As most industry veterans know, building a strong insurance agency is no walk in the park. It takes countless hours of planning, client-building, and number-crunching and plenty of blood, sweat, and tears. Fortunately, if you play your cards right, all of your hard work will eventually pay off. You may even discover that figurative pot of gold at the end of your daunting journey -- which is why so many people enter this challenging industry in the first place.
"The outcome of your life is a direct result of the decisions you make or fail to make," writes Jeff Hastings, author of "So You Want to be an Insurance Agent: A Step-by-Step Approach to a Successful Insurance Agency" (Hastings 2008). "Many people go through life blaming others or circumstances for their own failures. They sit in thankless jobs complaining about lack of income, lack of respect, and lack of advancement in their careers. A few finally decide to take control of their future and live the American Dream by owning an insurance agency."
And that's exactly what Hastings did. After starting off as a file clerk with the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies in 1985, Hastings quickly rose through the ranks. Now a district manager for the company, he has built his own accomplished team of agents and consistently earns top awards, including District Manager of the Year in 2005. In "So You Want to Be an Insurance Agent," Hastings reveals his secrets to building a thriving insurance agency.
It takes money to make money
Before you venture out on your own as a self-employed insurance agent, Hastings says you'll need some cash reserves for start-up expenses and other unexpected costs. "To begin an insurance agency, you should be relatively financially secure," he points out. "As a general rule of thumb, you should have reserves to cover your growing expenses for the first six to 12 months."
Hastings explains that most new agents do not earn any income from sales for the first three to four months. This is precisely why many people don't enter the insurance industry until they're in their 30s or 40s, when they've had time to build up a significant pool of money. "If you don't have a large sum of money to draw from, look for a program that allows you to retain your current position until you are ready and committed to start your new career," Hastings suggests.
Build a winning staff
Once you decide to start up an insurance agency, one of things you'll need to do is hire employees. "Create a rough sketch of an organizational chart for your perfect office," Hastings recommends. "Instead of creating positions for your existing employees, think of your business functionally, as if it were an assembly line. This is an essential part of developing systems that are not reliant upon any one person."
He points out that many small-business owners make the mistake of building their business around high-performance people. Unfortunately, when these gifted employees leave, the business suffers greatly until the owner can fill that position with another highly skilled employee. This is why it's important to ensure that your organizational chart is not centered around one staff member.
Pinpoint your target market
Another essential ingredient in any flourishing insurance agency is a well-defined marketing strategy. "Without an effective marketing strategy, you will not achieve success in this business," Hastings stresses. "Developing your strategy consists of identifying your target market and defining how you are going to reach them."
Your overall strategy should include two different types of marketing: internal marketing, which targets your current clients, and external marketing, which targets potential customers. Your internal marketing efforts may include birthday cards, discounts, and referral programs, while external marketing efforts may consist of postcards, newspaper and radio ads, seminars, and local events, among other approaches.
"I know these steps work because they have worked for me and the many people I have helped in over ten years of building my own team of agents," Hastings writes. "I'm confident that if you take these steps, you will be happier than ever before, controlling your own destiny and living a life that you may have never thought possible."
Amy Bell is a freelance writer and frequent contributor to the Agent's Sales Journal. Visit her Web site at www.writepunch.com or email her at amy@writepunch.com. "So You Want to be an Insurance Agent: A Step-by-Step Approach to a Successful Insurance Agency" is available at Amazon.com and other major online retailers.
