How Top Captive Insurance Agents Get Their Agencies “Unstuck”

How Top Captive Insurance Agents Get Their Agencies “Unstuck”

It’s tempting to think those superstar producers in the top 10% never get stuck. I know in my early days in business it seemed like those guys were ten feet tall and bulletproof.

Well, if you’ve spent as much time with some of these stars as I have, you’ll learn that even they get stuck and their agencies plateau from time to time. The difference is in how they handle getting unstuck and how the average person handles it.

The insurance industry is never static, and neither is the context in which we sell. When you make the mistake of thinking it is, that’s like laying down on the proverbial railroad tracks and waiting for the train to come.

In your agency as well as in your closing presentations there are usually warning signs that things aren’t going so well. Too many people in every field but especially ours are content running their business like an ostrich, hoping if they stick their head in the ground and ignore the problems and obstacles that they will go away.

Top agents don’t. Instead they have their radar on high alert detecting and monitoring any and all potential changes at Allstate corporate, the industry in general, and also to the prospects their selling to in person.

Most agents are far more reactive than proactive. They arrive at the office and either play fireman, putting out the crises that arise each day, or let inbound calls, emails, and drop-in clients or salesmen determine their day. All day long they chase after prospects and clients allowing them to dictate what they’ll do and when they’ll do it. Unfortunately, it’s this day to day minutia that often takes up the time that would be better spent dealing with the big issues and seeing the bigger picture.

My real question is this:

Who’s Driving Your Agency?

Who is steering it through these challenges? We all know there’ve been some rocky times lately. At Allstate. In the industry. In the whole economy. So I’d challenge you to firmly grab the steering wheel with both hands and chart your course. You are president and CEO of your life.No one has the right to determine your future but you. Not the company, not your employees, and definitely neither of our presidential candidates.

You see, the biggest things that top Inner Circle agents do that most agents don’t is this: accept responsibility to change things if they don’t like the results their getting.

They accept where they are right now is where they are, and if they’re not happy about it they go about learning what they need to learn and improving what they need to improve to get to where they want to be.

Strategies exist to get you more leads, to overcome price objections, etc.. The hard work to find the answers has already been done, and top agents aren’t afraid to find them and use them.
Fortunately, today is a new day and any agent can make that same decision today. You can decide to regain control over where your agency and your income is headed. You can choose to learn how to move past what’s holding you back.

Put measures in place to grow in this economy. Don’t just wait it out and hope things get better. You’ll regret it because the greatest opportunites are found by pushing forward when most people hesitate. Look at other Allstate agents, they’re hesitating.

So how can you push forward smartly? Don’t reinvent the wheel. When most agents want to grow they either try to do it alone, or turn to peers for help. Top agents turn to experts who can help them get where they want to get quicker.

Top agents look both in and outside of the insurance industry for ideas to improve their businesses. They then adopt those ideas, adapt them to fit their agencies, and then act boldly.

The top agents learn from those getting results, adapt ideas to work to grow their book, then let those ideas bring them new business. The key is they take control. They implement strategies that produce what they want for their business. And you can do the same thing.