Story Telling Connects – Are You Telling Your Story?
When I sat down to write this article, I gave quite a bit of thought to previous articles I have written. I also thought about the enormous amount of unsolicited advice being put out by many well-intended industry folks preaching to agents about all the changes they need to make if they want to stay in business. If I was still an agent and on the receiving end of all this information, I would be overwhelmed and want to “stop the madness.”
Most, if not all, of you reading this are currently operating fairly successfully. You may have issues or weaknesses in certain areas of your agency operations, but you are most likely not going out of business in the next six months to a year. If you were, it’s highly unlikely anything I could write here would be able to turn your situation around.
By now you all know the world we operate in is changing rapidly. Our business model has been slow to react to changes in technology and changing consumer demographics. Several established insurance companies (Geico, Progressive, etc.) have been successful in writing business direct. There also seems to be a groundswell of startup companies looking to heavily leverage technology and the preference of younger consumers and entrepreneurs to carve out a place in the insurance market.
As an independent agent relying heavily on personal insurance and small-to-medium commercial insurance, this is the kind of thing that will keep you up at night. Add to that the significant transition of experienced “Baby Boomer” staff leaving independent agencies and it’s no surprise why so many agents are considering selling or becoming part of a large multi-state agent conglomerate.
If you’re not interested in selling or giving up, all is not lost. It is important that you make the necessary changes to stay competitive in the marketplace but it all doesn’t have to happen overnight. The first step is to diagnose what your biggest problems are and then prioritize them.
Whether you need to find staff, better train your existing staff to be effective, modify your work flow and automate it, improve your marketing by using social media and the Internet or increase your sales effectiveness, there are many resources at your disposal that can help you. Don’t try to do it alone. Take advantage of the knowledge and resources available to you as an IIABNY member. We may not have everything you need but probably we can direct you to where you can find it. Our purpose and goal is to assist you in more effectively operating your agency and helping it to grow.
There is one issue that each and every one of you shares as an independent insurance agent. That is successfully communicating the tangible benefit of purchasing insurance protection from an independent agency. All of you need to mount a serious campaign that educates consumers on the value of contract knowledge and claims handling experience in properly designing protection to meet a specific customer’s needs. Insurance is not a one-size-fits-all business. People are different and their protection needs are different as well.
Every agent needs to develop a campaign to educate consumers on the benefits of buying their insurance protection from you, an independent agent. We have a national brand called Trusted Choice® that was developed for just that purpose. We’ve expanded the brand to include the TrustedChoice.com website where consumers can research insurance and get referred to an independent agent to fulfill their protection needs.
As a group we must work together to combat the irresponsible marketing of insurance protection as a commodity. We need to bring consumer attention to the pitfalls of that way of thinking. Insurance protects the financial security of the individual, their family and their business. It is intended to put them back where they were before the loss occurred. Without the safety net it provides, life would be very different. No one wants to experience a loss and find out they aren’t properly protected, especially if the financial consequences are severe or devastating. The only way to prevent this from happening is to work one-on-one with a true insurance professional who can design a package of protection that meets the client’s needs and budget. They say ignorance is bliss but when it comes to insurance protection ignorance could spell disaster and financial ruin.
Whenever I finish writing one of these columns I always wonder if you, the reader, will get something out of it. Do you agree with the substance of the message and will you take action on the things outlined? I wouldn’t be offended if a reader took exception to something and responded to it. It would confirm that the message was being read and considered. My hope is that what I have written will get you thinking and hopefully stir you to action. I’m especially hopeful that many of you will take up the challenge of educating consumers away from the unhealthy belief that buying insurance protection is like buying your laundry soap. You can live with a stain or dingy clothes but losing your house, your health or your business is life-changing. We need to educate and convince consumers before it’s too late!
