Edward Karram is a Georgia-based entrepreneur, public speaker, and life insurance trainer, and has curated a successful career in the financial realm. He now uses that same mettle to help a new crop of insurance agents navigate the ins and outs of their field.
Karram founded SELL-U Academy, a unique life insurance training program that touches on the vitals; business, sales training, insurance fundamentals, and lead generation. Through personal mentorship sessions with Karram, agents are able to discover a sales technique that works for them that consequently helps 10x their book of business.
“When it comes to leads,” Edward Karram begins, “I see most agents milking the same tired sources to the bone, with little to no results. My first recommendation? Little else beats the referrals from a happy client.”
The entrepreneur goes on to say that a great way to resurrect your lead generation approach is to reach out to the family, friends and coworkers of your clients. Chances are, they would have already put in a good word about your skills. Why not explore that avenue?
“Volunteerism is also a great way to gain exposure,” Edward Karram continues. “Advise local charities about their insurance transactions, host seminars for SMEs, actively participate in online forums, and even offer to be a guest speaker for local businesses. The insurance world is your oyster!”
The life insurance coach strongly advises against approaching these acts like you would a sales presentation. He points out that it has to come from a place of sincerity and provide real value to the people on the receiving end.
“Your online presence is paramount,” Edward Karram urges. “Everything from your website to your social media helps reign in new prospects, so use these wisely. Focus on having a strong call to action. You can do so by making sure your web properties have a newsletter sign up button or a quote button that are hard to miss.”
Karram points out that it never hurts to toss in an attractive incentive for every referral.
“Share the wealth and you’ll get back tenfold,” he says. “Some agents choose to provide a lottery or movie ticket, or gift card every time an existing client connects them with a new prospect.”
Edward Karram’s final bit of advice?
“In this business, networking is your best friend. Neary everybody requires insurance, but they aren’t just waiting for you to call on them. Join your chamber of commerce, attend networking events, connect with your alumni group and get proactive on social media. Opportunity is out there, you just have to know where to look.”
In his own career, Karram leverages this tell-it-like-it-is attitude to infuse trust and transparency into the insurance realm. While this was initially met with resistance from higher-ups, Karram persisted and was soon able to work independently and grow his book of business to cross the 7-figure threshold. Today, Edward Karram shares those wisdoms with next-gen agents. He is on a mission to help them refine their sales techniques and grow a massively successful business.
