One of the most insightful answers would be “competitive advantage.” The firm (or the individual producer) that can consistently boast a competitive advantage will be in a position to win most frequently. Unfortunately, however, although this is a good answer, it does lead to the follow-up question of how you gain a competitive advantage.

Within the agency/brokerage ranks, it can be done a number of ways, including having the best price, better coverage, greater financial stability of your insurance carriers, better service, more knowledge or being more efficient. All of these factors are well and good, but as we consider the business world at the start of the 21st century, most of your customers (the good ones, anyway) will require quality products and services, as well as a competitive price.

Your inability to deliver these will certainly cost you competitive advantage, but in my opinion, the most important competitive advantage is much more important than any of these. The key to the success of an insurance professional is the trust and confidence of clients.

The importance of trust cannot be overstated. For many years, Reagan Consulting has used as a tagline for our organization “The Trusted Advisor.” In our relationship with clients, it is the most important characteristic we can have.

For an insurance producer, it is equally as important. You are selling financial security. You are protecting your clients' assets, businesses and livelihood. You are offering peace of mind to your clients. Without question, this can best be done by someone who has deservedly earned their clients' trust.

This has always been the case, but it is of even greater relevance today in light of the rash of corporate scandals and public breaches of trust. Trustworthiness is not necessarily going to be assumed in today's marketplace. It is going to have to be earned.

Well, all of this is well and good, but saying that the answer is “trust” is a bit like saying the key to life is happiness. Happiness is not achieved by being happy; it is achieved as a by-product of other actions that lead to happiness. In the same respect, trust is not achieved by saying “trust me,” it is achieved as a by-product of other specific actions.

One of the best treatments of this topic is a book written several years ago by David Maister, Charles Green and Robert Galford called: “The Trusted Advisor.” (I am not sure whether Reagan Consulting's use of this tagline came first, or whether their title came first. Either way, the three words are clearly in the public domain.)

If you want to have a better understanding of the whole concept of trust, I would highly recommend that you read this book. It includes some outstanding thoughts and concepts, as well as presenting what they term the “trust equation,” which sheds some specific light on the factors that can create trust.

As outlined in the “trust equation,” they state that trust is equal to credibility, plus reliability, plus intimacy all divided by self-orientation. This is not presented as a scientific conclusion as much as it is a mathematical model to show how different trust elements interrelate. It shows how you can create and earn trust.

The first element, credibility, includes our technical expertise, but it also refers to how we look, act, react and talk about our business. We achieve credibility by hanging diplomas and certificates on the wall, or achieving professional designations. We also achieve credibility by providing solutions and answers, and repeatedly being successful with our clients. It can also be reinforced by the quality of the other people we are doing business with and by their testimonies.

The second element is reliability, which is the question of your dependability and your consistency. It is the most tangible of the elements and directly links words and deeds. It is achieved by consistently and repeatedly allowing your clients to experience the link between your promises and your actions.

The third element is intimacy. This speaks to your ability to connect with your client. It requires vulnerability, honesty and openness on your part to let them see you. It also requires your empathy, investment of time and effort, and respect to let you see them. You have to create an environment where you can connect with your clients.

The final factor, which is on the denominator of our equation, is self-orientation, or selfishness. Whose interest is going to be put first your client's or your own? The higher that your client perceives your self-orientation, the less your client is going to trust you.

As a way to pull this together, take a typical new client relationship and run it through this “trust equation.” Evaluate each of the four elements and give yourself a rating of zero-to-10, with 10 being the highest.

If, for instance, credibility is a 5, reliability a 3, intimacy a 2, and self-orientation an 8, the calculation would be 5 plus 3 plus 2, divided by 8, which produces a trust factor of 1.25.

Let's make this same calculation with a long-term, stable client. Perhaps in this case, credibility would be a 7, reliability an 8, intimacy a 5, and self-orientation would be a 4. This would add up to 20, and divided by 4, would produce a trust factor of 5.

Although I would discount the mathematical relationship between a trust factor of 1.25 and 5, I would not discount the implications of such a difference. High-trust relationships increase account retention. They are generally more profitable, and eminently more enjoyable and rewarding relationships. They more frequently lead to positive testimonials and referrals to other business opportunities.

I would recommend you make certain that you offer quality products and services and competitive prices. This is just the starting point, though. It's the entry fee to get into the race.

If you truly want to be successful if you want to maximize your profitability and growth rate, and be great instead of just good I would recommend that you focus your attention on being better positioned to earn the trust and confidence of your clients than any of your peers and competitors. If you can do this, you will be successful. Trust me.

Bobby Reagan ([email protected]) is the chairman and CEO of Reagan Consulting, an Atlanta-based financial and management consulting firm serving leading insurance agents, brokers and financial institutions. For more information, go to www.reaganconsulting.com.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Edition, May 14, 2004. Copyright 2004 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.