The Ferraro name is well known in the insurance world, with over 19 family members working as agents across the country. Following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Chris Ferraro Jr. is seeking to make a name for himself as a third-generation insurance agent in San Clemente, CA.
Originally starting as a team member for his dad’s office in Mission Viejo, Chris fell in love with the industry before opening his agency in 2009.
Although his family has been in the industry since his grandfather opened his first agency in the 1950s, Chris soon realized how much insurance marketing has changed with the importance of online ads and business listings, social media and organic search.
We caught up with Chris to learn more about how Melon exceeded his expectations, the most important advice he’s ever received from his family and how aspiring agents can set themselves up for success.
Melon Local: Before you discovered us, what was it like trying to market your agency?
Chris: We were still chasing our tails with our internet aggregator leads like we had been doing since I started. We were also doing some of the partnerships we had through our insurance company on organic growth and search engine optimization, but it just wasn’t the size and magnitude that I wanted.
If I’m trying to produce a very high level of property & casualty and financial services, I need a lot of prospects to put in the sales funnels.
We spent so much time on people who didn’t want to talk, and we wanted to focus on how do we get people to come to us and want quotes from us — not just from our company, but from Chris Feraro Jr. in San Clemente.
Fortunately, my sister Caitlyn introduced me to Melon Local, and this is now the first time I feel like I actually have a partnership with somebody who actually knows what they’re doing and we can really take off and hit hard!
ML: What really sold you on Melon Local?
Chris: I’m very data-driven. I like tracking things weekly and monthly, and I like looking at quarterly reports and year-over-year results — I like tracking all of that. What impressed me was that you guys had a lot built in.
Melon Local was like, ‘this is what we’re going to do! We’re going to do a monthly call with you. We can talk directly about your costs per click, cost per customer acquisition, and your return on investment — we’ll do all of that with you. All you have to do is put in 30 minutes to talk with you.’
That’s an easy commitment. I don’t like the idea of sending money out the door and not knowing how much money is coming back through that marketing platform. In getting that, I was like, ‘this is a no-brainer, let’s do it!’
Melon Local promised me results in the first six months. I saw them in the first three! You fit in the mold for what we need as insurance agents!
ML: Let’s talk about your results so far. You asked if we could deliver them in six months, but we did it in three months instead?
Chris: What we wanted at first was a higher number of clicks that would convert into leads. You know, from there, my team has to turn leads into customers and then into revenue. What we were really looking for is how many households we have the opportunity to quote. Not just like if they’re going to fill out something online, but are these legitimate people?
We saw a positive ROI after three months. I didn’t expect that. I thought it would take a lot longer. By the fourth month, we exceeded, and by month seven, we doubled it, and now it’s to the point I’m getting another team member so that I can double my marketing budget and marketing spend with Melon Local so I can double the opportunity. Seeing something like this so quickly was not expected. I did not think I would see this kind of turnaround.
ML: That’s awesome! Anything else that has stood out?
Chris: My client success manager Kirsten has been really good about getting really targeted with me and seeing what areas we’re having more success in.
We’re writing bigger policies than ever before. We’re getting more into larger homes with multiple vehicles by testing things.
Doing all of the little things that Melon Local has asked us has really increased not even just the leads we’re generating but also our online presence in general. Uploading photos on a consistent basis, photos of our building, my family, my team and vacations.
I can go on my Google Business Profile and look at how many clicks and how many views I’ve gotten. I’m just getting a lot more guidance on how to run an online business which is something I didn’t really think I was going to get.
ML: Being that insurance runs in your genes, what is the best advice passed down to you from your family?
Chris: This comes from my grandfather: always put the customer’s needs first. Whatever they need, take care of it first and then keep the company second.
As long as you’re doing what’s best for the customer, you’re doing what’s best for the company. You’re never going to be wrong. Everything else is going to work itself out. If you do those three things, it’s not the hardest occupation in the world.
We don’t have to be the most intelligent, don’t have to be the most charismatic, all you have to do is be willing to put others in front of you, work your butt off and it’ll all come out in the end. Too often, I think agents look too deeply into numbers, and they look too much into the analytics of running a business and forget that it’s really just about people.
ML: What kind of advice do you have for any aspiring agents?
Chris: There are three things I’d really focus on.
One, be ready to work hard. Getting any of these agencies and types of businesses off the ground and running is extremely difficult. Feel fortunate enough that the hard work you’re putting in is with an established brand.
Two, ask for help and don’t feel embarrassed if you don’t know something. If your numbers are suffering, talk to the people who are having success in those different product lines, whether it be auto, life or fire insurance. Whatever it is, reach out to the people around you. Most are happy to share because when it comes down to it, there are millions and millions of customers in each of these states, with millions of millions of opportunities. We’re not running into each other very often.
Thirdly, partner with people like Melon Local, real estate agents, mortgage brokers and other people who have similar goals and aspirations. Look for companies that are experts in those fields. We cannot be experts at everything. I can’t be an expert in digital marketing and life insurance and training a team, and running an organization. I can’t — it’s impossible.
Have a little bit of humility and focus on those three things, and you’ll have a lot of success and opportunity.
See for yourself how we can deliver fresh leads like we did for Chris by scheduling a demo with us today!