How to generate leads for insurance industry | Interview with Jamal

If you're in the insurance or finance industry, generating leads is a nightmare for you, but we have a guest Mr. Jamal who is going to solve your problem. Let's listen to him, on how to generate leads for insurance industries. 

In today’s episode, my guest is Jamal. He is the CEO of EDM Lead Network. He is going to talk about how they are generating hundreds of thousands of leads using cold calling or various different methods. 

Let's get started. 

Sam:

Hey Jamal. Welcome to the Show. Really appreciate your taking the time to join us today. Please introduce yourself about your company and your business so far.

Jamal:

Yeah. My name is Jamal English. I'm the CEO of EDM Lead Network. We're one of the largest live transfers and inbound call distributors in the country for everything insurance, home services and financial services. We also generate leads using digital and offline strategies.

Sam:

Okay. That's nice. Alright, so how big is your company and how many people are working in your company and what exactly you're doing or what industry are you covering?

Jamal:

Yeah, so we're in the industries of insurance, financial services and home services. Currently, globally we have about 4,000 employees all over the world that work in our call centers. Currently, we own about 30 call centers, both domestically and internationally, where we actually generate these inbound and live transfer calls. In addition to that, we also have insurance agencies domestically that consume our traffic and convert the business for a c final expensive Medicare.

Sam:

Wow, that's great. Alright, so I used to get a lot of messages on LinkedIn that, hey, do you want to generate leads? I'm not alone because even my founder, and other partners used to get a lot of messages that just connect tomorrow if you wanna generate more leads.

So okay. I wanna understand how you are different than others. What is your USP if I say a simple word to generate business for others?

Jamal: 

So at our core, EDM cares about three things, compliance, conversions and consistency. Okay. And those are our three C's of our business. And from the compliance element, this is where we're one of the largest distributors because we're able to generate the volume that we do compliantly meaning mm-hmm only dial on consumers that actually have submitted their information online and we actually have playback captures of them actually opting into all of the information that we have to offer them. In addition to that, we're extremely conscious of conversions.

We have a very, very, very serious BI team that all the compound reports and synthesize those reports based off of different KPIs that our different clients care about that actually helped us optimize the campaign to ensure sustainability and success. And then the last part would be the consistency. It's such having a partner that's not consistent, they can do good, not good the other day. That's kind of stuff that really bothers me. Got it. And got manage that stuff and make sure that we keep it up and keep it where everybody wants it to be.

Sam: 

Wow, that's great. Yeah, I understand. I was thinking from a different perspective. Okay, maybe you generate it using some different ways, but the way that you are doing it is something different. 

Alright. So I wanted to understand more about the process you, let's say, if I'm your customer, how you onboard customers and then how we start the netting leads for them. What are the elements that you take care of while acquiring any customer?

Jamal:

So typically when the client comes to work with us, we typically have an initial conversation about what they're looking for, what their current business structure looks like, if they're able to even meet our requirements. Because at a minimum we work primarily with enterprise companies that have some type of infrastructure to actually consume the traffic. So we only have one or two people working for you. It's very hard for us to really scale up a campaign.

So the time and effort that it takes to onboard some of those accounts just isn't worth it. So that would be the first thing would be making sure that you meet our initial requirements as far as the size and what you're able to actually consume and handle. And then, okay, the other part is understanding what KPIs matter to you. Are you looking at a return on Aspen? Are you looking at LTVs? Are you looking at cost per acquisition? What KPIs really matter to you that are going to determine the success and viability of this campaign? And then from there, right now we do about 20,000 calls a day for live transfers.

So when you think about that, if we bring somebody on, they're going to get plugged into an existing campaign that already exists. And then from there, depending on what type of scale we are trying to take that campaign to with our current call flow and all that type of stuff if we have to allocate additional resources to that campaign to scale up the volume. And that's kind of how we actually throttle the campaigns to make sure that we can keep the volume consistent.

Sam: 

Wow, that's great. So as you mentioned that you are taking 20,000 calls daily, right? I think it's very hard to measure and analyze 20000 calls. 

So how do you measure or analyze those calls for the quality check? Because I knew certain tools like Gong, which is used by so a lot of SaaS businesses, and then understanding based on the machine learning whether that prospect is really looking for this kind of a solution or not or just the leads affect lead, it's not qualified to lead. 

Right. So how do you check this quality for the 20,000 calls every day?

Jamal:

Yeah, so right now, we currently have a 25 man call auditing team. We have 25. Okay. They're sold on to audit all of the calls.

Sam:

Oh, they're auditing or doing manual.

Jamal:

So there are a couple of nuances that kind of go into the QC processes. So the first step is we transcribe all of our calls, we transcribe all of our calls and then from there we kind of spot chat the transcription just to see if we have any keywords that have been flagged by our AI software. 

So if any keywords have been flagged by our AI software, those transcriptions are already that they are added to the top of the queue for us to review. Got it. And then once we identify those transcriptions, then we pull the actual recordings and listen to those to see exactly what happened on the call and if there was a miscommunication or a missing link, then we actually get the front-end recordings and see what was actually said on the call. Make sure our agents are doing what they're supposed to do.

Sam:

Wow, okay. So do you cover the SaaS business as well?

Jamal:

No, we don't currently cover the SaaS industry as far as sending affiliate traffic or anything like that. We do have internal software that we've developed that we're offering as utilities to the marketplace right now such as duplicate suppression software, DNC suppression software, litigation suppression software, and all that type of stuff we offer as public utilities for different publishers all over the world for free.

Sam:

Okay. that's good. Alright, fine. And as you mentioned that you wanted to say the top five strategies to generate leads for small businesses. 

So what are your top five strategies for any small business owner? Because most of our audience is small business owners as well as entrepreneurs. So they really wanted to generate leads, and that's why they refer our blog. They come to us, and they read various different kinda articles. 

So what is your top highest strategy to generate leads for small businesses?

Jamal:

I think the biggest thing that small business owners have to understand are low barrier offers. Okay. You gotta be able to create a low-barrier offer. So for our company for example, if we're bringing on a new client we don't charge 'em up upfront, we deliver first. Once we are able to deliver the usual, the conversation of scaling becomes so much easier cuz then there's a benchmark established as far as what you're able to actually do. 

Also, creating these low-barrier offers for small business owners allows them to be able to get traffic through the door and then be able to add on after they have a conversation. I find that to be the biggest issue for a lot of small business owners is them not really comprehending how important it's getting the traffic first and then figure out how to monetize that traffic after.

Sam:

Yeah. Okay, that's great. so what is your future plan, how do you want to scale up the business further maybe having fewer employees, but we'll have more automation?

Jamal:

So automation is a very big part of what we do already and for the scale that we're at right now, we do kind of run a very lean team. Currently the team, our corporate team is right around 1555 people. For us, the big strategy is consolidating the distribution. So right now, we have our internal distribution with our own internal agencies consuming our trafficking, closing the business. But we want to do that in each industry in each vertical we have figured out the marketing for. And then through that consolidation effort, we'll be establishing funds to scale up those businesses so that way we can keep the cycles flowing consistently. 

Our long-term plan is to be able to sell every line of insurance. We wanna sell every line of insurance and then we want to dominate the financial services space with debt, settlement, tax debt settlement as well as doing some tax filing work there. And then we have a contractor division through our real estate holdings company where we do development right now. So we do a lot of leads for remodeling and things like that. So through our development company, building out more contractors and things like that to expand that network and start doing more of those jobs that we're already getting traffic and leans for.

Sam:

Ok, great. And you mentioned on the website that you have publishers and then advertisers both, right? So what are the top most criteria to look at when you onboard any publisher?

Jamal:

So the first thing is compliance. Really kind of understanding what their internal compliance processes are, how they actually acquire data how they're marketing, what type of advertising material they're doing, making sure that any websites that they're using, especially for any health insurance verticals, have the right disclosures. We have a legal review process, and all that type of stuff to make sure that our publishers are onboarded properly, meeting the right requirements for us to consume and take their traffic. Then probably after that, the process is all right, now that we, let's see some samples of what you're already running. So if they're doing live transfers or inbound calls, send us some sample calls of how the call opens up and flows. Any scripting they use, if they have run live transfer campaigns. And then after that is more so just interview with one of our onboarding managers, get them integrated with their system so they can see all of the reporting, understand what KPIs we are monitoring to make sure that they're successful and what they need to focus on to ensure that they need our requirements.

Sam:

Okay, great. Nice. Now I'm sure since you started this business, how did you get the first hundred customers? Maybe onboarding a publisher or adviser?  Because in the early stage is really difficult to set up the process and hire people. 

So how did you get those first few customers, what are the obstacles or barriers that you saw and then how did you overcome that?

Jamal:

Yeah, so just to give you a little bit of context. So I actually started in the insurance business before we started marketing the way we are now.

So I was the insurance agent, and I was selling insurance door to door. I knew that business very well, and I live out in Arizona. Wow. The return rates for direct mail were so low here, the cost per lead was double everywhere else in the country. So I had to get on digital very early. So back in, wow,

Sam:

I get saying no; I get you, Facebook.

Jamal:

So that's when I started advertising with Facebook. I was getting leads for $2. So I was able to have a very good customer acquisition cost. I met my business partner, we merged our agencies, built that up, sold that business, and then we started our first call center where we were just closing funneling expense business. And then, from there, what ended up happening was we had one or two problems. We either had too much traffic or not enough. 

And I said Marita one day, and I was like, look man, if we're going to have a problem, I'd rather have too much than not enough. Do you know what I'm saying? And then from there, the conversation started to evolve with our friends in the business because we were doing so well. We knew what the numbers looked like, and we knew what was viable for success. We just started coming in the business telling 'em what we had. And then they said, we'll take some. And they started trying it and they started getting a little taste of what it's like. And from there, we got more referrals and started going to conferences and meeting people. And from there, more and more business started to come in.

Sam:

Wow, okay. I get it completely because, as you mentioned that you said I used to sell insurance, so the people who can sell insurance can sell anything that's what I understand

But yes, as a marketer, I know the most difficult thing is to sell a charity or insurance. And the second option is the services, and the third is the product, right? Because selling a product is not that hard as you'll have no product in place, and you can just show the customer, and this is something that how it works. 

But in insurance, you cannot show anything. You must speak, like suppose any bad thing happens in your career. So you know, should have your life insurance right before anything happen. So I can get completely, you have the root in the complete sales and understanding of every concept. 

So that's really great. Alright. Now I think I already talked about features and what's your plan and talked about strategies, talked about how did you get a hundred customers and 

Sam

Let’s have a firechat round where I will ask a question, and you need to answer in one word or sentence. 

So who inspires you best?

Jamal:

My father.

Sam:

Ah, that's great. Okay. If you can just give me a little bit of context, maybe, it'll be great, and people will understand it better.

Jamal:

So my father is one of the best examples I have as a man, and he was an entrepreneur my whole life. So when I was seven years old, I started working in my family's business, and I used to work in the restaurant peeling shrimp all day long. That's what my job was. So my father instilled in me a valuable work ethic and the very important principles that go into running and operating a business how to do business, how to talk to people, how to relate to people, how to take care of people, all that type of stuff is what he taught me.

Sam:

Wow, that's great. Great. Okay. When you are not in the office, what do you do?

Jamal:

Fishing. And I'm a little bit of the, and I like hunting too. So fishing and hunting. Wow.

Sam:

Wow. That's great. How do you celebrate your success?

Jamal:

Well, my wife.

Sam:

Correct. That's great. And the last question, if you're, somebody wants to connect with you, what is the best ways to connect?

Jamal:

Call me. The best way is to call me. You can connect on LinkedIn or shoot me an email or definitely just Okay. Message my assistant.

Sam:

Alright, fine. So Jamal, thanks for joining us today. Nice talking to you

Jamal:

As well. I appreciate your time. Thank you, Sam.

Sam:

Thanks. Bye-bye.