How to grow an Insurance Agency one client at a time.

[johnsharp]

I believe that part of running a successful insurance agency (and making great money in the process) is being a really great insurance agent.

You can’t provide crappy service and be in the top income earners. The two don’t work together. This goes beyond just retention strategies. It’s about providing expert service and becoming an advocate for your clients.

(By the way, I’m saying YOU but I don’t necessarily mean you directly. I don’t expect you to service and sell every client individually. It’s more about the collective efforts of you,your staff, and your agency as a whole.)

Here’s a few examples:

Your producer meets with a client and finds out that they have started a new job. They discuss rolling over their 401k, find out if they have life insurance through their work that needs to be moved, and discuss increasing liability limits since they have increased their income. You make new sales and the client has a higher level of trust in your agency as well as a large number of accounts.

You speak to a client and find out that they have a teenager getting ready to start drivers ed. You then review all the potential discounts they could receive (by taking drivers education, extra training, etc). Plus, look at the actual costs once they add the new driver and give them some tips on managing the expense. (It’s cheaper with a liability only vehicle, at what point do they have to add the driver on the policy, etc.) By removing the fear and educating the client, you keep them from getting worried and calling a bunch of others agents for quotes!

Find out a client is expecting a new baby. Direct them to great carseat resources and talk about starting a life insurance policy now that they have a dependent.

As you can see, the more opportunities you find to genuinely help your client, the more opportunities you find to also increase your income and retention. They go hand in hand.

Focus on getting your staff to be great insurance agents and you’ll naturally grow an insurance agency that you’re proud of.

http://agencyupdates.com/how-to-grow-an-insurance-agency-one-client-at-a-time/

[robmejia]

I think agents should make their clients feel that they are helping them not just to sell policies and meet quotas , rather because they want to help them find the best options and make the wisest decisions when it comes to the insurance policies they will purchase.

[txinsurance4]

Found a couple of good article that details this topic. I strongly believe that clients need to be educated on insurance rather than just selling insurance to the client. Building referrals is critical to an agency's success --> https://www.insuranceclassroom.com/blog/why-insurance-agencies-succeed-learn-to-be-great-insurers-and-educators/

The second article is good if you are looking to advertise for cheap --> https://www.insuranceclassroom.com/blog/5-marketing-tips-for-insurance-agents-on-a-budget/

[johnywhite]

Every agency should always think of their clients' satisfaction first before their income.

[m2insurance]

I agree with all of you. I am new to this business and have seen my share of people that simply chase the commission. Don't get me wrong, I like the potential income, but I sincerely care for my clients. I believe the results of this has created a good referral business for me.

Tom
M2 Insurance
http://www.m2insurance.com

[Frankie]

I agree with the customer care focus vs. commission. Doesn't matter if you're selling term life insurance or universal, the endgame is the same with every customer: providing a solution that's trusted and being as available and helpful with any issues or questions about the plan, whether it's two days from now or two years.