Starting a Commercial Insurance Agency from Scratch Advice Needed

[alwaysbelearning1]

Hi everyone, I'm excited to be a part of this forum so I can learn from some of the best minds in insurance.

I'm working my fulltime job in tech sales right now and saving cash to start a business in the next year or two. I've been licensed for some time now. While I'm doing this I'm creating a plan that I can execute on, which entails starting a Commercial P&C Insurance Agency.

My biggest question right now is ensuring constant lead flow/new business acquisition. Everything can be learned on the fly, and even planned for. But I'm not sure how I'd go about getting new commercial insurance leads consistently month over month.

I know people have said network, cold calling, and going to events are some strong ways to get new business, but I need something more consistent. Do you guys buy commercial insurance leads from some sort of lead generation provider?

It's a numbers game, and I have a strong sales background so I need constant lead flow or I'm not running a business. I also want insights from anyone who's succeeded here on longterm outlook. I want to get in this with the intention to create wealth over time and make a lot of money.

In addition to getting constant new business and leads, what's been your success story in scaling your agency? I see real potential to build wealth as a business owner in insurance rather than just a W2 employee. Thank you!

 

[adjusterjack]

I have a strong sales background

Selling what?

And to whom?

 

[alwaysbelearning1]

Selling what?

And to whom?

P&C personal insurance (home, auto etc) not commercial, and tech/software B2B.

 

[tikibarrister]

Which state are you in?

 

[alwaysbelearning1]

Which state are you in?

FL

 

[adjusterjack]

P&C personal insurance (home, auto etc)

Then you are already a licensed agent with a customer base of some sort?

 

[alwaysbelearning1]

Then you are already a licensed agent with a customer base of some sort?

I have no customer base at all. I worked various personal lines agencies in the past but trying to start a commercial agency from scratch.


Do you have know how to consistently get leads/ have you done this before?

 

[NY independent]

New customer flow, leads, and filling up your pipeline is the easy part right now. The tough part is finding a home for the business. Most markets are very tight right now and property capacity especially is very limited. Won't even touch on commission percentage reductions and the gutting of profit sharing. It's very bad timing to initiate this business plan. You are also going to need a strong CL veteran at the helm if you even stand a chance, as it's become a very complicated arena.

 

[marindependent]

Starting a Florida Commercial Lines Agency? From Scratch... Wow!

New customer flow, leads, and filling up your pipeline is the easy part right now.

Totally Agree

capacity especially is very limited.

Totally Correct

bad timing to initiate this business plan

I mostly agree, however an argument can always be made that the best time to jump in is the time that most folks are jumping out. And that could be now.

Establishing lead flow, took me about 8 years. Now I have more leads than I know what to do with. What is constantly changing is the market. And the market is friggin tight. Im heavy on PL, but I do have CL and its reallllly challenging to find proper cover for lots of clients right now. And the thing that seems obvious, but no one will tell you - is that when you hang out your new shingle the number one thing people are likely to ask you for the is the type of insurance that is hardest to find.

To try and answer your question. You've got to get enough deals closed before you can start taking in referrals. Referrals are how most agencies grow [regardless of if they will admit this or not]. Getting to that point can be done with lots of ad spend, lots of appt setting calls, SEO development, in person advertising, guerrilla marketing, Key contact cross referrals - but its a grind no matter how you slice it for the first five years. I personally did this on the internet.

I wish you the best of luck.