AGENCY MANAGEMENT: SEVEN BIG STRATEGIES
by Pamela A. Millard and Diane M. Herbert
If you build your agency around these seven key strategies by Pamela A. Millard and Diane M. Herbert, the ups and downs of insurance pricing will be just an inconvenience.
To say that these are unsettling times in our industry is to say “agency as usual.” As we cycle around again, some agencies will thrive and some will suffer. Recent events and the looming possibility of far-reaching changes can take much of the fun out of running your agency. Now’s a good time to take a good hard look at your agency — and the seven big strategies that separate the best from the rest.
These basic strategies aren’t always easy — when each day brings a new set of urgent priorities. But these are huge strategies. They are the “necessary and sufficient” strategies that drive success. When you get these right, everything else goes right, too.
STRATEGY 1: DESIGN YOUR OWN FUTURE
Envision your agency as you want it to be tomorrow. And then design your own future — today. This means more than marketing and sales plans. It’s being able to respond to a changing environment. It’s deciding how you want to impact your world!
Companies with written agency plans have 100% higher profits. Since less than 30% of all agencies plan, you’ll be ahead of the pack if you think strategically about your agency.
STRATEGY 2: SHARE YOUR VISION
Your employees can’t help you accomplish your goals if they don’t know what these goals are. And they need to know what’s in it for them. Documenting your plan isn’t enough. Engage your employees in your vision.
STRATEGY 3: BECOME AN EMPLOYER OF CHOICE
Caring about your employees means providing a connected work environment, training and development, and the tools to do the job. Happy employees are more productive — exponentially so. When you care about your employees they’ll care about your customers and keep them coming back. Become an agency where the best people want to work.
STRATEGY 4: LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF YOUR CUSTOMER
Good customer service is important. But how does your customer define “good”? Only by understanding what your customer values will you be able to deliver products and services that exceed their expectations. To define excellence, listen to the voice of your customer.
STRATEGY 5: CREATE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
Everyone needs insurance. But why should they buy from you rather than the agency down the street, or on the Internet? Set your agency above the crowd and you won’t have to search for customers — they’ll flock to your door.
STRATEGY 6: SEEK CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
Achieving perfection is impossible. Excellence, on the other hand, is the way to infinite success. And the way to get there and stay there is to look constantly for improvements — in your sales, in your processes, in your organization, in your technology, and in your profits. Encourage positive change in your agency and reap the benefits.
STRATEGY 7: FOCUS ON VALUE VS. PROFIT
The value of your agency is more than just a matter of income and expenses. The financial strength that results in a profitable income stream depends in part on intangibles that create the intrinsic value of your agency — your culture, the professionalism of your organization, and the management of the agency. Manage these intangibles and you’ll put more real dollars in your pocket.
CONCLUSION
That’s all there is to it. Seven “easy” steps. Seven big strategies. And they’re listed in just the right order — each builds on the other as part of a process. You probably already have some of these strategies in place and working well in your agency. If you’re missing one or more, then today is the day to start.
Diane Herbert and Pamela Millard are partners in Transformation Advisors, a client-focused management consulting firm. You can contact Herbert at (239) 948-6888, Millard at (530) 295-1083, or either of them at www.transformationadvisors.com.