How to Generate ACA Leads: A Playbook for New Agents

Before you generate ACA leads: pick a market and fix intake

You can't market to "anyone who needs health insurance." Start with the states you're licensed in, the carriers you're appointed with, and the counties where those carriers actually offer plans. Before you spend a dollar on ads, review 2026 ACA Marketplace enrollment trends by state (opens in a new tab) to see how your state's market has been moving.

Then pick one or two segments, such as self-employed and 1099 workers, early retirees not yet eligible for Medicare, people leaving a job with coverage, small business owners without a group plan, or Spanish-speaking households if you or your staff are fluent.

Write one sentence that says who you help and how. For example: "I help self-employed people in [county] find Marketplace plans their doctors accept, and I handle the paperwork." Put it on your website, voicemail, business card and ads.

Most new agents lose clients in the gap between "I'm interested" and the first real conversation. If you pay for attention before fixing that gap, you pay to lose people.

What good ACA intake includes

• A quote path that collects ZIP and county, household size, an income estimate, and doctors and prescriptions, so your first call starts with real plans.
• Speed: a call within minutes during business hours and an automatic text confirming you received the request.
• A CRM with clear stages: new, contacted, quoted, application started, enrolled, effectuated.
• Tags for segment, source and county so you can see which channels produce enrollments, not just names.
• Written consent stored where you can find it in seconds.

Consent is part of intake, not an afterthought

Permission to contact someone and permission to act for them on the Marketplace are two different things. Capture them separately, name yourself specifically, timestamp them and keep a copy you can produce if a carrier or CMS asks. CMS requires documented consumer consent before an agent helps with an application, so check current CMS guidance for the exact elements.

While you're at it, read the CMS guidelines for compliant Marketplace advertising (opens in a new tab) before you publish a landing page or ad, so your claims and consent language line up from day one.

This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your consent language and calling practices with your compliance resources, your FMO or an attorney who knows TCPA.

How to get ACA clients: 7 channels to build your book

ACA client acquisition works best as a mix. Paid channels are faster; free channels are slower but produce clients who trust you before the first call. Most agents do best running one paid source alongside at least two free ones.

1. Use a done-for-you lead system you own

The quickest way to get a lead source you own is to have it built for you. Full disclosure: this is what FastTrack sets up online, with no sales call, so weigh that bias. The checklist below applies to any vendor or freelancer you consider.

• A quote funnel on your own domain, under your NPN, showing real Marketplace plans for the consumer's county with the premium tax credit applied.
• Permission to contact and permission to act on the Marketplace signed separately and stored as files.
• A CRM configured for ACA with stages and tags already in place.
• A fast handoff into your enrollment platform, such as HealthSherpa opening prefilled, so you don't retype household data.
• Ads running on your own ad account, with spend billed to you by the platform, and leads that are never resold or shared.

Whatever you choose, ask who owns the domain, the ad account and the lead data if you cancel.

2. Run your own Meta ads to your own quote page

The do-it-yourself version of the same idea: build a landing page and quote form, connect it to your CRM, and run Facebook and Instagram ads at your segment. It takes setup and daily attention, but the leads go only to you, and the audiences and data stay yours.

Decide early between instant forms and your own page. Meta's Facebook lead-generation ad campaigns (opens in a new tab) can use instant forms that keep people inside the app, which is quick but leaves little room to show plans or capture two separate consents. Sending traffic to your own quote page takes more work but lets you control both.

Keep creative plain and honest: no implied government affiliation and no promises of a specific price before you know the household. The FTC guidance on truthful health insurance advertising (opens in a new tab) is worth reading before you write your first ad.

Do the math before you scale. Here's a hypothetical example with made-up inputs: a test month costs $1,000 in ad spend and produces 50 quote requests. You reach 35, quote 25 and enroll 8, so your cost per enrollment is $125. Compare that with what a client is worth to your business over the years you expect to keep them.

Track every stage separately. Few requests points to the ad or offer, a low contact rate points to speed, and few enrollments from quotes points to the call.

3. Buy leads from a vendor

Buying leads is the fastest start. Shared leads are cheapest, but you're racing every other buyer to the phone; exclusive and aged leads trade price for competition in different ways. We break down the tradeoffs in buying ACA leads versus owning the source.

If you buy, ask how many times each lead is sold, how consent was captured, and what the consumer saw when they submitted. The FTC guidance on deceptive health insurance lead generation (opens in a new tab) walks through a settlement resolving allegations of misleading ads and lead sales, and it's a useful lens for vetting any vendor. Then call within minutes and judge vendors on cost per enrollment, not cost per lead.

4. Build referral partners

The cheapest way to find health insurance clients is often through people who already talk to them at the exact moment coverage matters.

• Tax preparers and CPAs, who see 1099 income and premium tax credit reconciliation problems every spring.
• Realtors and mortgage brokers, whose clients are moving and may qualify for a special enrollment period.
• Bookkeepers and payroll providers serving small businesses without group plans.
• HR consultants and outplacement firms handling layoffs.
• Medicare agents who get calls about a younger spouse or adult child.

Give partners a one-page explainer for their clients, your direct line, and a promise to report back after you help someone. Check your state's rules before offering any compensation for referrals, since many states restrict paying unlicensed people.

5. Work your warm market

List 100 people you know. Don't pitch them; tell them what you do now and ask one question: "Who do you know who's self-employed or between jobs?" People are far more comfortable naming someone else than admitting they need help themselves.

6. Show up in local search

Set up a Google Business Profile with your service area, hours and a clear description of who you help. Ask satisfied clients for reviews, and post short answers to the questions people actually ask, like whether self-employed income qualifies for a subsidy.

7. Turn existing clients into referrals

Once you have a few clients, they become your best source of new ACA clients. A book grows when clients stay and send people to you.

• Confirm effectuation: check that the first premium was paid and the policy is active.
• Send a welcome text with your direct number and what to do if their income or household changes.
• Check in mid-year about income changes that could affect their tax credit.
• Review every client before open enrollment so they hear about plan changes from you first.
• Ask for a referral right after a win, such as a resolved claim or a lower renewal.

The first call that turns leads into enrollments

Leads don't become clients on their own. A simple, repeatable call structure keeps you from rambling and helps the consumer decide.

1. Open: "Hi [name], this is [you], a licensed agent. You asked for Marketplace prices in [county] a few minutes ago. Do you have five minutes?"
2. Confirm the facts: household members, an income estimate, doctors and prescriptions, and whether they're in Open Enrollment or have a qualifying life event.
3. Narrow the field: show two or three plans, not twenty. Lead with network fit and expected total cost, not just premium.
4. Explain reconciliation in one sentence: the tax credit is based on estimated income, so they should tell you if it changes.
5. Ask for the decision: "Want to start the application while we're on the phone?"
6. If they aren't ready, book a specific callback time instead of "I'll follow up."

Outside Open Enrollment, timing decides whether you can help at all. Keep the ACA Marketplace enrollment dates and eligibility (opens in a new tab) page bookmarked so you can confirm windows and SEP basics during the call.

Never quote a final premium until you've verified household and income. A number that changes at application kills trust fast.

A 30-day plan for your first ACA clients

1. Week 1: Choose your states, carriers and segment. Write your one-sentence pitch. Set up CRM stages, tags and separate consent capture, or pick a done-for-you system that includes them.
2. Week 2: Build your 100-person warm list and contact 20 people a day with the referral question.
3. Week 3: Meet five referral partners in person or by video and leave each a one-page explainer.
4. Week 4: Launch one paid source, call every lead within minutes, and log results at each stage.
5. End of month: Look at which source produced enrollments, not just leads, and double down there.

Start building your ACA book

Getting ACA clients comes down to a clear market, intake that captures consent and responds fast, steady referral work, and at least one lead source you control. Start with this week's step and measure from day one.

If you want the funnel, CRM, consent and ads built for you on your own domain and ad account, get started with FastTrack. Setup is online, with no sales call.