lsquo;TAKE THE KID OFF MY POLICIEShellip; WHAT SHOULD YOUR INSURANCE AGENCY DO? by Curtis Pearsall, CPCU Recently, a long-time agency associate contacted me; during our c...

Selling insurance isn't easy. Agency principals, producers, and staff can still reap rewards, but their ranks are thinning under pressure from lower premiums, reduced commissions, and greater demands from carriers and clients. Add to this the ever-increasing expense of technology.
The formula for a great insurance career used to be simple: 'Work hard for 20 years building the book of business, and the book will take care of you for the 20 years after that.' Not anymore.

A CPA firm spends $11,200 on a Web site that attracts only a handful of visitors. An insurance agency invests $80,000 in an advertising campaign and no one sees the ads. An alternative health clinic sends out 8,000 direct mail fliers and gets 26 responses. A manufacturer spends $28,000 on an attractive brochure that no one uses.

'So dawn goes down today, nothing gold can stay.'
Robert Frost
'There are no more power elites.'
Manuel Castels in The Information Age
The painfully obvious implication of these quotes can be seen in the business world: IBM pulls its PCs out of retail venues because it no longer considers them profitable. The Wall Street Journal reported that in 1998, there were $301 billion in sales via the Internet, while the manufacturing sector did $350 billion in overall business. It took the Internet roughly 36 months to reach this figure; manufacturing needed 150 years.

Just when we think we've grasped what's happening in business, something changes to disrupt the precarious balance. It may occur in the economy, an industry, a region, a particular market, or technology that alters even the most flexible business plan.

Establishing a strategy, then staying with it, was possible for most businesses until the last decade. Planning a year or more in advance was relatively easy. Ups and downs would occur but with a high degree of predictability. Hitting sales and revenue targets was almost a natural outcome.

But, this article is about the fundamentals of marketing and communications for an insurance agency (or any consumer facing business's marketing). In my opinion, if you can stick to nurturing these fundamentals regularly, then all the advanced and future enhancements will come naturally. It doesn't matter whether the role you play in the agency is Principal, Producer, CSR, Admin or any customer facing role, in more ways than one, these fundamentals should apply to you.

A CASH-FLOW BUDGET FOR AN INSURANCE AGENCY by Zachary Berhau Some agencies show a paper profit year in and year out. Suddenly one day, they're in financial difficulty. How can an agency makin...

A NEW LOOK AT INSURANCE AGENCY VALUATION by Carol Hammes Its becoming increasingly important for agents to recognize that having a complete, professionally prepared appraisal won&...

ACQUIRING AN INSURANCE AGENCY by Carol Hammes The buying and merging of insurance agencies continues to be a hot trend. Traditional buyers, such as larger local agencies, regional f...

ACQUISITIONS: IS BIGGER REALLY BETTER? by Chris Burand Although, in general, growth is essential for agencies to retain markets and profitability, unrestrained growth via ac...