Getting Started.

[mdavis]

I had a Farmers Agency for 9 years. There are several negitive comments made about them but the truth is, make a business plan, (I like Business Plan Pro) and make a one year plan and a five year plan. Resist the temptation to change marketing stratagies when they don't work right away. Knowing what I know about Farmers, get a good MGA and use them because Farmers can be unpredictable and cold to deal with. While I'm obviously not a Farmers fan, I did make a very good living from them. Good luck to you!

Matt

 

[newtnee]

What does mga stand for? Also a question for greenman.
He said "if year one doesn't happen, then the following years won't happen either, at least not the way you want them to."
We live in a town of about 12,000 and have 3 more towns of similar size near by. With that in mind how many policies should we have from this in a years time?
I would like to know if everyone else agree with greenman and if so what can I do to help? Which is my original question by the way.

 

[newtnee]

I am not sure what number my wife wants to put up there. I am pretty sure she would like to get as many as possible. Right now she is busy but I will try to get her on here asap.

What I have doing instead of mailing is door hangers. Unfortunately I am not sure how many if any clients she has gotton from them. We had post cards that the company had sent out and got maybe 2 inquiries. Also there is another agent in town where I from. Some people don't look at the name they just go to the phone book look farmers insurance and call the number they see. She lost 2 referals that way. Now we are giving out cards to our friends and clients to hand out for referals.

 

[dj5106]

I would think her manager should be helping to build a marketing plan for her to implement. What about talking to other Farmers agents in the area to find out what worked for them to get their book of business built?

 

[mdavis]

Also, when starting out, in additino to door hanging (which I used to do a TON of), spend three hours on a Saturday and knock on the doors that you've been targeting. When face to face you'll be shocked at how open people are to discussing coverage. At a minimum you'll leave with a renewal date and a face to face.

 

[newtnee]

We went out and did some door hanger the other night and I talked to a few people before giving them brochures. They said they were looking for insurance but as of yet they still have not called. I should have gotten their name and phone number. We also did some door hangers in some apartment building and got chased out by the manager. She also told us that they had all our material in the office. I know we didn't give it to her so either she is lying or some one else dropped something off. I'll go with the lying. I think I am going to make a stop in her office and bring some brochures with our name on it and tell her we're bringing updated material.

 

[LifeHealthinMN]

I'm a brand-new agent myself so I'm in the same boat as you, but I do have experience with this situation. My father is a 30-year insurance veteran and I'm joining his business. He built his book of business very quickly and some of the older methods are still tried and true.

The advice given to me wasn't just to casually mention, "oh yeah, I'm an agent now and maybe I could do a quote or something". It was this: be direct (mail) be specific (I want your business) and be quick (do this now!).

Direct: Compose a letter explaining the switch to this industry, but don't go into too much detail about yourself or your wife. Keep the emphasis on what YOU can do for THEM. Mention these tough economic times and how some simple shopping around can save them money.

Send this letter, on your *new* letterhead, in your *new* matching envelopes with three or four *new* business cards to EVERYONE you know. You high school pals, your college friends, neighbors, your dentist, doctor, veterinarian, your mom's best friend, your cousins, your kids' friends parents. Seriously....spend an evening thinking of every single person you know and write a list out and get some addresses. Put these addresses in an xls spreadsheet and print directly on your new envelopes. This xls spreadsheet will come in handy when you do this again in 6 to 9 months for the people who didn't contact you or during the holidays for holiday greetings/update on new product etc..

Be specific: Mention the lines of insurance you offer, even the offbeat ones if your company offers them. Offer to do a free comprehensive insurance evaluation for them to make sure they have enough insurance, or to see if they are overinsured. Keep mentioning how this helps THEM.

Be quick: Do this right now, while your momentum is high!

I'm in the same boat, and this is definitely the time to take the bull by the horns and go after those referrals. Include at least four cards in each letter so they have some to distribute.

Good luck!

p.s. In addition to this older method, get on Facebook, Twitter, etc. Set up a website. Collect email addresses of clients or potential clients with their permission to contact them again in the future. Consider buying leads. Use every method available to get out of the gate fast!

 

[skippy]

One of the best advice I've read so far here. Thanks.