in the form of commissions).  Find out how these leads are generated, how old they are and what criteria they meet. If you wouldn’t pay for these insurance agents leads, then they are worth no more because you get them free.

If you’ll be paying, the best place to find insurance agents leads is by looking online because of the freshness of these leads.  A simple search on a search engine will turn up dozens of lead generation companies offering insurance agents leads for sale.  Start by creating a spreadsheet and keeping tally of the company’s offerings and prices and find out all that you can online before you contact the company.  Never forget that when you call, you’ll be talking to another salesperson.  The person on the other end of the phone will be using all of the same tools that you use to close with your leads to get you to buy from his company.

But before you actually contact the company, do another search for their name online to see what other insurance agentsare saying about them.  Visit the popular insurance sales forums and ask about their reputation.  You’ll be surprised what other salespeople will reveal to you if you ask them for their help.  You should also check with the Better Business Bureau and the company’s local chamber of commerce to see if they have a good reputation to go along with their name.  Do your due diligence before committing a significant sum to buy insurance agents leads.
Another great source of insurance agents leads companies is going to an insurance agent’s convention (e.g. NAIFA, SFSP).  There are several that are held throughout the country at different times during the year.  While you’re there, network with other agentsat the convention and – just like online – ask them for their help and opinions on certain companies.   Additionally, several of the leading insurance agents lead generation companies may have exhibits at the convention.

Once you find an insurance agents lead company that you feel comfortable with, you should contact them and interview them about their practices.  Some of the questions you should ask should include their policies about replacing bad leads, the prices and packages they offer and how they generate the leads they’ll be sending you.  In addition, ask about the exclusivity of their leads and whether they’ll ever be sold again and, if so, in how much time.  Shared leads should be avoided if you can, but if you must buy shared leads, be sure you at least have a certain amount of time – preferably at least two weeks – during which you have exclusivity to them.

You should also ask for customer’s contact information so you can call the other agents and ask them their opinion of the insurance agents lead company.   You’ll be surprised at how much they share with you, even though they’re technically your competition.   Keep in mind that you will get vastly different opinions about the lead quality from different agents using the same insurance lead generation company.  Why?  Because the agents are of different ability.  One agent wont even get an appointment with a particular prospect while another, better prepared, more skilled agent, will turn that same prospect into his next client.

The screening you do on each of the companies you’re interested in is the key to success when it comes time to find insurance agents leads.  Take it seriously and do your due diligence – eventually, you’ll find that holy grail.