Let’s face it. One of the best resources in the insurance industry is the agent.
Whether you’ve seen it evolve or you’re starting to see what’s coming next, you’re immersed in it almost every single day. Agents have years upon years of education, experience and employment under their belt, equipping them with all kinds of insider tips and tricks.
To help all of our agencies finish the year strong and start 2017 with a bang, we asked a few of our agents what advice they had to offer. What strategies have they found success with? What tactics should other agents try? What are they actively doing to grow their business?
Here’s what they had to say:
1. Invest in advertising. Invest in yourself.
“We believe in a large advertising budget. We look at this as a fixed cost of doing business. We want people in our area to think of us first when they’re looking for insurance or they want professional advice.”
2. Make your company a true part of the community.
“Location is a plus for us, as we are known to be the hometown insurance agency to most of the area. We do get walk-in business, as well as referral business, and I believe some of that can be attributed to our location.”
3. Pound the pavement.
“About two or three days a week, I go out into the community — knocking on the doors of businesses in target markets I know my carriers want to grow. It keeps me on my toes (literally), and we’ve seen great results because of it.”
4. Start a conversation.
“We started making a concerted effort to follow up most situations with a phone call. This is on quotes, renewals and claims. We have noticed an increase in sales, retention and customer satisfaction. We are in a world of emails with less and less personal interaction. A phone call can go a long way in preserving and developing relationships.”
5. Hire top talent.
“Create a culture of sales within your agency. Anyone who doesn’t want to ride on your sales bus needs to find another bus to ride on.”
6. Reward referrals.
“Some customers have given us as many as 10 referrals for commercial and personal accounts. We have sent (with a thank you, of course) coupons for whatever works as a repeat reward. Remember that referrals are like gold in your pocket!”
Have a tip to share? Let us know in the comments.
