Setting goals













Monitoring results













Targeting prospects

• Lost accounts: How long has your agency been in business? Since you've opened the doors, have you lost any accounts you would like to have back? These prospects could be low-hanging fruit. An Oklahoma agency we worked with wrote $70,000 in two months by going after accounts it previously lost.
  
  
• Unsuccessful proposals: In this article, we've discussed hit ratios ranging from 30% to 50%. That implies a "miss" ratio of 50% to 70%. You already have a relationship with these prospects. It could be worth trying some or all of them again.
  
  
• Inactive accounts: You didn't lose these accounts; you never even got the chance to quote them. One day, you may realize it's been 18 months since you last were in touch with such an account. During that time, I guarantee you that something will have changed at that account--and it may give you an opportunity to make a presentation.
  
  The most successful agencies approach such target accounts systematically. They set a date by which they go through the files and identify accounts that fit into these categories. Then they set production goals and devise a process for bringing in the business.
  
  Research on individual prospects is part of this process, but it is possible to get carried away. One can gather and examine a prospect's annual reports, 10k reports and product brochures; analyze a prospect's Web site in depth; etc.--all the while putting off the most import thing: contacing the prospect. So be aware that conducting preliminary research can be a form of call reluctance. What you really need to know are the prospect's exposures, whether you have the markets to cover them, and whether you have a history with the prospect.
  
  Finally, develop your contact strategy. Your plan can include using cold-calling, preapproach mailings, outsourced call centers or other promotional techniques. Obtaining a referral to the prospect is the Holy Grail. Putting on seminars also can be highly effective. In California, you could draw standing-room-only crowds for workers compensation seminars. EPLI seminars can work well in many areas. To increase their effectiveness, think about co-sponsoring such seminars with law firms, CPAs, financial planners, real estate agents, relocation firms, etc. Some agencies have used Web casts, or "Webinars," to network with prospects and eventually write business.
  
  So now, we've developed a sales plan, set up a monitoring system, identified target accounts and have developed a contact strategy. Now all we have to do is actually start making some calls. In the second part of this article, which will appear in next month's issue, we'll discuss strategies for using that most indispensable of sales tools: the telephone.
  
  Thomas Redmond is co-founder of Redmond Group Inc., a consulting firm that works with clients with commercial-lines, personal-lines, accident and insurance, and risk management practices. He has 27 years of experience in the insurance business and previously worked with Global Insurance Brokers in several roles. He holds the CPCU designation. Mr. Redmond can be reached at (732) 224-9444 or at [email protected].