AGENCY PROFILE
AL SHANK INSURANCE : IN THE GAME FOR 80-YEARS
WHAT WAS YOUR VERY FIRST DAY OF BUSINESS LIKE WHEN STARTING AT AL SHANK INSURANCE ? I came home after graduating from KU and joined Dad in Al Shank Insurance . It was 1977 , and I wanted to be paid $ 800 / month and had to bargain with Dad , who had $ 700 / month set in his head . I thought I knew everything and found out quickly , I didn ’ t . We lost one of our central employees about six months after I entered the agency because she didn ’ t like working with the “ snot-nosed ” kid . It was an interesting start .
WHAT ’ S SOMETHING YOU KNOW TODAY THAT YOU WISHED YOU HAD KNOWN WHEN YOU CAME HOME ? To not be afraid to hire smarter or more capable people than yourself and use their strengths to complement your own attributes , whether it is strengths or weaknesses . I think young agency owners can have a problem with that . You just don ’ t always have the ego strength to do that at a young age , or at least I didn ’ t .
HOW DO YOU DIFFERENTIATE YOURSELF FROM YOUR COMPETITORS ?
Several years ago , we sat down as a group one day and asked ourselves why someone should do business with us . Initially , we got all the same old answers like we have the best companies , the best services , we are the friendliest . Our office then was across the street from one competitor and right next to another . I asked the group , “ do you think those two agencies aren ’ t saying the same things ?” So we refocused , and the real answers came out . What was unique to us ? That lead to a document we call “ Why buy from Al Shank Insurance ?” and included specific areas we thought were unique to us and did make us different . Some were the years of experience of our agents , our process to contact every client annually , personal or commercial , about reviewing their coverages with them , the fact we survey our clients after a claim closes about how we did , and our clients again before their policies renew . We revise that document from time to time . It includes things like our text messaging service our clients can use , our client portal we are rolling out to our clients on our website , the fact that we have been a Best Practices agency 18 times since 1995 , and other items . Every agency has those things that make them unique . Still , sometimes we miss those items because we get hung up on price and don ’ t do a good enough job selling ourselves or our agency .
IS THERE A PARTICULAR MARKETING EFFORT THAT HAS REALLY WORKED FOR YOUR AGENCY ? No one effort sticks out , so that probably means to be consistent in your marketing . Never find yourself saying , “ That marketing program worked so great ; why did we quit doing it .” Direct mail and email in small amounts has paid dividends . I don ’ t like to send out 100 emails or letters and get the national average 3-4 % return . Let ’ s send out ten and follow up with a call and get three to four times the dates or sales opportunities . Let ’ s go to them and not wait on them to come to us . We are in the process of setting up quarterly contact via email to specific client groups with electronic newsletters that will be specific to their industry . Making sure we know our niches and are also aligned with what our companies say they are having success at is really important . We haven ’ t done a very good job of that in the past . In rural communities , you tend to try and write everything that comes in the door . So you become the proverbial “ jack of all trades , master of none .”
32