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Twenty-five years. It seems like yesterday, and also a lifetime ago that I was struggling to establish a small start-up company, in hopes of helping other independent agents like myself. Starting a new business is a huge leap of faith. What made everything worth it to me was knowing that I was starting a business that’s intent was to make other business owners’ lives a little easier.

These days, digital engagement is a key part of marketing your agency and serving your customers. Millennials especially use digital channels to find and engage with agents. Here are a few practical ways independent agents can reach more millennial customers online.

The new day is dawning on my sales career, decided Andy. As he drove to work, basking in the afterglow of the outstanding sales training seminar he had attended the day before, he couldn’t wait to start. The entire training seminar was on making new contacts. Andy was careful to remember it was no longer called “cold calling,” it was “making new contacts.” He had underlined that spot in the training manual. You have to have a new attitude, he said to himself.

Fourth quarter is an excellent time to start planning your long-term and short-term goals for your agency. Perhaps your agency is positioned to experience exponential growth in the next 12 months. Or, maybe you’re hoping to retire soon and need a plan for selling your agency. Whatever your goal is, your State Director is here to help you.

As we round the corner into the last quarter of the year, it’s important to reflect on your goals for 2019 and how much progress you’ve made. Are you where you would like to be yet? If not, the good news is, you still have a few months to get there. It’s also a great time to begin planning for next year, and adjusting your goals based on how successful your current year has been. 

The Federal Trade Commission reports that identity theft tops its list of complaints by consumers nationwide.

Insurance Journal recently published its 101 Sales and Marketing Ideas for Agencies*, and our president and CMO offered the following tips.

Risk Placement Services, Inc. took an in-depth look at the commercial trucking and property markets in its latest “The Navigator” newsletter.

Agency marketing best practices by Virginia State Director Roger Gill, originally published in the 2019 Smart Choice Magazine, Issue IV.

“Inbound Marketing” is much more powerful, as it positions the person or company as an expert (instead of strictly as a salesperson) in the eyes of the potential customer. Inbound Marketingis about creating a two-way communicative environment and experience.

There are several common misconceptions about millennials within the insurance industry. But independent agents can’t afford to write off millennial consumers. Millennial consumers will be the most influential market segment for the next few decades, so it’s critical that independent agents understand what millennial insurance consumers want in insurance.

In insurance, as in any sales business, there comes a time when the presentation is over and it’s time to close. Or, to put it another way, it’s time to get paid for your investment of time and hard work in looking for the best coverage options for your clients. When I asked the top agents in my region what made them such successful salespeople, they shared with me that preparing a  professional sales presentation is their top priority.