Independent agents enjoy unlimited growth potential. However, hard work may not be enough. According to IBISWorld, there are 410,176 insurance brokers and agencies in business in the U.S. To grow an independent agency with this much competition requires using strategic tactics.
Smart Choice, a 31 year-old network of more than 10,000 agencies, has learned a few things over the years on how to grow an agency. These time-tested strategies have repeatedly produced strong results and jump started growth. Even better, they can help an agency no matter where it is in its life cycle – day one or year 20. These key strategies are:
Self-reflection. Does the thought of being an entrepreneur excite you or frighten you? How well do you know the industry? Do you genuinely enjoy people? The answers to these questions will tell you whether the life of an agency principal is for you.
Create a transition strategy that includes a business plan. This means analyzing the competition, knowing your potential market, and calculating the production you will need to achieve your goals.
Continually operate with growth of the agency in mind.
Assemble a stable of markets that will provide the insurance solutions your target clients will need.
To specialize or generalize – that is the question. Do you have expertise or a strong comfort level with certain classes of business such as construction, restaurants, churches, gyms, or marinas? Making your agency a specialist in one or more of those classes may be right for you. In time, you may earn a reputation as the go-to person for the insurance needs of those organizations. Conversely, you may decide to be open to anyone who seeks you out, whether for personal or commercial insurance.
Develop your agency’s brand. Certain images and impressions pop into people’s heads when they hear the names Uber, Starbucks, Netflix, or Lebron. You want the same thing to happen when they hear your agency’s name. Do you want them to think of your logo? Associate the agency with professional, serious discussions of risk management or a more casual conversational style? What do you want them to remember about you? You will build your brand around the answers to questions like these.
Support your community. Buying an ad in the local high school yearbook publicizes your agency’s name and also shows that you support the yearbook club. Activities like sponsoring arts events, having a tree planted in the agency’s name in a public park, or even just attending and speaking at local government meetings show that you care about where you live. Your community network may also produce business referrals to the agency.
Don’t just add clients – grow the ones you have. That means offering coverages they don’t currently have but need. It also means offering them higher insurance limits for the coverages they do have or excess products such as personal umbrellas.
Take care of today, but plan for all your tomorrows. If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll eventually arrive somewhere but not necessarily where you expected. Have a plan for how you will take advantage of future opportunities. In fact, the day you should start planning for someone else to take the reins of the agency is the day you open.
Join a network. Some carriers are reluctant to appoint new, small agencies because of concerns that volume goals will be missed. A network such as Smart Choice gives your agency access to carriers without having to commit to specific volumes of business. Smart Choice works with more than 100 carrier partners, giving our member agencies a wide variety of markets to meet their needs and those of their clients.
Agencies that follow these strategies will greatly improve their chances of success. We invite you to learn more about how Smart Choice can help you thrive by visiting www.smartchoiceagents.com or calling (888) 264-3388. Insurance buyers need the help that you can give them. We look forward to working with you as you serve your community.
