Brad's Bits
 IncrediblyDIFFICULTmailing.com
Email: bradh@onlyfinancialgroup.com

I didn’t think you’d read this if I put EZmailing.com.  Actually the title IS correct when speaking to the process of acquainting agents with new systems and services—it’s hard to get them started.  This era of change and new technology has not improved the way agents assimilate new ideas.  In fact, some say it may be affecting agents in the exact opposite fashion.  Nonetheless, here at Only Financial Group, it’s our obligation to test, produce and introduce new selling processes and technology.  How will agents respond to www.OFGezMailing.com?  Much the way they responded to the release of LeadBoss, Call Now Request and the new HOT Quote request leads, iShare, iForum and the Denver Summit.  About 10% of the agents will go test this new service for themselves and enjoy immediate success.  After 18 to 24 months that figure will grow to 30-40% and finally find traction with increasing numbers using it to make repeat sales through cross-marketing to existing clients. 

I hope to convince more of you to try this incredible new service sooner than later.  To make my case I wanted to share the genesis of why we created OFGezMailing.com.  After all, leads will remain plentiful and profitable for years to come, why then offer another level of marketing??  After considerable discussion it boiled down to 2 very important challenges that agents face. 

1. How can established direct response agents/organizations further drive down lead costs?
2. How can traditional agents/organizations make use of their own database of clients accumulated over the years for additional sales?

Next February I’ll begin my 22^nd year in the insurance industry.  If you can believe it, when I started folks still made money walking debit routes.  How far have we come?  Consider for a moment that debit agents knocked on each and every door on each block and collected that WEEK’S premium and then returned each week to collect additional premium.  Now we’re doing it online.  As Mike would say, “A HUGE change isn’t it?” 

Not Everything Changes 

Something has not changed however, and that’s the opportunity for repeat sales with existing clients.  When I started selling I was taught that each year 10% of my sales would come from my existing “active” clients.  I learned early on to stay in contact with my clients through holiday and birthday cards and annual updates on their current policies so that I could cultivate and grow a minimum of a thousand to two thousand clients. 

I did as I was told and selling did become easy.  I made most of my sales in my later years almost exclusively with existing clients and the referrals THEY pushed on me.  Some of you remember that, it was a 100% closing rate most of the time.  How then do we bring that to Direct Response selling?  The answer is through Direct Mail. 

Already we have learned that one producer or a small group of producers cannot make Internet marketing work because of the burden of media expenditures and coverage of large geographical areas. Of course this is the value our togetherness in OFG brings, but how could we enable our producers to “Go Local,” and/or stay in touch with their multi-state clients to create additional inquiries—AND do it at a reasonable cost?  Direct Mail was the answer.

Direct mail is enjoying a tremendous resurgence and communicating with your existing clients through this medium is highly effective.  It never went away, it was just overlooked during this explosive period of Internet growth.  Direct Mail still enjoys the highest conversion rate of any insurance media. Consider the following response rates (not sales) I pulled from a recent Internet article.  You can see how utilizing an effective direct mail program in conjunction with direct response selling affects your bottom line.

 We considered the case made.  Direct mailing coupled with direct response selling will generate additional “Non-Lead” sales and so a reduction in per lead prices for agents and organizations is realized.  Additionally, agent and organizations can now leverage their existing book of business to generate TONS of new local sales.   

It’s GOT to be easy! 

But there was one last concern--the process had to be made EASY.  A difficult or cumbersome process would be hard to implement and monitor.  With that in mind, we created OFGezMailing.com.  It delivers access to direct mail while leveraging technology to make creation and delivery nothing short of simple.  Agents can now maintain their focus on current new lead selling while a passive direct mail program communicates with existing clients and cultivates new sales. 

Recently I mailed all my holiday cards through this site.  Dumbstruck at its simplicity is all I can say.  I normally settle in to a few nights in front of the TV and fireplace stuffing holiday cards, licking envelopes and stamps, peeling labels that I had to create and then driving to the post office for delivery.  At OFGezMailing.com I simply uploaded my CSV file of clients and friends, selected a family photo I liked stored on my desktop (some agents will select a thumbnail picture of themselves), put my personal message on the card and hit submit.  I was done in about 5 minutes.  Heck, I normally spend an hour just trying to find the right holiday cards to send!  Now I’m done in 5 minutes with a full color card going out and no licking.  My clients are getting the contact they want from me (LIMRA studies say this is the number one gripe of insurance clients—no communication from their agent), the warmth of a family holiday greeting and they begin to associate the format of this mailer with future product communications I’ll send in the coming year.  

Already setup in the website are templates for Annuities (we begin this in the first quarter), DI, Term, Permanent Life Insurance, LTC and many more.  Don’t like the templates we’ve created or want to create a different look?  No problem, for about $40 you can create you own template.  The current templates allow you to upload your company logo and picture, and with a click, direct mail any pre-sorted group you can imagine or come up with.  Go look again at those response rates, is this a moneymaker for you or not? 

Profit there will be! 

We’ve set our sites at a far less exceptional response rate, however.  Our goal with OFGezMailing.com is to create and deliver to you (depending on your database size) as little as 7 to 10 additional sales per quarter.  Profit from the consistent use of direct mail programs though out the year will result in an additional $10,000 to $20,000 of income per agent.  The numbers will be more OR less depending on follow-up via phone and actual size of mailings, but PROFIT there will be. 

I encourage you to take a run through the new site.  Acquaint yourself with the process of creating and personalizing a template mailer, mail some now if you want or do as I did and let the first piece of mail be your holiday greeting.  Email me your thoughts about the process or call me if you have questions or problems.  Be amongst the 10% that a year from now will NOT be saying, “Dang, I wished I had started this a year ago…………..”

Brad Howard, Director
Only Financial Group
866-INS-ONLY ext 108
bradh@onlyfinancial.com