Automating the Lead Generation Process

Most insurance agencies have some type of lead generation mechanism in place where the CSR team is asked to identify any potential sales opportunities that arise when they are talking with a client and to pass that information onto the Producers for follow-up. The process is usually implemented in an ad-hoc fashion relying on emails (or paper) to collect and pass information with little or no ability to track performance or reward results.

blueButler affords the opportunity to fully automate the lead generation process by addressing all key aspects of the process including:

• Management’s ability to set and measure individual and group performance against weekly or monthly lead targets using scheduled Lead Summary Reports
• Pop-up campaign reminders and suggestions that help CSRs identify leads
• Simplified click-to-tag lead identification and notes (with link to recorded call with client) that minimize the effort required to identify and forward a lead
• Scheduled daily Lead Reports that are automatically emailed to Sales Management for review where actual conversations can be played back to evaluate and prioritize each lead

The recommended practice in blueButler for automating lead generation follows.

Set Targets

For any business process to be effective, it is important for Senior Management to clearly communicate expectations to the staff involved in the process. Where one team is requested to generate sales leads for another team, a realistic target for the number of leads expected weekly or monthly from both individual staff members and the team as a whole should be set. The recommendation is to set the target low to begin with to allow staff to become familiar with the new process and give them time to work it into their normal daily activities. It can also be a morale booster when staff exceeds their targets in the first few months. Once the new process is established the targets can be adjusted to align with the anticipated number of leads each user is expected to produce.

Identifying Leads

Management establishes the types of leads staff that are expected to uncover in their discussions with clients. Leads may be seasonal in nature (eg. travel insurance for clients taking a winter vacation) or related to a new product or service offering. The recommendation is to provide a few bullet-point reminders in the blueButler client default script that appears when the user opens the blueButler Script window. The Script window can be set to automatically pop open on the user’s screen at the start of each call or the user can opt to manually open the Script window. Successful implementation of any new workflow process is often dependent on how well staff are trained on the new process and the associated tools. For Lead Generation, the recommendation is to provide staff with sample questions that they can use in their regular interactions with clients to help uncover possible leads. Playing back a few successful lead calls during the training session can help staff learn how to work the lead identification questions into their conversations.

Tagging Leads

When a CSR identifies a lead, they need to capture it so that it can be forwarded to the Producer for follow-up. Management determines the types of leads to capture and the call tags in blueButler are modified accordingly. A CSR identifies a lead by using the click-to-tag method that attaches the appropriate call tag to the record in blueButler. With blueButler, the recommended process is simple and consistent for the CSR to follow and includes a link to the actual conversation with the client about their needs. It is also recommended that the CSR include a customer identifier in the record and add some notes about the lead to make it easier for the Producer to follow-up with the client. The CSR simply double-clicks on the call recording record and enters the customer id and comments. Note that when users link a call recording to an activity record in their AMS/BMS system, the customer identifier may be automatically added to the blueButler record.

Managing the Leads

With the leads identified in the blueButler database, management can monitor the daily / weekly lead activity and ensure that leads are being followed up in a reasonable timeframe. Managers can use their blueButler client to monitor leads as they are generated during the day. Lead report templates can be created in blueButler that filter the call recording records to only include tagged calls. These reports can be scheduled daily / weekly / monthly and emailed to the appropriate managers to provide a simple automated method of monitoring lead activity.

Tracking the Leads

The recommended process extends to the team that is following up on the leads. Management will want to know what action has been taken on the lead and which leads led to successful new business. Lead tracking is normally done in your AMS/BMS system as an integrated part of the established sales management processes already in place in your organization.

An alternative is to enter the status information in blueButler by creating a custom drop-down list that includes the desired status messages. For instance, the status messages could be set to Open / Assigned / Closed-Lost / Closed-Won / etc. The status message is updated by double-clicking the original call recording record that created the lead and choosing the status from the drop-down list. In this case, blueButler Lead Tracking reports can be configured to identify both detail and summary information on the generated leads.

Additional Information

• blueButler Brochure
• PCI-DSS Compliance