Working Remote: A Guide to Virtual Selling for Insurance Agents

1. Be Self-motivated

As you know, insurance jobs require you to wear a lot of hats to acquire new clients and retain them. When you’re working at home, no boss’s standing over your shoulder and making sure you’re getting all of your tasks done. It’s up to you, and you alone, to take care of your responsibilities. No one is going to hold your hand every step of the way.

The most successful virtual insurance workers are highly motivated self-starters who have the tools they need to get their job done well. They simply get things done. And get this: They also enjoy working at home! 

Being self-motivated is important for all roles in the insurance world, from independent insurance sales agents to business owners to managers at insurance agencies to service representatives.

2. Set up a dedicated work-space

It’s easier to succeed when working at home if you have a dedicated workspace. Otherwise, you may end up working from your kitchen table, your couch, your bedroom—pretty much anywhere. 

This makes it harder for you to maintain any semblance of a work-life balance. Before you know it, your personal and professional lives can blend to the point where you’re seemingly never fully working and never fully relaxing.

This also makes it harder for you to exude professionalism when interacting with your prospects and clients. Just because you work from home doesn’t mean you are any less qualified or effective.

To help with professionalism, we created this best practice guide for creating proposals, plus a template to help you remove roadblocks to making your next sale from home.

Need some tips on how to set up a home office? We'll dive deeper into that in Chapter 2.

1. Be Self-motivated

As you know, insurance jobs require you to wear a lot of hats to acquire new clients and retain them. When you’re working at home, no boss’s standing over your shoulder and making sure you’re getting all of your tasks done. It’s up to you, and you alone, to take care of your responsibilities. No one is going to hold your hand every step of the way.

The most successful virtual insurance workers are highly motivated self-starters who have the tools they need to get their job done well. They simply get things done. And get this: They also enjoy working at home! 

Being self-motivated is important for all roles in the insurance world, from independent insurance sales agents to business owners to managers at insurance agencies to service representatives.

2. Set up a dedicated work-space

It’s easier to succeed when working at home if you have a dedicated workspace. Otherwise, you may end up working from your kitchen table, your couch, your bedroom—pretty much anywhere. 

This makes it harder for you to maintain any semblance of a work-life balance. Before you know it, your personal and professional lives can blend to the point where you’re seemingly never fully working and never fully relaxing.

This also makes it harder for you to exude professionalism when interacting with your prospects and clients. Just because you work from home doesn’t mean you are any less qualified or effective.

To help with professionalism, we created this best practice guide for creating proposals, plus a template to help you remove roadblocks to making your next sale from home.

Need some tips on how to set up a home office? We'll dive deeper into that in Chapter 2.

For example, if you’re planning on selling Medicare Advantage plans—and that’s something you should definitely consider, because more than 21 million Americans bought these supplemental plans in 2019—you will almost certainly need America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) certification. 

Although some insurers might let uncertified agents sell Medicare Advantage plans, the vast majority require the certification. Why risk it?

At this point, you’re probably thinking something like this: Ugh, I have to get certified! That seems super complicated, and I don’t even know where to begin.

Good news: You don’t have to go on your own.

You can join forces with a group such as our partner and sister company America’s Health Care Plan (AHCP), a national, agent-driven marketing organization that works with you to get you appointed to sell multiple insurance products from multiple carriers. Partner with AHCP, and you can have a much easier time getting approved to sell health insurance, ancillary insurance, Medicare products, and more.

1. CRM System

A CRM solution enables you to organize all of your customer information in one place, making it that much easier to deliver personalized experiences that keep clients engaged with your business.

CRM solutions also make it easier to generate and manage leads, streamline workflows, and increase sales opportunities. As an added bonus, leading CRMs can integrate with the other tools you rely on every day, allowing you to extend your investment and unlock additional efficiencies.

With a CRM solution in place, you’ll be able to:

• Stay organized: Create records for each client and organize all relevant information in one place, including contact information, personal information, product information, payment details, communications, and more.
• Nurture relationships: Keep tabs on where each client is in the sales process automatically instead of having to stay up to date manually.
• Increase customer retention: By providing a robust, personalized experience for each client, you can increase the chances that they keep doing business with you.
• Improve marketing ROI: A CRM gives you a deeper understanding of where your leads are coming from and where your marketing dollars have the biggest impact.

2. Automation

There’s no sense in doing things by hand if you don’t have to. Investing in automation can help you work more efficiently by taking care of the simple tasks that are critically important to your business but also repetitive. You can use automation to generate and expedite notifications, marketing, communications, and more—giving you more time to focus on nurturing relationships and improving your marketing outreach.

Two of the most popular types of automation are email marketing automation and social media marketing automation. With email marketing automation, you can set up “drip” campaigns that automatically send notes to clients when they perform certain actions (e.g., downloading an e-book from your website). 

Email marketing automation also enables you to send messages at regular intervals. For example, you might want to let all of your clients know that the OEP kicks off in two months, and then remind them again when it’s one month out. With automation, you can “set it and forget it.”

You don’t have to create your emails from scratch, either. Check out our Sales Cadence for Selling Ancillary + Email Templates and OEP email templates to get started.

Social media marketing can play an important role in the success of your business, but managing various accounts can be a tall, time-consuming order. Enter social media automation platforms such as Hootsuite, which enable you to automate the bulk of the process. 

For example, instead of heading over to LinkedIn and Twitter every day, you can pre-schedule posts the week before, using automation to free up more time to focus on the bigger picture.

3. Quote and enrollment software

Searching for plans, helping prospects narrow down their options, and manually pulling quotes from different carriers takes a lot of time. It’s a long, drawn-out process that can be frustrating for everyone involved.

Modern quote and enrollment solutions help you overcome these challenges by enabling clients to shop for plans at their own convenience with real-time quotes, the ability to compare different plans, and the ability to even complete the enrollment process themselves. Learn more about how our online shopping features work for your clients here.

You read that right: With a quote and enrollment engine powering your website, you can sell insurance 24/7, 365 days a year! Talk about meeting your client’s demands for instant gratification.

What’s more, quote and enrollment solutions also enable you to get more done by streamlining your processes. Instead of having to pull carrier and plan information from multiple sites, you can access all of that data from one central location. All of a sudden, you’ve reclaimed a ton of time, and you can invest that time in growing your business in other ways (or doing some chores around the house that you’ve been putting off forever!).

Beyond that, quote and enrollment solutions also help your business stand out from your competition. By taking advantage of such a solution, you can prove to clients and prospects alike that your business is focused on adding as much value as it can, and you’re always investing in the newest tools to improve the health insurance shopping experience.

No CC required

4. Accounting software

Running a business from your home is one thing. Trying to moonlight as an accountant is quite another.

Investing in a solution such as QuickBooks or FreshBooks will make it easier to stay on top of your cash inflows and outflows. You’ll have more control over your finances, and more time to focus on more important matters.

5. Communication tools

Unless you plan on having all of your clients drop by your living room to say hello, you’re going to need the right communication tools in place. 

From the hardware side, you’ll need a mobile device that enables you to access your CRM and other tools from any location. You’ll also need a laptop or tablet that supports videoconferencing functionality so that you can hop on a quick Zoom call to talk a client through their options if they’re so inclined.

Additionally, you may also want to consider trying out a real-time messaging platform such as Slack, which would allow you to address any questions and concerns that clients and prospects have in real time. It’s an easy way to provide that extra touch that sets your business apart.

1. CRM System

A CRM solution enables you to organize all of your customer information in one place, making it that much easier to deliver personalized experiences that keep clients engaged with your business.

CRM solutions also make it easier to generate and manage leads, streamline workflows, and increase sales opportunities. As an added bonus, leading CRMs can integrate with the other tools you rely on every day, allowing you to extend your investment and unlock additional efficiencies.

With a CRM solution in place, you’ll be able to:

• Stay organized: Create records for each client and organize all relevant information in one place, including contact information, personal information, product information, payment details, communications, and more.
• Nurture relationships: Keep tabs on where each client is in the sales process automatically instead of having to stay up to date manually.
• Increase customer retention: By providing a robust, personalized experience for each client, you can increase the chances that they keep doing business with you.
• Improve marketing ROI: A CRM gives you a deeper understanding of where your leads are coming from and where your marketing dollars have the biggest impact.

2. Automation

There’s no sense in doing things by hand if you don’t have to. Investing in automation can help you work more efficiently by taking care of the simple tasks that are critically important to your business but also repetitive. You can use automation to generate and expedite notifications, marketing, communications, and more—giving you more time to focus on nurturing relationships and improving your marketing outreach.

Two of the most popular types of automation are email marketing automation and social media marketing automation. With email marketing automation, you can set up “drip” campaigns that automatically send notes to clients when they perform certain actions (e.g., downloading an e-book from your website). 

Email marketing automation also enables you to send messages at regular intervals. For example, you might want to let all of your clients know that the OEP kicks off in two months, and then remind them again when it’s one month out. With automation, you can “set it and forget it.”

You don’t have to create your emails from scratch, either. Check out our Sales Cadence for Selling Ancillary + Email Templates and OEP email templates to get started.

Social media marketing can play an important role in the success of your business, but managing various accounts can be a tall, time-consuming order. Enter social media automation platforms such as Hootsuite, which enable you to automate the bulk of the process. 

For example, instead of heading over to LinkedIn and Twitter every day, you can pre-schedule posts the week before, using automation to free up more time to focus on the bigger picture.

3. Quote and enrollment software

Searching for plans, helping prospects narrow down their options, and manually pulling quotes from different carriers takes a lot of time. It’s a long, drawn-out process that can be frustrating for everyone involved.

Modern quote and enrollment solutions help you overcome these challenges by enabling clients to shop for plans at their own convenience with real-time quotes, the ability to compare different plans, and the ability to even complete the enrollment process themselves. Learn more about how our online shopping features work for your clients here.

You read that right: With a quote and enrollment engine powering your website, you can sell insurance 24/7, 365 days a year! Talk about meeting your client’s demands for instant gratification.

What’s more, quote and enrollment solutions also enable you to get more done by streamlining your processes. Instead of having to pull carrier and plan information from multiple sites, you can access all of that data from one central location. All of a sudden, you’ve reclaimed a ton of time, and you can invest that time in growing your business in other ways (or doing some chores around the house that you’ve been putting off forever!).

Beyond that, quote and enrollment solutions also help your business stand out from your competition. By taking advantage of such a solution, you can prove to clients and prospects alike that your business is focused on adding as much value as it can, and you’re always investing in the newest tools to improve the health insurance shopping experience.

No CC required

4. Accounting software

Running a business from your home is one thing. Trying to moonlight as an accountant is quite another.

Investing in a solution such as QuickBooks or FreshBooks will make it easier to stay on top of your cash inflows and outflows. You’ll have more control over your finances and more time to focus on more important matters.

5. Communication tools

Unless you plan on having all of your clients drop by your living room to say hello, you’re going to need the right communication tools in place. 

From the hardware side, you’ll need a mobile device that enables you to access your CRM and other tools from any location. You’ll also need a laptop or tablet that supports videoconferencing functionality so that you can hop on a quick Zoom call to talk a client through their options if they’re so inclined.

Additionally, you may also want to consider trying out a real-time messaging platform such as Slack, which would allow you to address any questions and concerns that clients and prospects have in real-time. It’s an easy way to provide that extra touch that sets your business apart.

If you’re able to succeed as an insurance agent working from home, the sky’s the limit in terms of how successful your business can be and how much your quality of life can improve. It’s up to you.

If you’re thinking about launching your career as an insurance agent working from home—or you’re looking to transition into remote work permanently—download this guide as a PDF so you’ll have it handy if you’re ever looking for some inspiration or trying to figure some things out.

In the meantime, you may also want to check out our goal-setting worksheets to get a head start on selling insurance from home.

While you’re at it, demo our software today to learn more about how Quotit makes it easy to sell insurance from home.

Our demo tour includes features such as: 

• Client management (CRM)

• Professional quoting engine

• Unlimited proposal creation

• Policy tracking

• Compare and enroll

• Marketing automation