A guest blog from our friends at ARM Leads. You can visit their website here.

The most successful agents will find a way to succeed during this unprecedented time in our country. Drawing from the past and current observations, here are nine reasons why there is a wealth of opportunity in this sea of unknown.

1. Response rates are higher: We’ve already seen a material uptick in response rates. With America spending more time at home, there has been an increased focus on outside information and mail.
2. Less competition: You’ve probably heard of a reduction  in marketing efforts from a few of your colleagues. Less experienced and creative agents don’t see the opportunities right now. That means less competition in the mailbox, and more return on your investment.
3. Consumer focus on risk factors and loss of life: To sell insurance, people need to be aware of their mortality. Usually this takes time and skill on your part to get them in the right frame of mind. With the pandemic scare, consumers have it on their mind.
4. Consumers are receptive: With the focus on risk factors, consumers are more receptive to learn about ways to show they care for their family. Insurance is about ensuring the welfare of their family, after all.
5. Limited time only: Some people think this situation may negatively affect sales, but historically, we’ve seen an increase in production during times of crisis or economic upheaval.
6. Changes to Medicare: Medicare has made an allowance to cover COVID-19 events. Consumers are always interested in changes to Medicare and will be receptive to your expertise on this subject.
7. Lead Times: Like with everything, we will get through this and come out stronger together. Due to marketing lead times, a reduction in marketing efforts now will lead to a reduction 3-6 weeks from now.
8. Technology has changed how we communicate: Use technology to keep clients’ health and safety a top priority. Agents have been successful utilizing methods like phone and video conferencing, including technologies like FaceTime and Skype, as well as writing policies from their car.
9. Insurance is an essential business: We are the main line of service to get a product that is critical to the health and welfare of our customers and their families. It is incumbent on us to ensure they have continued access to these services.

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Finally, we can all draw upon our own experiences to overcome challenges during uncertain times.

Here is a personal one that came to mind for me.

In October 2001, the post office in Washington DC was shut down for over a month because anthrax was discovered at the Ben Franklin station. This was of particular concern for our company because a large portion of our mail is processed in Washington DC.

Our first order of business was to contact all of our customers starting with one of our best. The conversation went something like this:

“Al, I want to let you know there is going to be a disruption in our lead delivery to your company because of the anthrax problem in DC.”

“Tom, we are doing fine. In fact we’re doing great! We knew we would experience a delay in mail and began calling old leads and we are doing better than ever. As it turns out, with the anthrax scare, people are more aware of their mortality and are receptive to a discussion about our insurance products. We are currently experiencing a record-setting month.”

With this in mind, we are encouraging all of our clients to go through their dashboard and begin contacting old leads that have not closed. As you do this, we would like to hear from you so you can share your stories of success.

We believe in you and want you to succeed, even in the middle of the 2020 pandemic.

Take care and God bless,
Tom Hennessy
ARM Leads

To find out more give us a call at 800.689.2800.