There are many reasons insurance sales from home are more popular than ever. In this article, we will point out some of them. We will also discuss how you can successfully close insurance sales without seeing a customer face-to-face.
But before, a quick look into why insurance sales from home?
1. Increasing acceptance for digital due to the coronavirus pandemic
We have all felt the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. Even today, many businesses, countries, and individuals are only starting to find their way into the new normal. Nowadays, face-to-face contact is in decline, and most insurance companies are looking forward to adopting digital completely. These have to do with preventing the spread of the virus and staying safe.
Insurers are not behind, and to keep workers safe while connecting with customers, running insurance sales from home is the best solution.
2. Remote jobs are desirable.
As someone in the business, you have likely noticed the shift. There is a higher demand for remote jobs than ever before. Moreover, the convenience of working from home also makes remote-jobs desirable. Not adapting to this trend can make your business miss out on leads and talented agents who can only work remotely.
3. Lower operational costs and higher productivity
By completing insurance sales from home, both insurers and agents can save money. You can save on transportation costs, meal costs at work, and traveling time. Indirectly, your agents/sales reps will not feel the exertion due to traveling long distances to meet customers. Without distractions and time wasted, agents can be more productive, and this will lead to more profit.
4. To find and interact with leads online.
You can only access some customers remotely. Reasons for this include:
- The customer might live far from your office
- The customer might prefer online interaction
- A disabled customer cannot drive and come to your office
Besides the above customers, statistics show that 21% of consumers in the U.S. are searching for auto or home insurance. Another 19% would like to expand their life insurance coverage.
Will you let these leads get lost? Of course not. Which is why completing insurance sales from home is vital. Here are the things you need to know for your success.
How to be successful at insurance sales from home?
While reasons like the coronavirus pandemic and business trends make it crucial to close insurance sales from home or remotely, it takes more than just saying it. Your agents will require several tools and support to do this effectively. We have discussed the steps for successful remote insurance sales below.
1. Train your agents to sell insurance policies from home
Selling insurance policies from home takes skill and differs from face-to-face interaction. Insurance agents will have to learn to use their voices to establish confidence, warmth, and rapport. They will also have to learn to use the relevant software, tools, and platforms for remote-insurance sales. Customer service will be more influential than ever, and agents must also perfect this skill. Engage in online training to know the basics of completing insurance sales from home.
2. Get proper tools
Just as you would get the tools to work in a physical office, you need to do the same for working online. Tools vital for insurance sales from home include:
Video calling tools
Within the first few months of the pandemic, several online communication tools expanded their solutions to serve businesses and individuals. You can easily take advantage of what tools like Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams offer. Video conferencing with prospects can help you build trust. It also helps to promote collaboration among your insurance agents while working from home.
High-speed internet
A large part of insurance sales from home requires internet connectivity. You will need this to access agency information, record messages, communicate, and so on. High-speed internet ensures you are available when you need to be and can function effectively online.
Cloud connectivity
Most of the data and tools insurance agents use should be stored in the cloud to give everyone access at any time, no matter where they are. Cloud technology is no longer news for most businesses and is relevant for remote work.
3. Adopt the right CRM Software
A customer relationship management solution (CRM) helps you personalize outreach to each customer and enjoy results for most efforts. It is vital for automation, generating and managing leads, communicating with both prospects and clients, providing information, delivering proposals, and assisting clients with enrolling. Insurance CRM software like LeadSquared covers every aspect of insurance sale from home or in-office to guarantee your business success. It is best to also look out for cloud CRM solutions that integrate well with your offering and business process.
4. Use e-application or self-serve application portals.
Executing insurance sales online means that you must acquire every necessary information online. It also includes filling up forms, uploading documents, and more. e-applications help insurance agents work seamlessly. You will need the full suite such as:
- e-signatures optimized for both smartphones and PC. e-signatures make it quick and easy for customers to provide their signatures.
- Video KYC helps you remain KYC compliant. With video-conferencing technology, customers can complete digital and remote ID verification conveniently from their homes. They can take pictures of IDs in live mode and upload it to the mobile system. It helps your agency eliminate the need for the customer to find ways to complete ID verification or, worse, have to come in-office in times like this.
- With self-serve portals and paperless applications, you can provide a smooth application experience to those interested in buying insurance policies from your company. Just in case, for some reason, if a customer did not complete the application, such self-serve portals ensure that customers can resume filling the application anytime.
5. Integrate your CRM with other digital tools
Integration with digital payments systems:
All your efforts come down to making sure the customer pays. Some customers fear reading their credit card information to insurance agents over the phone. It is also incorrect. Neither the agents/sales reps should ask for credit card details, nor customers should provide the same.
To complete the sale of insurance policies, you need to build a fast and convenient digital payment option on your website. You can also use services like PayPal or other merchant gateways for payments and increase the payment completion rates.
Integration with cloud calling systems:
If you have a team of call-center agents working from home, then integrating your CRM solution with call callings/soft dialing systems such as RingCentral or CallTrackingMetrics makes a lot of sense. It will help you agents place a call in a click, and the system will automatically record the conversation, call duration, and other metrics for quality audit and future analysis.
Thus, the best way is to find an Insurance CRM software for your organization that integrates well with other software systems that you use for sales and marketing. It will help you align all your processes in a centralized system so that information is always available at your fingertips.
Conclusion
An example of insurance groups completing remote-insurance sales is the Lincoln Financial Group. The agency allows applicants from 30 to 60 years old to purchase $250,000 to $1,000,000 of term life insurance with an electronic process. They offer better rates for those who follow this process.
Protective Insurance, a leading American Insurer, has set an electronic process for insurance application and policy delivery.
At LeadSquared, we focus on making your business easier. We offer multiple insurance workflow automation solutions to improve your operational efficiency. With our customized solution, you can automate everything, view your progress, collaborate, and use cloud technology.
See how we can help you execute insurance sales from home today.
Insurance sales from home FAQs
Yes, it is possible to sell insurance policies from home. You can use cloud-based CRM (Customer Relationship Management) solutions to capture leads from different sources, assign them to your sales reps/call-center agents, and track every interaction for better sales. With cloud CRM, your agents and sales representatives can work from home or any location without any hassle.
To successfully sell insurance policies from home, you must train your agents to use digital tools and support them with useful software like CRM built for Insurance companies. You can also integrate your Insurance CRM with cloud calling systems for hassle-free calling and tracking all interactions.
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