I recently rolled out the 2019 theme for my territory: Failure is a choice. My management team and I identified our top goals for next year and made a plan for keeping them our number-one work priorities. By doing so, we’re making the choice to work actively toward our goals rather than take a passive, come-what-may attitude.
At the heart of our strategy is data. For my territory and your agency, there’s a lot of data available to us if we know where to look. We both need 2018 data to establish accurate baselines for our 2019 goals. Here are several data-driven questions to consider at your agency:
- How many policies in force did you manage in 2018?
- How much premium did you write?
- How many policies did you quote?
- Did you make enough to take full advantage of all available bonuses and contingencies?
- How close did you come to achieving leadership status with Smart Choice®?
It may take time to gather the data containing the answers to these questions, but it’s an afternoon well spent. You’ll have a clear picture of this year’s successes and uncover opportunities for growth in 2019.
Review Your Agency’s Data to Set Attainable Goals
Once you’ve collected and reviewed your agency’s data, you can decide what your 2019 priorities are. This time next year, how many policies in force would you like to have on your books? Are you hoping to write more commercial or life? Would you like to make enough revenue to add another producer or CSR?
Use your data to set realistic attainable goals. Let’s say you wrote 40 new life policies in 2018. A reasonable goal for 2019 might be to increase that total by 25 percent to 50. A good first step would be to review your agency management system data and find all the life policies you quoted that were never written. How close could you get to your goal by following up with these quotes? What’s your plan for getting there?
Make an Action Plan and Choose to Succeed
Let’s assume you have 50 life insurance quotes in your system that were never written. Your next step is to create a plan for following up and converting these quotes. Here’s what a typical week might look like:
Weekly Goal: Call 5 Unwritten Life Quote Clients
Action Step: Call 5 clients or prospects who have unwritten life insurance quotes
Deadline: Friday
Materials I Need: Client list with contact information and current quote
Date completed: [document once complete]
Follow-up Steps:
- Write policies
- Ask for referral
- Call to review in 12 months
An attainable weekly goal includes a specific action step, a deadline, and a reminder of your next steps in the process. Remember—failure is a choice. The more data you measure and track, the more likely you are to succeed. The goal for the following week might look like this:
Weekly Goal: Write Last Week's New Life Policies
Action Step: Write policies, meet with clients, and add 12-month review to calendar
Deadline: Friday
Materials I Need: Client list with contact information & current policies; comparative rater; calendar
Date completed: [document once complete]
Follow-up Steps:
- Ask for referral
- Call to review in 12 months
If you follow up with five unwritten quotes a week, you can expect to complete this action plan in just ten weeks.
Your next step is to take another look at your agency’s data to determine your conversion rate on life policies. Imagine you discover that you convert 25 percent of your quotes (nice work!). You can expect 13 of your quotes to become written policies. That’s three policies more than your 2019 goal. By following through on your plan, you’ve chosen success over failure, and completed it in just one quarter. Time to set a new goal!
Where to Look for Data
- Agency Management System
- Comparative Rater
- Carrier Accounts
- Smart Choice® Agent Portal
- Google Analytics on Your Website
- Reports from Your Email Marketing & Social Media Accounts
Want to make 2019 your best year yet? Invest some time now to review this year’s data, set attainable goals, and put a plan into action. Your state director is here to help you stay accountable to your goals and help you achieve them. We love watching Smart Choice® agents thrive!
2018 Year End Review: Real Numbers, Real Growth, Real Results
In business, this is often the time of year when we begin planning for what’s to come in the next year – from budgeting and goal-setting, to creating actionable punch lists and enacting plans. But it should also be a time of reflection. Check out 2018 Issue VI for ways to reflect on the past year and make sure the next one is full of success.