The difference between success and failure on the Web often hinges on how carefully your agency manages the actual cost of doing business. Most salespeople spend 50% of their time talking to prospects that will never buy a product or service from them.

InsurWare provides an economical way to obtain qualified prospects: InsurQuote Purchase Request/Lead Processing (see www.insurquote.com). This lead-generation system offers-for purchase-leads based on your target market, demographics, or other criteria. It can help your agency increase revenues and provide producers with qualified, valuable, and consistent sales requests.

Currently, the only alternative for agencies wishing to incorporate a lead system is to send proprietary information to an outside service bureau. These services typically take weeks to provide results. InsurWare allows your agency to keep this sensitive lead information in-house. In addition, you can respond to the prospect in a timely, professional manner.

No more cold calling. Your "warm" leads from InsurQuote will help you:

• Prioritize selling opportunities
• Initiate one-stop selling solutions
• Provide real-time information to close the sale
• Improve sales force productivity
• Enhance time management
• Uncover and track new vertical opportunities
• Measure overall agency closing ratios
• Review lead management reports and determine producers' level of comfort, best marketplace, closing skills, and so on
• Free producers from meaningless "dial and smile" activities
• Win and keep producers
• Enhance direct-marketing campaigns
• Maximize your return on lead investment
• Provide the tools your team needs to do the job better
• Give producers time to learn about prospect concerns
• Allow producers to become consultants by solving more problems for existing customers (up-sell) and providing additional solutions to other concerns (cross-sell)
• Lower the cost of sales

Your leads are provided and managed by InsurQuote. To maximize the quality and quantity of the leads, we maintain E-business relationships with numerous Web sites, including industry-related organizations, insurance companies, online auto businesses, and search engines. InsurQuote's lead relationships are similar to those that Amazon.com has with certain publishers whose books it distributes.

With InsurQuote, you can view new leads and fill your "shopping cart" with those you choose by clicking on "Download New Purchase Requests." However, unlike Amazon.com, the same lead will not be mass-produced and distributed. This unique process protects your right of ownership for the respective lead, and allows you to follow-up promptly and turn the prospect into a customer.

It's easy! If you can turn your computer on, you hve it made. Here are some recommendations for taking full advantage of the InsureQuote lead system:

• Click "Leads" from your "Agency Admin" function. New lead information is updated regularly-you'll receive an E-mail whenever a new lead is available.
• Check the lead system daily. Most agencies check on leads either first thing in the morning or at the end of each workday.
• Review leads and determine which ones you want. The lead description and investment amount is outlined next to the lead information.
• Click till you drop.
• Print out the leads and process them just as if someone walked in your door.
• Import the leads to your InsurQuote desktop rater and process accordingly.

Help is always available. Just E-mail your question to us at [email protected] and we'll respond promptly.

The frequency and details of the reports are up to you. You can:

• Generate detailed reports daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly.
• Determine what your reports look like.
• Select information to be included.
• Customize reports to meet your agency needs.

The reports can provide valuable information that will help you to:

• Analyze your lead/agency success ratio.
• Identify producer closing rates.
• Justify the costs of professional lead-distribution services.
• Minimize manual lead expenses.
• Identify new target market opportunities.
• Maximize sales efforts.
• Create a "no excuses" selling environment.
• Fine-tune your lead strategy to meet your current and future needs.

Your InsurQuote lead-generation strategy is only as good as its execution. It's essential that progress be monitored and adjusted frequently. Don't put your InsurQuote reports in the bottom drawer of your desk.

Include these action items in your lead-strategy planning:

• Meet monthly to review lead progress-cover results, status, and progress.
• Compliment the people responsible for positive results, and reward them with incentive awards, bonuses, and recognition.
• Don't accept excuses. If a producer fails, provide help, encouragement, and support.
• Producers often need ongoing training in selling skills and consultative techniques to improve productivity, confidence, and revenue contribution.
• Planning and implementing a successful lead strategy requires a team effort. Be positive-enthusiasm is contagious.
• Keep close to your prospects and customers, and pay attention to their suggestions and concerns.
• Plan for next month, next quarter, and next year; however, think two to three years ahead.
• Ask prospects for their input. Explore what other information you could provide and find out what they're looking for in an insurance business relationship.

• Plan to be successful. Put away all those negatives and dare to be an agency visionary, innovator, and winner.

Today's agency marketplace spans nearly every stage of automation sophistication, from electric typewriters to sophisticated Web sites. If you don't already have a Web site, you can customize the agency Web site template included in InsurQuote. Its features include:

• Online rate quotation capability
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section
• Interactive electronic lead form
• Your own E-mail and Web page (URL) addresses
• Choice of various graphics
• Agency logo, description, and staff photographs
• Links to carriers, associations, and organizations
• Wide range of insurers (at least 75% to 85% of our premium inventory)

If you need additional assistance in setting up your Web site, our experts are ready to provide professional support. Just E-mail or call to get an estimate.

Remember: You can't just put your brochure online and expect to get results. You need to use all the weapons and resources in this Guide to help you build a winning Web site. Get on your mark, get set, CLICK!

The basic rules for agency change should include:

1. Change the work.
2. Do more with less.
3. Eliminate duplication.
4. Reduce costs that can't be passed on to consumers.

The battle between physical and virtual agencies is not waged on price but rather on convenience.

• Insurance consumers on the Web are either browsing or hunting.
• Vertically target messages.
• Integrate all of your customer touch points.
• Up-sell and cross-sell.

"Don't forget that your product or service is not differentiated until the customer understands the difference." -- Tom Peters, Thriving on Chaos

A research report conducted by the Gartner Group suggests that 90% of business Web sites fail to deliver content and services that meet their customers' needs.

"The only way to know how customers see your business is to look at it through their eyes." -- Daniel R. Scoggin, President and CEO, TGI Friday's, Inc.

"We were given two ears and only one tongue so that we would listen more and talk less." -- Diogenes

"Your customers will get better when you do." -- Anonymous

"The secret is to understand the customer's problems and provide solutions so you can help that customer be profitable and feel good about the transaction." -- Buck Rodgers, Former Vice President, IBM