Landing leads and prospects for TRUCKING INSURANCE is the number one problem facing any insurance agent who is serious about underwriting truckers insurance. There are two types of businesses that would sell you leads. One is a business in a trucking-related field that has a website that attracts truckers looking for other information. An example of this would be Truckers Magazines or Truck Sales or Truck Manufacturing Company. The other is a trucking insurance agency that has developed a way to advertise on the Internet, capture truckers’ information, and sell it because the trucker is outside of their insurance territory or doesn’t fit the underwriting guidelines of the companies that represent. Either way, the leads you pay for (whether you get the business or not) will cost roughly $50-$300 per lead, depending on the number of trucks on the main product. Anyone who insures trucks knows that underwriting guidelines vary, and any leads generated by these two methods will require you to follow up and obtain additional information from the prospect.
3 WAYS TO GET YOUR OWN TRUCK INSURANCE
1) Direct mail. Develop a postcard for your agency. Full color postcards cost 0.06 to 0.07 each to print when purchased in bulk and 24 cents for the stamp. A list of all motor carriers throughout the United States can be purchased online. These carriers come in a schedule that can be sorted by date x, size, status, goods shipped, and zip code, with an address that can be printed on a mailing label. Every time a prospect receives a postcard from you, it helps “brand” his agency as a “Truck Insurance Specialist.” In my experience, for around $700 you can send 2,000 pieces of mail a month. The rate of return is between 1.5-2.0%. You do the calculations.
2) Search Google for motor carrier license and permit agencies in your area. Typically, these agencies refer their clients only to truck insurance specialists. Bring the employees pizza for lunch and if the owner golfs, take him out and you’re in!
3) Learn how to drive customers to your website by doing keyword research and developing capture forms so you can contact them and retain their information. I have used all of the above methods and they are all worth it. The third, however, is the wave of the future. Anyone who can understand how to use the enormous potential of the Internet to successfully market their own or anyone else’s products online will always have plenty of clues. There’s no need to pay a third party when, if you play your cards right, the prospect will come to you.