Newtown Square, PA -- (SBWire) -- 07/15/2016 --Some agents do not leave a message when they are unable to reach the person they are calling. Would it be best if they did?

There is no question that when it comes to following up on leads and finding no one home, one should always leave a message. "It's a given that you need to leave a message. A hang up these days can be tracked by to a number on a call display. It looks pretty ridiculous if the hang up caller is an insurance agent with a legitimate reason to call," said Clelland Green, RHU, CEO benepath.net.

Every agent that sells insurance and works with leads wants to always take any opportunity to present themselves to potential customers as not only a real person, but to seem personable. No one likes robocalls from agents or other companies wanting to sell something. Robocalls do not develop a personal relationship with customers, do not make new friends, cannot explain which policy is best for an individual or family and do not have a warm and friendly approach to customer care.

In fact, an automated calling system is a waste of money for several reasons, but the most important reason not to use them is they take the relation out of relationship marketing. "No one wants to buy an insurance policy when a machine calls them and goes through a non-stop spiel. Most people receiving those kinds of calls hang up. Lost revenue. Waste of time. Waste of marketing dollars. Be yourself and market yourself. That's a win-win situation," said Green.

The follow up for a phone message is an email message. It is the next step in building a solid rapport with a prospective customer. The idea is for the customer to get to know the agent and an email allows them to do that without necessarily committing to anything immediately. There is nothing wrong with written communications, not if they are done effectively, contain relevant information, are timely and address a lead's insurance needs.

Marketing insurance requires a well thought out mixture of methods to communicate with prospective customers and it is in the best interest of business savvy insurance agents to not only buy the right kinds of leads, but to market themselves in addition to products. "Marketing is not necessarily an either/or kind of situation, nor is it a one call does it all kind of venture," Green said. "It requires a combination of everything from buying the right kind of exclusive leads to personal marketing. Find the right combination and your agency flourishes."