Having taught sales programs for thousands of independent agents for many years, we have done nothing but preach the importance of avoiding the price-driven sale. Where we thrive is as a trusted advisor to the client, helping them make sound risk management decisions that will benefit their organizations and their families. While we certainly acknowledge that price is a component of every sale, if the goal is always to provide the cheapest price, independent agents may win a few skirmishes but will surely lose the war. Why then do so many agency websites offer to provide a prospect with a “free quote”? First of all, who in the world is charging for them? We find this practice to be disingenuous and presumptuous at best and counterproductive and costly at worst. How can we provide a quote to someone with whom we don’t even have a relationship? How will we know what best suits their needs, wishes and desires? And when it comes to “free”, time is money for both our prospects and our agencies. Nearly every day in every agency across America, a would-be client calls in and requests an “apples to apples” quote on their insurance. Intellectually we all know that there really is no such thing. Not only are insurance policies and company and agency services vastly different, but there is no one-size-fits-all solution to anyone’s insurance program. In fairness, agents will often tell us that they feel they have to lead with price just to get the buyer’s nose under the tent then they can focus on value-added services and protection. But doesn’t the “free quote”...
We all know how important organic growth is to the success of an independent agency. But is growth simply for the sake of growth enough? Is there such a thing as too much growth or is it possible to grow and still not achieve the agency’s financial goals? When an agency’s sales pipeline stalls out, there is often pressure to create at least the aura that things are still moving forward. Thus, management sends the message down the line that “we need to increase our activity level”. This is usually followed by a short period of frenetic sales activity where simply having something in the pipeline is considered success. Producers break out the yellow pages and start entering “prospects” in their database, when in fact these names are really just suspects rather than bona fide prospects. Most agencies know that some activities are more fruitful than others. Chasing after an account that isn’t a good fit for the agency’s culture could mean sacrificing a better opportunity. You’ll look busy and you might feel like you’re accomplishing something, when in reality a more concerted effort to write the right account could be better for all concerned. If growth is simply defined as taking more applications and writing more policies, without a great deal of regard to the quality of the account, then it’s possible to achieve the short-term objective of creating activity while the agency takes a step backward in terms of profitability. In addition, writing new business requires a substantial amount of internal resources and may put pressure on the support staff to choose between serving an existing customer...
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