What if your next best client didn’t come from an expensive marketing campaign, but from someone who already trusts you? The most successful independent insurance agencies don’t leave referrals to chance. They build a referral strategy that consistently generates new business throughout the year. Instead of hoping clients mention them to friends or business partners, […]
Most independent insurance agents spend their days helping clients manage risk, plan for the future, and protect what matters most. But when it comes to their own agency, many operate without a written roadmap. That is where a business plan becomes invaluable. A strong business plan is not just a document for banks or investors. […]
How can an owner grow their agency most effectively? Hiring and developing qualified staff is a key differentiator between successful growth agencies and their peers. For many owners an essential starting point begins with a focus on recruiting and hiring. Agencies that grow faster than their peers prioritize revenue-generating activities. Growth can be achieved by […]
Having an established new client onboarding process is an essential foundational element that impacts retention and client loyalty (see article: Key Performance Indicator – Understanding the Impact of Retention and Renewable Income on Agency Growth). Determining what makes a successful client onboarding program varies from agency to agency. A few questions to consider with respect […]
Retention is the life blood of an independent insurance agency’s business. As agency owners consider planning, emphasis on new business generation often takes precedence over retention goals. Considering it costs a typical business five-to-seven times more to acquire a new client than retain an existing client, agency owners will benefit by allocating resources towards increasing […]
One of the greatest challenges for an agency owner is understanding an appropriate workload for client service representatives (CSR). For many agency owners knowing the benchmark for the number of clients, policies, or premium to service is a valuable Key Performance Indicator (KPI). Best practice numbers from a recent Big I study indicate average agencies […]
One of the most common questions that agency owners ask about their producers is how they are doing compared to their peers. Is the new business commission they are bringing in more or less than average? Is their total book size similar to other producers? According to a recent Big I best practice studies, producers […]
Understanding and tracking commission revenue per employee can be a valuable key performance indicator (KPI) and benchmark. For an agency owner, maximizing revenue per employee is also critical in driving healthy operating margins. For producers and accounts managers/CSRs, it can be useful in evaluating individual performance and value to the agency. According to best practice […]
Successful agents track and understand close ratios as a critical KPI (key performance indicators) to help determine where to focus sales and marketing efforts. The challenge is knowing what constitutes an optimal close rate. Top-performing agents with sufficient lead sources, targeted focus, and a solid portfolio of carriers can consistently drive 40% to 70% close […]
Independent insurance agencies typically average anywhere from 1.3 – 1.7 policies per customer. High-performing multi-line agencies exceed an average of 2 policies per customer. Knowing and monitoring this number may help identify initiatives to improve your agency’s success. It is one of the easiest KPIs (key performance indicators) to calculate. Simply take your total policies […]
