Attention New Agents: Write a Business Plan

[Josh]

Every so often we'll see a new thread on here that is some version of "I just got my licensed; now what?" and frankly, most of us roll our eyes a bit. The reality is that if you're getting in this business, you should be writing a business plan. This will help you get organized and know better what questions to ask to better use this forum. There is a lot of great information on here and a lot of folks interested in helping out newbies, but generally they're going to respond more favorably if you have helped yourself a bit first.

You can find an outline of one here: A Standard Business Plan Outline — Business Plan Help & Small Business Articles - Bplans.com , but there are plenty of others.

This shouldn't be an overly confusing process or overly time consuming, but you should go through and give some special attention to your products, looking at your competition, and especially your marketing plan.

The key is to get most of what you're thinking/planning in writing and develop a better plan than "I just got licensed, now I want to make a bunch of money".

Yes, there are a lot of recruiters that tell you that this is a great industry to make a lot of money in (and they're right), but success takes planning. Any business plan you write should including a marketing plan. Not just "cold calling" or "buy internet leads", but list out the companies you're going to use. Make some estimates of what you think you're response rates are going to be (or at least what you'd like them to be) and build a plan around numbers. When you lay out your marketing plan and then work your plan, that puts you in the best position to be successful at this. The industry is full of agents that are competent at their products, but the hardest part of the job is usually getting in front of people. If you need ideas, join iliaa.org and look through their training videos.

It's also worth mentioning that some folks get locked up in analysis paralysis and get stuck spending too much time on this, but if you're not spending at least a day working on a business plan, you're doing yourself a huge disservice.

Good luck!

 

[scagnt83]

This is the best advice any new agent (or old agent even) could take to heart. NYL used to stress this and make all first year agents do this. They called it a "business and marketing plan". I will see if I can dig up the outline.
It required three forms of marketing or prospect generation. And it had you spell out how much time you would dedicate to it and how many prospects per week you estimate it to yield.
It covered lots more too of course, but the point is that it forced you to sit down and map out your desired activity and results. Another important section was the accountability section ie: how you plan to track activity and results.


A good thing to do once completed is to create page with highlights of your main goals and plans for the year. Then you tack it over your phone to look at while you dial for dollars.

Great post Josh!

 

[Rearden]

In addition, set realistic goals -- like best, moderate, and worst case expectations.

The truth is -- while long-term you can project direct mail response rate, closing rate, dials-to-appointment ratios, whatever... results in the short term are random.

Point is... it's very likely in the beginning you could go through a "cold spell" before you start seeing results.

Also... if you're independent, consider ways to keep yourself accountable. Start a blog or a thread here and update it weekly. Track your behavior (like door-knocks, leads worked, presentations) and track them to determine what your ratios are over the long-term.

 

[OhioIA]

I haven't been here for that long but I was considering leaving due to all the negative posts but this topic is great.

The last three posts have been very useful and they are absolutely correct.

I started an independent p&c agency last October and the first thing the territory managers asked to see was my business plan.

My first business plan was not very good but after I met with about 7-8 different companies and got rejected by them all, I had a pretty good idea of what they wanted on the business plan.

Some of the territory managers actually helped me write my business plan by giving me results of other agencies that just started. That helped me figure out realistic goals to include on my business plan.

When you first start trying to get appointments, call on some that you really don't care if you get or not. That way you can practice on them and learn from them also.

Sorry for the rushed post...got to go to Easter brunch.

Good luck.

 

[Tucker444]

I haven't been here for that long but I was considering leaving due to all the negative posts but this topic is great.

Same thought. This thread is why people come here. Not to be blasted because the subject has come up before.

Thanks Josh.

 

[JP Savage]

When I first started in this industry it was with a captured carrier. My first manager with them was very big on goal setting, which was a good fit to my personality. But with each goal that was established a defined plan of action had to be put in place to achieve your goal. Notice I said "your goal", that's because it is your goal not the carriers. Well that manager has moved to a different location with that carrier and I am now IA, but we are still friends and keep in touch. You can call it a business plan or goal setting or whatever you want, but you must have a defined plan in place.

I must admit when I went independant I had more business coming at me than I could handle. Business was very good, but I veered off my activities to reach my goal and eventually it caught up to me.

My point is develop your realistic plan and stick to it, no matter how much business your write or don't write. Always look to learn more, and on this forum there is a wealth of knowledge. Yes you will get some people who are negative or have nothing constructive to add. Work around them because there are alot of good people who have a TON of experience you can learn from.

 

[VolAgent]

I was actually thinking of starting a thread on a corollary.

Market, market, market until you have an overabundance of prospects. Put yourself into a position where you have more prospects than you can possibly handle, and aggressively separate out the ones that aren't worth your time. You cannot begin to imagine how great it is until you reach it, but trust me it is worth it. It puts you in the driver seat of your business instead of constantly chasing your tail.

Now, don't be rude or mean to anyone, but get rid of the prospects that are a waste of your time and do it as quickly as possible. Some will tell you anyone can be a great client, and they can. But most people won't. The quicker you can narrow your target down to the people you enjoy working with, the people who appreciate you and your service, and the people who are profitable to help, the quicker you will reach your goals.

How does this relate to a business plan? Simple, as a new agent, your marketing plan should be the bulk of your business plan. Find marketing methods that will successfully generate the type of client you want, and then work them and work them hard.

 

[Guest]

I agree, You can even walk into Officemax or staples and buy a program of one and adjust it to fir yours.....

Or you can google one......

Goals are important, I had a OLD DM tell me once......Him and his Girlfriend at the time set goals.....
They made a certain goal for the week, If they hit that goal, they went our friday night and took Saturday off, if they didnt meet the goal, they did not go out friday night and they worked Saturday to make up for it.....

Sometimes it truely is the simple things to make you successful.

 

[Rearden]

After picking your insurance niche, I would advise one to research those proven to be successful and establish certain metrics to gauge your success.

For example, if you decide Final Expense is your focus, read everything JDEasy has ever posted. However, take off your rose-colored glasses and realize the likelihood of you performing at his elite level, initially, is a bad comparison. But certainly strive for it.

Also, HONESTLY assess your financial outlay ability and appetite for risk-taking.

For example, if you want to avoid prospecting by colder methods and would rather use a direct mail system for final expense -- and all you got is $1500 to string together to make it happen -- save your money; you need at least double that to get off the ground and to learn and move through any initial bumps in the road.

And, finally, don't be afraid to ask those with experience for help. I've talked to several people on this board and really enjoy helping out if asked. Having some "in-the-trenches" insight gives you a huge edge and can make an incredible difference in your success.

 

[rousemark]

Josh: Your post makes sense and those that go on to become successful agents will follow you advice... But for the rest, it will still be a lot easier just to post on the forum, "I have my license..now what?" than to put forth the effort to develop a business plan.