Agency Description:

Gross Income: 2009 - $150,000
Net Earnings/Cash Flows:  $77,000

• 80% Small Commercial Lines, 20% Small Group Health
• Contractors, General Liability, and Work Comp
• Not dependent upon location, perfect FOLD-IN to buyer’s office
• Stable revenues and strong profits
• 16-year old agency with loyal clients
• Virtually no personal lines, excellent Cross-Sell opportunities
• Click here for a Non-Disclosure Agreement to receive additional information

We’ve heard agents complain that they’d write more business but ABC Insurance is quoting everyone with lower mileage, not charging the client for all of their points and outright lying to clients. While you can’t stop your competition from selling unethically, you can inform the client of all the pitfalls that come along with buying something that’s too good to be true. Here are a few tips to help you close more sales:

• Build rapport with your client BEFORE getting to the price. Talk about the kind of work they do, the school they attend, compliment the car they drive, find something in common with them. Talk about their kids, talk about THEM, not insurance or yourself - talk about THEM. The average person says 3,000 words daily and 80% are about themselves. I, me, we, us, our. People love talking about themselves - so let them. If you build rapport with the prospect, they’ll tell you who quoted them, what they were quoted and they’ll believe it when you dispute the validity of the rate they received. Objections are virtually non-existent when you build rapport with prospects.

• Don’t sound like a robot going through a comparative rater collecting information. Listen to your clients and find out what they need. When you figure that out, you’re on your way to a closed sale.

• Sell the benefits of being with your agency: open 6 days per week, open during lunch, hundreds of products to suit their needs now and in the future. Mention your personal experience and the fact that 50% of your business is generated by referrals because of the outstanding service your agency provides. Review the benefits of buying from your agency several times before asking for the sale and if they say no, review the benefits again.

• Sell benefits of the Carrier you’re quoting: 24 claims assistance, choose your own body shop, includes UM, permissive user policy, pay online, by phone or mail. No fees when adding additional vehicles, coverage’s or drivers. A rated, in business for X Years, publicly traded. Can write policy by email or fax - No need to come into the office.

• Find their hot button and let them know how easy it is to fix. Lienholder sending you letters? No problem, we’ll fax them a binder the minute we bind your coverage. Need an SR-Filing? We can hand you one the same day and you can go get your license back. Find their hot button and pounce on it several times throughout the conversation. Everyone has a hot button or need, find out what it is and you’re half way to a closed deal.

• Never bad mouth the competition, especially the carrier they’re with now. In fact, if they’re complaining about their current carrier, let them know it must be an isolated incident because you’ve heard good things about that carrier. They chose the carrier, so bad mouthing them only makes them feel like poor decision makers.

• If they have coverage with a carrier you write with, try to get the Broker of Record Letter. Let them know it’ll be business as usual except you’ll call ME when you need service, not you’re current agent. For some, this is the perfect solution.

• Ask for the sale. The most important part of selling is asking for the sale. Remember, “a closed mouth doesn’t get fed”. If the client says no, go back to your benefits and read through them again - after you do - ask for the sale again and repeat if necessary. When a prospect tells you NO, it simply means they need more information before making a decision. Remember, even if they don’t buy today, when they do make their decision, chances are they’ll go with the Salesperson who asked for the sale not the order taker who didn’t. 90% of all sales that aren’t closed, aren’t closed because the sale was never asked for.

• Send every prospect a quote by US Mail and Email the same day given. Prospects talk to dozens of agents, have scribbled notes all over the place and really have no idea who/when/where/what was the best quote and benefits. By sending the letter they receive a clean copy of what was discussed and you’ve increased your chances of winning their business. Also, personalize the letter to cater to their hot buttons. (Same Day Filing, immediate binder for lienholder, etc)

• Last but not least-quote ALL of their insurance. Don’t limit yourself to what they’re requesting. Quote the Home, Umbrella, Motorcycle, Boat and any other coverages they need. Don’t be an order taker-be a SALES Person.

These are all basics we were taught our first few months in the Insurance business. In times like the present we can’t discuss the basics enough so it’s important to consistently teach them to your staff. Make these basics a daily habit in your agency and your business will grow beyond your expectations.

And Remember your ABC’s-ALWAYS BE CLOSING.

Happy Selling…

California Proposition 17 is on the June 8, 2010 ballot will allow insurance companies in the state to give what are known as “persistency discounts,” or discounts for those who have had continuous auto insurance coverage, even if they change their insurance company.

“Passage of Proposition 17 means more competition in the auto insurance marketplace, more choices for consumers and lower rates,” said Michael D’Arelli, executive director of the Alliance. “An additional discount which lowers auto premiums is exactly what is needed in this economy.”

Today, more than 80% of California drivers maintain auto insurance coverage and would qualify for this discount. However since the discount is not portable, they lose those savings if they switch to a different insurance company. In effect, responsible drivers who have maintained continuous insurance coverage are surcharged if they switch companies. Prop. 17 levels the playing field so every insurance company can offer the same discounts as its rivals and compete head to head for California’s auto insurance customers.

Continued D’Arelli, “Proposition 17 is good for consumers, good for the auto insurance market, and good policy for California.

“Opponents’ attacks against Prop. 17 are disingenuous, anti-consumer and a desperate attempt to avoid talking about an expanded discount that will benefit more than 80% of California drivers.”

Proposition 17 is supported by consumer groups, agents, business and taxpayer organizations from across the state.

Visit the Alliance of Agents and Brokers here.

In reality, none of those things are true.  Since we were also agency owners long before we were consultants, we make sure the benefit we provide to agency owners more than pays for our services.  We approach every project with an exact outline of what we’re going to do and what objectives will be achieved.  And we would never presume to know more about your business than you do.

But the one distinct advantage we do have as outside consultants is that we can see things about your business that you simply can’t, because you’re in it all day.

It’s like when you walk into someone’s house and it smells like dogs, but the people who live there don’t smell the dogs, because they’re in that house 24/7 so they just got used to the dogs.  But you’re walking in for the first time and you smell those dogs immediately.  That’s how we see things at insurance agencies.  The owner and staff are there all the time, get caught up in the daily grind, and at some point doing things a certain way just became routine and seemed to make perfect sense to them.  But when we walk in for the first time, we see things in a completely different light.

That’s why we came up with the Agency Report Card.

It is exactly what it sounds like.  A no-nonsense report about the things we see in your agency that you probably can’t see and are holding you back from achieving what you want to achieve.   And just like the old report cards you got back in grade school, the Agency Report Card doesn’t just point out the observed issues; it includes specific recommendations on how to overcome those issues to move forward.  And it also tells you what you’re already doing right.

There is no cookie-cutter approach to running a successful insurance agency and there is no cookie-cutter approach to observing an agency’s operations and making recommendations in a Report Card.  Each agency is different and has its own characteristics.  What works in one, may have no applicability whatsoever in another.  But there are definitely some very basic principles involved in things like the service workflow, sales tracking, compensation plans, and other aspects of business that are common among all agencies.  And understanding how your agency handles those basics as compared to how highly successful agencies handle them, can be very useful in helping you make some changes for improvement.

The process for preparing the Agency Report Card is very simple:

1)    An onsite visit to observe the operation and go through a questionnaire with the agency owner to get specific information about how the agency operates.

2)    A review of certain data, reports, statements, and other supporting documentation while onsite.

Summarize the key findings into an easy to understand document (the Agency Report Card) that the agency owner can then use to address priority areas.

If you’re interested in learning about this service, please contact us today!

The “Continuous Coverage Auto Insurance Discount Act,” for which support was funded in part by Mercury Chairman George Joseph and other company executives, is facing criticism by a consumer watchdog group that says the measure penalizes people for not having prior insurance coverage.

The proposal “would legalize surcharges of hundreds of dollars for automobile insurance, penalize good drivers for accidents that are not their fault, and lead to more uninsured motorists,” the group said.

According to California law, insurance rates must be based on three factors: the insured’s driving record, number of miles driven annually, and number of years of driving experience. Following those three factors, insurers may also use 16 optional rating factors to determine automobile insurance rates. Included among those 16 optional rating factors is “persistency,” which allows an insurer to reward individuals for being long-term customers of theirs. Insurers are prohibited, however, from offering a persistency discount to new customers. In addition, under current law, the fact that someone did not previously have automobile insurance may not be used as a criterion for determining automobile rates and premiums, according to the Department of Insurance.

CalFAIR aims to allow consumers to take their “persistency” discount with them to other carriers when shopping for insurance.

“Like a good driver discount, this ballot measure would reward more than 80 percent of responsible California drivers who maintain insurance coverage as required by law by making them eligible for a discount, even if they switch insurance companies,” said Kathy Fairbanks of CalFAIR. “That means drivers will be eligible to take this discount with them when shopping for rates, giving drivers more options when it comes to their insurance coverage. The result will be increased competition, which will lower rates and result in reduced premiums.”

Campaign for Consumer Rights, the campaign affiliate of Consumer Watchdog, however, counters that people who do not have prior insurance are surcharged under portable persistency. “Many of these people are those that can least afford to pay for insurance, or who already have high premiums caused by other rating factors. This discourages them from buying insurance, which may add to the number of uninsured motorists and ultimately drives up the cost of the uninsured motorist coverage for every insured,” the group said in a statement.

Fairbanks believes Mercury Insurance supports the proposal because it would allow the company to better compete against other insurers for customers. “For proponents of the measure, insurers will be able to compete and gain more consumers,” she said, “and if consumers have more choices and there’s more competition among insurers in the marketplace, that’s a great benefit for consumers.”

In its analysis, the state Legislative Analyst Office predicted the measure could result in a change in the total amount of insurance premiums, but said the impact is “probably minor”. “This is because overall premiums are largely determined by other factors - such as driver safety, the number of miles driven, and years of driving experience - which are largely unaffected by the measure. The measure would have no significant fiscal impact on state and local governments,” wrote Mac Taylor, legislative analyst.

This article is compliments of the Insurance Journal.

But there are so many things that have been written and spoken about regarding the changes that agency owners need to be aware of, we thought a summary of a few important focus areas would be useful as we enter a new year and a new decade.  In no particular order, these are the key issues we see facing insurance agencies that owners need to address today:

Reliance on Fees

ISSUE:  The consumers are getting smarter, the bureaucrats are getting more involved, and even the carriers are poised to reconsider longstanding views of “get ‘em if you can”.   If your agency is relying on broker fees, endorsement fees, payment fees, or other fees that make up a substantial portion of your income (like more than 20%), you are at risk of taking a big hit sometime in the near future.

WHAT TO DO:  Sell insurance and keep clients on the books.  Sounds simple enough, but many agencies are so locked into collecting fees as part of their business model, they would rather not sell a policy to a new client than lower or waive their fee.  So what business are these agencies in?  That’s what insurance commissioners are asking and that’s why politicians are seriously looking into how they can eliminate fees altogether.  Agency owners need to invest in building their book of business, holding onto clients by expanding renewal and retention efforts, and rewarding staff for writing more policies that increase commissions, not for collecting the most fees.

Sales Culture

ISSUE:  Agency owners can find every reason imaginable why business is bad, but rarely look at how they run their own house as the primary reason.  Hoping to sell more or telling your staff to sell more is like standing still at the gym and waiting for the pounds to fall off.  Nothing is going to happen until you do something to make it happen.  But very few agencies have invested the time or effort to become true sales organizations, and until they do they will always write about the same amount of business as they always have, or less.  And with the competitive landscape among insurance agencies today, there is no such thing as simply staying the same

WHAT TO DO:  It all starts at the top.  As an owner or manager, what you do, what you say, how you approach clients, how you interact with staff, what time you show up to the office, how you’re dressed…all of these have a direct impact on sales.  When you lead by example, motivate your staff with positive feedback and training, and create competition and incentives, sales increase.  Period.  It’s been proven many times.  All of those things require attention in order to create an environment that thrives on growth and hitting measurable targets.

In one agency we were working, the staff was bemoaning the sales numbers and the fact that it was a slow day, and a manager chimed in, “Yeah, it’s always slow on Tuesdays.”  With that kind of negative statement, the manager just conveyed to the staff, “Don’t worry about it. Relax.  Don’t push yourself.  There’s nothing you can do to increase sales today.”  That may not be what he meant to convey, but that’s what the staff heard.  Ask yourself how many times your staff has heard you saying things like, “‘We can’t beat their rates”, “The phones just aren’t ringing”, “There’s too much competition in this area”, “I hope this economy gets better”, “We’re doing everything we can but the numbers just aren’t improving”.  Real leaders in real sales organizations never think or say things like that.

Marketing and Advertising

ISSUE:  Investing in old traditional forms of media and advertising is like throwing money away, but many agencies haven’t figured it out yet.  Agency owners pour thousands of dollars each month into phone books, door hangers, mailing lists, free newspapers, and other types of advertising that the consumer is simply not paying attention to anymore.  Ask yourself these questions:  If you didn’t know your ad was in that newspaper laying at every bus-stop, would you ever pickup that newspaper?  And when was the last time you needed a product or service and relied solely on the phone book to find it?

WHAT TO DO:  Move your marketing dollars out of old methods and into things that are much more visible for today’s consumers.  Create a logo and use it everywhere possible.  Build a website with good information that search engines can find when people go online and search for insurance in your community.  Get involved in social networking and blogging so you can become visible to an entire generation of consumers who have never used a phone book or looked at a classified ad to buy anything.  Improve the signage at your office or store front.  Approach other local businesses for mutual referral programs and offer existing clients incentives for referrals.  Generating a buzz, branding, and visibility for your agency is essential to surviving and growing.

Sources of Revenue

ISSUE:  Agencies have fallen into the trap of putting all of their eggs in one basket because they are comfortable selling “one thing”. By not diversifying their income from multiple sources, the agencies experience a lot of highs and lows instead of having a stable stream of revenue.

WHAT TO DO:  Learn something new.  Get comfortable with a line of insurance you’ve never sold before and then get your staff comfortable with it.  Agencies don’t quote or sell Homeowners, Life, Commercial or other lines of insurance because agents haven’t been trained on it.  People do what they’re comfortable doing.  And if you have 1,000 auto insurance clients, what you really have is 1,000 clients who need all kinds of insurance, but you’ve only sold them auto.  Add other products to your agency that your clients need and but have to go elsewhere for now.  DMV Registration, Pre-Paid Legal, Health Insurance, and Tax Services are all examples of products that agency owners can pursue and generate revenue from.

If you could use some help getting started with any of these new directions, please contact us for a free phone consultation.

Agency Description:

• 100% Personal Lines Carriers include: Mercury, Safeway, Infinity and others.
• Very Detailed Financial and Production Records
• Seasoned Staff
• Stable Revenue Stream
• Agency established for over 25 years-Seasoned Clientele
• Excellent Cash Flow
• Book is mostly monoline business. Loaded with Cross Sell Opportunities
• 2 Excellent Retail Locations with excellent lease terms, furniture, computers and equipment truly a TURN KEY OPERATION
• PRICED TO SELL QUICK!
• Click here for a Non-Disclosure Agreement to receive additional information

If you want to buy an insurance agency, we offer packages packed with tools to help you find agencies for sale anywhere in the US. Some of the tools include how to approach prospective sellers, where to find them and what to do once you meet them. Everyday buyers tell us about a deal that fell through because neither party knew what steps to take to finalize a sale.

Before you buy or sell an insurance agency in California, NY, Arizona or any other state in the US, please contact us to make sure you’re using as many resources as possible.

The reality is, when you email a prospective or even existing client, you’ll give a greater  professional impression by emailing from your own domain. It’s very easy to set up through your website host, 3rd party exchange host and even google has a new service for Businesses.

As you prepare your agency to improve it’s web presence, consider changing your email to your company domain name. If you’re worried about having to check multiple email accounts, you can always forward your other email accounts to your company email address so everything is received in the same place. When you reply to an email that’s forwarded it’ll come from the company email address. If you don’t want to reply from your company email address, at least you’ll receive it there then you can log into the other account to reply.

If you need any assistance with migrating your insurance agency email accounts to an affordable solution, please do not hesitate to contact us.