Deepen Your Client Relationship with Specialty

Boost Your Sales, Deepen Your Client Relationship and Become a Trusted Advisor with Specialty Insurance

Brook McGuire, Strategy Lead for Specialty Products at Safeco Insurance

In the previous issue, we discussed tips for boosting cross-sale opportunities by offering new and current policy holders, specialty products like personal umbrella, watercraft, motorcycle, classic car and RV policies. 

We also shared four tips to help you grow your specialty business by focusing on your dream demographic, generating a steady source of referrals, increasing cross-sale, and generating professional referrals. 

Safeco wants to help independent agents further develop their specialty expertise with three strategies that will deepen your client relationships and increase your specialty coverage sales.

1. Become a specialty insurance expert

The key to becoming a specialty expert is to focus your efforts, and going with what you already know is a great place to start.

Do you own rental properties? Do you boat, bike or snowmobile? If so, you have a natural place to begin. If not, follow your interests. If you’ve always loved muscle cars, become an informed enthusiast. With all the resources now available online, you can become a niche expert in no time and boost your cross-sale and long-term sales. Plus, the ability to educate clients about better protecting their passions further sets your agency apart from the competition, while opening new avenues for growth.

To grow your specialty business, try these two simple tips:

• Discuss specialty policies each time you do a risk assessment, and especially at renewal time. 
• Every time you insure a truck or SUV, ask if it has a trailer hitch. If it does, they’re likely hauling something you can insure with specialty.

2. Get to know your customers’ interests

Building strong customer relationships is essential to selling any policy, and specialty offers unique ways to connect with your customers. The trick is to speak their language.

When you can talk to a customer about the hours she spent selecting just the right motorcycle, she’ll know you really “get” her. When you know your customer pondered the question of the perfect paint color for his classic car for weeks, he’ll know that he chose the right agent.

While bonding over classic cars or the latest RV models, you can ask deeper questions to better gauge customer needs and interests. The conversation also lets you highlight your expertise, giving customers more confidence in the risk management strategies you present. 

Try asking these simple questions to better gauge their needs: 

• Do your clients travel for extended periods of time? When they arrive at a destination do they like to set up a full outdoor living space complete with outdoor furniture and a TV? If so, they may need greater coverage for personal effects.
• Do your clients drive down to Mexico? If so, they may require vacation liability and the Mexico physical damage endorsement. 

3. Put the “special” in specialty

Specialty policies are different — they protect labors of love and lifelong passions. Recognizing this nuance will help you speak to the emotional and financial value of what’s being protected, and your clients will appreciate it. The peace of mind an independent agent provides enhances clients’ enjoyment of these treasured possessions and the life-long memories they create. 

When you demonstrate that you understand your clients’ lifestyle, priorities, and passions, selling the right policies becomes easier and more profitable. In addition, taking time to become a specialty expert not only increases cross-sale within a desired demographic, it positions independent agents as trusted advisors that really care about their clients.

Brook McGuire is the strategy lead for specialty products at Safeco Insurance. During her 17 years in the industry, she has worn many hats including selling insurance, coaching salespeople, underwriting, and re-underwriting. Brook is passionate about insurance, “when someone is injured or their home has burned down, we help pick up the pieces. Insurance professionals protect what matters most and I love that!”