Hey everybody, and welcome back to another edition of the All Aboard newsletter!

Today, I'm going to share three strategies to get a better return on your marketing spend.

Lets face it - Marketing costs have EXPLODED this year, we efficiency in how we use our marketing dollars is key.

The truth is, there's no one-size-fits-all answer. What works for one agency might not work for another.

But I've learned over the years that if a strategy is working for someone else but not for me, it might not be the marketing, the tactic, or the vendor that's the issue - it could be my process, my approach, or my filtering.

Regardless of how you market, these strategies will help you drive more success.

If the embedded link doesn’t work, you can access the video here: Click Me

For the best experience and most information, I highly suggest you click the video!

Benchmarking your results and diversifying your marketing are crucial when trying to maximize your ROI.

Let's dive into a hypothetical scenario that illustrates this concept (seen above).

Imagine working with six vendors across internet leads, direct mail, and Google calls. Despite equal budget allocation, the results vary widely. Some vendors excel at generating high quote rates, while others deliver better close rates or lower cost per sale.

The key takeaway? Don't rely on a single metric to gauge success. Adopt a holistic approach and analyze the full picture.

Benchmarking (aka comparing) allows you to:

For example, if Vendor A has a higher close rate but lower ROI compared to Vendor B, dig deeper to understand why. Is it lead quality, sales process, or product fit? Is it simply that the leads cost more?

Diversifying your marketing mix is also essential to reducing your risks. If one channel underperforms or a vendor partnership sours, you're not left scrambling with a dry pipeline and mounting goals.

To diversify your marketing here is what I recommend:

The goal is a well-rounded strategy that isn't overly dependent on any single source of leads or sales.

Specifically when it comes to experimental things, I suggest that people allocate 10% to 20% of their budget on new tactics. We try a couple new things a year (about 1 per quarter). Some things crush it, others are huge busts. But thats the game!

Benchmarking provides insights to optimize your strategy, while diversifying safeguards your agency against unexpected disruptions. Embrace these habits to maximize your marketing ROI and drive sustainable, profitable growth.

And look - Anyone can look at a chart and say “well your cost per sale is high here, buy less and its low here, buy more.” The real magic happens in understanding WHY its high/low and what you can do about it.

Thats the value of having an analyst (or being an analyst yourself).

Need help with this? Holler at me.

Whenever you commit to a new marketing strategy, and I cannot emphasize this enough…. give it at least 90 days. That doesn't mean set it and forget it, but you need to allow time for things to work.

As my friend Kristen Maxwell put it: “Microadjustments over big moves.”

Agreed Kristen!

I cannot tell you how often people sign up with a vendor, and if after a week they’re not seeing results they shut it down.

How can people expect to get results if they’re always chasing instant success? Thats not how it works in your agency and its not how it works in the real world.

Here is what I usually tell people about their first 90 days with any new vendor:

Then to drive this point home further, here is what I recommend at the following milestones.

The best campaigns are the ones that are continuously optimized over a long period. It's not set it and forget it.

If you’re not sharing disposition (result) data with your vendors - you’re shooting yourself in the foot. It takes less than 10 minutes.

So if you’re not doing it, why?

Don’t know how? We have videos on how to do this for most CRMs!

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Marketing success is all about the feedback loop.

Gather specific, actionable feedback from your team.

Don't settle for vague comments like "these leads are bad."

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but “bad lead” means NOTHING.

Drill down to the details - are they ineligible? Is the number wrong? Did they ask to be on the Do Not Call list?

If the issue is that people aren't interested, remember, its our job to make them interested!

In addition to the CRM data, this is the type of stuff you should be sharing. The things you’re seeing + hearing, and the trends you’re noticing. The more specific and actionable, the better.

This allows them to pinpoint issues and make targeted improvements.

Schedule regular calls with your account manager to review the feedback and brainstorm solutions. If a vendor won't get on the phone with you, they're not a true partner. Same goes for agents who won’t get on the phone with the vendor.

If one party won’t come to the table, then its not really collaborative is it?

Thats not enough though.

Its also important to be conscious of both external and internal changes that could impact performance.

External factors you may look at are:

Internal factors to monitor:

When you notice a shift in performance, dig into what else has changed during that time period. If you can isolate one or two variables that have changed, thats usually why things have gotten better or worse.

Most importantly, be a partner. Respect is a two-way street!

I've had decade-long relationships with companies like Everquote and Dart Direct Mail because we've built that true partnership. We treat each other with respect, we're transparent about our goals and challenges, and we work together to continuously improve.

That's the secret to marketing success.

Closing

Marketing has gotten very expensive this year for agents all over the country.

And often times, just throwing more money at the problem is not the only solution.

Work on getting more out of the dollars that you're spending and then scale. It can be frustrating to tread water.

But if your marketing costs are out of control, throwing more money on the problem is going to drain your cash flow and you're going to be racking up credit card bills in debt.

So, if your marketing cost per acquisition is amazing, then by all means go for it. But if it's feeling like it's a little bit too expensive, focus on these three things and see if they help.

As always, here to chat if you need help.

Until next time, cheers!

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As always - Thank you for the support! I’m looking forward to bringing you insights, ideas, and actionable strategies multiple times per month! If you enjoyed this newsletter or it gave you value, please consider sharing it with a friend!