Approaches for closing coverage gaps vary by urgency and by insured. For larger clients, your only viable choice is a personal call or visit. For others, it might be adequate to employ an attention-getting device such as a "Coverage Caution" insert.

This 5” x 8.5” document concentrates a client’s attention on a single concern. Its oversized photo and brief message informs clients about a specific uninsured exposure, a missing policy or endorsement, or other cautionary consideration.

Attached to a client mailing, physically, by email attachment, or as a Twitter "photo (after first converting it from a "doc" file to a "jpg")," they literally illustrate the fact that you have real concerns. Read More...

Quick quotes are a staple of our industry. Virtually every jumbo personal lines marketer offers them via the Web and by phone. Local agencies interested in competing for this class of business must similarly offer speed quotes. Still, there are ways to slow down impatient shoppers, including taking a few moments to recap the person’s PC-generated rate printout on a manually completed summary page. Or, you can use an I’ll Switch My Policy If… form. They require prospects to buy on-the-spot, if you meet a list of their pre-agreed quote conditions.

Full-service personal lines prospects function under a different set of requirements. These individuals appreciate the difference between price and value. A tailored, well thought out personal lines proposal, delivered face-to-face (or discussed voice-to-voice), is the way to go. To help, we have designed 10 personal lines proposal elements you can use... Read More...

Agency Ideas® Marketing Projection / Planner™ software helps producers and managers to project marketing numbers and to author simplified personal and commercial lines action plans.  The planner requires Excel.

Every agency wants to write more business, but only some know how they are going to accomplish it. These offices develop detailed business plans that outline their future expectations, complete with marketing and sales sections that guide the overall process. The projections that result disclose how the agency expects to expand its book. They also reveal everyone’s individual roles in the process.

The perceived complexity of creating an agency plan is what stops many offices from building one. Others forego written predictions as a way to duck the disappointment associated with a missed sales goal. This way, if they avoid putting numbers down in writing, then any new sale appears to be an achievement. Thoughts like these tend to inhibit the overall planning process. It’s a major mistake to work without a blueprint. Ask any architect. Read More...

Business executives today, especially in small-to-medium-sized firms, are work-weary, fighting hard to stay in operation. They are also frightened, fearing that economic and other events outside of their control, may drag their company under, as has happened to so many others. Help them in their battle to survive with an imaginary “Insurance Flaw Finder“ (IFF).

Our 3-piece "IFF" tool set marries marketing to your insurance proposal. The "insurance flaw finder" is a make believe machine that adds an element of fun to the classic problem-solution approach to sales. Read More...

Agencies need to make specific inquiries to learn more about their potential new clients. Insisting that swamped reps ask ancillary questions to everyone who requests a personal lines quote is one way to gather this extra information, but it is impractical.

A better method is to employ a short but inquisitive agency questionnaire and require the applicant, not the CSR, to complete it as part of the quote process. This client-completed approach is not new. Virtually every physician’s office requires such forms before they’ll grant you an appointment. Many attorneys, accountants, and other professionals employ them as well. P&C insurance agents are wise to follow this simple pathway to supplemental facts. The information that you collect aids you in understanding the factors that drove the prospect to your door, what he values (or doesn’t value) about insurance, plus the person’s commission potential and servicing demands. Read More...