KEEPING THE MARRIAGE ALIVE
This is not the time to be passive about company relationships. If you want to stay in business, you must develop and maintain strong company contacts. As you continue to court new markets, also devote time to enhance relations with your current carriers. Remember, decisive interaction with company personnel is a powerful tool in agency-company relations.
Since one message that you want to convey to current and prospective companies is the benefit they'll get by dealing with your agency, you need to make sure your agency is as attractive a partner as possible. This includes developing a perpetuation plan, a business plan, and action plans. Be ready to describe how your agency effectively uses automation or is improving its skills in that area. Steps you are taking to improve your loss ratio, tighten errors and omissions procedures, and increase the professionalism and sales skills of your staff are all areas in which companies are interested. Your goal is to show off your agency's strengths and your ability to adapt and thrive in a changing environment.
DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS
To develop and maintain good company relations, you should tailor your strategy to the different levels of the company, the home office, the regional or branch office, and the underwriting level. Such a comprehensive approach takes time, but remember that the better a company employee knows you the better your chances are of surviving in a tight market.
Don't forget the importance of acknowledging your underwriters and underwriting assistants. Not only can they assist you with your current risks, but they may be in management in the near future. An agent who recently secured a Personal Lines plant credited at least part of his success with the good relationship he had with the underwriting manager, whom he had known since she was an underwriter with another company.
In your efforts to build company contacts, be sure to use the right types of communication. Overdependence on any one form of communication may weaken a relationship. The telephone is probably the most commonly used form of communication. Phone calls of acknowledgment, congratulations, and appreciation should balance the phone calls regarding problems and gripes. The telephone is most effective when calls are brief, friendly, and to the point. Personal relationships are difficult to develop over the phone, but maintenance of a personal relationship can be accomplished.
FACE-TO-FACE CONTACT
The most effective yet most time-consuming form of communication is face-to-face contact. Developing a personal relationship usually requires an initial face-to-face contact, with one or two follow-up contacts during the year. Most professional agents agree that this kind of contact is a necessity. One agent pointed out that no knowledgeable agent expects to sell or develop a relationship with a large Commercial account over the phone, so why would any agent think that relationships with their companies could be handled with one or two phone calls?
At a minimum, you should call on each of your companies at least once a year. Spend time with not only the regional or branch manager, but with the underwriter and underwriting assistant. If possible, plan a trip to visit the branch when home office executives visit the territory. When the trip is complete, follow up with a phone call and a letter acknowledging the hospitality of the company.
When meeting with branch and marketing managers, discuss your agency's plans and ask them about their company's strategies regarding its agency force. Inquire about any niche markets the company may be considering. Discuss any home office personnel changes that may affect the direction of the company. Again, meet with home office representatives to discuss the company's direction. One branch manager related that an agent alerted him to a major shift in his former company's strategy before any formal announcements were made. Because of the agent's advance knowledge (due to the relationship with the CEO of the company), both the agent and the manager were able to adjust their business plans to accommodate the impending upheaval in that company.
STRATEGIES FOR MAINTAINING RELATIONSHIPS WITH COMPANIES
(1) Have a purpose when calling on company personnel. You may want to discuss a particular account, the company direction in a specific line of business, or how your agency's business plan fits into the company's goals.
(2) Don't forget to take the underwriters and their assistants out to lunch.
These important company employees appreciate the attention and time away from the office.
(3) Follow up with phone calls and letters of acknowledgment when an important event takes place.
(4) Write letters of praise to an employee's supervisor for a job done well or an action that represents extra effort.
(5) Include your office staff whenever possible to solidify agency identification with the company.
(6) Be well-informed and realistic. When a company calls with bad news, discuss the issue as an informed partner on the subject, not as a tyrant trying to get your way.
If you have shaky company relationships, approach the branch manager with an analysis of your agency's markets and the company's products and jointly put together a plan for improvement. Don't wait for the company to make the first move. If you have a good company relationship, don't allow it to stagnate. Use both the formal review process and frequent communication to strengthen your position as a valuable company representative.