How Belief and Advocacy Helped Build an Insurance Business for the Right Reasons
Erica Goltz-Ski founded the Wilebski Insurance Agency in 2016. At the time, she was fairly new to the insurance industry, and she was starting from scratch with no policies. With hard work, a passion to help people and the belief of an enthusiastic network partner, she’s found success and developed a sterling reputation in her community.
Believing She Could
Before embarking on a career in insurance, Erica worked in sales. Eventually, she was ready to move onto something she felt was more fulfilling, and she aspired to find a career helping people with something they actually needed. Insurance seemed like the perfect fit. “It’s something everyone needs, and I truly enjoy advocating for clients and helping them find the proper coverages for their individual needs,” she says.
In the beginning, Erica worked under the mentorship of a family friend who was a broker. However, she soon decided to branch out on her own and start her own business. She’d already met Mike Miller, the Minnesota state director at Smart Choice, and he seemed like the perfect ally.
“He just believed in me,” Erica says, referring to Mike. “He introduced me to the right people and helped me through everything,” she adds, explaining that Mike helped her set up her agency and everything that went along with it, from navigating social media and creating brochures to lead generation and carrier access. “I would not be where I am without Mike,” she says.
When Erica started her scratch agency, she didn’t bring any policies over from her old agency. She wanted a clean start, and she wanted to be 100% ethical in how she went about generating a book of business.
Focusing on Long-Term Relationships
While the first few years were challenging, Erica built her business by focusing on the people she serves, always treating her clients like family. Her goal isn’t just to write a policy, take the money and move on; she strives to build long-term, trusting relationships with her clients.
“I want my clients to trust me as an advocate, so I sit down with each one, explain what everything means, what I recommend, and why I’m recommending it. I tell them absolutely everything,” she says.
A glance at Wilebski Insurance Agency’s reviews confirms that Erica’s clients appreciate this approach. “I will do anything for my people,” Erica says, referring to her clients. “I want to build my agency the right way.”
As you might expect, client referrals have been Erica’s primary catalyst for growth. “I don’t do any advertising and all my business is almost all from word-of-mouth,” she says.
Expanding into New Areas
Growing an independent insurance agency involves more than finding new clients. It also requires expanding into new areas.
Erica has a lot of personal insurance clients, and she also serves businesses. Although she lives in Wisconsin, she’s licensed in both Wisconsin and Minnesota, and most of her business comes from the latter.
She’s presently focused on growing the commercial side of her business by calling her current clients to see if they have any unmet needs. So far, it’s working. “I wrote a few new policies pretty recently,” she says.
Smart Choice has given her the carrier access and support she needs to make it happen. “I use Smart Choice every single time,” she says.
If possible, she tries to place business through the direct carrier appointments she’s gotten with Smart Choice’s help. If that doesn’t work, she accesses carriers available through the Smart Start commercial lines program. If she still can’t find the perfect fit, Smart Choice can help her pursue a solution in the excess and surplus markets they’re partnered with.
With all of these options available, Erica never has to turn down clients with challenging exposures. While she may need some time to find the right fit, she always has the resources needed to make something work.
Realizing Her Dream
Like all Smart Choice agents, Erica earned a 70-30 commission split that was capped, when she achieved “Leadership” status. After reaching that threshold, she began receiving 100% commission on both new and renewal business.
Mike says Erica reached the “Leadership” level in about three and a half years. However, if you ask Erica for these numbers, she might not know them offhand. As Mike explains, it’s because she doesn’t focus on the money she’s earned; she focused on the people she’s helped. “That’s the main reason she’s successful,” Mike says.
“I’m actually doing exactly what I always dreamed of – taking care of my people,” Erica says. “I’m doing it for myself and I’m doing it for all my clients – for all the reasons that are really important to me.”