Ignite Insurance Marketing with this 7-Point Sales Letter Tune-Up

6 March, 2013

If your insurance sales letters are sputtering along with poor performance and lackluster results, maybe it’s time for a tune-up.

Much like your car’s engine needs a good spark to ignite the fuel that makes it run, your insurance marketing needs a spark to ignite lead generation. Your sales letter is the spark that puts the insurance marketing process in motion.

Since an insurance marketing letter is often the first contact a prospect has with you, it could be your one and only chance to spark interest. If the spark is strong and focused, your letter can produce powerful and measurable performance. However, if that spark is dulled by the corrosion of cluttered and unfocused writing, overheated by pomp and puffery, or eroded by a lack of fine tuning, performance will plummet.

Ignite your insurance marketing results with this 7-point sales letter tune-up: 

1.  Focus your message: Think of a specific person when you’re writing – a brother, sister, aunt, uncle, or friend. Address their wants, needs, hopes, dreams, and desires. Always focus on "you," the reader.

2.  Sell performance, not specs: Don’t tell your prospects what your product or service does – illustrate how it will make their life better. Sell benefits, not features.

3.  Activate your language: Instead of writing, “When your payment is received, your policy will be reinstated,” say, “When we receive your payment, we will promptly reinstate your policy.” Use active vs. passive language.

4.  Be specific: What do you mean when you use the terms “quality” or “customer service”? Use verifiable and relevant specifics to give your message more power.

5.  Don’t be cute: Cute and clever might impress your friends or colleagues, but it doesn’t sell. Keep your message clear, conversational, and classy. Avoid clichés.

6.  Point the way: If you want your prospect to take a specific action like calling or completing a form, say so. Don't beat around the bush and never assume they’ll take the leap on their own. Tell them specifically what action you want them to take and how to do it.

7.  Polish it off: Research has shown that the P.S. is one of the first things people look at. This is a great place to restate a key benefit or guarantee that will entice your reader into the body of your letter.

Follow these seven tips to boost sales letter power and performance. And never forget that insurance selling requires persistence and repetition. Prospects only respond when they have a pain or a need. Even the best award-winning sales letter will not compel a “need-less” prospect to call. You have to follow up multiple times, so when the need arises, the prospect remembers you first.