What Would Your Veteran Self, Tell Your Newbie Self....

fla2cali

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If you could do it all over again, what would you tell your younger self to do to be a successful P&C agent?

What would you tell them to avoid?

What activity would you tell them to concentrate the most on?
 
getting prospects to show up, nothing else matters

overhead, keep it as low as possible.

after a steady pipeline, you can start to learn and build your brand/image the way you want to.
 
That writing through aggregators / wholesalers without having direct appointments is like getting a sharp stick in the eye over, and over, and over again.
 
That writing through aggregators / wholesalers without having direct appointments is like getting a sharp stick in the eye over, and over, and over again.


Let me write that down... sharp... stick.. in .. eye was it? Got it. Thanks.
 
If you could do it all over again, what would you tell your younger self to do to be a successful P&C agent?

What would you tell them to avoid?

What activity would you tell them to concentrate the most on?


Shoulda have gone independent sooner & started building true long term referral relationships sooner.
 
How to leverage, pay and keep the "right" staff.

Slow to hire, quick to fire. Pay them what they are worth, not what you can "afford". If you hire someone that is "worth" it then they will help increase revenues and you will be able to afford them.

Make them get licensed before you hire. This makes them feel like they have to earn the position. Also saves you money/risk. I pay for testteachersonline, $138 for online courses for my new staff. They study and work at their current jobs, when they are ready I pay the $75 for the test. So I do risk losing $200 upfront, but I also interview a lot of candidates and hire slow before hand.

For CSR's, I pay a VERY competitive base salary, $14-$17 an hour, 20% New business commissions, Revenue monthly retention bonus (1%-2%) Entire agency's renewal revenues, Quarterly team bonus', Quarterly Life bonus.

With all these benefits come high goals and expectations. Must write/refer 25,000 new business premium a month at a min. While servicing all clients, cross selling, submitting new business done by Agent/producers.

For AP's I do a decreasing base salary annually, 40% Newbusiness commissions, 30% renewals. They never have to service, just sell and create networking relationships.

Hope that helps.
 
How to leverage, pay and keep the "right" staff.

Slow to hire, quick to fire. Pay them what they are worth, not what you can "afford". If you hire someone that is "worth" it then they will help increase revenues and you will be able to afford them.

Make them get licensed before you hire. This makes them feel like they have to earn the position. Also saves you money/risk. I pay for testteachersonline, $138 for online courses for my new staff. They study and work at their current jobs, when they are ready I pay the $75 for the test. So I do risk losing $200 upfront, but I also interview a lot of candidates and hire slow before hand.

For CSR's, I pay a VERY competitive base salary, $14-$17 an hour, 20% New business commissions, Revenue monthly retention bonus (1%-2%) Entire agency's renewal revenues, Quarterly team bonus', Quarterly Life bonus.

With all these benefits come high goals and expectations. Must write/refer 25,000 new business premium a month at a min. While servicing all clients, cross selling, submitting new business done by Agent/producers.

For AP's I do a decreasing base salary annually, 40% Newbusiness commissions, 30% renewals. They never have to service, just sell and create networking relationships.

Hope that helps.

Todd,

All good points. I'll copy and save this in my evernote, lol. Thanks. This is great advice for when you've built your book to the point to where you have to worry about a csr, and producers.

He's a more focused question.. What is the best use of one's activity to build their personal lines business? Auto leads? Telemarketing?.... I would be interested to know what some Vets did to build their book, and if they had to do it again, how they would do it in today's times.
 
My advice would be to target the higher profit, higher hit ratio products. Identify the carrier's niche and not waste time trying to write low profit lines that will eventually become time vampires...sucking the life from other, more profitable activities.
 
Todd,

All good points. I'll copy and save this in my evernote, lol. Thanks. This is great advice for when you've built your book to the point to where you have to worry about a csr, and producers.

He's a more focused question.. What is the best use of one's activity to build their personal lines business? Auto leads? Telemarketing?.... I would be interested to know what some Vets did to build their book, and if they had to do it again, how they would do it in today's times.


Build referral networks with mortgage guys and realtors. You can always attend mixers and walk into places BUT I've found a better way. Every single time a lender calls for evidence of insurance on a new purchase, or a refi, don't just email or fax it. Physically drive it to their office and introduce yourself. Tell them (hopefully) you represent a bunch of carriers and would be happy to help their clients anytime. If you're doing insurance for a new home purchase ALWAYS find out who the lender and realtor are. Hell you could even go a step further and contact the listing agent using the excuse "you handled the insurance for the buyer on such and such property..." It's all about finding creative reasons to put yourself out there. Same thing when car dealers call for insurance cards etc (although that lends to questionable non standard business ...) you'd be amazed on How many warm opportunities are out there. Even start with whatever agent sold your personal home. If a client calls because they sold or are selling a home...reach out to that listing agent. In the beginning times I would visit open houses on weekends just to meet agents (although I made it seem like I was shopping.)

I'm sure Todd02 has good input...he writes $400,000 a month in premium and after 2 years has a $90,000,000 book ...all with one carrier!!
 
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