So you are an insurance agent? I’m sure you want to be able to consider yourself a successful insurance agent. And maybe you already are. The insurance industry is a great industry to work in. The amount of growth and potential out there is huge. There will always be a need for insurance and insurance products. But how can you make sure that people will want to purchase their products from your agency? What are some tools you can use to make sure that you are able to become successful?
Remember the line from the movie Field of Dreams-“If you build it, he will come”? This would be viewed as a passive marketing technic. It’s not reality. It worked great in the movie for Kevin Costner, but it is not real life. Most products do not sell themselves. You can’t just show up for work and expect your agency to grow and expand. It will definitely take hard work and effort. Some business owners don’t think it is worth paying money for marketing, but as long as your marketing is paying off, it is definitely worth it. With marketing, you first have to decide who your target audience is. What kind of person is your ideal client? What type of products would this client need? What can you do to make them choose your agency over other ones? These are important factors to consider before planning your marketing strategy.
It may sound cliché, but in order to make money you have to spend money. Some marketing strategies you choose to do may work out and other might not. There are bound to be some complications or missteps. It can take time to understand what marketing strategies work for your agency. To make sure that the money you are spending is providing a return, try tracking your marketing expenses. See what variables are working to boost your business.
As we have mentioned before, it is critical for your agency to be setting goals. But just setting those goals is not going to do you any good. You have to hold yourself and your employees accountable for the goals. There needs to be daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly check ins. Having these check ins allows people to focus and remember the goals that were set and allows them to make adjustments in any area that may need a little more emphasis. Try writing some of the goals on a whiteboard that is either in a break room or in an area that employees frequent. Have conversations about the goals, and if goals aren’t being met, what changes need to be made? What can people improve on?
Make sure to invest in yourself. Successful entrepreneurs have one thing in common; they take the time to invest in themselves. Sometimes successful agents can become complacent. Even if you are a top ten ranked agent in your area and have years of success, there is always room for improvement. What are you doing to stay ahead of the curve? Customers’ needs are changing all the time. That means products and services are constantly changing as well. What can your agency and employees do to stay in the loop with all the changes and stay ahead of the game. It is so important for your agents to make continuing their education a high importance. Employees who take the time to invest in themselves are helping the agency perform at a higher quality.
Try going above and beyond for all of your agency’s customers. Your agency’s customers’ needs will vary greatly; some will require higher premiums and more services than others. It can be easy to focus your attention on the customers who have higher policy premiums or more accounts. But if your agency provides great customer service for everyone, this will set a tone for your office. Clients will talk to other people and let them know that they were treated like a premier client, no matter what size of policy they needed. Word of mouth referrals is one of the greatest ways to grow your agency. But these will only happen if you treat all your clients like they are gold star clients.
Growing your agency will take a lot of time, money and effort. Thankfully there are many helpful tools and ideas to help you achieve the success you desire. You don’t have to come up with a new, never before heard of marketing idea. We have simply scratched the surface on ways your agency can help grow and become more profitable. Remember that the more time you put into yourself and your employees the more you will get out of everyone.
