CEO Newsletter

The last several months have been an unprecedented time in our nation’s history. Certainly, none of us can remember anything quite like it. Who would have thought it was possible to shut an entire economy down in a few short weeks?

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.

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. 

As agency owners, you know the importance of identifying and understanding your client before attempting to make any sort of coverage recommendation or sale. But have you ever thought about doing the same before promoting your agency with marketing and advertising?

Since Commercial business is more time-consuming to learn and can often be difficult to place, many agents just didn’t find it worth the investment. So, we decided to put together the Smart Start Program as a way to help agents make this transition, and lead them to higher growth and profitability.

The most successful sales people are the ones who know how to have meaningful conversations to connect with their buyer. Sales is really about one thing – cultivating relationships. Because a relationship opens a door for you with a prospect, and the trust cultivated from navigating that relationship is what closes the deal.

While I could list dozens of reasons and benefits for agencies to be part of a network, it might be more advantageous to think about all the reasons agents traditionally cite for not joining a network.

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.

Insurance Fraud. Unfortunately, it’s a growing issue in our industry. Consumers and agents are increasingly adept and creative when it comes to finding ways to commit fraud. Fraud can happen in multiple stages of the insurance transaction – committed by the agent to steal premiums via forgery or later during the claims process by the customer. There are an immense number of ways to commit illegal acts when it comes to insurance.

Forget postcard mailings, costly advertisements, and all of the traditional methods of marketing you’ve used until now. You don’t need them anymore! Marketing your agency to attract new business has never been easier than it is in 2018.

We are currently at a point, where we should be discussing how Millennials have shaped the workforce, rather than what will happen as they enter the industry, because Millennials have been shaping the industry for a number of years now.

CEO Newsletter: We’ve all heard the expression “Failure to plan is planning to fail.” Depending on where you’re at in life, that phrase can take on several meanings. But when you’re a business owner it should mean at least one thing: Don’t be complacent!