What is the best way to generate leads?

[Jarrod]

I am an insurance agent going on 3 years, and i wanted some input from other Insurance sales people to discuss marketing and advertising techniques that may fight my personality. Everyday is like starting over on who im going to Target next and go after. I currently sell Auto,Home, Commercial, Life, and Health. Theres basically nothing we dont cover here at our company. As an individual agent i have tried numerous techniques such as the Lead generating companies online and they are all a BUST!! I have thought about a personal website(other than the Company website) to help promote myself, but how would i market that website? Anybody out there want to help me out on some ideas? Thanks Everybody.

Jarrod Smith
Jarrod.Smith@unitedagy.com

[zipzoom]

Have you considered making a Facebook Fan Page for yourself. Not only is it free, but millions of users log in to FB daily, increasing the chance for your business to gain exposure. You just have to make sure to constantly update your page with interesting, engaging content that gives FB users a reason to like your page and, hopefully, are curious enough to learn more about what your business has to offer. If you know HTML, you can add custom tabs to your FB page that will make it stand out from other competitors' pages. Also, promotions/giveaways in the form of products or discounts are effective ways of bringing in fans.

After creating a FB Fan Page, you can then begin reaching other online outlets for your business. Have you thought about listing your business online, specifically on websites that direct users to local businesses in their area like zipzoom.com? If you haven't heard of zipzoom.com before, it is an online shopping website where users/customers can search for local businesses that offer products and services ranging from insurance agents to electricians to flowers. Users can communicate directly with businesses they choose to buy services/products from after getting recommendations from zipzoom.com, and from there, your business can gain business.

Right now, zipzoom.com is doing a special promotion for vendors who are interested: register as a vendor on their website for free. It's a good option for those who are on a tight budget but still need exposure to grow their business. Who knows? You may provide a really great service that a zipzoom user ends up choosing, and then that user will spread the word about your business- word of mouth is definitely the best form of marketing, especially in the long run. If this is something that appeals to you, you should just try it out and see what happens because there is no obligation to sign up.

I hope that helped answer your question a little. Good luck with everything!

[Mark Aylward]

I think a website and a Facebook Fan Page would be a great start. How to market your site is a very broad topic, but if you want some initial guidance, come over to my site and browse around. There are free resources and articles which I am sure will help. http://internetmoneymap.com
There is no need to spend any money until you study a bot about online marketing.
I have been selling for over 20 years and three of those were in the insurance industry. You definitely need to move online in your business. It will open up a whole new world for you!
Make sure you understand that it will take weeks if not months to get traction, but once you get traction, things will grow steadily if you stay with it
http://internetmoneymap.com

Good Luck!