October 1, 2024 - Following the 2007–2008 Financial Crisis, insurance agent Scott Grates found himself in a tight spot. As a brand new agency owner with a wife and two babies at home, he had to make every dollar count. So, he tested every marketing strategy he could — Yellow Pages, direct mail, telemarketing and newspaper ads.
A year later, he reviewed his various marketing efforts and realized there was one clear outlier that outperformed everything: referrals. It was then he realized the importance of community connections and developed a winning strategy that helped him obtain an average of 1,000 referrals a year ever since.
Now the owner of two agencies in Upstate New York, a best-selling author and TEDx speaker, Scott remains an in-demand speaker for other like-minded business owners looking to grow their agencies through the power of referrals.
We caught up with Scott to learn more about how he developed his lead-generating approach and why you shouldn’t miss his upcoming Melon University Workshop, Unlock the Power of Referrals.
Melon Local: How did you develop your method for getting referrals?
Scott Grates: It was out of necessity. When I opened my agency in 2009 my marketing strategy was the old dirt model back then: direct mail, internet, leads, referrals and telemarketing. After a year, I looked at my ROI with all these different areas and referrals crushed everything. They were closing at the highest rate — they were retaining. At that point, we decided to double down and go all in on referrals and started working on very specific relationships in the community of people that were already doing business with our potential customers, like car dealers, realtors, mortgage brokers and attorneys.
Melon Local: Why should people sign up for your workshop?
Scott: What we’re going to teach in this workshop is how to optimize relationships, create a connection economy with meaningful contacts and consistency and to build your personal brand because, ultimately, what we sell is ourselves. It’s all about what is old and what has become new again, and in this digitally dominated world, we’re still in a relationship business. I’m also going to get into multiplying your time and profits so you can be most efficient at working on the right things. Ultimately, all we own in this business is our time and our profits.
Melon Local: What does it mean to be referable?
Scott: The biggest misconception agents get is that it’s quick and easy, but before we can ask for a referral, we have to serve. We’re not entitled to anything. We have to earn the right. You have to plant seeds, cultivate that relationship and then you can harvest and reap the results. I make this analogy all the time — it’s like going out on a first date and proposing. It just doesn’t make sense. The whole process is about consistently showing up, asking for nothing from the person and delivering value to them, so when they do have an opportunity to refer, they’re like, “I’m gonna send them to Scott.”
Melon Local: What type of results should agents expect after incorporating your strategies?
Scott: If you’re an agency getting a handful of referrals — literally just three or four or five a month — we’re gonna set that goal just a little higher. Let’s see if we can get six or seven and grow it from there. Again, a big mistake people make is they want it all at once. Really, what we’re gonna teach during this workshop is how to build the framework. Just like if you’re building a house, you always start with the foundation. You need a strong foundation in order for the house to stand the test of time — so we’re gonna give a roadmap on how to do so.
Ready to Unlock the Power of Referrals?
Join Melon Local and Scott Grates for our upcoming Melon University Workshop — Unlock the Power of Referrals — October 22-24. Learn more by clicking here. Can’t make this webinar? View more upcoming workshops here.