Will Annuity Leads Work In My Area? Rural Vs. Big City Markets

Scott Brooks, MBA, CFP®

October 15, 2026

After 16 years of creating leads, I don’t think the most useful question is whether annuity leads work in rural areas or big cities. We’ve had clients succeed—and struggle—in both.

The better question is what you should expect in your particular territory.

Some of our smaller-market clients have built profitable relationships from very little lead flow. Some clients in larger markets have needed more opportunities and more follow-up, but closed larger cases. Neither experience makes one market automatically better.

Your territory matters. So do the consumer’s readiness, the source of the lead, and the way you work it. Understanding how those fit together is more useful than labeling a whole region good or bad.

In This Article

The Lead Source Matters as Much as the Market

Before you can compare markets, you have to know what kind of lead you’re talking about.

Not all lead sources are the same. You can run the same message on different platforms and attract people at very different points in their buying journey.

Think of it like football. A lead who’s early in the buying cycle is like getting the ball on your own 20-yard line. You have to move it 80 yards to score. A lead who’s late in the buying cycle is like starting on the other team’s 20. You only have to move it 20 yards. You can still fumble, but you don’t have nearly as far to go.

Leads early in the buying cycle take more salesmanship, more follow-up, and more patience to convert. Leads later in the cycle are naturally more motivated and much easier to move along. Someone who’s been reading articles online about index annuities, or researching what to do with an annuity that’s about to mature, is much further down the field than someone who saw an ad while watching a TV show or reading the news or a sports site.

A lot of radio and TV leads, and less-qualified internet leads, start deep in their own territory. In rural areas, agents can often still march them down the field. In big cities, it’s much harder, because the people there take more convincing.

We learned this the hard way. When we ran national TV campaigns, the Northeast was brutal for our agents. I tracked the percentage of calls we threw out every week, and by the end, we were tossing 65% to 70% of them. Even the leads that made it through were tough. In the Northeast, a lot of agents just couldn’t convert them, period. The ads built enough trust to get people to call, but they weren’t interested enough to buy right away. And “right away” is the key.

I’m still traumatized by those TV campaigns in New Jersey and Connecticut. Part of what made it so frustrating was that I didn’t know what else to do. Was I supposed to throw out 95% of the calls? At that point, it’s hard to even tell which leads are good. It felt like a losing battle, and it was a real struggle for me, because I want all of our clients to do well. I still do. But it doesn’t feel like an uphill battle anymore. A big reason is that we have a much more stable, long-term client base than we used to, because of the results our clients are getting.

Our online campaigns attract people who are already looking, people further down the field. Those leads have done much better in the biggest markets, like New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. So if a lead company tells you its leads work everywhere, ask where the leads come from and how far along the buyer is when they respond. The answer matters a lot more in some markets than others.

The Basic Trade-Off: Rural vs. Big City

Think about Los Angeles County. More than 10 million people live there. I don’t know exactly how many people sell annuities in LA County, but it’s many thousands. Everywhere a consumer turns, someone wants to sell them an annuity.

Go to a rural area and there’s far less competition. There are fewer advisors per person. But there’s also less money, for the most part.

That’s the basic trade-off.

Rural markets: people are easier to reach on the phone, easier to talk to, and easier to book. The problem is volume. With our narrow, annuity-specific advertising, we might create 20 or more leads in a big city for every one lead in a rural market. When you combine a narrow audience with a small population, there just aren’t many leads.

But rural agents don’t need many. We might send a rural agent 10 leads in a whole year, and they might write several million dollars in premium from those 10. I’ve seen it happen.

Big cities: the lead flow is much higher, but there’s less room for error. In a small rural community, an agent can make mistakes following up and still do well, because people are more forgiving, more laid back, and less skeptical. In a big metro market, people are busier, harder to engage, and more skeptical. Mistakes cost you.

“In a small rural community, you can make mistakes and still do well. In a big city, mistakes cost you.”

Super-rural agents also tend to buy from several lead companies at once, because no single company can create enough leads to keep them busy. Those agents have been useful to me, because they let me compare our leads and our process with other companies’. Some like our leads better, some like them less, and some say they’re all about the same. What they tell me they like about ours is that they don’t have to unsell the advertising, and that most of our leads include a mailing address, so they can send an overnight package or knock on the door.

Why Rural Agents Close More of Their Leads

In rural areas, some of our clients close one out of every two or three leads. Why?

Rural consumers are not nearly as skeptical. There aren’t as many financial professionals around them. And they’re just nicer and easier to deal with. Try to sell them anything, and it’s easier.

I learned this long before I ever sold a lead. I paid for college by selling books door to door. Some days we worked nice suburban neighborhoods, and those were rough. Then we’d work farms. Farmers were awesome. Completely different people, completely different mentality.

So rural agents usually don’t need sophisticated strategies. They just need to call the people and talk to them. Some of our long-time Midwest clients have never really struggled with our leads, and after all these years I’m honestly not sure exactly how they work them.

But even rural agents have rough starts. One of our Midwest clients didn’t close any of his first five, six or seven leads. He almost quit. He’s now been with us for nine or ten years. Even in the easiest markets, it takes time to build confidence and trust in the process.

Why Big Cities Are the Real Test

The real test of any lead program isn’t whether it works in Kansas. It’s whether it works in markets like New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Chicago, and San Francisco. Those are generally the hardest people to sell.

Here’s how I explain it. In the biggest markets, the level of interest it takes for someone to become a lead is lower than the level of interest it takes for them to actually buy. People will raise their hand. But it takes a lot more to push them over the finish line.

Part of it is culture. The Northeast is very direct and very cosmopolitan. People want you to get right to the point, and they need to be more interested before they act.

Chicago is a little easier. It’s a huge, cosmopolitan city, but it’s still the Midwest, with a lot of Midwestern values. Boston has also done better for our clients than New Jersey or Connecticut. Is that because our Boston clients are just better? Probably. I don’t know how much is the culture.

“Those people are too slow”

Years ago, we had an agent in northern New Jersey, right outside New York City. He’d received 10 or 15 leads, closed one, and made $50,000 in commissions. Leads cost less back then, so let’s say he spent about $3,000 and made $50,000. You’d think he’d be happy.

He called to ask us to remove central New Jersey from his territory. I asked why. He said, “Those people are too slow. I’m from New York City. I like to get right to the point. I don’t like to waste time.”

So I asked him where his $50,000 commission came from. Central New Jersey.

“So let me get this straight,” I said. “You want us to remove central New Jersey, even though all of your commission came from there?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

These stories write themselves.

Where the Money Is

Case sizes are bigger in wealthy areas, because people have more money. We’ve had multiple clients in Seattle average $600,000 to $800,000 per case. San Francisco and the bigger California cities are similar.

A lot of that is real estate. Even in a low-income area like Compton, California, houses can sell for $500,000 to $700,000. A home in a low-income part of Cleveland isn’t worth anywhere near that. So even someone without much savings can end up with a lot of money when they sell their house.

Some of it comes from the companies in an area. A big, successful employer creates a pocket of wealth around it. NVIDIA, based in Santa Clara, is a good example today.

I saw this firsthand at Fidelity Investments more than 20 years ago. Within Texas, the biggest account balances were always in Houston and Dallas. Austin had smaller balances back then, and San Antonio’s were smaller still. I believe Marathon Oil, an energy company in Houston with good benefits, had the largest 401(k) balances we handled at that time.

One of our snowbird clients works leads in both Minnesota and Sarasota, Florida. He told me his Florida leads had about double the assets of his Minnesota leads, so his Florida cases were about twice as big. And, in his opinion, the Florida consumers weren’t any harder to talk to. I was surprised by that, but he works Florida’s west coast, which is full of retired Midwesterners. It’s not Boca Raton.

There’s money everywhere

Rural agents shouldn’t assume there’s no money in their area, though. Years ago I worked for a bank in Houston, and one of my branches was in the lowest-income, highest-crime neighborhood in the city. A customer who owned several gas stations kept $2 million to $3 million in his checking account at that branch.

There are people with money everywhere, even in low-income areas. There just aren’t as many of them.

“There are people with money everywhere. There just aren’t as many of them.”

Even Within One Region, Results Can Swing

We worked for seven or eight years with a client in Seal Beach, in Southern California. He consistently received 10 to 15 leads a month.

When he worked leads in Orange County and LA County, he did very well. This is the agent who closed three seven-figure cases in a row. Something like that just doesn’t happen in a rural area. Because of suitability requirements, someone putting a million dollars into an annuity needs considerably more in financial assets than what they’re investing. For most of the higher-rated carriers, putting more than about 60% to 70% of your financial assets into an annuity is a no-go. So landing seven-figure cases back to back to back is far more likely in LA, simply because there’s so much more money there.

But when he worked leads farther away, in San Diego County, his close rate was abysmal. Same agent, same leads, a couple of counties apart.

That’s why I think agents have a better chance of converting leads within about 80 miles of where they are. Agents already know this. It amazes me how many newer marketing companies push agents to buy leads all over the place, because it’s easier for the company. That doesn’t make it better for the agent. We’ve always let our clients pick their local communities, or their state, and keep their territory regional.

Florida: Lots of Retirees, Lots of Scams

Florida has a huge number of retirees, which is great. It also has a huge number of scams targeting retirees, and retirees there know it. So their guard is up, and you have to do more to earn their trust.

Years ago, a new client signed up for our program in Miami. Around the same time, the mayor of Miami went on TV repeatedly, for weeks, telling consumers never to let an insurance agent into their home under any circumstances. She quit before she received her first lead. Stories like that don’t happen in Nebraska.

In markets like that, the overnight package matters even more. Picture a skeptical retiree who receives a package with information about your practice and a copy of your insurance license, and then gets your call. That’s very different from a stranger calling out of the blue. Scams are more sophisticated than ever with AI and new technology, and it’s hard for consumers to know who to trust.

In Competitive Markets, Win the First Impression

In competitive markets, consumers probably talk to more advisors. They have more information, and they’re solicited more often.

But I’ve never been a big fan of worrying about the competition. If you play a sport, do you spend your energy worrying about your opponent, or focusing on what you do well? I’d focus on what I do well.

Everything is competitive now. With AI and the internet, people can find an endless number of advisors. That’s why the first impression matters so much. You probably won’t get a second chance. The impression you need to leave is “This is the person I need to work with.” If you don’t, good luck, because they have plenty of other options.

That’s why I’m such a believer in the overnight package. It builds credibility and trust, and it shows people you’re the right person for them before you ever pick up the phone.

Changing Markets? Change Your Approach

Going from a rural area to a big city? Prepare more before you call, take follow-up much more seriously, and have a real, well-thought-out system. In a rural area, you can call, use our opening script, start talking, and build trust on the phone. You may not even need an overnight package. In a big city, you do.

Going from a big city to a rural area? Keep doing what worked in the city. It’ll probably work even better.

People everywhere are looking for someone they can trust, no matter what you’re selling.

If you’re making that move, these will help: – Working Our Annuity Leads: our full guide to calling, the overnight package, and follow-up. – Why Some Agents Make Money With Annuity Leads and Others Don’t: what our most successful clients do differently. – Our free training video: how top producers work high-quality leads.

Accent, Background and Personality

Everything about an agent plays a role: personality, background, product knowledge, experience, rapport building, sales ability. And especially how well you answer questions.

In my own experience selling, a lot comes down to how thoroughly you handle objections. If someone walks away thinking, “He doesn’t really know,” you’ve lost them.

Accents matter too. People need to be able to understand you. We’ve had clients from other countries whose accents were hard to understand, and I’ve told them plainly: “It’s hard for me to understand you. You need to do everything else right when you follow up with the leads.” If I’m the one buying, I’m not going to struggle to understand someone. You can’t easily change your accent, so don’t worry about it. But you can’t afford mistakes anywhere else.

Working a market far from home

Since the pandemic, more agents work leads by Zoom and FaceTime, and they write the business with e-applications through platforms like Firelight instead of mailing paperwork. It’s easier: nothing to mail, and much of the application can be pre-filled for the client. Some agents do business entirely by phone and e-application, without a video call at all. It can work.

But when you work leads locally, people are more likely to like you, because you have more in common and they see you as a long-term local connection. When you’re a thousand miles away, they may wonder whether you’ll be around next month. It all comes down to how they perceive you.

The Economics of Rural and Big-City Leads

Our price is the same nationwide. But it’s significantly harder for us to create leads in most rural areas. Rural leads are much more costly and much more difficult for us to create, and more rural responses get thrown out for having too little to invest. We lose money in many rural markets. Our rural clients are getting a screaming bargain.

Even so, rural agents can usually make the program work, even with smaller cases, because their leads are easier to close.

Watch your ROI, not your batting average

Wherever you are, especially in a big city, focus on your return on investment, not your close rate. You can’t control your batting average.

Here’s how I’d describe the difference between markets. A rural market is like a steady .300 hitter. Month after month, the results are pretty consistent. A big-city market is like a streaky hitter: a great month, then a cold month, and what matters is the long-term average.

“A rural market is a steady .300 hitter. A big city is a streaky hitter.”

Agents who fixate on their batting average make bad decisions. We have a client in Chicago who has signed up and quit about five times in 10 years. The time before last, he closed five out of seven leads and wrote a million or two in premium from about six or seven leads. Then he quit, because he was tormented by the two he didn’t close. The frustration from those two was ten times bigger than the satisfaction from the five.

What do you want to focus on, the five you sold or the two you didn’t?

Agents like that think in the minor leagues. Close five deals, make $100,000, and they decide to coast for nine months instead of risking more capital. That’s not how anyone gets to $10, $20 or $30 million a year in premium.

Top producers never take their foot off the gas

Here’s one thing all of our bigger producers have in common: they never pause their leads. Not even when they go on vacation. They keep the flow coming, because they know the business they write next quarter depends on the leads they’re working now.

How Many Agents a Market Can Support

It depends on how many leads we think a market can produce. Markets with more potential get more agents. Markets with less get fewer. There’s no magic formula.

For each client’s territory, we aim to reach at least 2 million to 5 million people. Under a million, it gets much harder. Out of a million people, some are too old, some are under 45 or 50, and most don’t have much money. What’s left is a small group, and only some of them are open to annuities.

Where I’d Start If I Were You

Start with your home area. I live in Houston. If a Houston agent called me, I’d suggest starting with Houston plus 80 or 90 miles.

Then add places you have a connection to. Where have you lived or worked? Where do you have family? If I wanted more lead flow for myself, I’d start with Houston, since I live there. Then Austin, where I spent four and a half years at the University of Texas. Then Dallas-Fort Worth, where I lived for about six years. Then San Diego, where I lived for two years. Those are the markets I’m naturally connected to, and I could talk about them like a local.

That matters because converting a lead is as much about the lead connecting with you as you connecting with the lead. Agents want to sell annuities, and they don’t care where the person lives. But the real question is whether the person feels connected to you. The stronger the natural connection, the easier the business.

Snowbirds can work both homes, one at a time or both at once.

Consider places you’ll visit regularly. If you want to cover more than one city, it helps to have a reason to be there. We’ve had clients cover Houston and Dallas and spend a few days in Dallas every six weeks. That gives them a natural reason to keep calling: if they miss someone this month, they’ll be back in six weeks.

I once talked with a financial advisor in Atlanta who told me he became a multimillionaire in the 401(k) rollover business by targeting Dallas. He flew to Dallas about once a month and planned his trips throughout the year, so he always had a reason to follow up with the people in his pipeline. He also felt that some people liked meeting with the out-of-town advisor who came in regularly. He was seen as a mover and shaker, and he thought it worked to his advantage.

So think about where your natural markets are, and start there.

The Bottom Line

Your market shapes your lead flow, your case sizes, your close rate, and how much room for error you have. Rural markets are steadier and more forgiving, with fewer leads. Big cities have more leads, bigger cases, more competition, and less patience.

But we’ve had agents succeed and fail in every market. The agents who do well worry less about where they are and more about how they work their leads.

If you’d like to find out whether your territory is open and what to realistically expect in your area, call us at (888) 288-1712 or visit TheAnnuityLeads.com. We’ll give you an honest answer. For the details on how to work our leads, read our guide to Working Our Annuity Leads.

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