In independent insurance agencies, sales efforts can be time-consuming – especially on the commercial side. Building relationships, learning about needs, determining renewal dates, and understanding your competition can be a long game. As you progress further in your career, this window shortens as you learn what to look for in prospects and understand the marketplace in general.
With that in mind, are there tools available to help you learn how to identify prospects faster and more efficiently? Is there technology or other applications that can help you understand the competition and the marketplace in ways that give you an edge? Can you provide these tools for your producers – and even yourself – to help grow your agency in a more scalable manner?
We talked with David Carothers, CIC, CRM, CWCA, principal at Florida Risk Partners, founder at Killing Commercial Insurance Sales Training, co-host of the Power Producers podcast, and author of multiple sales books, about his thoughts on the “tools to success” that owners, principals, and producers should know about. (This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.)
According to Carothers, like most things in life, tech has made our lives much easier. This is especially true for those agencies that have adopted CRMs to monitor the sales activity of their producers, as well as those firms who invest in tools to make those producers more efficient. Gone are the days of having paper files and the Yellow Pages to call on companies. Now, we have an infinite amount of data available to us at our fingertips. That allows us to define our ideal prospects, find them, and proactively reach out to them with far more precision than we could in the past and in far less time.
Technology, demand, carrier dynamics, and the risks themselves have all changed. How can you capitalize on the opportunities that now exist because of these changes?
What gets measured gets done. Tracking conversion percentages across all stages of the sales cycle is paramount. Understanding if your prospecting efforts are validated or if you need coaching on closing has never been easier to manage. CRMs and the amount of data we can track and use to our advantage have completely changed the game.
What other tools are out there? What should agency owners and principals know about investing in these tools from their agency’s own resources?
“LeO is a great example of [agency-focused software] and a great partner for the Killing Commercial family. They have taken what used to require 16 browser tabs and a couple of legal pads on my laptop after hours doing lead research and aggregated it into a single dashboard. This allows producers to identify opportunities quicker and with more accuracy which allows them to focus on getting those opportunities opened and subsequently building the top line revenue.”
On the retention side of the business, renewals can also seem like a “new business” process right now. Changing carrier appetites and market fluctuations have led to the need for more sales skills at renewal time. At ReFocus AI, we’ve developed a process to help your agency stay ahead of the curve on renewals. But how can producers take our data and develop a better “renewal sales” process?
We are at a point in the market now where we have to be intentional in how we approach every renewal - David Carothers
“We are at a point in the market now where we have to be intentional in how we approach every renewal. The market is so bad that everyone is shopping or at least thinks they need to shop. That may not necessarily be the case if their renewal is below the increase trend. Having the right intel on the front end makes for proactive conversations which will save the staff time and help them focus on those opportunities that require them instead of praying and spraying across the entire book.”
Process, attitude, and effort can be quite the winning combination. If you add the right tools to the mix, your agency will be well-positioned for growth in the years to come.
“Agencies are starting to get it. They are starting to see that technology is an investment and not an expense. By making the investment in the right tech at the right time, the agency will see higher close rates on better quality accounts that will stay on the books for a much longer period of time. Those agencies that don’t have this mindset, unfortunately, will be left far behind.”
Empowering your team with sales, marketing, service, and renewals tools is critical for your agency's success. Assess your needs, develop a plan, and research the tools that can be best incorporated into your strategy. Don’t be one of those agencies “left behind” that David talked about - stay ahead of the game and position your team for growth and your clients for success.
