Whether you call it an assembly line, sales conveyor belt or bins, top sales teams discovered long ago that you need an effective system if you want to close a large number of sales.

Unfortunately, too many agents are losing deals because they…

• Don’t have a lead management system
• Have a poorly designed sales pipeline
• Fail to use the tools they already have

So why do so many agents fall into this trap? It’s primarily because the courses you need to get licensed usually don’t have much in the way of sales training. And there are few sales and marketing courses that offer continuing education credits.

An effective pipeline not only helps you close more of your leads, it also allows you to project what your sales will be down the road. Using the right sales pipeline will help you plan for contingencies. And it’ll tell you when you may need to open up the lead faucet a little more.

Here’s Part 2 of this 2-part report…

2. Regularly Update Each Prospect’s Status

A lead management system will only help you if you actually use it. This means immediately updating each prospect’s status as soon as it changes.

The easiest way to do this is to get into the habit of updating each file after every contact you have with the client. Once you’re doing this on a regular basis, you’ll soon discover that using your new system will save you time and money.

For example, you won’t have to waste any time on invalid or dead leads, when you have hot leads and current clients waiting for your call. Put that lead in the right file and get it out of your way.

Have you awoken a dormant lead? Put it in the hot lead file right away.

Note that lead statuses are dynamic. They can change at any time, and they can go from cold to hot — or hot to cold.

The bottom line is that your lead management system can help you increase your productivity and efficiency—but only if you maintain it.

3. Budget Your Time Accordingly

Maintaining your lead management system is only the start. Now that you’ve got your statuses or bins in operation, you need a strategy to fully exploit your system.

This strategy comes down to a basic question of income-generating priorities. Which status categories offer the greatest potential returns? Which bins give you the biggest bang for the buck?

Your priorities will shape which bins receive most of your attention each day. For example, many top producers will spend 75% to 95% of their day handling leads in the most promising categories:

• Hot – Ready to Close
• New – No Connection Ye
• Current Clients – Up For Renewal

These are the prospects most ready to sign up for a plan — today. Failing to connect with prospects in these bins will have severe consequences. At best, they’ll fade into other categories. At worst, they’ll buy their individual health insurance from someone else.

The little that remains of your regular workday can then be spent on leads that offer more “long term” prospects:

• Current Clients – Recently Added
• Lead Nurturing – Qualified But Not Ready
• Dormant – Little or No Activity

Many of these prospects will turn into submitted applications in the future or provide valuable referrals. You need to stay connected, but they’re lower in priority than hotter leads.

Top producers have learned that the best way to nurture their thousands of unclosed, long-term leads is through automation. For example, an email autoresponder geared for health insurance can deliver a regular stream of marketing emails to thousands of long-term prospects — with just a few clicks.

Finally, you need to do whatever you can to avoid wasting time on dead leads. If you’re able to replace invalid leads, avoid doing it during your workday.

Instead, wait until you’re done with your higher-priority sales calls and marketing tasks. Then submit these invalid leads for a replacement credit.