How To Turn A 3% Improvement Into 40% Growth For Your Agency

If you're planning on staying in business for awhile, you already understand the value in growing your agency. And since you're taking the time to read this, you're obviously interested in growth. Increasing the number of clients you bring into your agency each month has a direct impact on your bottom line - how profitable your agency is. Most agents think that in order to grow their agency they need to find the "next big thing" to revolutionize their business and get them to the next level, but nothing could be further from the truth.

The truth is, trying to hit a home run and catapult your agency towards success with one shot is often what drives agents out of business or keeps them stuck where they are. A home run would be nice, but most of the time if you swing for the fences you end up striking out. Too many agents invest a lot of time, effort and energy into one big program that ends up not working out. If you want consistent growth in your agency, you need to focus on the little things - hitting the singles. The singles take a lot less time and effort AND if you do it right, you can turn 3% more effort into 30% annual growth in your agency!

From 3% improvement to 30% growth, where's the magic? Whether you know it or not, there are only 6 major profit drivers in your agency that earn you a profit from new clients. Your goal is to lead clients through these 6 steps in order to grow your agency. The 6 drivers are:

1. Lead Generation: How many client leads you are producing
2. Request A Quote: How many leads you convert to prospects that request a quote
3. Deliver A Quote: How many prospects who request a quote follow through to review the quote on a favorable basis
4. Close The Sale: How many prospects become clients
5. Cross-Sales: How many of your new clients do you cross-sell into additional lines of business
6. Referrals: How many of your new clients provide you with referrals

For a typical agency, here is the breakdown of numbers from initial lead to closing the sale:

What if you could improve each of the 6 profit drivers by an average of just 3%, how would that affect your business? This is where the real magic happens! There are a plethora (one of my favorite words) of things you can do to improve your numbers by a measly 3%, and I'll save that topic for another time, but if you average 3% improvement in each of the 6 profit drivers, you've effectively made 18% worth of improvements. BUT, because of the magic of compounding (something you should be talking to all of your clients about!) each 3% improvement gets bigger as the number from the previous profit driver improves. The result is pure magic - a whopping 34% growth for your agency from a measly 3% improvement!

The best part about a 3% improvement is that you don't have to kill yourself to get it done. You don't have to go out and find the next big thing and you never have to strike out! You can still swing for the fences if the opportunity presents itself, but most of the time it's the small, steady improvements that add up to a big increase in your agency.

Take a little time to break down each of the 6 profit drivers and figure out how to improve it by just 3%. At the end of the year you'll be amazed at the extra 34% of new clients in your agency!

If It Takes 7, Why Do You Quit After 3?

Studies show that people buy after 7 touches, yet most sales reps stop following up after 3 touches. When you stop before 7, all you're doing is prepping your prospects to buy from your competitor! Think about it, if someone contacts you, interested in an insurance quote, then they are probably going to buy insurance at some point in the near future. However, people buy on their own terms and time frames. The secret in closing more sales is to stay positioned in front of your prospects until they are ready to buy, and that usually takes place after 7 touches.

The typical transaction: A new prospect is referred to your office for auto, home and life insurance. You have a nice conversation with them, put together a proposal and review it with them. When you follow up a few days later to answer any questions, "I've been extra busy at work and didn't have a chance to think about it" is the response you get. No problem, you'll just get a hold of them after the weekend. Your call on Monday gets you the same response, too busy to look. One more try a few days later and after they're still too busy, so you give up and write them off as a waste of time.

Sound familiar? When you stop following up, you're quickly forgotten by the prospect and you're pretty much guaranteed to NOT make a sale. The prospect really did get too busy dealing with things to stop and think about their insurance program (that's real life). A month later when things slow down and they're ready to make a move, they've already forgotten about you because you gave up too soon.

You need a 7 step system to stay in front of prospects until they make a decision! There is no SIMPLER way of increasing sales than by positioning yourself to be in 1st position when your prospect thinks about insurance. You position yourself through a 7 step process that consistently reminds your prospect that you are there, ready to help, when they are ready to buy. Positioning yourself simplifies your sales, but simple does not necessarily mean the same thing as easy!

You can't just call your prospect twice a week until you've contacted them 7 times. Although it would probable work better than doing nothing, you don't want to annoy your prospect into buying. Even if you do, the referrals and and cross-selling opportunities will be pretty limited. You need a well thought out, multi-media, multi-step process of staying in front of your prospects that communicates in different ways and provides information the prospect wants. You need to show your value through:

1. Calls
2. Letters
3. Reports
4. Testimonials
5. Videos
6. Emails
7. CD's

You need to delight and surprise your prospects by reaching out to them in new and unexpected ways so that when the time is right, you're the first agent that comes to mind. If you put together a 7 step process, you'll not only be the first, you'll probably be the only agent that comes to mind because no other agents out there will be communicating like you.

The bottom line is that people buy when they're ready to buy, not when you're ready to sell. And, people prefer the familiar over the unfamiliar, so make sure you put a plan in place to become familiar to your prospects. It's all about the positioning!

$8000 Sale As Easy As "Did You Know?"

Do you ever walk out of a P.I.R. ticked off at yourself for not bringing up life insurance, investments or some other service that you know you should have talked to your client about? Most P&C agents I know (myself included) find that opening up a life insurance or retirement conversation with their P&C clients isn't always easy. The next time you find yourself talking with someone about their auto or home insurance, try this simple transition that just helped me open an $8000 life insurance sale:

"Did you know..."

Yep, sometimes it's really that simple! The other day I sat down for a first time visit with David, a client who's agent had recently left the company. His policies were transferred into my agency and this was our first meeting so I could introduce myself and do a quick review of his policies. David's prior agent had done a good job on the auto and home side of things, but there was no life insurance in place. I had no idea if David (who is 71) had already been approached about life insurance or not, or if he already had a retirement plan put in place, so I threw out the "did you know" question.

"Did you know we also take care of life insurance and retirement planning?" The answer was no, he did not. Over the last 5 years, David had met with his prior agent 4 times, referred a few new clients every year and added more P&C policies to his account on multiple occasions, but he had no idea that his agent could help him with life insurance. And he needed some help! It turns out David had recently received a letter from a prior insurance company explaining that the policy he had purchased 19 years ago was about to expire. He knew he needed to protect his family, but wasn't sure who to talk to since the agent who sold him the original policy 19 years ago had retired.

David ended up choosing a $250,000 permanent policy to make sure he could take care of his wife and leave a legacy with his children and grandchildren. The premium is $8000 per year, but David knows it will be the last life insurance policy he ever has to buy. David thanked me for helping him and for letting him know we took care of more than just auto and home insurance.

It's amazing how 3 little words can start so many wonderful conversations. The worst thing you can find out by asking someone a "did you know" question is, yes, they already know. You might also find out that not only didn't they know, they're also glad you asked!

You've Done A Great Job, But...

One of the best things about being an insurance advisor is knowing that you are really, truly helping your clients protect the things that matter most to them. Their cars, their homes, their boats, motorcycles and other toys will all be repaired or replaced if something happens because you've done a great job of helping them protect those things.

But what about their retirement plans? Are your clients protected from losing something just as important as their cars and house - the money they plan on using for retirement? Our job as advisor is to protect our clients assets - including their retirement accounts! Most advisors don't ever think about insuring their clients retirement, and most clients never think about it either. If you change your mindset from helping your clients INVEST for retirement and instead start helping them INSURE and PROTECT their retirement account, a whole new world of opportunities will open up for you!

In-sur-ance: The act or system of protecting against loss or harm arising from specified contingencies, in consideration of a payment proportionate to the risk involved.

Here's a new conversation starter you can try with your clients this afternoon, whether in person or over the phone. The result (if done right) will amaze you:

YOU: Mr. Client, you've really done a great job with your insurance program. Your cars, your house and your motorcycle are very well protected from loss in case something happens to them. May I ask you a question? What are you doing to insure your your retirement account to keep your money protected from loss in case something happens with the economy?
CLIENT: What do you mean insure my retirement plan, is that possible?
YOU: Well let me ask you, is that important to you - to protect your retirement plan if something happens in the economy?

There are a lot of different ways you can respond with this opener, and the bottom line is that you CAN protect your clients retirement plan and insure that it never loses money. We have the products and the strategies to available to give our clients safety and guarantees and, as Van Mueller always says, our company and our industry were made for times like these!

Stop worrying about investing your clients money, and start concentrating on protecting it. Your clients will thank you and your production will skyrocket!

Catch Up Or Give Up - Part 2

Now that I've made the decision that giving up won't work and taking it easy is unrealistic, it's time to start catch up on my annual goals. Fortunately, I've already accomplished 25% of my goals, unfortunately that was in 50% of the year! Now it's time to put a plan in place and get back in the game. Here's how I'm going to do it:

1. Get my mind right: All the excuses I've been telling myself for the past few months are just that, excuses. The end result is that I've allowed things to get in my way, slow me down and trip me up. Although it didn't feel like it at the time, I made the conscious decision to let the excuses throw me off track, and now I'm making the decision NOT to let them get in my way. Yes, there will always be something going on that can keep me from accomplishing my goals, but truthfully there always has been and there always will be something ready to get in my way. As Donald Trump once said, "problems and setbacks are a part of the game. If you're not running into challenges, you're doing something easy and probably not that valuable - and it's probably not going to make you much money."
2. Focus and discipline: The things you work on every day are the things that are successful. I've realized that what I've been lacking is focused activity. I've been skipping out on my marketing, phone calls and sales appointments. When you break it down it's really simple, if you see enough people you always hit your numbers. I've NOT been seeing the people because I've been too busy putting out fires. I've been doing a $12 an hour job and expecting $1000 an hour results. I've been re-active instead of pro-active. From here on out I'll set aside the 2-3 hours per day needed to market FIRST and then put out fires second and I'll be disciplined to stick to it every day. 2 sales appointments a day will solve a lot of problems in a hurry!
3. Go big: I know a lot of people who do amazing amounts of production in relatively small amounts of time. People like Van Mueller and Tom Hegna do more production in two weeks than the normal folks do in a year because they go big! All of the big producers do it in different ways, but they've all found ways to go big. Here's how I'm going big for the rest of the year:
1. Marketing alternative RMD strategies to 70+ year olds.
2. Marketing safe investments for the 10 most important years of your retirement account to 60-70 year olds.
3. Marketing a mortgage payoff plan to every client who owns a home
4. Marketing a rent replacement plan to every client that does not own a home
5. Marketing a guaranteed paycheck for life to every client that is retired
6. Marketing the ultimate birthday gift to every client one month prior to their next birthday
7. Marketing the ultimate Christmas gift to every client that is married
8. Marketing my referral program
9. Marketing to my past clients with a re-acquisition program
10. Marketing a tax reduction plan to all clients over the age of 59 1/2
4. Measure what matters:  When you measure what matters, what matters always improves. If plans aren't measured, results aren't tracked and activity isn't monitored then how do you know what it and isn't working? How would you know if you were being productive or just keeping yourself busy? You wouldn't, and I wouldn't. That's why I'll be logging my activity every day and making sure that every night when I leave I know I've done my best and I've won for that day. I've always believed that activity leads to productivity, but I know that it must be FOCUSED activity in order to accomplish my goals.

I know catching up and accomplishing my goals won't be easy, but nothing worth achieving is. After all, if it were easy, everyone would do it. Successful people form the habits of doing the things that the mediocre either cannot or will not do. Personally, I think most of the time they simply will not do it because it is far easier to be mediocre than successful. It takes a lot less work to just get by than it does to get ahead and it is much simpler to give than it is to catch up. However, I have no intention of being mediocre and hopefully anyone reading this feels the same way. If you've read this far, I'm sure you do. Kick ass in the second half of the year, I know I'm going to!

Catch Up Or Give Up?

The year is 50% over and I've only achieved 25% of my annual goals. Should I try to catch up or just give up on this year's goals?

Disclaimer: I'm writing this for myself. It may or may not help anyone other than me, but it's been one of those years and I've been really challenged to keep my head above water.

There is a season for everything and for everything there is a season. A time for rate increases, and underwriting revisions. A time for record setting hail storms and out of control wildfires. A time to be understaffed and a time to be staff-less. A time too travel to much, play too much and work too little. Whatever the reason - or reasons - sometimes you find yourself in a year where everything that can go wrong or get in your way, does. For me, this has been that year and it's really been weighing on me lately.

If things continue at this pace I'll end the year having accomplished only 50% of my annual goals. I'm at a cross-roads and need to decide what to do with the rest of this year. Should I try to catch up - squeezing in 75% of my production goals into 50% of the year? Should I adjust my goals and lower my expectations for the year? Or should I give up and consider the year a loss? Truth be told, in a year like this I could use a break! I could take it easy for the next six months and coast, re-charging my batteries and getting ready for next year.

The problem with that route is explaining  to my family why we don't have the money for our annual family vacation or half of the other fun stuff we do each year. Don't get me wrong, no one will starve if I don't keep pushing myself, but do I really want to set the example for my kids that when the going gets tough, the tough...take time to coast for awhile?

That means coasting is off the table and I'm left with either adjusting my annual goals to a lower, more reachable, level or going all out and all in and finding new ways to knock it out of the park in the next 6 months. Either way, I'll be better off than if I just quit trying, but I think the right choice can be best expressed by a wise Indian saying I once heard: "better to shoot for the moon and hit an eagle, than shoot for an eagle and hit a rock".

So, it's settled. Now I just need to figure out how to produce 75% of my production goals in half of the year. I'll have some thoughts on how to get that done in my next post. I know it won't be easy, but achieving goals rarely is. I'm used to finishing on top and I know it's still possible even in a year where things are stacked against me. I really do believe you can accomplish everything and anything you put your mind to, now it's just a matter of getting things going again. I'm looking forward to reading this post again at the end of the year and telling myself "I told you so, I knew you could do it." If you're having the same kind of year as me, I know that you can do it too!

Van's Articles From The AZ. Meeting

The meeting with Van Mueller out in Phoenix was great. I have a much better understanding of how to get large sales and big money committments out of Ma and Pa lunchbox clients, and how I can use those big money committments to help my clients build a lasting retirement and leave an amazing legacy.

Here are the articles that Van shared with us during the meeting. A big thanks to Van for the sharing and to Jeff and Regina for getting all of the articles together.

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B-AKd1hVvbDTeERSQ0l0M3Z4Q1E

Enjoy!

Robert Edgin

A Note Card A Day - A Simple System To Get More Done

On the way home from a great meeting in Phoenix with mentor/coach/hero, Van Mueller, I was thinking about all of things that needed to get sone in my office. Selling, marketing, servicing, putting out fires, prospecting, training new staff...the list is endless and, if not managed, leaves you heading home at the end of a very BUSY, but not very productive day. There is a big difference between being busy and being productive, usually only the latter grows your agency!

So how do you manage your time and efforts in order to have the most productive day possible? You've heard it said many times before - MDRT agents market first, every day - but what method do you use you're spending the right amount of time marketing, the necessary time learning and the needed time preparing? I use a very simple method that I developed called the "Note card System" that helps me make sure I get the most important tasks of the day done AND lets me see and keep track of my goals on a daily basis. The whole thing takes me 3-5 minutes a day and lets me go home feeling like I've won every single day! Here's how it works:

Some of my note cards from 2012

1. Go to your local office supply store and buy the biggest pack of lined note cards you can find. I usually just buy 2,000 at a time so I've got them ready for the whole year.
2. Every morning I start by listing my business goals for the year down the right side of the card. For me, I list how many units I want to write, how much life and annuity premium I'd like to sell, the persistency I want to maintain in my agency. There's no right or wrong goals, just list what you want to accomplish. This step alone will help you increase your production. By writing down your goals for the year every single day before you head into the office will cement in your mind what you are working for and keep you focused on the right things.
3. Down the left side of the card I use the 14 lines to list out the most important things I have to get done - TODAY - to make sure I accomplish my goals. First I list everything that I know I need to accomplish in no particular order. I write them down as I think of them and try to come up with at least 10 things. Then, I prioritize from the most to the least important and usually from the most difficult (or most dreaded) to the easiest so that things get easier throughout the day.
4. As soon as I get to work I start working my way through my list. I've never been able to get through everything in a day, but the things that do not get accomplished get re-evaluated the next morning and added to the next day's list if they still need to get done.

Being a successful agent and growing your agency requires discipline and focus. Having a system in place, even one as simple as the note card system, will help you stay focused on the right things and remind you throughout the day of what you're working for. As an added bonus, the back of the note card gives you a great place to jot down important things throughout the day. I use the back for my "lesson of the day." Before I head home from the office I write down the most important thing I've learned during the day and then use it as a reminder of the lesson the next morning while putting together that day's note card.

A Few One-Liners Used With Success Since Vegas

I've been working on my client language since returning from the 2 day conference in Las Vegas and have had some great success asking my clients old questions in new or different ways. The questions themselves are the same ones that have been used in the life insurance industry for decades, but now that I'm asking them in a new way I'm seeing new results!

New Question 1: I tried this first question the day after returning from Vegas with a young couple who came into the office to sign the application for the insurance on their very first home. My question, "John, if you don't make it home from work tonight, do you want Ashley to lose the home or lose the mortgage?" John's response, "We just bought the house, of course I don't want her to lose it." The result was a mortgage pay-off life insurance policy for both John and Ashley. The entire sales process took less than 2 minutes and now the young family is protected from the financial tragedy of losing their home if either John or Ashley die prematurely.

I've had the opportunity to ask 3 couples that question over the past 2 weeks and two of the couples took action and invested in a plan to pay of the mortgage for their spouse if they die. I feel great about being able to help these young families and can't wait for my next opportunity to ask this great question again.

New Question 2: The second question is in response to the common objection "I can't afford it." There are few things I find more frustrating than spending time with a prospect and learning about their personal situation - the new motorcycle they're so proud of, the boat in the garage for summer fun, or the 5 lattes every week on the way to work - before being told that they just can't afford to protect their family. The new question I had the opportunity to ask a client yesterday fit this situation perfectly; "Ron, may I ask you a question? If it's difficult to afford the premium while you're here, how will Cheryl ever afford the problem when you're gone?"

The result - a second appointment next week to further discuss the options of making sure that Cheryl will be financially protected if Ron doesn't make it home from work.  This was the 4th year in a row Ron gave me the "I can't afford it" excuse, but this is the first time we're getting back together.

Little adjustments in the questions we ask our clients can make a big difference in the answers we receive. Thanks to Van, I'm seeing better results with two new questions that are helping me inspire my clients to take action and protect their families.

Articles And Paperwork From Van Mueller

If you were at the Vegas meeting and listened to Van speak about the challenges that we are facing in America, you know how important it is to share this information with our clients. To help us all do that, Van gave us about 250 articles and ideas to become familiar with and use in our presentations. Here are the links to those articles and ideas. Print them, learn them, use them with your clients and watch your agency grow!

Thanks Van!!

Van's Packet 1: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B-AKd1hVvbDTWXB5NDdxRkhUejJjNWFRTC16VzI0Zw

Van's Packet 2: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B-AKd1hVvbDTUGxPeEc3eDBRR2E1RnJVX2NETm4yQQ

High Touch In A High Tech World

Danger Will Robinson, Danger!

I've talked a lot about the importance of using new tools and techniques to keep in touch with clients, most of which being some form of technology.  But it's important to make sure that technology is not your ONLY form of contact with you clients. Clients are people, and people need real-life human interaction to feel loved and special (and you want your clients to feel loved and special)!

It's vital to the success of your agency to find the time and opportunity for increased and improved contact with your clients. If your clients don't receive at least 13 touches from you each year they most likely don't even remember who you are. But it's just as important to make sure those touches are personal, and not just a meaningless letter or video. Your clients want to know that you remember them before they make sure they remember you.

Here are a few ideas to personalize you client contact program and keep your clients happy to hear from you throughout the year:

1. Call your clients twice per year just to check in on them and make sure things are going okay. No cross-selling, no products, just the question of how things are going and the offer to help with anything they need.
2. P.I.R. The Professional Insurance Review is an obvious one, but is often skipped by agents who mistakenly think their clients don't need or want them. Even clients who start out griping about coming in for an annual review usually walk out with a smile on their face and a renewed appreciation for you and your office. If you have clients who refuse to do an annual review, you don't really have a client. At best they are a customer and at worse they are a price shopper with no appreciation for how you take care of their family.
3. Personal notes about clients in newsletters, emails and other communication to hi-lite achievements and client businesses go along way towards making a client feel appreciated. Pick a new client each month and write a short article about how wonderful they are. Include it every piece of communication you do throughout the month (your blog, newsletter, email blasts, mailings, etc.) and give multiple copies to your client so they can share the piece with their friends and family.
4. Personalize your birthday message. Instead of sending a generic birthday card, make a personal video or phone call for your client. A personal message from you on their birthday will do wonders for your relationship with your clients.
5. Thanks a Latte: Pick a client each week to deliver a latte to. The message is easy, "Hi, it's Robert - your favorite insurance agent - and I'm going to be driving past your (home or office) tomorrow on my way to an appointment. I really appreciate our relationship and the work we do for you and I wanted to drop off a latte to say thanks. What's your Starbucks drink of choice?"

These 5 ideas (and the hundreds more like them you can come up with on your own) will go along way towards making you THE insurance and financial advisor your clients think of, remember, and stick with even during challenging times. You can't control the rates you offer your clients but you CAN control the feeling they have about you and your agency. You CAN leave a lasting impression and make sure your clients feel loved and special.

Increase your retention and your referrals by implementing new personal touches to you agency. Do it today!

Robert Edgin

Ideas From Oklahoma and New Mexico!

I was fortunate enough to visit Oklahoma, Arizona and New Mexico during the month of January and share some ideas with a lot of great agents in those states. Here are a couple of ideas from agents that were picked up along the way:

1. Mike Pinion - OK: "An idea that I use is the AARP defensive driving course as a way to save my clients money and hopefully they learn something. The class costs $20 for non members and can be taken online. The link is www.aarpdriversafety.org In Oklahoma the discount is 10% on the liability and collision. This can be a nice discount for a teen especially. It also lasts for 3 yrs so that is another benefit to it."

2. Mike Pinion: If you are wondering how to improve your PAS percentages try doing a SAM filter for your youthful operators, then add the vehs under 7500 or pleasure usage to that search. From there you can check that list to see if you have a car that a teen is assigned to with low mileage or pleasure usage. Generally the premium does not change when you rate them to work over 7500. It is a way to improve your numbers without having to increase premiums. If you are wondering I did it and my own son was listed as pleasure usage and it did not cost me anything to change it.  

3. Rocky Ray - NM: Rocky shared an idea with me regarding American National Cashback checks. When Rocky mails or delivers a check to his clients, he sends a copy of the check along with some extra business cards and Cashback brochures and a note for his clients to show their friends. He knows they'll spend the real check, so including a copy allows them to show their friends that they get money back from their insurance company.

4. Keith Griffith - NM: Keith showed me a great little first aid kit that can be purchased for $1.50 and be used as a give away for clients and prospects. I thought the kits were great and something that people would keep for quite some time in case of emergencies.

Thanks for the ideas guys!