Your insurance agents devote lots of time to recruiting and warming leads. Then, once they sign someone to a new policy, they likely go back to the drawing board, looking for new leads. While lead generation is a critical component of running a successful insurance agency, it’s only one piece of the puzzle. You can increase profits dramatically by cross-selling insurance to current customers. This is easier than trying to warm cold leads, and it provides value to your customers.

Here are a few tips to help your agents excel when cross-selling products.

Gather Customer Information

A successful strategy begins by gathering as much information from customers as possible. Your agents cannot recommend the appropriate products without knowing what their clients need. Your insurance agency management software will include several fields that help you get to know your customer base. Make sure your agents fill out each field so they know if clients are renters, property owners, run a business, and more. The more the agents know, the easier it will be to recommend the appropriate products.

Take Care of Initial Needs

Cross-selling insurance should be value-based. Some agents attempt to push additional policies on new clients, and that isn’t always wise. Agents can discuss additional products with new customers, but they need to meet the client’s initial needs first.

For instance, if a business owner contacts an agent to buy a new homeowners insurance policy, the agent can mention business insurance but shouldn’t push it. Instead, the agent should ensure the customer is satisfied by providing the requested homeowners insurance policy. If the agent pushes too hard during the initial meeting, the client might go with another agency.

Identify Opportunities for Cross-selling Insurance Products

Insurance agents should be trained to look for and identify opportunities for cross-selling insurance policies. This is easy to do with insurance agency management software. For example, our insurance agency management system, JenesisNow includes a marketing feature that provides opportunities for agents. Agents can access reports to discover additional policies clients need based on the information collected. Once an opportunity is identified, it’s easy for agents to suggest policies that add value.

Seize the Moment When Cross-selling Insurance Products

Cross-selling insurance is far different from cold calling prospects. Your clients are already interested in your offerings, so it’s really about seizing the moment when it arises. Sometimes, clients will open the door for you by making offhand comments about their life. For instance, a renter might talk about a break-in in the apartment building down the block. That’s an opening to talk about renter’s insurance.

Cross-sell During Check-ins

You can also create opportunities by checking in with your existing clients. Agents should contact clients before renewal periods. During the call, they can make sure that the customer is satisfied with the current policy. They should ask about the coverage, cost, and more to gauge the satisfaction level. If they are pleased with the current policy, they can then discuss supplemental coverage options. Supplemental coverage is generally easy to budget, so those who don’t feel like they are overpaying are more likely to sign up for an additional policy as long as it provides the necessary protection.

Try to Cross-sell When Policies Are Set to Expire

Your agents should collect expiration dates for policies clients purchased from other companies. They can then attempt to sell them policies when those expire. For example, if your client has auto insurance with you but homeowners insurance with another agency, you need to know when that policy expires. Then, when the expiration date is getting close, an agent needs to contact the client and go over the benefits of having homeowners insurance with your agency.

Set up an Email Marketing Campaign With Cross-selling in Mind

Your insurance agency should have an email marketing strategy in place. You can use email to educate your current clients about additional lines of insurance that you offer. This is the ideal way to build awareness. Then, when your agents contact specific clients, they will already be aware of their options.

Keep in mind that this will only be successful if you segment your email lists so people receive emails that add value. This way, homeowners won’t receive emails about renter’s insurance, and people who work for companies won’t get messages about business insurance. By sending people emails specific to their situations, you can increase your open rate and show that you can provide value to your customer base.

Cross-selling Insurance Is an Ongoing Process

Your agents shouldn’t give up after a prospect turns down a policy option. Cross-selling insurance is an ongoing process. While agents shouldn’t contact the same clients daily, they need to continue trying to cross-sell policies. A “no” today could turn into a “yes” months down the road. However, many clients won’t seek out additional policies. Instead, they will agree to sign up after an agent explains the benefits to them. Sometimes, it takes a while for the benefits to sink in fully, so agents need to stay on it.

Increase Your Revenue With These Tips

These tips will help your agency make more money. Cross-selling insurance is much easier than finding new clients, so educate your agents so they can begin the process immediately. Remember to take full advantage of your insurance agency management software to identify cross-selling opportunities to get the best results.

Ready to see how JenesisNow can help make cross-selling easier? Request a demo, today!