Continuing our proposition that the way you communicate with your clients says a great deal about your agency and how it is perceived, let's look at some more everyday examples of how to improve your stature in their eyes.

Workers' compensation audits are routine transactions that most of us deal with constantly every month. The letter below (Example 1) is typical and one that many agencies consider acceptable.

Related: See Phil Lieberman's “Words of Wisdom” part 1.

If we view it critically, there's a lot wrong with this letter. Take a look at the notes and suggestions marked in Example 2.

So how can we communicate in a more effective way?

Example 3 shows an improvement. The agent has provided some real information, allowing the client to ensure that he is being charged the right additional premium. The side benefit is realizing that his agent really knows what he's talking about and cares about the money his client is spending.

But you can even go further and do a super communicative job if you want to.

As you can see in Example 4, there are all different levels and types of communication; but once you decide what image you want to convey, it is simple to compose your template and use it for every client. As we have shown, you can have a standard letter for an additional premium audit and a different standard letter, say, for simply enclosing a policy, another routine transaction that takes place every day.

Our final example displays professionalism with real information that is clear and easily understood.

In my next column, we will look at some other examples of good communication in different situations: a producer's letter to a prospective client after the first meeting and a producer's letter to a new client immediately after binding coverage.

Related: Read articles by Philip Lieberman on processes for claims and accounting to improve agency performance “A Disciplined Approach” and “ Smart Agency Processes.”