Those numbers matter, but sustained growth usually requires more than asking producers to sell more. Agencies also need a deliberate strategy for finding opportunities, developing existing accounts, improving sales processes and involving staff throughout the organization.
That requires viewing growth as an agencywide discipline rather than the sole responsibility of producers.
Start with the process, not the target
Management should identify the activities likely to produce the desired results and then measure whether they are working.
For example, an agency could track:
- New prospects contacted and appointments secured.
- Referral activity.
- Quote and proposal conversion rates.
- Policies written per client.
- Retention rates.
- Revenue generated by new and existing accounts.
- Cross-selling opportunities identified and closed.
Reviewing those numbers regularly can help agency leaders determine which parts of the sales process are effective, where producers may need additional support and what changes could improve results.
Look more closely at existing clients
An agency’s current book of business may be one of its best sources of additional revenue.
Clients’ circumstances continually change. A commercial client may add employees, vehicles, locations or equipment. It may enter new contracts, introduce new products or expand into another market. A personal lines customer may buy a home, purchase a vehicle, start a business or accumulate assets that create additional coverage needs.
Regular account reviews can help uncover those changes and identify potential coverage gaps. This approach can benefit both sides. Clients receive an opportunity to discuss whether their insurance program still reflects their exposures, while the agency can recommend appropriate coverage adjustments.
Account rounding may also deepen the client relationship. When an agency understands multiple aspects of a client’s risks rather than handling a single policy, it can become more difficult for a competitor to displace that relationship based on price alone.
Make the sales conversation about the client
Successful producers increasingly need to demonstrate more than knowledge of insurance products.
Before meeting with a prospect, producers should understand the organization the prospect represents. What does it do? What risks are common in its industry? Is the business growing? What pressures are affecting its workforce, property, vehicles or operations?
Those questions can lead to a very different conversation from one that begins by asking for expiration dates and offering to provide a quote.
For commercial lines producers, industry specialization can be valuable. A producer who understands construction, manufacturing, healthcare, agriculture or another sector may be better positioned to discuss emerging risks and help clients evaluate their insurance needs.
The objective is to become a resource clients call whentheir business changes, not simply someone they hear from before a policy renews.
Give service teams a role in growth
Involve personnel beyond producers in identifying potential upselling opportunities.
Account managers, customer service representatives and other service employees often have frequent conversations with policyholders. Those interactions may reveal changes that create a need for additional coverage.
Agencies can train service staff to recognize these opportunities without turning every customer interaction into a sales pitch.
A client mentioning a new location, a recently purchased vehicle, a major equipment acquisition or a growing payroll, for example, could prompt a conversation with the appropriate producer.
Creating a simple process for documenting and directing these opportunities to producers can turn everyday client service into another source of organic growth.
Build accountability around activity
Agencies can improve producer performance by tracking activities that drive results.
Regular producer meetings can cover prospecting activity, pipeline development, upcoming renewals, account-rounding opportunities and obstacles that may be slowing sales. They can also incorporate coaching through role-playing prospect meetings, reviewing unsuccessful proposals and sharing successful approaches among producers to strengthen their skills.
Accountability works best when it is focused on improvement rather than punishment. The purpose of measuring performance should be to identify problems early, determine what assistance is needed and establish clear expectations for what happens next.
The takeaway
Sustainable agency growth is often the result of consistent execution in several areas, like:
- Understanding the numbers,
- Creating repeatable sales processes,
- Developing existing accounts,
- Coaching employees, and
- Remaining alert to changes in the market.
Most importantly, responsibility for growth should not rest solely with the sales department. When producers, service teams and agency leadership understand how their roles contribute to the agency’s objectives, identifying new opportunities can become part of everyday operations.