In March, Emi Takahashi sent me a referral marked hot. A family was moving up from Kentucky for an engineering job at one of the plants. They were closing on a house in Marysville in 23 days at Dave Pruitt's office, with two cars and a daughter turning 16 in May. That's most of the ideal referral on my Surge profile.
I called within the hour and got voicemail, then sent a text. Two days later I called again. Nothing. On day six, Emi caught me at the coffee pot and asked whether I'd ever reached them. The referral still said "new" in Surge, and as far as she could tell, I hadn't tried.
Later, the dad told me why. Since they'd signed the purchase agreement he'd been getting a dozen calls a day from numbers he didn't know: movers, the lender, the gas company, and a man selling a home warranty on a house they didn't own yet. My 937 number and my "Hi, it's Tasha, give me a call back" sounded exactly like the warranty guy.
A group text saved it. I asked Emi to start one with the three of us, so my name showed up next to someone he trusted. My first message there didn't ask for a call. It said his lender would need proof of homeowners insurance before closing, and if he sent me a photo of his auto declarations page, I'd have quotes to him the next night. He answered in 20 minutes. I wrote the house and both cars, and in May we added his daughter with a good-student discount.
I was fast, and it still nearly went cold. My messages gave him no reason to answer and came from a number he'd learned to ignore. And the person who sent him couldn't see that I'd tried. Here's what I do now.
Speed still matters
Quotes go to whoever comes back first with a real number and explains it. I've lost more policies to a faster agent than to a cheaper one. A referral adds a second clock: for a few days after the giver mentions you, your name means something. After two weeks you're a stranger with an area code.
My rules for first contact:
- Hot referral: within an hour during the day.
- Warm: same day.
- Cool: within two business days.
- Someone I met at an event: a text the next morning, while they still remember my face.
I take appointments at 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. because that's when a lot of shift workers and parents can actually talk. I don't call anyone at 6 unless they asked me to. A surprising number of people ask.
The cadence
| Day | Channel | What it's for |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Call, then a text if it goes to voicemail | Who sent you, and how they'd like to talk |
| 2 | Text | One useful thing, like a deadline they don't know about |
| 7 | Call or email | The work itself: a quote or an answer |
| 21 | Text or email | An easy out: keep this open, or check back later? |
| Monthly | Whatever they last answered on | Something useful, with no ask attached |
Two more rules. The clock resets every time they reply: a reply on day 5 makes day 5 your new day 0. And after two unanswered messages on one channel, switch channels. If calls and texts both go nowhere, ask the person who referred them to start a group thread.
Reasons to reach out that aren't "just checking in"
"Just checking in" means "I want something and I'm not going to say what." Every message should hand them something:
- A deadline they're about to hit. A closing that needs proof of insurance, a renewal, the day a teenager's temps turn into a license.
- Something you found. A discount they qualify for, or a gap nobody mentioned, like the home business in the basement or the boat in the pole barn.
- An answer to a question they asked, even two weeks later.
- A person they need. When a prospect mentions a check-engine light, I send Dwayne Hollis's number. When they're buying a house built before 1980, I send Kwame Asante's. It costs me nothing, and people remember it.
- The season. Hail season, the first snowy commute, the first week of school when a new 16-year-old starts driving to class.
Text, call or email
When I worked the line, my phone lived in a locker all shift. By the time I saw a missed call, it was just a number I didn't recognize. A text, I could answer on break.
| Situation | Use |
|---|---|
| They told you how they like to be reached | That. Always that. |
| First contact on a hot referral | Call, then a text if it goes to voicemail |
| Scheduling, a quick fact, anything they can answer on break | Text |
| Quotes, side-by-side numbers, anything they'll forward to a spouse or a lender | Email, plus a text saying it's there |
| Bad news: a price that went up, a claim that won't be covered | Call |
Messages you can copy
VOICEMAIL (day 0, under 20 seconds)
Hi [name], it's Tasha Greene. [Giver] mentioned you might want
insurance quotes. I'm texting you right now so you have my number.
No need to call back.
FIRST TEXT (day 0)
Hi [name], this is Tasha Greene, the insurance agent [giver]
mentioned. [Giver] said you're [their situation, in their words].
I quote about a dozen carriers and can have numbers to you by
[day]. Is a call or a text better, and what time of day?
Early mornings and evenings are fine by me.
DAY 2
Hi [name], one quick thing so it doesn't catch you later:
[the deadline or fact]. If you send me a photo of your current
declarations page, I can do the rest.
DAY 21
Hi [name], I don't want to clutter your phone. Should I keep
your quote open, or check back closer to [month]? Either answer
is fine.
TO THE MEMBER WHO REFERRED THEM
[Giver], I reached [first name] this morning. Quoting home and
two cars, closing is the [date]. I moved it to in progress in
Surge. Thank you for this one.
When to stop
- They said no. Thank them, ask whether you can check in before their next renewal, and stop. Mark it lost in Surge with a one-line reason.
- They bought somewhere else. Congratulate them and mean it. Then ask when the policy renews and set a reminder for 45 days before. Policies come back around every six or twelve months, and I've written a few on the second try.
- Silence after day 21 and two monthly notes. That's about 80 days. Send one last text saying you're closing the file and how to reach you, then mark it lost.
Lost is fine. A referral that sits at "contacted" for four months is worse, because the giver can't tell if anyone is still working it.
Tell the person who sent them
I skipped this step with Emi. It decides whether a member ever sends you another name.
- Update the status in Surge the day it changes. For me, contacted means we've actually talked, in progress means I'm quoting, and won or lost means it's over.
- Write a line in the outcome notes, even before you reach them. The giver can see the status and your notes, never the dollar amounts. "Left a voicemail and texted, trying again Friday" tells them more than a week of silence.
- Mark it won when it's won. The giver gets 50 points, you get 10, and the win comes up on the overlay at the next breakfast. Record the revenue and any referral fee; those stay private and only count toward chapter totals.
- Thank them out loud at breakfast. Emi got hers the week that family closed.
People don't get tired of follow-up. They get tired of follow-up that's about you. Make every message about their closing date, their renewal or their kid's road test, and they'll pick up.
