Yes Qauson : Responsible For Helping People Help ?
According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, there are over 385,000 insurance sales agents in the US, with a mean average income of just over $67K. Of course it's not perfectly linear but if we simply divided the 385,000 by 50 we would have a mean average of 7700 agents per state, but that isn't how it works. In some states like Florida, California and Texas there are in excess of 30,000 agents.
As the numbers display there is a myriad of competition in the industry. That is evidenced by a massive amount of white noise. So, what do prospects really hear? Can they patiently weed through the white noise and find the answers they need?
No and No they can't, and so they take the simplest default position which is tuning out. It is far easier to totally ignore the issues than battle through the white noise and confusion. Sadly, this is our fault. The public needs the financial solutions we provide and it is imperative that we find a way to communicate these issues in order to provide the proper solutions.
We live in the richest nation is the world, many say the wealthiest nation in the history of human civilization. And yet we suffer the highest rate of financial illiteracy in the world. This difficult paradox leads to such results as 95% of all those who reach age 65 and older are either dead, dead broke or financially dependent and worse yet totally financially dependent on the government. Only 5% reach 65 and older in a state of financial independence. We are the gatekeepers who are responsible for helping people attain financial independence. Forget about retirement and all the other catch phrases mired in the white noise. It is and always has been about simply helping people create financial independence, all else is fluff.
How then will you step outside the bloating crowd promoting all the white noise? What makes you different? How evident is that difference and does it connect, inform, resonate and motivate?
I submit to you the most effective and efficient differentiation is the perception of authority. People seek out authorities, they trust authority. When I mention authority I'm not discussing some level of bureaucratic power, I'm discussing the sense of thought leadership. You become the recognized authority in your local community. By proper positioning you can then take your essence of authority across the nation.
If this has opened your mind to this strategy look for the next article in this series, when I will layout a strategic plan on how to create a thought leadership branding position.
The Advocacy Network is focused on eliminating all forms of financial victimization through creating awareness, providing financial literacy education and helping people attain financial independence. We work closely through developing strategic alliances with financial services professionals. We provide a platform and systems that help these professionals get paid to prospect while creating UNLIMITED referrals.
Starting an internet marketing campaign or even improving an existing one can be a challenging task. Where should insurance agencies begin, and what should they focus on? Here are 10 great online ideas to help your agency improve your online marketing initiatives.
1. Blog and Vlog Blogging is a fantastic way to showcase your expertise and attract visitors to your website. General topics usually get lost in the shuffle. Consider writing about very specific topics that are relevant to your clients and prospects. If you're a trucking insurance agency, for example, this means topics on CSA updates, DOT regulations, fuel economics, fleet management, fuel theft, cargo theft, etc. Use videos to make your blogs more compelling and sticky. And make sure your blogs (and website) are mobile friendly!
2. Improve Your Google Ranking/Insurance Agency SEO Google ranking is one of the holy grails of internet marketing. Being on the first page is where it is at. When evaluating your online marketing initiatives, keep in mind how they can positively impact your search engine rankings. Track your SEO progress and review your website analytics to determine where your traffic originates.
3. Create a Webinar Series Not enough agencies take advantage of online webinars. Monthly or even quarterly webinars do a lot to elevate you from an insurance sales group to an advisor and consultant. Webinars can be recorded and offered as high value on demand digital collateral after the webinar. And webinars provide a high value reason to contact clients and prospects in ongoing email drip campaigns.
4. Use Explainer Videos Explainer videos, also referred to as value proposition or whiteboard videos, can be very useful for online marketing because they are typically short, sticky, entertaining and reusable on multiple mediums. They can be posted on your insurance agency website, your branded YouTube channel, Vlogs, and in an email marketing campaign. You can give your best sales pitch to every prospect. Create videos for each major silo in your company (commercial lines, personal lines, benefits, manufacturing, trucking, etc.), and distribute it widely using social media.
5. Maximize Social Media Social media is often an untapped resource for most agencies. At a minimum, every agency should have a professional and branded presence on all major social media platforms including LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google+. Beyond this they should have a "respectable" number of followers. Social media advertising can be effective for agencies, but this is a more complex initiative and should be either staffed internally or outsourced to an expert.
6. Create a Google+ Agency Page Even though most people do not use Google+, Google will reward you with a better page ranking if you create one, and post regularly. It only takes a few minutes and will be worth the effort to improve your insurance agency search engine optimization initiative.
7. Leverage Client Testimonials or Case Study Vignettes Happy clients will always sell your business better than you can. Profile your loyal customers, and ask them a few questions about what they love about your company. Even better, create a video and post it to your website. You can also create anonymous case study vignettes, short case studies of client success stories using type of business and general location, but not their names.
8. Use LinkedIn To its Full Potential (and get your employees to help) If your agency is a commercial lines or benefits agency, LinkedIn is the place to be. You should invest time in LinkedIn to ensure a professional company page, ongoing posts, and to create a policy to help your employees help your agency marketing efforts on LinkedIn. Join groups and create your own to extend your reach.
9. Press Releases - News Releases Press Releases, often referred to as News Releases in the rapidly changing world of PR, offers agencies a great online opportunity to extend their brand recognition, and improve their insurance agency search engine optimization. There are both free services and paid services that are available to agencies. Needless to say, all News Releases should start as a post on your insurance agency website, then move to a News Release service, then pushed out via social media.
10. Use Online/Email Newsletters E-newsletters provide agencies an opportunity for high quality, direct communication with clients and prospects. There are many cloud based solutions that provide attractive, mobile compliant, newsletter templates. Or you can outsource this initiative to a proficient insurance marketing agency. A great email marketing newsletter campaign can have a large impact on your online marketing efforts.
If your agency lacks the internal resources to accomplish your online initiatives, consider outsourcing them to a proficient insurance agency marketing firm
If there is one resounding challenge I hear when visiting with agency managers is that they are struggling to hire and maintain staff. I have an approach that I think can enable anyone to hire not just someone, but someone dynamic regardless of the job you're hiring for or where your business is located. I will elaborate some of my theory behind this in the 3 step outline.
You need people and people are everywhere. Sounds simple, even ridiculously obvious but don't give up on me yet. Allow me to elaborate. I think the way in which we go about staffing our businesses should be adapted to embrace the many changes influencing life today as we know it. The tried and true standard of finding employees would be to either post the position or contact a recruiter, which anyone reading this is likely already quite skilled at, so my suggestion is to perhaps round out your recruitment process with an alternative approach. And this technique starts with recognizing that you meet potential employees every day, because you have to interact with people every day. Why not slow down and engage with some of these people long enough to measure potential value?
Let me break down into steps and examples: 1. Define what you want in your next CSR. Again sounds simple right? I am suggesting you spend a little more time on this particular step as it not only will help you find who you are looking for it will also help you encourage growth in your already established staff. Think about what the ultimate customer service representative would be within your agency and then take out a note pad (some old school practices are still my favorites) and write down what attributes or skills you want your potential CSR to have and then rank those in importance, I have made a very simplified example below to utilize in explaining this concept:
Defining your idea of what you are looking for is half the battle. If you take your time and really put some thought into this step it will not only help you find an employee but also help you re-structure your approach and expectations of your current staff. Write.It.Down. Seriously, this is key.
2. Realize that people you meet everyday are your potential employees. Now that you have defined what the position you are looking to fill is, the fun begins. Yes, I said fun. Why does this process have to be tedious? You are looking to bring a person into your work place that you will spend a significant amount of energy and time with. Shouldn't you enjoy the process of getting to know people? Hopefully you will. Even those of you that don't love getting to know new people can certainly recognize the importance of the process I am explaining in this article.
You meet people every day and these are your potential employees. When you run errands, buy groceries, go out to eat, go to the movies, attend social events, or go to church. You meet people and if you start to observe them in a different way you can start a preliminary interview of a possible new employee. Here is an example:
Let's say you are at a restaurant with a group of friends, your waiter is clearly in a bad spot because the restaurant is packed and they are short 2 employees. Even so the experience is not horrible due to the way in which the waiter handles the situation. Maybe he communicates clearly, gives you an appetizer to keep you satisfied until food arrives, leaves the water pitcher, and keeps a good attitude despite the tough circumstance he is in because his co-workers didn't show up. In this example your potential employee just showed you that they had a good attitude, that they were adaptable, and also a good problem solver... three of the items from your list (maybe four if their appearance was acceptable). This person might be worth talking to a little more. Having dinner in an understaffed restaurant might have just landed you a potential CSR. Seriously this is really that easy. Is there a super friendly attendant at the dry cleaners that you always look forward to seeing when you drop your clothes off? Why? What attributes does this person have that might potentially make them a good employee for you? Think back about all of the interactions you had last week during your day-to-day errands. Likely you can recognize a few examples even now.
The other wonderful part of this approach is that you can figuratively dip your toes in the water without jumping in. You can engage this person in a conversation, ask a few questions and see if they perhaps employ even more qualities that you are seeking. If you like what you hear, ask them to visit you in your office and see if they might have an interest in working with you. Not everyone will be a perfect match or be interested. This is the equivalent to posting an ad, but your odds are much better to find the right fit for your office.
3. Clearly define your expectations in the new employee's role. Fast forward - assuming you made it successfully through steps one and two and have now hired a new CSR, the process is not complete. It is equally important to structure the initial phase of bringing someone into a new work environment to ensure that both of you communicate properly. Clearly define your expectations within the role of the new employee, and let them know what is most important to you and how they can meet your expectations. Commit to a specified time frame in which you will engage in training the new employee in daily, weekly, and monthly increments and make it a priority. Encourage feedback so the new hire can feel part of the new company quickly by engaging in constructive conversations with you and/or supervisors. Lastly, always keep the list handy of what defines the ultimate CSR and continually guide your employees into improving into that roll. Sign them up for classes, perform training, give constructive criticism, encourage them, and reward good behavior.
Simply put, in order for you to have employees that truly suit your company and your expectations, you should clearly define and communicate those effectively and often.
As the numbers display there is a myriad of competition in the industry. That is evidenced by a massive amount of white noise. So, what do prospects really hear? Can they patiently weed through the white noise and find the answers they need?
No and No they can't, and so they take the simplest default position which is tuning out. It is far easier to totally ignore the issues than battle through the white noise and confusion. Sadly, this is our fault. The public needs the financial solutions we provide and it is imperative that we find a way to communicate these issues in order to provide the proper solutions.
We live in the richest nation is the world, many say the wealthiest nation in the history of human civilization. And yet we suffer the highest rate of financial illiteracy in the world. This difficult paradox leads to such results as 95% of all those who reach age 65 and older are either dead, dead broke or financially dependent and worse yet totally financially dependent on the government. Only 5% reach 65 and older in a state of financial independence. We are the gatekeepers who are responsible for helping people attain financial independence. Forget about retirement and all the other catch phrases mired in the white noise. It is and always has been about simply helping people create financial independence, all else is fluff.
How then will you step outside the bloating crowd promoting all the white noise? What makes you different? How evident is that difference and does it connect, inform, resonate and motivate?
I submit to you the most effective and efficient differentiation is the perception of authority. People seek out authorities, they trust authority. When I mention authority I'm not discussing some level of bureaucratic power, I'm discussing the sense of thought leadership. You become the recognized authority in your local community. By proper positioning you can then take your essence of authority across the nation.
If this has opened your mind to this strategy look for the next article in this series, when I will layout a strategic plan on how to create a thought leadership branding position.
The Advocacy Network is focused on eliminating all forms of financial victimization through creating awareness, providing financial literacy education and helping people attain financial independence. We work closely through developing strategic alliances with financial services professionals. We provide a platform and systems that help these professionals get paid to prospect while creating UNLIMITED referrals.
Starting an internet marketing campaign or even improving an existing one can be a challenging task. Where should insurance agencies begin, and what should they focus on? Here are 10 great online ideas to help your agency improve your online marketing initiatives.
1. Blog and Vlog Blogging is a fantastic way to showcase your expertise and attract visitors to your website. General topics usually get lost in the shuffle. Consider writing about very specific topics that are relevant to your clients and prospects. If you're a trucking insurance agency, for example, this means topics on CSA updates, DOT regulations, fuel economics, fleet management, fuel theft, cargo theft, etc. Use videos to make your blogs more compelling and sticky. And make sure your blogs (and website) are mobile friendly!
2. Improve Your Google Ranking/Insurance Agency SEO Google ranking is one of the holy grails of internet marketing. Being on the first page is where it is at. When evaluating your online marketing initiatives, keep in mind how they can positively impact your search engine rankings. Track your SEO progress and review your website analytics to determine where your traffic originates.
3. Create a Webinar Series Not enough agencies take advantage of online webinars. Monthly or even quarterly webinars do a lot to elevate you from an insurance sales group to an advisor and consultant. Webinars can be recorded and offered as high value on demand digital collateral after the webinar. And webinars provide a high value reason to contact clients and prospects in ongoing email drip campaigns.
4. Use Explainer Videos Explainer videos, also referred to as value proposition or whiteboard videos, can be very useful for online marketing because they are typically short, sticky, entertaining and reusable on multiple mediums. They can be posted on your insurance agency website, your branded YouTube channel, Vlogs, and in an email marketing campaign. You can give your best sales pitch to every prospect. Create videos for each major silo in your company (commercial lines, personal lines, benefits, manufacturing, trucking, etc.), and distribute it widely using social media.
5. Maximize Social Media Social media is often an untapped resource for most agencies. At a minimum, every agency should have a professional and branded presence on all major social media platforms including LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google+. Beyond this they should have a "respectable" number of followers. Social media advertising can be effective for agencies, but this is a more complex initiative and should be either staffed internally or outsourced to an expert.
6. Create a Google+ Agency Page Even though most people do not use Google+, Google will reward you with a better page ranking if you create one, and post regularly. It only takes a few minutes and will be worth the effort to improve your insurance agency search engine optimization initiative.
7. Leverage Client Testimonials or Case Study Vignettes Happy clients will always sell your business better than you can. Profile your loyal customers, and ask them a few questions about what they love about your company. Even better, create a video and post it to your website. You can also create anonymous case study vignettes, short case studies of client success stories using type of business and general location, but not their names.
8. Use LinkedIn To its Full Potential (and get your employees to help) If your agency is a commercial lines or benefits agency, LinkedIn is the place to be. You should invest time in LinkedIn to ensure a professional company page, ongoing posts, and to create a policy to help your employees help your agency marketing efforts on LinkedIn. Join groups and create your own to extend your reach.
9. Press Releases - News Releases Press Releases, often referred to as News Releases in the rapidly changing world of PR, offers agencies a great online opportunity to extend their brand recognition, and improve their insurance agency search engine optimization. There are both free services and paid services that are available to agencies. Needless to say, all News Releases should start as a post on your insurance agency website, then move to a News Release service, then pushed out via social media.
10. Use Online/Email Newsletters E-newsletters provide agencies an opportunity for high quality, direct communication with clients and prospects. There are many cloud based solutions that provide attractive, mobile compliant, newsletter templates. Or you can outsource this initiative to a proficient insurance marketing agency. A great email marketing newsletter campaign can have a large impact on your online marketing efforts.
If your agency lacks the internal resources to accomplish your online initiatives, consider outsourcing them to a proficient insurance agency marketing firm
If there is one resounding challenge I hear when visiting with agency managers is that they are struggling to hire and maintain staff. I have an approach that I think can enable anyone to hire not just someone, but someone dynamic regardless of the job you're hiring for or where your business is located. I will elaborate some of my theory behind this in the 3 step outline.
You need people and people are everywhere. Sounds simple, even ridiculously obvious but don't give up on me yet. Allow me to elaborate. I think the way in which we go about staffing our businesses should be adapted to embrace the many changes influencing life today as we know it. The tried and true standard of finding employees would be to either post the position or contact a recruiter, which anyone reading this is likely already quite skilled at, so my suggestion is to perhaps round out your recruitment process with an alternative approach. And this technique starts with recognizing that you meet potential employees every day, because you have to interact with people every day. Why not slow down and engage with some of these people long enough to measure potential value?
Let me break down into steps and examples: 1. Define what you want in your next CSR. Again sounds simple right? I am suggesting you spend a little more time on this particular step as it not only will help you find who you are looking for it will also help you encourage growth in your already established staff. Think about what the ultimate customer service representative would be within your agency and then take out a note pad (some old school practices are still my favorites) and write down what attributes or skills you want your potential CSR to have and then rank those in importance, I have made a very simplified example below to utilize in explaining this concept:
Defining your idea of what you are looking for is half the battle. If you take your time and really put some thought into this step it will not only help you find an employee but also help you re-structure your approach and expectations of your current staff. Write.It.Down. Seriously, this is key.
2. Realize that people you meet everyday are your potential employees. Now that you have defined what the position you are looking to fill is, the fun begins. Yes, I said fun. Why does this process have to be tedious? You are looking to bring a person into your work place that you will spend a significant amount of energy and time with. Shouldn't you enjoy the process of getting to know people? Hopefully you will. Even those of you that don't love getting to know new people can certainly recognize the importance of the process I am explaining in this article.
You meet people every day and these are your potential employees. When you run errands, buy groceries, go out to eat, go to the movies, attend social events, or go to church. You meet people and if you start to observe them in a different way you can start a preliminary interview of a possible new employee. Here is an example:
Let's say you are at a restaurant with a group of friends, your waiter is clearly in a bad spot because the restaurant is packed and they are short 2 employees. Even so the experience is not horrible due to the way in which the waiter handles the situation. Maybe he communicates clearly, gives you an appetizer to keep you satisfied until food arrives, leaves the water pitcher, and keeps a good attitude despite the tough circumstance he is in because his co-workers didn't show up. In this example your potential employee just showed you that they had a good attitude, that they were adaptable, and also a good problem solver... three of the items from your list (maybe four if their appearance was acceptable). This person might be worth talking to a little more. Having dinner in an understaffed restaurant might have just landed you a potential CSR. Seriously this is really that easy. Is there a super friendly attendant at the dry cleaners that you always look forward to seeing when you drop your clothes off? Why? What attributes does this person have that might potentially make them a good employee for you? Think back about all of the interactions you had last week during your day-to-day errands. Likely you can recognize a few examples even now.
The other wonderful part of this approach is that you can figuratively dip your toes in the water without jumping in. You can engage this person in a conversation, ask a few questions and see if they perhaps employ even more qualities that you are seeking. If you like what you hear, ask them to visit you in your office and see if they might have an interest in working with you. Not everyone will be a perfect match or be interested. This is the equivalent to posting an ad, but your odds are much better to find the right fit for your office.
3. Clearly define your expectations in the new employee's role. Fast forward - assuming you made it successfully through steps one and two and have now hired a new CSR, the process is not complete. It is equally important to structure the initial phase of bringing someone into a new work environment to ensure that both of you communicate properly. Clearly define your expectations within the role of the new employee, and let them know what is most important to you and how they can meet your expectations. Commit to a specified time frame in which you will engage in training the new employee in daily, weekly, and monthly increments and make it a priority. Encourage feedback so the new hire can feel part of the new company quickly by engaging in constructive conversations with you and/or supervisors. Lastly, always keep the list handy of what defines the ultimate CSR and continually guide your employees into improving into that roll. Sign them up for classes, perform training, give constructive criticism, encourage them, and reward good behavior.
Simply put, in order for you to have employees that truly suit your company and your expectations, you should clearly define and communicate those effectively and often.
Comments
Post a Comment