Meet your pre-need goals with lead-generation guidance from Quinn Eagan of Preneed Funeral Program, Metairie, La. Eagan led some great sessions at the Insider’s “Pre-Need Power Plays” conference in November.  

We’ll start with 2 premises we’ve covered extensively before: Eagan favors home-based pre-need and thinks multi-payment clients are key to a successful program (FSI 11/11/02, 10/14/02, 10/7/02). Here are more of his tips: 

     • Focus your energy on qualified leads. “I only want to talk to people who want to talk to me,” Eagan quips. He recommends you only pursue pre-need leads from clients who are very interested in pre-need or who want to know more. What WON’T generate qualified leads: Methods like telemarketing use up counselors’ time and don’t yield strong results, Eagan believes. 

     • Concentrate on these effective lead-generation methods: direct mail, seminars (see sidebar) and family care, which involves assisting families after the funeral with all paperwork, claims and post-funeral details. The family-care employee also offers pre-need during this time (FSI 9/23/02). Eagan likens family care to the traditional service FDs offered when life moved at a slower pace. His company’s clients have seen tremendous results from family care, both in terms of family appreciation as well as pre-need contract generation.

     • Use these direct-mail pointers for your next mailing: a) Insist that mailings come directly to your local address, not to your insurance company’s address. A local address will encourage more responses; b) Experiment with different colors or messages to the same market with an A/B split. This enables you to market 2 different pieces to the same area and track if a particular piece brings you better results; c) Only send out as many pieces as you or your counselors can respond to within 3 to 5 days after getting a response, say the pre-need pros at our conference. Your leads are “cold” after that window of time.  

The Insider covered direct-mail strategies in-depth in our 10/22/01 issue. E-mail us at vphillips@ucg.com if you can’t find your copy of that issue. 

• Think twice before you offer free gifts. Many FDs think they’ll get a bonanza of pre-need leads by offering something for free. You may get more responses, but here’s why that’s not as important: Eagan wants to hear from families that are truly interested in pre-need and not just a free phone book or estate-planning guide. You ultimately may just raise your cost and time per sale. Exceptions: A free gift may knock down barriers at seminars or in a competitive market. Still, closely track your costs of offering the gift and see if it pays off.