- 1). Hire a telemarketer. Despite the fact that most people claim to despise telemarketers, this method of advertising has proven to be consistent and predictable. You can post a job ad in your local newspaper, or on the Internet, requesting the services of a telemarketer. You also can pay a telemarketing firm to make your outbound sales calls. Regardless of whether you hire an individual to work in your office or pay an organization, make sure the phone operators are well-versed and experienced in making telemarketing calls for similar products and services.
- 2). Send direct mail. Although people claim to detest junk mail, this advertising method can produce consistent and predictable results for your health insurance business. A properly structured drip mail campaign, wherein several letters or postcards are mailed to the same prospect over a period of time, will significantly increase the success of your efforts. The more often a prospect sees your agency's name and telephone number in printed form, the higher the likelihood that you will receive an inbound call when that prospect needs health insurance. The quality and content of your mail pieces will have a large impact on the success of your direct mail efforts, and you must continually test and experiment with new flyers, letters, and postcards that describe the types of policies you sell and how a prospect would benefit from your agency's assistance.
- 3). Place ads in newspapers. The cost of advertising in newspapers has decreased in recent years, and a well-placed ad can generate significant results. Consider your target market and place your advertisement in a section that you believe your demographic will read. For example, placement toward the front of the business section should attract more while-collar prospects, whereas the front of the sports section should result in more exposure to blue-collar prospects. Regardless of where your advertisement is printed, the best results only come after continued and repeated exposure to your prospects. Your ad should run every day for several weeks in order to generate realistic results. You also should consider placing your advertisement in multiple newspapers to reach prospects from a wider area.
- 4). Join a networking group. Every town, city and region has at least one business networking group. By attending regularly scheduled bi-weekly or monthly meetings, you will have the opportunity to meet business owners in your community who might need your services, or who can refer you to other people who do. The concept of networking groups is to build rapport with people who might be in a position to help grow your business.
- 5). Advertise on the Internet. The most advantageous part of Internet advertising is the fact that your business can gain exposure worldwide. Anyone in any state or country has the ability to view your company's website and online ads, which increases the possibility of new business and referrals. Additionally, there are countless methods of Internet marketing that have very low costs, and even some that are entirely free. However, since the Internet is saturated with advertisements, your health insurance ad must be of superior quality and placed in a prime location. Your online advertisement will yield better results if it is an image or graphic, and is placed at the top of a high-traffic website. The website does not need to be related to health insurance in any way, but should realistically be indicated to attract a large number of those people you would consider high-quality prospects.
- 6). Advertise on the radio. Millions of people listen to the radio daily, and a commercial played during peak hours could yield impressive results. Create an audio commercial for your health insurance business and have it played on a local radio station during both the morning and afternoon rush hours. Make sure that the radio station on which your commercial plays has a statistically significant majority of listeners who are affluent business owners, or might be socially connected to them. For example, your time and money would be wasted if your health insurance commercial played on a rap or heavy metal radio station because the demographics of those listeners tend to be precisely the opposite of your ideal prospects. Most radio commercials are one minute long, which is more than enough time to describe your health insurance business to listeners, then provide them with your contact information. Radio ads must be played repeatedly for several weeks to reap the full benefit of this type of marketing because many listeners will initially forget your company's information, or they might not be in a position to make a note of your telephone number.
- 7). Advertise on television. Create a television commercial that will illustrate to viewers how your agency can help with their health insurance needs. Contact your local cable company or television stations and arrange to have your agency's commercial played during peak hours and on those channels that affluent business owners and entrepreneurs are most likely to watch. This means your health insurance ad will likely be played on news stations and channels that focus on business and investing. If your commercial is visually impressive and pleasing to viewers, there is a much greater chance that interested prospects will remember your company's name and contact information. Make sure your television ad is shown for at least two weeks during prime time, otherwise your positive results will be significantly diminished due to fewer viewers and less exposure.
- 8). Advertise on roadside billboards. If you place a health insurance advertisement on a billboard beside a major roadway, you can guarantee that tens of thousands of potential prospects will see your message every day. Locate a billboard alongside a major highway in your area, then contact the company that owns the board. Arrange for your advertisement to remain on the billboard for as long as possible to increase the familiarity that prospects will have with your company name and phone number.
- 9). Distribute customized swag. Contact a business identity vendor and order several products imprinted with your health insurance agency's name and contact information. Pens, hats, shirts, cups, key chains, magnets and many other small trinkets can be made with your unique marketing message. Distribute your swag as often as possible to existing customers and potential prospects, or to those people who are in a position to send you referrals. Ideally, the item you give will remind your clients and prospects of your company's services and lead to additional conversations between those people and their close friends or family members about your positive qualities. Swag can also be considered a generous gesture that could bring in some unexpected positive referrals. Most often, swag is distributed at trade shows and seminars where the main topic somehow relates to health insurance or employee benefits. Consider renting tables at upcoming trade shows and large seminars, but refrain from attempting to distribute items outside stores or shopping malls without express permission.
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