Is Astonish Results a Scam?
I’ve recently invested some significant time in researching the digital marketing industry for independent insurance agencies.
Part of this journey led me to sit through a three hour marketing presentation by a sales executive for Astonish Results based out of Rhode Island.
It was an incredible presentation! Very exciting, and well thought out. This company had seemed to cover every aspect of marketing your insurance agency in the 21st century. If this company could deliver on even 80% of what they claimed, it would have been well worth the six figure investment.
On any big decision like this, I suggest to anyone who will listen, that you take 30 days or so to get over the hype and excitment of a new product, and research…research…research.
That being said, myself and several others have been contacting Astonish customers to get feedback on weather or not they are happy with the investment they made in Astonish Results.
The feedback that we have received has resulted in a mixed bag. We were disappointed that about the first 5 agencies we contacted were very unhappy with the system and more or less felt like they were not getting their monies worth. The Astonish sales executive suggested that we contact clients off of the reference list that they had provided. I’m always weary of provided references…I prefer to rely more on random samples of data.
All that being said, I’m hoping for feedback from anyone who has any knowledge of Astonish Results. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think. I would also appreciate any insight into other companies that offer digital marketing solutions for independent insurance agencies.
THANKS!
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
March 25th, 2010 at 7:21 pm
So basically never plunge into something which looks too good to be true.
[Reply]
March 25th, 2010 at 8:24 pm
Yeah, if something seems too good to be true-it probably is! I’m not very familiar with digital marketing but there’s bound to be both positive and negative feedback. I think the important thing to do is what you mentioned above which is research into it as much as possible. I would also try to contact those who have used the service and were either unsatisfied or completely satisfied with it to get their personal opinions.
[Reply]
March 26th, 2010 at 3:18 pm
>It was an incredible presentation! . . . On any big decision like this, I suggest to anyone who will listen, that you take 30 days or so to get over the hype and excitment
Absolutely right. If a company has a six figure product they can afford to really dial in a presentation. They can have a great presentation for a very mediocre product. Take your time to decide.
[Reply]
April 1st, 2010 at 12:25 pm
Um, do a search for “Astonish Results” This forum post pretty much bashing Astonish Results shows up on top… They have no idea how to do SEO. If you don’t believe me, contact any SEO professional and have them look at one of Astonish Results insurance agents sites… They will laugh at their insurance website.
[Reply]
Nick Brown Reply:
April 5th, 2010 at 5:24 pm
Home Renovation,
We understand there are many different SEO tactics, some completely honest and some very shady, and what works for some may be viewed critically by others. That said, Astonish runs a completely legitimate SEO program which has included hiring four dedicated search engine marketing professionals and investing in new tools and processes; all since the forum you referenced was created almost six months ago. While it’s important, SEO services are just one part of our system and they will continue to improve as our company grows.
[Reply]
April 2nd, 2010 at 5:33 pm
First, I’ve got to ask if you wrote this one using voice recognition software; lots of errors in it.
Second, I had never heard of these folks, so I did a little bit of research, and I have to say that I wouldn’t trust anyone based off what I saw on the website. I’m kind of like that, a quick “vibe” guy, and the vibe I’m getting is that they’re a lot of hype and a lot of unprofessional.
I’d definitely be wary if I were you with this one.
[Reply]
April 5th, 2010 at 12:50 pm
We appreciate the input from all our clients who participate in making this a successful platform of recognition. Thanks everyone and good luck next month!
[Reply]
April 5th, 2010 at 4:55 pm
Dear “Insurance”,
I’m community manager for Astonish Results and would be happy to answer any questions you or your readers have about our system. To be blunt, I think you make some unfair criticisms without providing any kind of specifics about what these 5 clients allegedly said. And considering this blog was created to boost the SEO for a pay-per-click marketing company (Kontera) and its clients, I caution readers to take everything that is written here with a grain of salt. I’d also suggest a little more careful editing on the part of your content managers.
Astonish maintains a 95% client success rate so I’d be interested to learn about which clients were, “very unhappy,” with the system since most of our customers are too busy selling insurance to spend time complaining to bloggers. We offer a premium service so there is a premium price, but we would gladly put our services up against any other insurance marketing/web design company. I work with 70+ bright individuals and over 200 growing insurance agencies and I assure you there is no “scam,” just smart people working hard to help insurance agencies grow.
I am not here to promote our company, only respond to unwarranted criticism. We believe in transparency so if you’d like to continue this dialogue, feel free to email me at the address provided.
Thank you,
Nick Brown
Community Manager, Astonish Results
[Reply]
Brian Reds Reply:
April 8th, 2010 at 10:08 pm
Nick,
Sounds like you are getting a little defensive. It is OK that 5 clients weren’t completely happy with your service, as you said, 200 others were very happy. No need to get upset.
@TAM, I agree with Mitch, kill the voice recognition software…making you sound like an idiot
[Reply]
Nick Brown Reply:
April 9th, 2010 at 12:28 pm
Brian,
Looking back, the tone of my response did come across as defensive. Any B2B company is going to have some unhappy clients, and I didn’t mean to insinuate that we were perfect. From the inside, I see how far we go to help clients succeed so sometimes it’s hard not to react with emotion. Definitely not upset, I appreciate the dialogue.
[Reply]
Fast Carve Reply:
August 20th, 2010 at 5:53 pm
In 2007 we contracted with Astonish. The result is our marketing dollars are suffering and will be for the next 36 months. We have spent many dollars in additional training, as well as hiring people just to try an manage the VPC. It’s hard paying for something that my agency team has difficulty in the implementation. Especially when you can’t find information that you know you put in to it a couple of hours earlier.
The VPC is awkward. It is confusing, frustrating and slooow. It requires a significant amount of time to process business. Speed is money. By the time my people upload info into the center, the cost to produce a quote never the less a policy significantly increases processing expense. I’d love to get out of my contract. But Adam wrote it in such a way that getting out is almost impossible.
[Reply]
April 6th, 2010 at 9:03 am
I prefer contacting random references myself, and definitely not the ones that are provided by the party I’m researching. The thing is that very few people actually do their homework, and the ones that do, will inevitably follow the path of least resistance
[Reply]
April 7th, 2010 at 1:45 pm
If you can’t still assume the potency of provillus, you can try on other products for sale on market and one day you may come back to provillus, to take advantage of its amazing results and accept that it isn’t a scam.
[Reply]
April 14th, 2010 at 12:00 am
Yes, don’t jump into anything that looks too good to be true. That can really make you feel terrible.
[Reply]
April 16th, 2010 at 7:13 pm
I would definitely contact agencies at random and avoid being force fed a list by Astonish. However Nick mentioned working with 200 agencies and you only mention 5 unhappy (not sure how many in total you contacted) so I would look to contact as many at random as I could to get a clearer picture.
[Reply]
April 17th, 2010 at 11:43 pm
That was a smart move TAM. Always best to step back a bit and have a good look at any project before jumping in with both feet. Test the waters first to see the validity of any statements made during a presentation. Checking with people not in their preferred group was also a good move.
[Reply]
April 30th, 2010 at 2:00 pm
We’ve seen tremendouse results after signing on with Astonish. Is it a replacement for good insurance knowledge and basic sales skills…no, but it helps an agency get itself organized and focused on cross-selling to existing clients and getting the word out to new prospects through a systematic approach. You still have to pick up the phone and call your clients and have half a brain. Coming from outside the traditional insurance agency model…I’ve found it to be antiguated and slow to innovate. Astonsish is exactly what the industry needs!
[Reply]
The Almost Millionaire Reply:
April 30th, 2010 at 10:00 pm
Eric,
Thanks so much for visiting the site and for your input! Great to hear that you have had good results with Astonish!!! Would you be willing to share with us how long you have been using their marketing system? I would also be interested in knowing the size of your agency. I’m of the opinion that the smaller agencies are benefiting more from things like Astonish because it is easy to get the whole team to “buy into” and use the system.
Again,
Thanks for the input!
-TAM
[Reply]
May 2nd, 2010 at 5:23 pm
TAM,
We have been using astonish for 9 months and operate a main office in MA along with 3 satellite offices spread through CT and MA. Obviously we’re a big agency group, but we stay in touch with smaller Astonish agencies that are succeeding as well.
When we found Astonish, we were looking for a CRM tool and at the same time a company that could help us with a new web-site, you could say we got lucky. That alone was worth what we paid…but Astonish is so much more. They are there to help write campaigns, give feedback on best practices and keep us motivated, like a coach. They are not a “drop and run” sales organization. In fact I have been selling a service with a 6 figure or more price tag for 10+ years…succesfully…and I even learned from their saleperson some tips on conceptual selling. This trickles down into their system. They walk the walk!
Eric
[Reply]
May 10th, 2010 at 1:31 pm
Go to google and search for “google webmaster tools”. Create an account and verify your the owner of the website. After verification give it a few days and then from the webmaster tools you’ll be able to see more specifics in regards to how google indexes your website. It sounds like Google has penalized your website. Could be that your site doesnt conform to their guidelines – hidden links, coverup pages, duplicate content websites, linking to link farms, xrated content, etc.
[Reply]
May 11th, 2010 at 3:41 am
I was just surfing aorund looking for a paypal wordpress plugin and I found your post. I bookmarked this page, it will come in useful to keep me focus on what needs to be done to raise my blog’s awareness. Thanks
[Reply]
June 3rd, 2010 at 4:22 pm
Hey, perfect blog site..I haven’t figured out how you can add your website in my rss reader :\ where’s to link on the feed?
[Reply]
June 16th, 2010 at 8:08 pm
Astonish Results is a joke and a scam. These guys used to sell real estate and automobile websites until the market crashed. They don’t know the first thing about insurance.
@Nick Brown: “Astonish maintains a 95% client success rate”
There is an article from December 2009 where Astonish Results admitted that they don’t have very many success stories:
“Tim Sawyer lamented that he was somewhat weary of highlighting the achievements of the same dozen agents while others were slow to implement the best ideas and strategies. “It gets old,” he said. “It gets really old.”
http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2009/12/22/106154.htm
Nick Brown sounds to me like you are fudging your numbers.
As for SEO, Astonish Results does not do a very good job. Some of the most basic SEO steps are missed on most of their sites. This includes. xml sitemaps, generic content, proper response headers, etc.
I was approached by Astonished Results and was impressed as soon as I stood back through I realized that it is just a lot of sizzle and no steak.
They have a handful of agents that are doing well. The agents that I have talked to have admitted to me that a huge part of their success is because they either: Opened a new line of business, already had 80+% of customers emails, or were already growing prior to Astonish Results.
A couple facts about Astonish Results:
1. You won’t find any success stories other than the 5 or 6 best friends that they have because they have only been doing insurance websites for 2 years now.
2. They don’t know or understand the insurance industry. Astonish Results is big on pay-per-click and mas emails. For example they will help build your book of business but the quality of that business is not going to be very good and within a year or so those customers will either have a claim(s) or will be on to the next agent offering them a deal. Oh, not to mention the extra staff member you will have to hire to handle all of the “D” class new business.
3. Astonish Results will not provide you with any ROI information
[Reply]
Ned Carey Reply:
June 16th, 2010 at 10:25 pm
@ Al Johnson,
That’s one of the best critical comments I have seen. Not just here but at any blog. Lots of people criticize or defend but few come up with as many specifics as you did.
[Reply]
June 21st, 2010 at 8:15 pm
Al,
It’s worth mentioning that we are a completely different company than we were as a start-up in the real estate/mortgage industry.
We’ve grown a lot since those days so it’s important to clarify misinformation from your post:
1.) Between our consulting services and former agents who we’ve hired, Astonish currently has over 125 years of insurance industry experience working to help our clients
2.) The numbers you reference in the IJ.com article refer to our Referral list, not our overall client base. The 12 agents on that referral list have been utilizing our system for over a year, and have very been successful. It is obviously in the media’s best interest to hear about agents who are doubling the size of their agency, even in a down market, to provide an example. At the time the IJ article was written, it was September of 2009, and our reference list was 6% of our total of 200 clients, however, our reference list is not saved only for our successful agents, but rather a rotation of successful clients who are willing to take hour long phone calls on a daily basis to talk to prospective agents about how our system works and has changed their agency. As I’m sure any successful businessperson can agree, that is a HUGE commitment to take that much time out of your daily tasks in order to help other agents understand what our company does. As far as the 95% retention rate, that’s a fact.
3.) SEO – We include all of the items you referenced, while also incorporating back linking strategies, but to be clear, Astonish does provide different levels of SEO services. In our basic offering, a client is provided with onsite optimization which always includes a sitemap. Additionally, keyword research is done based on several factors such as geography, product offerings, and search traffic on certain keyword phrases. On page content is created based on the results of our research. Title tags, headers, meta descriptions, etc… are all optimized with relevancy to support the pages within the site. Our current CMS is a Microsoft Gold Certified partner used by many Fortune 500 companies.
4.) Not sure which agents you’ve spoken to, but with 300 clients, we run the gamut from small, independents focused on personal lines to large brokerage groups, with different strategies, niches and business models. We work with each individual agency to make sure the program we put together meshes with their individual needs. It’s not one size fits all, it can’t be.
5.) We have a blog dedicated to client success stories, dozens of multimedia testimonials, and a page on our website for sharing the press earned by agency partners. No company is perfect, but hundreds of agencies growing their businesses with our services can hardly be quantified as a scam. To be clear, the six agencies who were the first Astonish referrals remain as referrals.
6.) It’s an unfair generalization to criticize the leads our system produces without ever having been a client or understanding all the services we provide. Different strategies are implemented by agencies at varying degrees, but we’ve seen partners generate large commercial insurance business and personal lines leads from email marketing, organic SEM, paid search advertising, blogging, Facebook, newsletters, text message marketing, automated direct mail, multimedia campaigns, partnership events and more. These are all services Astonish Results provides. These tactics don’t take into account our training, call monitoring, consulting and other services which, when paired with the new technology, strengthen closing ratios and customer service.
7.) ROI – We provide metrics reports that define SEM success and run analytics reports for all our clients. That said, the easiest determinant of ROI is whether an agency partner sells more or less insurance than they did before Astonish.
I hope this post proved informative. Astonish doesn’t claim to be the only marketing solution available, however, we do offer a unique set of digital marketing tools built specifically for insurance agents that has proven successful over and over again. Our client’s ongoing success and our own growth prove we are a legitimate company with long-term viability. Our nearly 100 employees, agencies in 47 different states and strategic vendor partnerships have built us into a premium digital marketing service for insurance agencies.
Nick Brown
[Reply]
June 22nd, 2010 at 5:05 pm
“the easiest determinant of ROI is whether an agency partner sells more or less insurance than they did before Astonish.” -Nick Brown
LOL, if that is what Astonish Results thinks then good luck. You clearly just solidified the fact that you have NO IDEA how the insurance industry works….
“As far as the 95% retention rate, that’s a fact.”
With a 5 year contact its pretty easy to achieve a 95% retention rate especially when you’ve only been at this for a couple years. Does that mean that the other 5% went out of business?
[Reply]
June 28th, 2010 at 9:48 pm
its pretty funny that i just randomly came across this. My dad is an insurance broker and was very close to handing over 6 figures with one of the worst contracts ive ever heard of.
I talked him out of it, and right now we are looking to find someone that will work on a performance basis. Or at least get bonuses based on if they hit certain goals.
I think they focus on finding owners that have no clue about the internet, and they have an amazing sales presentation that ive seen online.
[Reply]
July 7th, 2010 at 10:35 pm
Astonish works for us! We became a Astonish customer about 6 months ago and I am extremely pleased with our investment. Were there some rough times at the beginning? Sure, but as we realized how to really utilize this marketing tool things started happening. We started the year with 7 agents and a $18,000,000 book of business. 6 months into this year we now have 10 agents and are on track to do $25,000,000 in business in this a down economy. Is our growth totally attributable to Astonish? Of coarse not but it was a key factor in us being able to attract our new producers as well as expand our existing book of business. Even within our agency not all of the producers and staff have bought into the system but those who did are flourishing. The system allows me to track the closing ratio of all of my producers so when a agency generated lead comes in I give it to Gina because I know she will have a 79% chance of closing that lead. When her book is full I assign the next lead to Russell because I know that he has a 68% chance of closing. If you utilize the system diligently you will have more opportunities to sell insurance but you still need to have the skill to close the deal. The only way this product will not work for an agency is if they do not possess the following traits: discipline, imagination, energy and or closing skills.
I like to use a fitness analogy when explaining Astonish Results and how it works or does not work for agencies. Suppose you really want to get in shape. You decide to spend a great deal of money on an exclusive gym membership that has all of the state of the art equipment and facilities. You also invest in a personal trainer and a dedicated nutritionist. Now suppose you can’t motivate yourself to go to the gym. You do not show up for your training sessions and you ignore your nutritionist and spend your days eating fast food and drinking sodas. After 6 months having spent tons of money and finding you are still in terrible shape do you blame the gym or the trainer or should you blame yourself?
Astonish works for those willing to work at it. If you are not willing to be totally committed or put the effort into it you should definitely not buy their product. However it does work for us and I would be more than happy to answer any one’s questions regarding Astonish.
[Reply]
July 9th, 2010 at 10:33 pm
The biggest problem with Astonish on the marketing side is they control the web properties and the agent is beholden to Astonish or they lose all the property they paid for.
This is a bit unethical
I work with a few people who use this system to reverse the negatives of the web side marketing from Astonish.
If anyone is interested in a free IM consult just call.
Steve
618-208-4353
[Reply]
July 12th, 2010 at 11:08 pm
@Kirk,
I’m glad you’re doing well with AR. Out of curiosity, Are you concerned at all about the major Errors & Omissions exposure Astonish Results exposes you to every time someone submits something over your non-secure website?
They also BCC themselves anytime someone completes something online. The email goes to a gmail account.
input name=”Tustena_LmnBcc” value=”astonishinsurance@gmail.com” type=”hidden”
input name=”Tustena_LmnTo” value=”kchristman@acwhawaii.com” type=”hidden”
[Reply]
July 13th, 2010 at 8:29 pm
Going forward, it will be the AR corporate policy not to engage in dialogue with an unknown party. Although, we are very transparent and open to criticism and are willing to speak to any legitimate issues (which ANY company will have), technical issues are difficult to speak to in the context of a forum and can only be twisted and misinterpreted. We also realize that there are people who look to dishonestly discredit what we do. Our heart is to continuously improve our system and services because we know this will only help our customers. If you are honestly researching our system, please contact us and we’d be happy to answer any questions or concerns you may have.
WHY does AR exist? We have a heart for the independent insurance agency and the small businesses they insure. We LOVE our customers. We believe that small business is the economic engine that fuels our economy. The AR mission is to help agencies grow and thrive in the highly competitive internet environment. That is our mission.
Nick Brown
Community Manager
[Reply]
July 26th, 2010 at 5:24 pm
We have been with Astonish for 8 months and part of what has made it work, has been my staff’s willingness and ability to use the tools in a way that is productive. I was concerned that the transition would be rocky, but our raving fan manager did a lot to make sure we were focused and actually doing the things we needed to do in order for the system to work.
We just recently held an event as part of our Astonish Results partners program that brought about 50 local business owners together and was attended by the RI Director of Economic Development. None of this would have been possible without Astonish.
There is definitely WORK involved when using the Astonish system, it’s not just an automated lead generator (although there is some of that), so agencies need to be aware of the initial investment of time and effort.
More than anything, I credit them with helping my agency go from an unsure future to a pattern of growth. It wouldn’t have happened without my staff’s dedication, but I give a lot of credit to Astonish.
[Reply]
July 26th, 2010 at 8:21 pm
Jim,
The truth is you cannot get out of your contract. My advice to you is to clearly articulate your concerns to the powers that be. I have had my own struggles as I am a highly niched broker. However, Astonish is putting all resources in place to try and achieve the results we were promised. What I can say is this, both Astonish and some of the more successful agents are willing to brainstorm and problem solve with you. If you would like input on how to better utilize the system or leverage the Astonish resources, I am happy to assist. You can call me on my direct line (949)769-3101 and remain anonymous if you so choose. Whether you talk to me, Tim, Adam, Kelly or any of the other Astonish team,go above your RFM. Just so you know… this thread was started by an Astonish competitor using SEO to boost its rankings.
[Reply]
July 28th, 2010 at 6:39 pm
These guys are old news. Obviously good as sales though. Here are some links dating back when they were in the auto marketing world. Nothing’s changed. I wonder what’s in the future after Insurance?
http://www.ripoffreport.com/auto-advertising-services/bz-results/bz-results-beware-bz-results-c-48n68.htm
http://www.automotivehelper.com/topic605770.htm
[Reply]
July 31st, 2010 at 12:40 pm
I think I made a post about Astonish that I would like to remove and have tried but to no avail.I think my post was out of line I had a long discussion with an Astonish user and one of the partners at Astonish and my comment was out of line and character for me.I am onboard with Astonish and would like to thank John B and Justin G
Thanks
[Reply]
Almost Millionaire Reply:
August 5th, 2010 at 3:04 am
Jim,
Per the comment above, I have removed the only other comment that you have left on http://www.thealmostmillionaire.com Thank you for stopping by the site and for posting your thoughts. I believe an open discussion is critical!
-TAM
[Reply]
August 3rd, 2010 at 11:26 pm
Jim must’ve gotten a letter from their attorneys. Wouldn’t need to threaten customers and would-be customers if their product was so great, priced correctly and not stuffed down your throat.
There are other similar programs for a lot less, and without the prepayment/leasing arrangement.
[Reply]
Justin Goodman Reply:
August 27th, 2010 at 2:17 am
He did not receive a call from their attorneys… By the way, thats not their style. I might suggest that you mention the other programs and actually provide your contact information in the future. I am a firm believer that you go straight to the source with criticisms. I would love to get on a conference call with you and Astonish to work through your concerns. They are NOT perfect and they have made missteps along the way… and yes the leasing agreement is an issue for many. The great news is…this is America… you can choose to sign the contract or not.
PS I rank number 1 on Google for “contractors insurance” and “california contractors insurance” and my website receives and average of 1000 hits a month… (You must just define great in a different way)
[Reply]
August 9th, 2010 at 12:13 am
Nice to read the comments and views of others. Hmmm…I think I’ll steer clear of them.
[Reply]
August 23rd, 2010 at 5:47 pm
To reiterate our comment policy, we will not engage with unidentified sources making frivolous and untrue statements about our company. We’re glad to answer questions or inquiries about anything mentioned in this thread or elsewhere if sent through the appropriate channels.
[Reply]
August 23rd, 2010 at 6:47 pm
Hanz,
I’m not an employee, I’m the Vice President and Regional Sales Manager for the CT operations of Encharter, look me up! The only time Astonish fails is when the agency does not follow the recommendations of Astonish. We now have had Astonish for a year, before Astonish we would write 90 new relationships a month, this month (August 2010) we’re on track to write 180, we’ve doubled our sales!
Eric
Eric
[Reply]