In recent years, more and more insurance agents have been incorporating insurance leads into their business, providing a cost-effective way to expand clientele and retire cold-calling and other inconvenient sales methods.

But when it comes to purchasing insurance leads, youll want to separate the good from the bad and buy leads from a provider that delivers. And to do that, youll need some tips for the road.

The Basics: The Insurance Lead

Insurance leads come from consumers who log on to various Web sites in search of the best possible insurance quotes. The information provided by the consumer (generated through an insurance lead application) is stored by the Web site, where its categorized and sold to an agentconnecting the agent to consumers who are looking for insurance.

Avoiding Substandard Leads

Working with a trusted and experienced leads provider is the best way to ensure that the leads you receive easily convert into sales. As such, youll want to look for the following characteristics in a provider before buying leads from them:

• Precision and Accuracy While no technology can prevent 100 percent of consumers from misrepresenting the facts on a lead form, reputable companies will have a sound database that filters out leads containing generic names (Pee Wee Herman), phone numbers (999-9999) and addressescollecting only the leads that are serious about finding insurance.

• Real-time Delivery Experts estimate that the value of a lead plummets after 48 hoursthe consumer can lose interest in purchasing a policy or find coverage from a competitor that filled their need. Its for this reason that you should only work with services that provide real-time leadsleads that are delivered as soon as the consumer completes the lead form. This allows you to contact them while theyre still interested.

• Filtering Options The best lead providers will have a wide list of filtering options available to their clients, which allow an agent to funnel out unproductive leads (leads with pre-existing conditions or a DUI conviction, for example) and target only the leads that are writeable by the insurer. While filters generally arent free, purchasing them is still the best way to get the qualified leads you need.

Taking Sales to New Heights

When it comes to purchasing insurance leads, its important to know how the provider obtains the leads and what steps they take to ensure that your leads are well-qualified. If a provider doesnt offer accurate, real-time leads or allow you to place filters on your leads, youre better off taking your money somewhere else.

So research reputable leads companies and stop relying on invasive sales tactics like cold-calling and door-to-door solicitation. Youll find you can boost your business and build clientele without these traditional methods, simply by getting in touch with consumers who need and want your services!