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Agent Toolkit

Everything You Need to Succeed

Platform guides, licensing tools, and a proven lead-handling playbook β€” all in one place for independent life insurance agents.

Getting Started
How to Use SidecarLeads

Get your account working at full capacity in under 30 minutes. Here's everything the platform does and how to set it up right.

Step 01

Complete Your Profile

Log in to your dashboard and fill out your agent bio, headshot, and the states where you're actively licensed. Your profile is what shoppers see before they submit a form β€” a complete profile consistently converts better.

πŸ’‘ Agents with a photo and bio get higher routing priority on our local sites.
Step 02

Set Your Availability

Toggle your availability on or off from the dashboard sidebar. When you're on, inbound leads route to you in real time. When you're off, you won't receive leads until you turn it back on β€” useful for vacations or planned downtime.

πŸ’‘ Leads route to whoever is available at the moment a form is submitted. Being on during peak hours (10am–2pm local) increases your volume.
Step 03

Understand Your Lead Credits

Each lead delivered to you costs one credit from your balance. You can add credits anytime from the billing section of your dashboard. When your balance hits zero, lead routing pauses automatically until you top up.

πŸ’‘ Launch promo: New agents get 3 free credits with code FIRST100 at signup (first 100 only), or 50% off their first purchase with SAVE50. No card required for the free credits. See offers β†’
Step 04

Add Your Licensed States

Under your profile settings, add every state where you hold an active license. Leads are routed based on the state where the shopper lives β€” the more states you cover, the more leads you're eligible to receive.

πŸ’‘ Adding non-resident licenses in neighboring states can meaningfully increase your monthly volume.
Step 05

Work Your Leads in the Dashboard

Every lead delivered to you appears in your leads table with the shopper's name, contact info, city and state, and the date it came in. Use this to track your pipeline and spot follow-up gaps.

πŸ’‘ The 5-minute response rule matters most here. Set a phone alert for new leads so you never miss the first contact window.
Step 06

Contact Support When You Need It

Questions about your account, a lead issue, or anything else? Reach us at [email protected]. We're a small team and we respond fast β€” usually within a few hours on business days.

πŸ’‘ If a lead has bad contact info, email us and we'll look into it. We stand behind the quality of our leads.
Licensing Tools
NPN & License Lookup

Your National Producer Number (NPN) is your unique agent identifier. Use these official NIPR tools to verify your license status, look up your NPN, or check a state's non-resident application requirements.

Official NIPR Licensing Tools

These are the official National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR) tools β€” the same systems state departments of insurance use to verify agent credentials. Free to use; no account required for basic lookups.

Lead Handling
The SidecarLeads Playbook

This is the process top-performing agents on our platform use consistently. It's not complicated β€” but the agents who follow it close more leads than those who don't.

⚑ Respond Within 5 Minutes Priority #1 β–Ύ

Studies consistently show that lead contact rates drop by 80% if you wait longer than 5 minutes after submission. The shopper just raised their hand β€” they're thinking about this right now. Call within 5 minutes and you reach someone who's ready. Call an hour later and you're fighting for their attention.

  • Set your phone to notify you immediately when a lead appears in your dashboard
  • Block 9am–5pm as "lead response" time β€” protect it like client appointments
  • If you miss the first 5 minutes, call anyway β€” same day is still much better than next day
πŸ“ž Opening the First Call Calling β–Ύ

Your opening line sets the tone. Don't lead with the product β€” lead with the fact that you're local and you're here to help.

  • Suggested opener: "Hi [name], this is [your name] β€” I'm an independent life insurance agent here in [city]. I saw you were looking into coverage options and just wanted to reach out personally. Do you have a couple minutes?"
  • Never start with a pitch β€” ask a question first
  • The goal of the first call is one thing: book the needs-analysis conversation
  • If they don't pick up, leave a voicemail and immediately follow up with a text
πŸ’¬ Voicemail + Text One-Two Outreach β–Ύ

If the call goes to voicemail, leave a short, warm message and send a text immediately after. Many people won't call back a voicemail but will reply to a text.

  • Voicemail script: "Hi [name], this is [your name], I'm a local life insurance agent. I saw you were looking into some options β€” just want to make sure you have someone to talk to. I'll send you a text now. No pressure at all."
  • Text script: "Hey [name], this is [your name] β€” just left you a voicemail. Happy to answer any questions about life insurance at your convenience. When's a good time to connect? πŸ“±"
  • Texts with a question get replies; texts that are just "checking in" don't
πŸ—“οΈ Follow-Up Cadence Follow-Up β–Ύ

Most sales happen on the 4th–8th contact attempt. Most agents give up after one or two. The difference between a mediocre close rate and a strong one is a disciplined follow-up schedule.

  • Day 1: Call immediately + voicemail + text
  • Day 2: Second call attempt (different time of day)
  • Day 4: Email with a short value message β€” not a pitch, a resource (e.g., link to a term life explainer)
  • Day 7: Final call attempt β€” mention you'll stop reaching out after this
  • Day 14: One last "just checking in" text β€” sometimes life got in the way and they're now ready
🎯 The Needs-Analysis Conversation Process β–Ύ

Once you have the prospect on the phone or on a call, the goal is to understand their situation before recommending anything.

  • Ask: who depends on them financially? (spouse, kids, aging parents)
  • Ask: what are they most worried about β€” income replacement, mortgage, final expenses, or leaving something behind?
  • Ask: have they been quoted before? What happened?
  • Never quote over the phone without a needs analysis β€” you'll just be a number to shop against
  • A prospect who feels heard will trust your recommendation. A prospect who feels sold will ghost you.
πŸ“Š Track Everything Operations β–Ύ

You can't improve what you don't measure. Keep a simple log β€” even a spreadsheet β€” of every lead: date received, attempts made, outcome, reason if lost.

  • Know your contact rate (what % you actually reach)
  • Know your needs-analysis rate (what % of contacts book a conversation)
  • Know your close rate (what % of conversations result in an issued policy)
  • If your contact rate is low, the issue is speed-to-call. If your close rate is low, the issue is the conversation itself.
  • Review your numbers monthly β€” a small improvement in one metric compounds significantly over the year

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