Myth Buster #2

Newsletters are a cheap and easy way to get new customers. Just mail them out and when people see how much you know about insurance, they call you.

In some ways, even the most professional newsletter is like a beautiful new Ferrari - without an engine. Sure, it looks nice and it'll attract attention. But if you want to get anywhere with it, you'd better put something under the hood.

To put it in marketing terms, your newsletter is just the part of your prospecting strategy that your prospects see. The real engine, what drives the new business to you, is the effort you make to reach out to your prospects and convert them to clients.

Most agents who use newsletters successfully to build their business take a three-step approach: 1) identify prospects in those markets you feel you can serve best, 2) send newsletters to those prospects, and 3) follow up with a phone call after several months. Your newsletter gives you an automatic opening - "Are you getting our newsletter regularly? Is it going to the right person - and, oh, by the way, is there anything we can do for you? We'd love to quote your business."

Now you have a prospecting program that has real horsepower.