How to Grow Your Insurance Agency in 2022

2022 has finally arrived, and like many entrepreneurs during this time, you may have your own set of New Year’s resolutions to follow. If that includes growing your insurance agency this year, that’s great news! Growing your business means trying out new things, whether marketing, sales, staffing, or more. But venturing into the unknown can feel quite intimidating, especially when it comes to scaling your insurance agency.

The good news is that you don’t have to rely on blind faith to make meaningful progress. With a bit of planning and preparation, you can elevate the performance of your business and take it to a whole new level. This article will discuss how you can grow your insurance agency in 2022. That way, you can achieve your primary objectives and hit new targets for the new calendar year.

1. Set clear goals

The first month of the year is where most entrepreneurs experience a rejuvenated perspective. Call it what you will, but a new calendar year is like hitting the reset button where you feel enthusiastic and invigorated. You want to take advantage of this opportunity by setting clear goals for your business. What is it that you want to achieve this year? And how do you ensure you attain those goals no matter what?

Take a few minutes to write down your primary objectives. Perhaps you want to generate more website traffic or land more clients than last year. Then, write down below your plans for obtaining the results you want. For example, if website traffic is your goal, you should focus on your SEO tactics and marketing efforts.

The more specific your goals are, the easier it’ll be to plan for them.

2. Cultivate a winning culture

The great business magnate Henry Ford once said, “If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.” Nothing is more important to an insurance agency than the team you are working with. When you cultivate a winning culture, you’re empowering your team to do big things. They’ll go above and beyond to achieve the agency’s goals and ensure that everyone progresses together.

Your employees are your greatest asset. That’s why you need to mold them into the people you want to become yourself. Surround yourself with people who have a winning mindset, and there’s no doubt you’ll be able to achieve big things that you thought you weren’t capable of.

Invest in your staff’s training by having them attend seminars and conferences. The more knowledge they can soak about the insurance industry, the better they’ll be at nurturing your clients. To cultivate a winning culture, you need a competitive staff, and building their skills is one way to achieve that.

3. Ramp up your digital marketing efforts

We live in an age where people use the internet to solve their problems. That means businesses should ramp up their digital marketing efforts more than ever to improve their online visibility. If you wish to grow your business this year, you need to create a solid marketing plan.

Forget about the notion that good services will sell themselves. Sure, offering quality service is excellent for customer satisfaction, but that’s not enough to acquire new clients. You have to make sure your agency reaches the right audience to generate business.

That said, you need to determine who your ideal clients are. What insurance products does your clientele purchase? What are their core needs, and how can you address them? When you understand your target audience, you can develop a sound marketing strategy that resonates with their wants and needs.

4. Generate fresh leads

Selling insurance products involves plenty of work. Not only do you need to market your agency constantly, but you also need to find ways to generate fresh, new leads. One way of generating leads is through landing pages, where you acquire a site visitor’s contact information and convert them from there.

Landing pages are different from your website’s homepage. While the latter has more navigation and access to info, the former is about solely marketing your product/service. That’s why you need to create a well-optimized landing page so that site visitors can the value proposition your agency brings.

Once you’ve acquired new leads, it’s time to build relationships with them through email newsletters. Email newsletters allow for consistent communication between you and your leads. The insurance industry is people-based, and to connect with potential clients, you need to build close relationships with them. By keeping them informed of the latest news on your business, you can develop brand awareness and lead them one step closer to a sale.

5. Focus on the client experience

Like we’ve previously mentioned, the insurance industry is people-based, and offering a tailor-made service is key to winning clients over. You want to give them a reason to choose you over your competitors, and to achieve this; you need to focus on the client experience. Let’s face it; there are moments where you look at your client and think, “do they deserve this premium and the level of service that we provide?”

Don’t make the mistake of undercutting your customers based on how you perceive them! Going above and beyond for your clients is what makes you stand out from the rest. If they think that you’re not giving them the best insurance rates, they’re likely to leave your office without a deal. Treat your clients how you want to be treated, and in return, they’ll reward you with word-of-mouth referrals that will help grow your business.

6. Implement automation and artificial intelligence

Technology is evolving faster than we realize, and businesses that take advantage of this are the ones that stay ahead of the competition. More and more insurance agencies are adopting technological advancements to remain relevant, and if you don’t follow the same route, you’re going to get left behind.

Investing in automation like autoresponders is one example where you can communicate with clients even if there’s no agent available. Automation software such as Agile CRM, Get Drop, and Contactually offers plenty of tools to simplify your marketing, sales, and integration. These are just some examples of technology used in the insurance industry to supercharge business operations.

With automation tools and AI, your team can focus on income-generating tasks and get more things done in less time.

7. Track your agency’s performance

It’s great that you have goals to work on, but how do you know you’re getting there? Part of growing your business is tracking its performance, whether sales, marketing, or client retention. This is where key performance indicators come in (KPIs). KPIs provide a clear overview of how well your business is performing, and understanding which KPIs to track is crucial to your agency’s success.

Most people end tracking unnecessary metrics, which often leads to confusion and more guesswork. You want to make sure that the KPIs you track directly impact your business performance so that when you make adjustments, you can monitor their effects.

Here are examples of key performance indicators that an insurance agency should track:

• Contact rate – Contact rate refers to the number of leads you can contact for a second time. If you can follow up with the client after an initial conversation, it means they’re interested in your business.
• Cost per acquisition – Cost per acquisition (CPA) is a vital metric that every insurance agency should measure. CPA tells you how much your agency is spending to acquire a customer and bind a policy. Ideally, you should be tracking this metric each month to manage your expenses effectively.
• Underwriting speed – This KPI refers to how long it takes for the underwriter to process an application. Slow underwriting speeds can negatively affect your business, so you want to make sure you submit complete paperwork to facilitate the process. Keep track of this metric to guarantee customer satisfaction levels.

8. Maintain a consistent effort

The key to growing your insurance agency is to maintain a consistent effort, year in and year out. Don’t panic when you don’t see the results you want. Instead, make the necessary adjustments and keep going. Remember, significant changes often don’t happen overnight. As long as you’re tracking the right metrics and are putting in the work, good things will happen.

Sustainability plays a crucial role in scaling your business. Maintain your efforts, and you’ll be able to grow your insurance agency in 2022.

Conclusion

With the right mindset, planning, and approach, you can achieve big things this new calendar year. Growing your insurance industry requires immense effort and patience, but the results will start to follow once you get the ball rolling. Make sure to follow the tips we’ve mentioned so that you can elevate your insurance agency to new heights.

As you know, accurate bookkeeping is crucial to the profitability of your insurance agency. If you need reliable bookkeeping services, our team is here to help. Feel free to fill out the form below, and we’ll reach out to you as soon as possible.