‘Sometimes You Just Have to Ask’

You don’t have to be Hispanic to join the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.”

George Saenz Sr., founder of Cielo Vista Insurance Agency in El Paso, Texas, made that comment when I spoke to him while researching an article on how agents can expand their revenues by tapping into diverse populations (“Changing Demographics Offer a World of Opportunity to Enterprising Agents,” page 44).

Saenz noted that joining special interest business organizations is a great way to meet and network with people outside of one’s typical sphere of influence. One doesn’t have to be African American to join the African American chamber, or Asian American to join the Asian American chamber, and so on and so forth, either. And as every agent worth his or her license knows, people like to do business with people they know. Or at least with someone their friend, nephew, colleague or cousin knows.

“The fact of the matter [is] the demographics of the country are changing pretty dramatically,” said William Pierson, assistant vice president for agent development for the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America. And agents who wish to take advantage of that trend would do well to try and understand the diverse cultures that exist in their communities. “This is a business opportunity,” Pierson pointed out. “It’s all about productivity and profit and growing your business.”

Pierson is right. The demographics of the United States are changing dramatically, and rapidly. In a little more than 30 years non-Hispanic Caucasians will no longer comprise the majority in this country, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

With absolutely no statistics to back up this notion, I have the feeling that many independent agents may be missing out on the business opportunities that exist in expanding minority, ethnic or culturally diverse communities. One reason, as Pierson pointed out, is that the independent insurance agency system in general is less widely known and understood than the likes of captive insurance networks such as State Farm and Allstate.

But, Pierson noted, if agents are willing work at understanding and tapping into a culture that may be different from their own, there’s a lot of opportunity out there. Independent agents, he said, are local; they know their communities and they pride themselves on a superior level of service. Many “cultural groups are not going to buy insurance through the Internet,” Pierson said. “It’s a hand-holding type of service that is going to be more effective.”

While breaking into a new and different cultural community may seem intimidating, it may not be as difficult as it appears. Some-times, George Saenz Sr. said, “You just have to ask.”