MANAGE MARKETING & LEAD
8 MISTAKES KILLING GROWTH IN YOUR AGENCY
By : Randy Schwantz
If you can create a sales culture that helps your producers improve the way they prospect , sell , and retain business , you will experience massive growth . Imagine what type of agency you would have if you had a proven system that helped your producers double their book of business every three to four years .
You ’ d have many happy producers earning a lot of money , and you ’ d also be increasing the value of your agency . It ’ s a legitimate win-win for you and your producers .
However , eight main mistakes stand in your way to this bigger and better future . If you can overcome them , you ’ ll transform your agency into an agency growth machine . If you can ’ t , you ’ ll continue to struggle with anemic growth . Because of the industry ’ s state , it ’ s now more important than ever to address these mistakes .
Kevin Stipe of Reagan Consulting said : “ The gentle tailwinds we ’ ve had in commercial P & C for the last few years are going away . They ’ re becoming headwinds again , and if we can ’ t build a sales culture to give us a stronger growth and push into these headwinds , then we ’ re going to be in trouble .”
So , if you want to avoid the trouble Stipe refers to , make solving these mistakes your number one priority .
THE 8 DEADLY MISTAKES AGENCIES MAKE
Mistake # 1 : Half-Hearted Commitment Thinking you can create a growth culture without fully committing to it is a mistake . Every firm is a mirror image of their Leaders . If you ’ re not 100 % committed to growth , your producers will see it and know that it ’ s not the main priority . This is why most agencies do not have a producer problem ; they have a leadership problem .
Real producers are the type of people who will test your resolve . They want to know if you truly are committed , determined , and have a clear plan of action . If you are , they will gladly follow you . If you aren ’ t , they will throw more obstacles at you than you can manage !
Mistake # 2 : Failing to Differentiate Assuming you can create worthwhile differentiation without a strategy and working on it daily is a mistake . Many firms spend a lot of money searching for the Holy Grail of competitive advantage . Some agencies believe that they have a competitive advantage when they buy or rent a tool or hire a resource . However , the real advantage comes from superior utilization , and that ’ s a function of commitment . When you commit to a daily regimen of defining and refining your differentiation — and when you implement your tools and resources — then you ’ ll have a considerable impact on producer confidence . It ’ ll show in your retention rates and new business log .
Mistake # 3 : Creating Corporate / Impersonal Goals Many agencies make the mistake of thinking that corporate goals are more important than a producer ’ s personal goals . Often this isn ’ t intentional . Typically , the owner never thought about how much more motivated their producers would be to help them connect their daily sales activity to their own long-term goals .
The only sustainable motivation is that which comes out of the producer ’ s desire . Agencies miss a massive
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