Which envelopes, postage, and addressing methods work the best for insurance direct mail?

Envelope size. This depends on the item that’s enclosed. If you don’t want to tri-fold your mailing piece (to fit it in a standard #10 envelope), place it in one that’s 6” x 9” or bigger. As a bonus, these larger envelopes tend to stand out in the mail.

Postage. Pay first-class mail rates instead of standard (formerly known as bulk). All undeliverables are returned to you and you enjoy reasonably fast delivery. First-class pre-sorting does lower your rate, however to earn the discount you must perform extra work and pay an annual permit fee. Also, when mailing to consumers, affix a stamp instead of using a postage meter, permit, or indicia. Tip: Buy a supply of the new “forever” stamps to save on future rate increases.

Addressing. When mailing to business prospects, avoid window envelopes, as they tend to look like bills. Instead print each recipient’s address directly on the envelope itself. If your office printer is not equipped with an envelope feeder, use clear or white address labels as alternatives. For consumers, follow the same approach, but consider using a font that looks like handwriting in lieu of a formal business typeface. Many direct mailers already do this, particularly on greeting card and invitation-sized envelopes.

As a smaller agency in a smaller town with this difficult financial climate, where would you suggest marketing to get the most bang for the buck? Options such as direct mailings, phone calls to local businesses, postcards, display ads, or non-conventional places like school programs, etc.?

Just by asking this question, you indicate your willingness to continue marketing your agency. This, in and of itself, is a wise decision. Many businesses are doing the opposite for short-term cash preservation, disregarding long-term implications. As for the best medium in which to invest, there is no pat answer. All of the methods that you ask about have proven effective for insurance agents, when the message and timing is right. Still, here are a few ideas. If you are limiting sales to prospects within your town, don’t overlook the value of person-to-person promotions. These include seminars that suggest ways to save on auto and HO premiums, which cars are the safest, and in this economy, keeping a watchful eye on your credit rating as it impacts rates.

Also bring in an outside expert to help insureds to value jewelry, antiques, coins, and other collectibles. Many people underinsure, sell, or pawn these items in hard times. Provide an independent opinion to local clients and prospects, before they do this, as a goodwill-building service. At the very least, you’ll pick up some extra floater business.

In terms of more straight-forward marketing methods, don’t overlook the local daily. Today, every print publication is aching for ads and inserts, so you should be able to cut a sweet deal on either or both. Employ traditional promos or explore our off-the-wall series of Dear Aunt Shurance™ ads that parody the common advice column. Also, direct mail still belongs in every agent’s marketing plan. Just be different in what you send. Mail out bold, colorful cards or letters rather than the standard variety, which tend to get lost in the mix. Follow up mailings to businesses with calls asking for appointments. Lastly, selling insurance in a small town almost demands that you support local functions like school bulletins, sports teams, etc. So budget for them, just don’t expect an influx of business as a result.

Another option for you is to expand your reach to larger, nearby cities or even to other states. With today’s instant communications, proximity to your clients isn’t as important as it used to be for marketing, sales, or even service.

My agency just had a booth at a regional business trade show. I couldn’t believe how poorly the people who walked around there were dressed. How can I tell who is a good prospect and who is just there to get free pens?

Never judge the quality of a prospect by the way the person dresses. Today, people of all ages and all positions wear casual attire just about everywhere, including trade shows. Don’t allow sloppy appearances to distract you from your mission: to identify and positively interact with potential buyers. The only way that you can qualify a commercial prospect standing before you is to ask them questions about their firm and their role in it.

Intermix purely business queries with business personal questions to learn as much as you can in the few moments that you have to talk. Endeavor to keep interesting prospects interested. So don’t instantly ask, “Hey, who writes your insurance?” Instead, work up to the question. Start off by asking the obvious, the name of their company (assuming no name tags) and what it does. Inquire how long it has been in operation and how long the person you are with has worked there. Next, ask about their responsibilities. Learn how many employees they have and who their primary customers and competitors are. Conclude by asking whom you can call at the firm for an appointment to discuss new insurance ideas.

There are certain commercial lines accounts that our agency wants to write. We occasionally ask around the office to see if any one knows someone in these companies. But we still haven’t written a single one. We hate to just cold call them, as they’re fairly big. Any suggestions?

Serious stamp collectors routinely circulate “want lists” of the stamps that they wish to add to their collections. Follow this long-time philatelic tradition to open up some hard-to-open doors. Poll your producers to create a short list of desired accounts. Give it a name, such as XYZ Insurance Agency’s Ten Most Wanted Accounts. Post it on your staff bulletin board, on an intranet Web page (if you have one), and send it as a PDF attachment to your employees via internal email. Keep the list current by making monthly additions and deletions. Ask CSRs and producers to volunteer if they know anyone employed by or who has access to the management of a targeted company. If they don’t have any personal contacts, perhaps their insureds, prospects, or private network of family, friends, attorneys, CPAs, and other pros do. Odds are that someone in your agency knows someone who can get you a meeting.

Whenever a want list sale is made, do something special to celebrate, such as catering lunch for the whole office. This encourages everyone to do their utmost to help your producers to gain an appointment.

We have not changed our logo in decades. Do you have any updating suggestions for us?

Even the most successful corporations periodically modify their logos to keep up with the times. Some elect to retain the graphic’s most recognizable features. For instance, General Mill’s venerable Betty Crocker icon has enjoyed a total of eight makeovers. Other firms go with entirely new designs. To point yourself in the right direction, answer these three questions.

1. Is your logo well recognized within your marketing territory?
2. Is its appearance memorable?
3. Does it properly portray your desired agency image, such as upscale, high-tech, conservative, creative, cosmopolitan, etc.

If your answers are “yes” to each of the above queries, then you may be able to update your logo without changing its core look. Otherwise, consider a fresh new image. Note that initials seldom make a meaningful logo unless you are so well known that everyone refers you by those letters, such as IBM and GM. And always hire a graphic artist to create your logo, it’s too important to design yourself. Tip: Your new logo can be as simple as your name in a special font or framed within a distinctive border. Keep the final image as uncomplicated as possible. Test each design to see if it can be clearly identified when it is printed in color, B&W, emailed, faxed, photocopied, reduced, and enlarged.

Do you have any renewal or mid-term service timetables for new producers? With such a schedule they would know when to contact clients for renewal, remarketing, etc.

Service timetables are more valuable to inexperienced agents as pre-sale persuasion devices than they are as mere calendar items. They lay out a series of promised events that will occur once the prospect becomes a client. For instance, they should include the pre-scheduling of all mid-term reviews. The first one is conducted 90-to-120 days after initial policy delivery, the second one another 120 days later. Depending on the requirements and size of the new client, they may be handled by phone or in person.

Either way, the opportunity exists to ask and answer questions. Furthermore, these sessions facilitate the first renewal meeting that could otherwise be difficult if there was no post-sale contact at all. For subsequent years, it’s best not to have the insured’s sole contact be for renewal, particularly with growth-oriented accounts. Schedule at least one mid-term contact. For the smallest of insureds, this can be performed by a CSR or by mailing a brief questionnaire.

Regarding remarketing, new agents should learn that unnecessary shopping wastes resources for the agent, agency, company, and insured. It is generally best to maintain a client with their current carrier for as long as the insured’s needs are reasonably satisfied.