Get Started On Your Agency’s Strategic Plan In Just Three Steps

In 2013 Insurance Journal surveyed a number of independent insurance agents about their formal business plans. Just 15 percent of respondents said they had a formal plan for the growth of their agency. Are you part of that elite 15 percent, or are you with the 85 percent of agents who don’t have a plan for the future?

If you’re one of the vast majority of agents without a formal plan, I encourage you to set aside some time in your calendar between now and the end of the year to put together a strategic plan for your agency. I firmly believe that you can’t manage what you can’t measure. Your strategic plan gives you the goals to shoot for so you can move your agency toward growth over the next one to five years. Here are three steps you can take to get started on your plan.

Step 1. Take a Look at Where You’ve Been

To plot a course forward, you need to know where you’ve been and how far you’ve come. Otherwise, how can you set realistic, attainable, and challenging goals for your agency? Here are a few pieces of data to review:

• Annual agency revenue
• Number of new and renewing customers over the last one to three years
• Number of customers you lost during that time
• Number of policies in force
• Commissions for the last three years

If you have staff, you can run these numbers per staff member to help them set their own goals once your strategic plan is in place.

Step 2. Sketch Out Your 5-Year, 3-Year, and 1-Year Growth Goals

Once you’ve taken a look at your past data, it’s time to set your five-year, three-year, and one-year goals. Do you want to be a $5 million agency in five years? That’s great! Where will you need to be at in three years to stay on track to make that goal? Where will you need to be at the end of next year?

Your strategic plan’s goals do not need to be growth-oriented. Maybe you’ve lost customers due to inconsistent customer service. In this case, you could set goals to invest in staff training or hiring additional team members. Or, maybe you are planning to retire in five years. At three years, you may want to speak with your State Director about selling your agency and looking for a potential buyer. At one year, you may want to invest in a business valuation.

Wherever you want to take your agency in the next five years, write your goals down. Research has proved that simply writing your goals down makes you more likely to work toward them.

Step 3. Break Your 1-Year Growth Goal into Quarterly Benchmarks

With your five-year, three-year, and one-year goals written down, it’s time to focus more closely on the next twelve months. Break the next year down into quarters. Then, take a look at your one-year goal. What will you need to accomplish each quarter to meet this goal?

While your yearly goals may be broad, you can get specific on your quarterly goals. What actions will you and your team need to take to stay on track? Here are some examples of actionable quarterly benchmarks that could help you meet your annual goal:

• Offer life insurance to 100 percent of your new personal lines clients.
• Complete reviews with at least 90 percent of renewing clients.
• Respond to at least 80 percent of calls and emails within 24 hours.
• Add three new carriers to your agency offerings.
• Hire and train one additional CSR.

As you can see, all of these benchmark goals are actionable, assignable, and measurable. You can assign these goals to yourself or a staff member. If you track your benchmark goal, you will know instantly at the end of the quarter whether or not you’ve achieved it.

Once you’ve created your strategic plan, share it with your team and with your Smart Choice® State Director. Your team will be integral to your success, and your State Director can support you in meeting your goals and help hold you accountable. You’ve got a lot of people invested in your success that you can lean on to achieve your goals.