Back in the 1970s when I first got into the insurance business, the natural order of things was to get your insurance license and go to work for a general agent. The GA’s job, in exchange for a cut of your commissions, was to give you products, a selling system, motivation, and free insurance leads.

Today the model is different. You get your license and automatically become a general agent earning full street-level commissions. You then partner with an insurance marketing organization for product representation, selling systems, and (the number one reason agents choose a particular marketing organization) free insurance leads.

But if a handful of free insurance leads is all your new partner has to offer, how much are they really costing you?

If you are a career conscious agent, you will look beyond the immediate gratification and false hopes of free insurance leads. You will understand the gimmick of a prize inside the Cracker Jack box. You will focus on the greater need for effective, ongoing prospecting systems, progressive selling systems, motivational and educational coaching, and cutting-edge products, long after your free insurance leads have evaporated.

Here are the five most important questions to ask an insurance marketing organization before hitching your career to their carriers:

1. How long have you been in business?

Many newcomers to the FMO, IMO, NMO arena lack seasoning. Many hope to test their leads and selling systems on inexperienced agents. A track record of 10 to 20 years is good, 30 to 40 years even better.

2. Which carriers do you represent and how do they rate with the rest of the industry?

A marketing organization with a dozen or more carriers usually indicates a lack of focus. Three or four of the industry’s top carriers is an ideal mix.

3. Why should I believe your free insurance leads are any good?

Ask what criteria they use in selecting the leads. Do they fit the profile of people who already own the insurance product you are selling? They should.

4. What kind of support do you have to help me grow my business and stay competitive?

The best marketing organizations will give you your own insurance coach for help with case design, product training and marketing support. Expect online systems for checking new business, commissions and existing policy status, and for downloading current forms, sales scripts and marketing materials. Invariably, just having your own coach can make a huge difference in your success.

5. What prospecting and selling systems do you have and how do I get them?

Most marketing organizations have the usual direct mail lead systems. Many require you to pay costs up front then seek reimbursement through your production. The best direct mail lead program is one that replenishes your lead supply at no cost to you, with each sale you make, giving you a never-ending stream of qualified prospects.

Most marketing organizations have standard selling systems ranging from flip charts to client approved CD-ROMs. Unfortunately, few organizations understand how important the “M� is in FMO, IMO or NMO, and have not sprouted a new marketing idea in decades. Meanwhile the prospect pool grows wary of the same old ploys.

But imagine an insurance marketing organization that will:

(A) Ghostwrite newspaper articles for you to publish as expert author in your hometown newspapers. You include your bio, photo and contact information for lead generation and referral.

(B) Produce your own half-hour radio talk show with you being interviewed as guest expert in your insurance field, for airing on your local radio stations. You position yourself as the expert, you pre-sell the concept, and you offer your phone number for listeners to call for additional information or your free offer.

(C) Produce your own half-hour cable TV infomercial in an interview format with you as the guest expert for airing on your local cable TV channels. You position yourself as the local expert, you break the ice by showing prospects the real you in the comfort of their own living room, you pre-sell your insurance concept, and give out your phone number for viewers to call for additional help or your free offer.

(D) Give you an original, fully scripted, turn-key seminar system complete with ongoing coaching, handouts, PowerPoint slides and multi-media, and a proven formula for setting appointments with 70% to 80% of the room. The multi-media content alone has produced over .3 billion in sales and is still going strong.

A marketing organization that will do all of the above for you, absolutely free of charge based on production, can catapult your career to the next level. The organizations that offer free insurance leads, with little else down the road, can end up costing you a bundle in lost opportunity. Please contact me for more details.