Generating Insurance And Annuity Leads Using Squidoo Marketing

Heard of Squidoo? I?ve only been using it a few weeks, but the website has major buzz and justifiably so. The site is an incredible marketing tool. Basically it?s a web page builder? You can build what they call lenses which are simply web pages. Your lense can be about any topic you choose. It could be a professional bio, an article about insurance, maybe you want to review an annuity product or you simply want to show off pictures of your grandkids or pets.

You?re probably saying, great. I can build webpages. Big deal. What you really want to know is how Squidoo can help you get more leads and make you more money. When you setup a Squidoo lens pick search engine key words and phrases people are searching for. You can get a general estimate of keywords people are plugging in on the search engines and how many searches a word or phrase gets every month by using this keyword tool.

Type in annuity here and you?ll see the number of monthly phrases and other related keywords.

These constitute the number of searches performed on Yahoo. Google tends to run 50-100% higher. Plus you have engines like MSN, AskJeeves and the others which provide even more searches.

If ?Annuity? is the key phrase you?d like you would want to attempt to secure www.squidoo.com/annuity. Granted that?s a highly desirable word and (I?ve checked) it?s already taken. But why not secure phrases close to your area? why not grab.

(Note: For some reason unclear to me the Yahoo keyword tool only returns singular words. That doesn?t mean there aren?t plural searches as well? don?t discount plural words and phrases because there doesn?t appear to be searches.)

Google and the other major search engines love Squidoo and tend to rank Squidoo pages very high on their search results. If you get a good ranking and take the time to write useful, original copy with your contact information you will likely pick up leads.

Squidoo is fairly straight-forward and easy to use, but it can take a while to learn. I ended up reading a short very well-written manual to help me navigate the Squidoo system. Check it out: Squidoo Marketing

Squidoo is just another tactic in the neverending quest to obtain leads. It should be a part of a comprehensive annuity lead generating and selling system, not used as the sole method for attracting new business. The best part about Squidoo is that it costs you nothing. It's 100% free to use.

Bill Broich is veteran annuity salesman who helps agents generate annuity leads and close more sales. Visit his website for more information: Annuity

Annuity Marketing Tactics To Sell More Annuities

I mean it, selling annuities is the easiest sale in the insurance industry. It is all a matter of positioning and having a focus. The focus is simple: numbers. Having lots of people to see and tell the annuity story to is the secret. Leads and lots of them is all that it takes.

Insurance agents all have one thing in common, who can I see today? Many agents even have such a fear of not having anyone to talk to that it makes them almost paranoid. The solution is very simple, do more marketing. Remember, it is all about numbers.

Here is how to do it. Decide on a target market such as seniors age 65 and above as an example. Your target market can be almost anything such as any age group, any income and any asset level. Once you have located your target market then place your marketing plan in motion.

The marketing plan can be built around many different approaches so for the sake of simplicity let?s use direct contact (direct mail.) With your selected target market decide on a subject that will be of interest to this group. A sample topic may topics like this:

? Reduce your social security taxable income
? Protect your assets from nursing home expenses
? New rules regarding your IRA and how to reduce taxes
? Avoid probate cost for your heirs
? Etc. Etc. Etc.

Next select a service to do the marketing so the actual work is outsourced. Numerous choices are available and trying several will help you select one which fits your geographical area and personal approach. A simple Google Search will locate several choices but my personal favorites are (America?s Recommended Mailers, Kramer Mailing Services and Russ Jones)

Next do this, mail 5,000 mailers a month for a solid year. Do not stop and do not evaluate the program for the whole year. Be focused and do not quit. The cost will be approximately $1,300 a month and you should expect a return of about 2%.

Take the expected returns of 100 leads and have a professional telemarketer set your appointments (cost should be about $10 and a little spiff to her/him will go a long way, start small and bonus). If averages hold, you can expect approximately 40 quality leads a month or an average of 10 a week. The leads that you are unable to see place in a drip system and have your telemarketer recall every 2 months for a year. Working 10 quality leads a week for the work year will provide you with 1 (one) sale and the drip system will provide ? sale every other month.

The total sales you should make is 52 plus 6 from the drip system for a total of 58 a year. Next calculate your average premium per sale and for this you may use the industry average of $37,000. Multiply the $37,000 times the 58 sales and your total premium will be $2,146,000.

Multiply the premium ($2,146,000) times the average commission of 7% (varies and should be higher) and your gross income will be $152,220. Now subtract your cost of leads (12 months times $1,300 = $15,600) from the gross income and that will leave you a net income after sales cost of $136,620. You also need to average in the cost of the telemarketer and that will depend on your personal situation but a good rule of thumb should be $500 or so a month.

An annual income of $136,620 will place you in the top .6% of income earners in the United States. And it is all done with a simple process based on numbers. One important type is this; throw away the leads that you cannot reach and those who want to be contacted later. By throwing away the leads will set you free, truly.

There it is, simple, easy and totally manageable. Oh, one other thing, it is very profitable.

Bill Broich is a 30 year annuity salesman who helps agents generate annuity leads. Visit his website to learn more - Annuity.com

A Guide to Annuity Products

Annuity is a fixed amount of money received for the whole life or a definite time period specified and agreed upon, in the contract. A savings account is the most common example of an annuity, where the annuitant deposits the principal amount of money to earn a certain percentage. The annuitants may invest this money in business, insurance companies or lend it to individuals. The percentage of the income is specified at the time of agreement. This serves as a partial return of the principal amount and an additional income, simultaneously.

In case of group annuity contracts, the periodic payments are made to one of the employers, covered by a master contract signed by the employer. Retirement annuities are paid only post-retirement. In case of the annuitant?s death, before the expiry of the agreed period or the annuitant?s decision to surrender the policy, a certain amount is paid back to the annuitant?s beneficiary.

A fixed annuity refers to a specific amount of payment after the defined period, irrespective of the financial crisis faced by the company. In case of a variable annuity, the payment amount depends on the success of the investment and fluctuates accordingly. Straight annuities are contracts for making variable payments on a monthly or yearly basis, while life annuities are paid only during the lifetime of the annuitant and ceases with death.

Deferred annuity payments commence on a decided future date, provided the annuitant is alive. This also delays the income tax payments till the annuity payment starts. A refund annuity promises to refund certain amount of cash during the lifetime of the annuitant and in case of death the person?s estate receives the money. Joint annuities are payable to two persons named in the agreement, one of whom receives the money, in case the other dies.

Buy Annuity provides detailed information on Buy Annuity, Buy Annuity Leads, Buy Fixed Annuity, Buy Retirement Annuity and more. Buy Annuity is affiliated with Fixed Annuities

Buy Annuity Leads

The financial products such as annuity are created keeping in mind the expectations of certain type of prospective customers. The age of the prospect comes in this type. So are his/her income group and the type of profession they are engaged in. Needless to say that, in order to sell its investment products, the financial companies have to reach out to the targeted customers first. Hence the agents of the financial companies are generally on the look out for the database of such customers. This information is sensitively profiled by specialized research firms and is offered as leads to agents and financial companies needing this database. These leads are generated from various sources which include websites that are developed to monitor genuine customers who are surfing the Internet for buying annuity.

While leads are very important for selling annuity, however certain factors should be taken into consideration while buying them. It?s crucial to know, how the research company operates and by using which methods the leads are being generated by the research company. Instead of buying the leads from the first authentic company one comes across, it pays to search for more companies in order to get optimum benefits. The cost of acquiring the leads is also significant. The terms of payment should be clearly discussed before entering into a payment contract. There are some companies that raise monthly bills for providing leads. It must also be ascertained whether the leads are sold only to one agent/ company. For better results while playing safe, the leads should be bought in small amounts from various firms. This way, the quality of the leads and the firm providing these databases can be safely assessed without incurring much cost - a good deed indeed for good leads!
Buy Annuity provides detailed information on Buy Annuity, Buy Annuity Leads, Buy Fixed Annuity, Buy Retirement Annuity and more. Buy Annuity is affliated with Fixed Annuities.

The Other Problem with the Equity Indexed Annuity

Okay, so here is the other problem with the index annuity. Many agents try to sell it as the 'answer to all problems.' The fact of the matter is, it is not that at all. An indexed annuity is designed to have the potential to capture a little more upside than a traditional fixed annuity can.

Again, many agents claim it is a way to beat the markets...they will severely underperform in a good bull market. Furthermore, they are not designed to capture all the upside. They are designed to give a lower floor and a higher ceiling than traditional fixed annuities. They are by no means a stock market alternative.

So the bottom line is that the equity indexed annuity can be something desinged particularly to fit in someone's portfolio. It has advantages that other annuities cannot offer. It gives the protection of a fixed annuity. And it gives a little more upside than traditional safety vehicles.

All in all, it can be a good thing but it depends on an investor's situation. For someone looking for all the upside and who doesn't care about taking risk and losing money, the index annuity is far from the right choice. For someone who has a small risk tolerance but cares to have a little more upside potential, it can be a good choice.

The most important thing is to understand, any investment is part of a bigger equation. That is the bottom line. And furthermore, research is key. It is important to know what you are getting into. The further side of the spectrum is agents saying that EIA's are a scam. Those guys just don't understand how the EIA works.

Ignorance is Not Bliss.Tony Bahu is a licensed annuity agent who has helped many men and women own the annuity that is right for them and their family.