Pre-Pinging Potential

There is a lot of specialized jargon that circulates in the insurance world, but most agents and brokers probably aren't familiar with the concept of pinging within the context of their work. Of course, maybe I should speak for myself –I did start out with a pretty varied background when I entered the profession, and since I've largely carved my own path during the course of my insurance career, there are some things on which I might be out of the loop. My unfamiliarity, then, with the concept of pinging was first stumbled upon when I began purchasing leads in bulk from InsuranceLeads.com. I looked over the quality control program that the company had in place (one which it still operates today; great things don't need to change, after all), and was very attracted to the idea of having leads that were not only targeted, but which had been finely filtered and sifted to make sure I could cut down on the wasted time I was used to spending on calling fake numbers and bouncing emails.

A first defense against fake information, the InsuranceLeads.com software checks their lead information entries against a database of false information that's frequently used. This made sense to me –while it's easy to see from a quick glance that some leads aren't serious, there are plenty of ways to mimic a genuine lead, but to purposefully incorporate false contact or biographical information. But when I saw that the company also employed something called pinging, I was especially curious. This process involves calling the numbers listed in a lead profile to make sure that they're not fax machines or disconnected lines, even after all of the other basic information has been checked.

I wondered why the pinging system was necessary, especially since it had to incur some cost to the company, and besides, if the software was good enough at spotting false information, why would a second line of security be in place? I talked with my dedicated rep (having a single point of contact for all of my questions and any issues that come up is especially nice, by the way), who explained that even legitimate leads can sometimes put in false information, either on purpose in an attempt to exercise control over the way they're cataloged and contacted, or by mistake. This made sense –I think we've all accidentally slipped up a digit in our home or work phone numbers or entered the office fax machine in the wrong field.

I still wasn't sure that pinging would make much of a difference in the quality of the various types of leads I purchased from InsuranceLeads.com, but it has definitely had a big impact –I never wait for a “Hello?” only to hear a high pitched, screeching fax tone or an apologetic, pre-recorded message about a disconnected number. It's doubtless saved me a fair amount of time –and a lot of patience, too.