Growth Strategies for Insurance Agencies
The insurance industry is highly competitive, and insurance agencies constantly strive to gain and maintain the upper hand. For an insurance agency that wants to consistently outperform the competition, staying innovative and forward-thinking is crucial. Here is some easy-to-follow advice on how you can broaden your reach and grow your insurance agency.
Develop a Culture of Accountability
Insurance agencies are only as strong as those working for them, so developing a culture where each employee is responsible for understanding and meeting their goals is essential. Without clear goals and a perspective on how each person or group is contributing to the success of the business, your agency will find it challenging to evaluate what is and what is not contributing to productivity or growth. Requiring weekly and monthly reporting and take-away analysis on call volume, sales, average premiums, and acquisition costs is a step in the right direction.
Prioritize Communication and Availability
About 80% of sales prospects say no to the first four calls, and about 92% of sales agents give up after the third call. If this occurs frequently in your agency you aren’t going to succeed. People are more aware of insurance policies and prices than ever before. Given that reality, spending time communicating with prospects, patiently answering questions, or reaching out with follow-up information is always a good standard approach to customer relationship building. Respond quickly to their questions by making yourself or your team accessible through newer, digital platforms like chatbots, websites, or social media platforms.
Invest in Productivity Resources
Regarding your insurance agency, you can help your team get more done by investing in the right resources. First of all, invest in your team and yourself. Create an environment that rewards and values hard work and dedication. Make their jobs easier by investing in technology or software that automates workflow and streamlines processes for increased productivity. You want to sharpen your team’s skills, so investing in a training regimen could also be a net value-add.
Integrate Online and Offline Marketing Strategies
Referrals are a leading tool for insurance agency growth. However, your agency will fall behind the competition if you choose an either/or strategy for online and offline marketing. Digital marketing can expand your reach. Email marketing, websites, social media marketing, SEO, and content marketing are all highly effective at leading new prospects into the sales funnel.
You can integrate these strategies with offline marketing efforts, like mailers, in-store promotions, and other activities. When you combine your strategies, you should ensure that your resources are deployed such that you build up your local client base while also attracting prospects from a broader market.
Offer Multiple Products
You can experience more success by offering more than one type of insurance. If you can expand your knowledge into other areas or bring in additional professionals in services like budget planning or tax preparation, you can grow your consumer base. Look into services that will complement your insurance offerings to help expand your footprint.
Help Your Insurance Agency Succeed
When looking to emerge as the best outlet, these tips are just a few things known for helping an insurance agency succeed. It will ultimately be your hard work and creativity that will help your agency stand out.
About INEX
INEX is a multi-disciplinary firm providing management consulting to the owners of insurance agencies throughout the United States, and real estate investment services. Our senior principals have participated in over 300 perpetuation, merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions over the past three decades. Staff professional designations include Chartered Property & Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) and Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM), as well as a variety of insurance and advisory licenses throughout the United States. To learn more, call us at 603-665-6000 or visit our website.