Reflections on 2020 from a longtime insurance agency owner
Many insurance agency owners exhibited tremendous creativity to adapt to the changing nature of their business.
We’ve just closed the books on 2020, a year that was challenging for many insurance agency owners. Most struggled to keep up with the number of adjustments needed in this new business environment. While the normal challenges of running a successful agency remain, they were magnified by the challenges associated with the coronavirus. Here the three areas of change that I hear about the most.
Technology became strategic
The successful use of technology has increasingly become one of the primary enablers of agency success. And while tech must be used in every aspect of our business, from prospecting to customer service, today’s landscape can be a bit overwhelming.
Consequently, having a clear, cost-effective technology strategy can literally make the difference between agency success and failure. While many agency owners have worked hard to keep up with the changing business environment, few have taken the time to write down their technology strategy.
If you don’t know enough to write the strategy down yourself, get help from a trusted, informed resource. None of us can avoid the challenges and opportunities associated with the impact of technology on our business. So take the time to work on a cohesive, well thought out, cost-effective strategy.
Staffing, communications shifted
We’ve all had to learn how to negotiate the mainstreaming of a remote-work environment. As a result, many agency owners are finding new and innovative ways to communicate with staff.
Many also are struggling to find the right balance between daily staff oversight and the freedom employees need to accomplish tasks on their own terms. In many agencies, what used to be weekly or bi-weekly meetings are now daily conference calls or webinars. Many agency owners are still trying to manage their entire business model from a distance.
As agency owners, we are all having to learn to communicate better around employee engagement and productivity. While it is important that we maintain engagement and productivity expectations, in this environment, it is just as important that we check on how people are doing and what challenges they have that may need to be addressed.
Some staff are actually more productive now. This might be one of the upsides of remote work. Considering social distancing restrictions, most agency staff that I interact with say they actually like the fact that there are fewer interruptions in the agency and they can focus more on their day-to-day tasks.
When they are able to remain focused, most say fewer interruptions mean they can make more customer contacts and complete more daily prospecting activity. This requires that business owners make it a private practice of having daily and/or timely, weekly interactions with team members to monitor any issues that may surface.
Customer service prioritized
Taking care of customers remains priority No. One. What’s so unique about the current environment is we must figure out how best to offer service while keeping our customers, our staff and ourselves as safe as possible. Many offices have gone to a by-appointment-only approach to minimize any walk-in traffic. Some offices have even moved to web conferences only. These seem to work well when customers are capable of using the technology.
Whatever the method, I believe this is a great opportunity to improve customer service by offering solutions to address coverage and pricing concerns. For example, at a time when people are not driving as much, adding vehicle driving behavior monitors could potentially have a significant impact on auto insurance rates.
Finally, it is unlikely that the business environment we are now in is going to change back to the way it was before the global pandemic. What is more likely is that technology changes implemented during this crisis will remain a part of our daily lives.
Working with staff in-house and as well as remotely will be the new normal, and serving customers in a remote business environment, is how we now must do business. I, for one, am encouraged by the creativity that many agency owners have exhibited to adapt to the changing nature of our business.
Ken Branch (kbranch@kbranchconsulting.com) has been in the insurance business for more than 30 years. He has personally hired, appointed and/or trained over 200 sales leaders and 2,000 sales agents/producers. Ken has an MBA in marketing from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is currently the owner of Arial Insurance Group, co-owner of Ingram Insurance and Real Estate, and owner of KBConsulting. He has previously held board positions with Junior Achievement, Trusted Choice and National African American Insurance Association. Ken is also a member of the NU Property & Casualty Editorial Advisory Board.
These opinions are the author’s own.
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