As insurance agents, we all have our own methods and ideologies about the way we run our business. Although we may have different philosophies and business models, we all share a common goal: to both find and keep prospective customers.
These days a lot of (and often too much) focus is put on technological aspects such as widgets, gadgets, and trinkets, and although these can be important for a company website, the pale in comparison to perhaps the most crucial contribution to any agency: the people. As the leaders of our agencies, it is up to us to challenge our employees and supply them with the motivation, dedication, and education they need to properly contribute to a company’s success. A great website and technology will bring customers to your service initially, but the people in the agency are what will keep them coming back. A widget will lead our customers to a product page such as one for Ohio home insurance, but it’s our employees that will be the ones who facilitate the need for the customer. Additionally, in a business, it is much easier to blame troubles on technology than to actually take the time to sit down and talk with an employee who may be having trouble with work. To be successful leaders in the industry, we have to consistently search for answers and always be open to learning new things.
If you’re not asking the questions, you’re not doing your job. We have to want to be pushed and challenged by our business partners and clients and get better with what we do every single day. You can get a million hits to your website and acquire a thousand friends on Facebook, but when it all comes down to it, the people in your insurance agency are really the ones putting your company on the map and beyond.
Remember, your insurance agency can only go as far as its people, so make sure you spend considerable time giving them direction, purpose, and new challenges every day.
About the Author:
Ross Swisher, Principal at Insurance Plus Agencies, has been in the industry since 1987 when he started as a personal lines agent. He received his CIC in 1995 and began writing commercial lines before becoming a co-owner and principal at his current Ohio agency.
