Cross-Selling Ideas & How to Find Them in AgencyBloc

How to Maximize Your Cross-Selling Strategy

Cross-selling is a mutually beneficial sales tactic that is critical to maximizing every touchpoint in your sales process. Not only does it increase revenue and save time, but it also boosts customer retention and satisfaction. 

Read on to learn different ways to cross-sell your products and services and how AgencyBloc can help you identify these opportunities.

The Value of Cross-Selling

There are different situations in which you would try to cross-sell. A client may have certain coverage with you and other types with another agency. In some cases, they may be unaware of what additional policies you offer and their benefits. In other cases, they may not know all of the coverage they need. 

Regardless of the situation, as an industry expert, your customers are looking to you to provide guidance and value. This is where cross-selling can help. Consistently identifying cross-selling opportunities and acting upon them not only keeps your agency growing, but also shows your clients that you care about providing true value to them throughout your relationship.

Cross-Selling Ideas for Insurance Agents

To properly execute a cross-sell, you must tailor it to the needs of each individual. Look into their policy details such as expiration dates or coverage types and keep an eye out for any gaps in their coverage. Identify what products or services can help, and then bring these issues to your client’s attention.

Use a Client Needs Assessment 

Use a Client Needs Assessment (CNA) to guide your meetings with your customers. These surveys help you identify gaps in a client’s coverage or ways your products can help them in the future. New Horizons Insurance Marketing, a National Marketing Organization located in Illinois, has a 10-question CNA you can download and use or use as inspiration to build your own. 

Create Bundles 

As an insurance agent or benefits advisor, it’s highly likely you’re familiar with bundling — a tactic where agencies group together complementary policies or products a customer may like to purchase together. Creating a package where a customer can conveniently buy multiple products in one purchase is a strategic way to motivate a cross-sell. Be sure to organize and document these bundles so that your entire team can reference them easily. 

Share Case Studies and Testimonials 

Only 3% of consumers think salespeople and marketers are trustworthy. Reinforce your credibility and the quality of your products by letting your case studies and customer testimonials speak for you. In fact, 79% of people trust reviews as much as a recommendation from a personal family member or friend, making testimonials one of the most powerful motivators for conversion.

Offer Discounts 

One of the best ways to motivate customers to purchase multiple products is through discounts. If your client is on the fence or considering purchasing an additional policy, see if there are any discounts available with their preferred carrier — this could be the incentive they need to convert.

Utilize Automated Email Campaigns 

Email marketing is a great way to reach and engage with your customers. Focus on content that improves their customer experience and provides them the most value. Use automated email campaigns to keep your business top of mind. 

With any email campaign, you want to follow these best practices: 

• Always personalize your emails, addressing the customer by name. 
• Thank the client for the opportunity to serve them.
• Mention the additional policies you’re seeking to sell and their benefits. 
• Let the customer know you’re available to discuss what policies may be a good fit. 
• Include your contact information.

Make sure your messaging communicates the value your other products can add, and make it convenient for the customer to take the next step.

How to Identify and Execute Cross-Selling Opportunities With AgencyBloc 

To quickly find and take advantage of cross-selling opportunities, you’ll need to have your clients' policy data organized within an agency management system (AMS). With an industry-specific AMS, like AgencyBloc, individual and group clients are linked to policies, making it easy to quickly search your database, generate reports, and find cross-selling opportunities. 

In addition, you want to map out the customer journey and create a corresponding cross-selling process. This process should include what products agents should offer and when and where they can discuss them with clients. Be sure to document it so that both new and existing team members can reference it.

Step 1: Generate a Cross Sell Report 

With AgencyBloc’s Policy Cross Sell Report, you can easily search your database, analyze customer data, and identify cross-sell opportunities in your book of business. Use our preset, industry-specific reports or build your own custom reports on individuals, groups, policies, and more. 

With our Cross Sell Report, you can select certain criteria to filter clients including coverage type, policy information, and agency and agent information. Once you’ve selected your criteria and run a CSV report, a .csv file will generate a list of clients who meet the criteria you’ve specified.

Step 2: Contact Your Clients 

Once you’ve identified your cross-selling opportunities, you need to deliver this message to clients. Depending on your client’s preferred contact method, you may reach out through a phone call or email. If you are targeting a large cross-sell list, a mass email might be the best approach. 

AgencyBloc’s Email Campaigns tool enables you to set up an automated email marketing campaign to support your cross-selling strategy. With this tool, you can proactively plan and write your emails, run a cross-sell search, refine the recipients, and send the emails. What’s more, you don’t need to run a Cross Sell Report when using our Email Campaign tool as it already runs within the campaign (however, the report is still a good resource to reference).

Step 3: Follow Up 

Following up with existing clients is just as important (if not, more) as following up with new leads.

60% of customers say no an average of four times before they convert. Whether they aren’t ready to make an additional purchase or need to consider their options, the value of a follow-up is clear: It keeps you top of mind so that when they’re ready to make a purchase, they’ll think of you. Set up follow-up reminders to ensure you touch base with each client in a timely manner.
 

This blog was originally published on January 28, 2020, and has been most recently updated and republished on July 14, 2021.

Posted by Kelsey Rosauer on Wednesday, July 14, 2021 in Automated Lead Routing & Assignment

1. client retention
2. data management
3. selling