Agent Interview: John Ratcliff Shares His Success

Two and a half years ago, John Ratcliff of Arizona-based Low Cost Health Insurance was using carrier software to generate his quotes. Under that system, it could take up to 15 minutes to run just one quote, and created a pile of paperwork. Plus, John was spending a lot of his valuable time on the phone explaining plans and rates to each customer. 

Now John’s reduced his quoting time by almost two and a half hours a day, and his phone time by 35%. How did he do it?

John recently shared his success with us:

Norvax: What were some of the challenges you faced in the early years of your agency? 
JR: I used to run quotes with the company’s private software charts and paperwork. It would take me 15 minutes each to do a good job. I always consider multiple carriers.

Norvax: What has changed as a result of using your quote engine?
JR: Increased productivity. The quote engine is by far the best tool. I’ve gone from 10 to 15 quotes a day. The quote engine’s side-by-side comparison lets me do it fast – before it would take 10 times longer. Side-by-side comparison shows [customers] that you are shopping for them so they don’t have to worry about getting a good rate.

Norvax: Before using your quote engine, how did you get a proposal into your prospects’ hands?
JR: Email, fax, and snail mail…probably 50% would receive it. Now that’s increased by 20%.

Norvax: Have you discovered any new technology lately that makes selling insurance easier?
JR: If you don’t have a website you don’t have a business anymore. It shows credibility. And it’s that much less teaching I have to do, the less time I have to take to explain things. Of those who go on the website, I spend 35% less time on the phone. I can’t work 24 hours a day, the website does that for me. I have to rest sometime!

Norvax: How else have autoresponders changed the way you market?
JR: If you snooze you lose. People will quickly get tired of calls so you need to get to them before they’re tired of you. For the most part I contact them right away, but if you call real quick they think you’re desperate.

Norvax: What factor has been most critical to your success?
JR: I’ve been marketing for many years and you market in many different directions so you don’t put too many eggs in one basket. I was doing direct mail, and referrals. But they’re expensive and not as good a lead. Sometimes direct mail and referrals are just bored. They’ll be bored and fill out the direct mail piece and put it in the business reply envelope. You get people literally arguing with you that they didn’t fill out their information and turn something in to get material. I consider that bored.

Norvax: Has using ProspectZone internet leads been an improvement?
JR: I’m getting better productivity, better quality leads and more leads. The leads are quality because people wouldn’t be wasting their time if they weren’t in the market. I don’t know how leads are generated, but when it’s a search engine lead they’re not typing in Arizona Health Insurance because they’re bored that day! It’s pretty dry already. Purchased leads supplement my slow times. Now I close one in ten.