How to Use a Football in Your Broker Playbook

by | Feb 22, 2017

Vince Lomardi had a way with words and though he was a genius at strategy, he always took the time to work on the basics. To start out every season, he would gather the players around for the first preseason meeting. There, he would give his famous “This is a Football” speech.

With a football in hand, he walked to the front of the room, held out the pigskin in front of him, and said, “Gentlemen, this is a football.” He did this to remind his players the importance of simple and basic truths about the sport he loved.

As commissions seem to erode and clients seem more interested in finding the cheapest than the best, successful brokers must get back to the basics and be mindful of the fundamentals.

What is the primary goal of an insurance broker? It seems like a simple enough question but surprisingly most brokers can’t find the right words to even explain what they are trying to accomplish. For many brokers, the mission has changed with the circumstances. The broker has been blown off course and is no longer sailing in the right direction.

Is it the goal of the insurance broker to always find the cheapest solution? Isn’t it more important to make certain that products offered to meet the needs of the client? While many clients will say that always take the least expensive solution, their actions don’t always support their words. In theory, a broker could always find the least expensive solution and still never gain new clients.

As brokers, our football, our objective is to gain new clients. Gaining new clients is what pays the bills and supports our families. Commissions follow a commitment to acting in the best interest of the client’s long-term future. If we don’t want to become another price driven commodity we must get back to the basics and remind ourselves of the real mission.

Here are few actions items, a playbook for success:
1) Offer more than just an insurance policy. Consider offering employers safety and loss control recommendations or human resource assistance.
2) Position your agency as a source of information. Don’t just push products. Demonstrate your expertise and understanding of the available options.
3) Create proposals that are geared toward quality vs price. Avoid the temptation to just cut to the chase and throw out a number.