May 06, 2016
The following are 11 traits or skills that can help you become a better insurance agent. These skills or traits should be practiced during your day-to-day activities. Like anything, the more you practice, the better you will get.
1. Multi-tasking Skills. As an insurance agent, when you are able to do multiple things, at the same time, you can get more done. You should be able to work your auto insurance leads and answer client emails at the same time. Doing only one thing at a time limits your ability to get things done. The more you do, the more policies you will sell and more clients you will retain for longer.
2. Task Orientated. When you are an insurance agent, it is important to complete tasks in order to move your agency ahead. You need to reply to client emails, return voice mail messages, send out your monthly newsletter and etc. Routine and sometimes mundane tasks need to get done, even if they are not fun. As an agency owner, you will need to focus on all the tasks necessary to run your business.
3. Rewards Performance. As an insurance agent, you need to get good at using rewards to get your producers to accomplish the targets you are looking to achieve. If you want to get a high close ratio on the internet insurance leads you buy, it is important to reward your staff for doing just that.
4.Short and Long Term Goal Setting. It is important for you to set daily, weekly, monthly goals, along with 1 year, 3 year and 5 year targets. Setting goals will help you to know where you are going and you can use these goals to manage the various parts of your business and make adjustments as needed. Having a weekly sales goal with also help you with tasks such as lead buying. If you know you want to write 20 new auto policies a week, you can back into the number of auto insurance leads you need to buy that will get you there.
5. Plan and Execute. Plans and goals are very closely related. As an insurance agent, it is critical to make plans, or identify tactics to achieve your goals, and then get them done. If you identify that you want to buy home insurance leads, you need to identify a lead vendor, open an account, work the leads and close the policies. Being laser focused on planning and executing your tactics will help you to achieve your goals.
6. Build Relationships. As an insurance agent you should be constantly building relationships with your producers, your auto insurance lead vendors, policyholders and more. These relationships will enable you to bring everyone together to help you achieve your agency goals. The deeper and more two-way relationships you have, the more people will be willing to help you achieve your goals.
7. Contingency Planning. As an insurance agent, you should have contingency plans in place if you are not hitting your sales targets, if you have higher than expected expenses or if your carrier changes their underwriting policies. These plans will help you to respond quickly and keep you on track to achieve your goals.
8. Focused. As an insurance agent working in a busy agency, there may be meetings, visitors, phones ringing and so much more going on. Insurance agents need to be able to stay focused on working their insurance leads, handling retention issues and more, without being distracted. Staying focused during the work day will help insurance agents be successful long term and get more accomplished.
9. High Energy. Being an insurance agent is a big commitment and requires high energy everyday. You need to be available to your clients and prospects when they have time and need your help. To be a successful insurance agent, you can’t ‘shut’ things off, you must be high energy everyday.
10. Not Afraid to Experiment. Insurance agents should also not be afraid to try new things. Insurance calls or live leads is one of the newest insurance marketing tactic to become popular. It is a pre-qualified individual who has expressed interest in an insurance quote that is transferred to an agent. Trying new strategies is critical to growing your agency and book of business.
11. Caring. The best insurance agents care about their clients, care about their producers, care about what is happening with the people they work with. Being a caring agent will help you do develop closer relationship and be more successful.
Agent Ethan Kosmin Generated over $200,000 in premiums during first year in business thanks to Contact Concierge.
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