You’ve created a thriving agency with fantastic employees and clients, and you’re now ready to take it to the next level. The issue is that many independent insurance firm owners frequently reach a development plateau.
While it may look even more difficult today, amid the COVID-19 epidemic, it is more crucial than ever to concentrate on establishing and executing proactive development initiatives for your company in 2021 and beyond.
How are you going to do it? This article will analyze the procedures and tactics you may use to build your independent insurance agency for years to come.
Successfully Expanding an Independent Agency
As a P&C insurance firm principle, you already wear several hats in terms of operations, client and carrier relationships, sales, human resources, and so on. Add to it that the insurance business is constantly evolving with new technology and procedures, and the pressure to stay up becomes very real.
Consider using these ten techniques to help you remain ahead of the curve and bust past that agency growth ceiling.
Join an Insurance Agent Association to help your Business Thrive.
If you join the appropriate agency alliance, joining an agency alliance is one of the most acceptable ways for independent agencies to expand.
This is accomplished by boosting profit sharing and fixed override revenue while concurrently outsourcing non-revenue generating operations so that you may concentrate on your leading company. The overall result is more revenue, lower expenditures, and faster growth rates.
This helps you develop your business by providing tailored client services through umbrella insurance policies, health insurance for small business owners, cyber liability insurance, or business auto insurance. Also, managing overhead expenses, making better use of your current data, outsourcing jobs that don’t generate income, and enhancing your profit margins would help.
Improve Market Access
Client Acquisition and Retention are Significant Growth Drivers for an independent Insurance firm, and insurance Market Access is a Critical Component of this Growth.
If you don’t have access to the proper marketplaces, you won’t be able to give your clients as many products or quotations from various carriers as your competition, which may lead to clients moving agencies searching for a better bargain. This is especially true for independent agencies with substantial personal lines businesses attempting to expand their commercial lines business. Thus, lack of access to commercial items can be a crucial impediment to achieving the agencies’ growth.
The Existing Clientele Should be Upsold and Expanded
Selling to current clients is one of the most profitable methods to build and grow your P&C insurance business, based on the potential revealed by data.
You’ve already formed the relationship; the difficulty now is to discover ways to deepen it.
Make Good use of Data
Data intelligence is critical for determining which sorts of policies are the most profitable, where the best possibilities for upselling or cross-selling exist, which carriers give the highest remuneration, and other factors.
You may already be taking advantage of data in some way. You’re off to a good start if you’re keeping track of significant renewal hikes, cross-sell possibilities, or simply checking in to see which times of year are your busiest.
Don’t panic if you haven’t yet embarked on the data and analytics journey.
Publicize your Insurance Company in the Community
Customers cannot wait for independent insurance salespeople to come to them. The internet has made it much too simple to skip a local insurance salesperson favouring a well-known mediator. People, on the other hand, prefer to support locally owned companies. All they need to know is that you’re there.
Contact with your community may help you build the brand recognition and reputation you need to attract new clients.
Internet Marketing for your Insurance Company
Your consumers utilize the internet just as frequently as you do. A good internet presence helps keep your agency at the front of their minds while looking for insurance.
Your online presence must not be an afterthought. Customers expect a certain level of online professionalism, especially given that the majority of enterprises are online.
Prepare Your Company for Growth
As your company expands, it may become more challenging to maintain a unified management system. This is why many insurance independent agency owners seek the assistance of field marketing firms.
Insurance field marketing organizations (IMO/FMO) can assist in cost reduction, provide access to software and resources, and provide direction for your agency.
Managing Agents, Products, and the Entire Flow of your Business
It pays to strengthen your team’s capacity to execute your plans and accomplish your objectives while running an independent insurance firm. As a result, locating and maintaining competent, quality insurance agents is critical to success. A framework for appropriate administration of your downline agents is also required to expand your agency.
Increase Repetition as Much as Possible
Newer sales methods are aiming to change sales behaviour and patterns that you have long acclimated to. While change is frequently unpleasant, it is necessary. To be successful with a system, you must modify your behaviour. It also entails replicating successful approaches.
Take a cue from Franchise Business Models
Franchise business models are among the most fortunate systems. A franchise is a structure in which a parent firm cascades its operations to franchise owners and provides them with access to a pre-existing business network. As a result, franchise owners have a certain amount of independence and control over their individual business and a piece of mind in knowing that they are utilizing a proven sales strategy.
It may be challenging to understand what insurance sales and franchising operations have in common on the surface. However, both use the same approach: depending on tried-and-true strategies to create and expand a business.