In this consumer market, success is centered around the ability to know what you’re up against.
Insurance agents and insurance brokers are subject to many of the same rules as any other small business owner, and when it comes to the current consumer market, this means that success is wholly dependent on boosting consumer awareness, customer service, and community and local knowledge.
It is vital to get out into the community in order to enhance each of these integral elements.
Right now, the consumer has no shortage of choices. The internet has thrown open doors that had never been available, even a short time ago. Therefore, insurance agents who want to excel must get out into the community to get to know their current and potential customers, to make sure that they are known by current and potential, and to scope out the competition, and see how the alternatives look.
Insurance agents are fighting the same battle as many other small business owners in today’s marketplace.
The key is to make sure that you can clearly show that you are a better option than the alternative – and there are many alternatives, so it’s important not to fool yourself into thinking that you will be chosen by default. Gone are the days when any free moment can be spent hanging out at the golf course while someone else runs the business. The first lesson that current practitioners of that method are learning is that opportunities aren’t just walking, they’re running to the competition as a result of it.
The current environment demands that you roll up your sleeves and head back into the office again. Your goal should be to begin branding yourself in the community. This effort will not only help you to help to retain the customers that you already have, but it will also give an added incentive for prospective customers to come to you instead of the competition.
Insurance agents may be selling within their own unique market, but it doesn’t mean that this ecosystem is any different from real estate, fast food, or a small business in any other industry. Regardless of who is the better seller or who makes the better burger, the customer needs to be aware of the business and have a reason to choose it over the competition, before a sale will be made. Find out who else is out there and make sure that consumers will find you more appealing than the competition.
