Making the Most of Being an Insurance Agent

[Caliban]

<post deleted>

 

[IndyAgentIDTMY]

Kudos on your success! It sounds like you have a good system and staff going so stick with that and maybe look to tweak it some. Hell, if I'm lucky, I may get down to working only 4 days a week in the next 3 years!

Regardless, if I were in your shoes I would first sit down and look at all the numbers to see how much liquidity is available to continue your growth. Maybe you could delegate some of your current responsibilities to your current staff for some additional compensation and to free up more of our time? Perhaps bring on one more licensed staff member to sell, sell, sell! Once staffmember #3 is on board and dialed in, bump all your goals for the following year by 15%. If the new goals are met, you could offer bonuses or some sort of profit-sharing arrangement to reward their hard work.

Of course, the above is all me, but I would love to hear more about your progress. Perhaps you can find a way to work that down to 1 day per week by this time next year!

 

[DT1970]

You writing style reminds me of Darth Vader...in volume and style : )

 

[fastrack1]

I call this thread, “Making the MOST of Being an Insurance Agent.” (I was going to call it, “Living the Dream” but no one ever dreams of being an insurance agent.)

I am sending up this smoke signal to gather the tribe of insurance agents lurking around this site (captive agents and brokers, noobs and vets—you are all welcome in my teepee). QUESTION: how can an agent tool his insurance office to PURE EFFICIENCY which allows the agent to NOT even be in his or her office, but it still grows and grows.

The agent then gets to live life to the fullest. (When you die, are you going to wish you had spent more time in your OFFICE?)

I’m not saying NOT be INVOLVED in running the office—au contraire. I just don’t want to have to be here to do it. (Afterall, nowadays we have webcams, WiFi, Blackberries, e-mail, etc.).

I am getting close, but somehow I can’t break through to Nirvana. I have gotten a good taste, but I would love to hear from someone who has made it to the mountain top, or at least to the next level.

THIS IS ME: 8 year State Farm agent. Not a burnout. No panel and shag carpet. Not a posterboy either. I do make a trip now and then. I show up to a lot of agent meetings and catch up with the pack (then I usually slip out at the first break and on to life’s adventures).

I have two staff (yeah, I call them staff). Both are fully licensed. Betty does ALL service tasks and answers the phone, sets financial appointments for me, and sets up sales for Veronica (who only does sales—in office, out of office, go get ‘em!) Yes, I do call them Betty and Veronica—lawsuit is imminent to be sure.

Over the years I have cleaned the dregs out of my book. So our service is pretty minimal.

Basically, I don’t show up unless I am SCHEDULED to show up. But my presence is always “felt”. (At least I think so.) When I am in the office, it is all GO time! Either appointments or stuff that I have to be here for because only I can do it. Very intense, all action. Many of my buddy agents feel like they have to be IN their offices all day, like a monkey behind glass. (I bought my best friend a mannequin with a cheap suit on it so he could sit it at his desk when we golf or surf and accomplish the same thing as if he was there.) He only used it once, but he is starting to get my drift.

Below is my routine. I want to know yours, and how I should tweak mine. I am glad to share everything about me that could help you live your dream, and me mine. I will make sure my e-mail is on my profile too—though I got a life and I am not to be counted on to be pen pals. Also, mine is not the company model for agents, so I would like to stay off the radar, if you know what I mean.

HERE’S MY DRILL: Each MORNING, Betty and Veronica each receives a detailed e-mail from me going over the SPECIFIC things they are to accomplish that day. It takes me about 30 minutes for me to write each of them. (I sometimes schedule a couple general e-mails to be sent LATER in the day at various times, “checking in” so they think I am constantly thinking of them and what is going on in the office—I am not. I love Outlook).

They both have my calendar, e-mail, and cell phone and know if/when I will be in the office. Sometimes I DO show up unannounced to keep them on their toes. At the end of each day they each send me an e-mail report of what they accomplished, and what the two most important things are for them the next day. Those two things have to be done first thing the next day, and I include them in their “Morning Marching Orders”.

There is no free-balling it. Expectations are set and achieved each day. I grow a little more each year (sometimes very little, but I stay ahead of my lapse/can) and the folks I bring in are good quality. Even though I didn’t write them, they get some love from me real quick—a call, a card, etc. I am their agent, not Betty or Veronica. For my part, there about two days a week I show up for large parts of the day for appointments, and some handshaking face time with clients, and to send some love to my clients. Plus I have the morning e-mail routine listed above, plus about 20 minutes to review their report at the end of the day (though sometimes I blow this off to the next morning).

Lastly, each day I have a 30 minute time blocked out to return those special calls to clients who can only talk to me—you know the ones. When I am gone, which is more often than I am here, and someone can ONLY talk to me, Betty says, “Bob’s meeting with clients for most of the day, (which is not a lie, because technically, I am a client) but I can have him call you at 4:00 after his last appointment, how does that sound?” Most clients are happy with a scheduled call back. They can immediately quit stewing. They know when I’ll be calling. I also sound like a busy agent. If she has a callback for me to make she sends me an e-mail. If it is a “red alert” call, and the dude has to get a call back pronto, when I pick it up on my Blackberry I will call him as soon as possible and make him feel special (these clients pay my commission after all). The nice thing is, only about half the time do I have ANYONE to call back at 4:00, and I have less than about 6 or 7 “red alert” interruptions each month.

So, all totaled, I could clock two mostly full days a week, an hour each morning on the two e-mails to B & V, maybe 20 minutes at the end of the day to review what they did, plus the 30 minutes reserved to return calls, which I often don’t need.

So what’s my dilemma? I want to know how far I can go with this thing. My buds rib me that “Bob works two days a week—just imagine how much he would make if he worked four!” I’m thinking, “How can I get this down to ONE day per week and make twice as much?” Should I consider getting someone to actually do the appointments I do? Or cut out any appointments that do not involve an app? (I still go down the screen with some clients, “This is your dwelling coverage. This is your personal property coverage.” Maybe I should get an overall manager to send the morning e-mails and be an agent surrogate? Sort of like the Dread Pirate Roberts? Could there ever just be a portrait of me on the wall with “Our Founder” under it?

I know I can spend all sorts of cash and have these tasks done, but if I don’t get a return on the expense, I don’t spend the cash. I want to net MORE money, not less while I do LESS work, not more.

Hark a moment, I am not lazy. I actually work very hard to not work hard. I can’t disappear and let this thing deteriorate. I am on the State Farm AA97 contract in which I get an AIPP check each year (a decent check designed for me to put in a retirement fund, but I always blow it). But for my contract there is no retirement from the company. So why would I ever stop being a State Farm agent? Basically, I am going to die an active State Farm agent because I want those renewals checks and that AIPP check, and the occasional scorecard check to never stop rolling in.

But here’s what I have come to realize: I sat with a couple agent buddies who started when I did—the ones who feel they have to be in their office to run their office. I actually do MORE actual work than they do, and my numbers are as good as theirs (my net income is better because I only have B & V on the payroll, they both have three staff).

So there it is. I send this message in a bottle out into the vast void of the internet. Is there ANYONE out there who rolls like I do, or wants to roll like I do, or rolls BETTER than I do? (I need you most of all.) I’m not looking to be judged, but I take nothing personal so criticize if you must, but don’t be a hater.

Yours,

Caliban

Good post. I'm very similar to you (at least in occupation, employer, staffing, etc.) and am out of the office alot and in the office to much. I am working towards what you are doing, but still want more money. Have you read the book "The 4-hour workweek?" It addresses this issue.

This is just my initial response to your post. I'm going to give it some real thought and respond back in more detail when I have some time and maybe we can work this thing out. I like many of your ideas.

 

[CHUMPS FROM OXFORD]

Interesting post. Normally, I don't even read posts authored by anyone whose name rhymes with "Taliban." I did make an exception here.

Very regimented office atmosphere. I applaud you because I could never do that. I'm an in-office guy who only ventures out every few months. But your system works, so keep doing it.

RE office efficiency...Identify the tasks that have the best ROI, and make sure they are your priority.

WebNanny was not used in this post
WebTerrorunit was used in this post

 

[Quote]

Congrats on your success. I am currently trying to set things up so I can do something very similar. It is also the reason I am focusing on P&C over life and health because of the long term residuals. I am going to be more Internet based, but the old face to face works well for retention.

 

[xrac]

Caliban, you have done a very impressive job. Having a good effort out of people when you are not present is not an easy thing to achieve. I know that from experience. You are a clear communicator in your posts and I would think those skills serve you well with your staff. The post about adding a sales person is spot on as far as growing the business is concerned but may actually require more time from you not less. I am not sure that I have any worthwhile suggestions other than to say look for small ways to improve, find ways to utilize technology, and always keep in mind that people don't do what you expect they do what you inspect.

 

[1manshow]

Sounds like you're "on track" much faster than I was able to get there myself. Congratulations ! Why in God's name we get all caught up in the testosterone thing and insist on handling/being in charge of worthless crap. Took me a few years longer to figure it out but I'm on track as well. I only touch an app if it generates over 1K comm and nobody else in the office can handle it. Have a life producer, 2 P&C CSRs and a licensed office mgr. Mgr knows goals and is compensated accordingly. I'm in for the monthly staff mtg, but mostly on my desktop from logmein at home or wifi where can get reports on everyone's activity. P & C Book grew at 9% in 08' and on track for 10% premium growth in 09'. 10 more years and it goes to the highest bidder and I go full time to w.palm.

 

[arnguy]

Caliban. Oops! For a split second I thought your user name was "taliban."

 

[SportsNut]

Caliban. Oops! For a split second I thought your user name was "taliban."

And his Avatar looks like one of those Gitmo pics that I have seen too. Coincidence...? I think NOT... It's all too compelling to ignore.