by Syndicated Insurance Resources | Jun 13, 2018
As an independent insurance broker or agent, you generate your “bread and butter” from selling insurance to small businesses. No matter what niche you serve, you can rest assured that current reports show a vibrant and healthy U.S. small business economy.
Your Growing Market: A Look at the Numbers
The U.S. Small Business Administration and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently shared some compelling numbers about business growth in the United States. A quick look at these facts and figures shows that your target market is growing.
The May 2018 Detailed Industry Employment Analysis showed:
- Nonfarming employment in all major sectors and target classes continues to trend upwards (as of June 2018).
- These positive trending sectors include retail trade, education and health service, construction, professional and business services, transportation, private education and health services, and leisure and hospitality.
The 2018 Small Business Profile showed:
- Over 500,000 new businesses are started each month in the U.S.
- There are 30.2 million small businesses with 58.9 million employees.
- With 99.9% of US businesses classified as small, they provide jobs for 47.5% of the nation’s employees.
Translation: Your target market needs to hear about what you have to offer and how it can help them. Do the business owners you work with know what they may need?
Educate About Small Business Insurance Options
It is a fact that every business needs insurance. It is your job to educate prospects about the options they need to consider. Many owners are so laser-focused on the day-to-day operations that they forget about easy ways to protect their assets.
Here is an FAQ you can share with your customers to quickly spell out the big picture. (Download a free PDF you can share with prospects.)
What types of insurance should small businesses consider securing?
Every business should evaluate general liability, workers’ compensation, property insurance, professional liability, and a business owner’s policy at a minimum. There are many other types of policies that your agent can discuss with you.
Just make sure you evaluate the options so you can intelligently discuss what works best for their particular business with their insurance agent or broker.
At the very least, every business owner needs general liability and property insurance. Most states require workers’ comp if you have people working for you.
What is general liability insurance and what does it cover?
General liability protects your business by covering the costs of third-party bodily injury and property damage claims made against your company, as well as advertising injury and reputation harm. This policy can cover expenses for legal teams to represent your small business, as well as evidence costs and settlements. While it is not required by law, it provides you with the financial wherewithal to survive a liability claim that someone files against your business.
What does workers’ compensation insurance cover?
Most state laws require employers to carry workers’ comp in case employees are hurt on the job. While the mandates for this policy vary by state, workers’ comp protects both the workers and the employer. Some states consider contractors employees that need workers’ comp coverage. This policy covers expenses resulting from an employee’s work-related injury or illness. From lost wages to medical expenses and legal fees for lawsuits, this policy is a win-win for the business owner and employee when the time comes to file a claim.
What is property insurance for business?
Whether you lease or own your building, or even work out of your home — business pottery insurance protects your company’s physical assets from disasters like theft, fire, explosions, and storms. Whatever you need to run your business—computers, documents, equipment, inventory, and even fencing—property insurance is designed to cover lost, stolen and damaged property, and even loss of income from that property damage.
What is professional liability insurance?
While General Liability covers your business when a third-party sues your business over bodily injury or damage, Professional Liability is more like malpractice insurance. This type of insurance is designed for people who make a living off of their expertise. This policy kicks in when a third-party sues you for providing negligent professional services, not upholding contractual promises, providing incomplete work, or making mistakes.
What is a business owner’s policy (BOP)?
In layman’s terms, BOP insurance is an affordable insurance package that bundles together liability and property insurance. Your agent can walk you the options that make the most sense for your particular situation.
Can professional liability and general liability policies cover the same claims?
No. The policies cover different types of liabilities and risk exposures. General liability focuses on physical damages, while professional liability covers third-party financial losses.
Do I need both property and liability insurance?
The policies are designed to protect a small business with coverage that includes:
- liability coverage from interacting with the public, and
- damage or loss to physical assets the business relies on for conducting business.
What happens if I don’t have business insurance?
Insurance is protection for the future. No one knows when an accident, lawsuit or disaster may strike.
Here are two facts to consider:
- Dependent upon the products and services you provide, most clients seek to work with businesses that have coverage for losses that may occur as a result of your work.
- The majority of states require workers’ compensation insurance for businesses that have people who work for them. (Some states even consider contractors as employees, which requires workers’ comp coverage.)
The benefits of business insurance are bigger than the costs. Why leave the future of your business to chance?
Download this FAQ as a free PDF you can share with your prospective clients now.
Download Small Business Insurance FAQs
by Syndicated Insurance Resources | Mar 7, 2018
How do you set yourself from other insurance brokers and agents?
Do you sell on price like most of your competitors? Or do you build long-term relationships by selling on value?
Set yourself apart by finding ways to remind everyone about the value you bring your customers. Actively share what makes you different with everyone you know.
Dale Carnegie said it best: “Tell the audience what you’re going to say, say it; then tell them what you’ve said.”
In this case, your audience includes your clients, prospects, and even yourself.
Grab your copy of “10 Ways We Bring You Value,” so you can share your value with your clients immediately.
by Syndicated Insurance Resources | Mar 6, 2018
Every sales conversation finds you talking to clients about the excellent services you offer as an insurance broker or agent. But, you’ve quickly discovered that sharing how awesome you are can get you nowhere fast.
For some reason, people seem to go into the twilight zone with a glazed look in their eyes. Or if they are on the phone, you can tell that they’ve stopped listening to what you have to say.
Your pre-canned talk scripts and presentations are missing a few core elements to make you successful. Here are some essential truths that can help turn things around.
Five Essential Truths You Must Know
- Essential Truth #1: It isn’t about you. It is about them—your prospective customers. While this may sound counterintuitive, your conversations shouldn’t focus on selling products to others.
- Essential Truth #2: Your customers are interested in finding products that meet their needs and their problems. But, they won’t be interested in what you’re selling until they have a desire to solve their problems.
- Essential Truth #3: You need to engage your customers in conversations that allow them to discuss their business challenges. Sharing a list of memorized talking points does not allow dialogue and turns people off.
- Essential Truth #4: You need to define your customers’ pain points so you can provide answers to their burning questions. When you know what keeps your customers up at night, you can easily guide conversations towards the solutions you offer.
- Essential Truth #5: You need to showcase the value your knowledge and expertise brings to their company. Share how they can count on your services to make a difference year over year.
If you reflect back to the beginning of your journey as an insurance broker, you may recall that identifying your customers’ problems helped identify the products to sell in the first place.
These same issues can help you market and sell. Understanding what annoys, frustrates or hinders your customer gives you psychological ammunition that you can use to create trust and form relationships.
Once you are armed with this knowledge, you can start conversations so they creatively focus on your customers’ problems. Since most people like to talk about themselves, your discussion should create lots of dialogue that allow them to tell you about their problems and any potential objections.
By shining the spotlight on your prospects concerns, you’re creating a bridge that eventually leads to the products and services you provide. But it doesn’t happen overnight. This form of relationship marketing takes time to build—just like a friendship.
Think about the friends you trust. You connect with them because they get you. They understand what you struggle with and why. They empathize with you, and sometimes they even show you ways to do things that can ease your pain.
Now that you know the secret to connecting with customers and prospects, how can you tweak your sales conversations to increase engagement, and eventually convert to sales?
by Syndicated Insurance Resources | Dec 20, 2017
Whether you’re a insurance broker or agent, selling is a continual cycle. To sell insurance, you need customers. To get customers, you need to build relationships and network. To build relationships with people, you sometimes feel like you need a degree in psychology.
You really don’t need a degree in marketing. But you do need to know how to build and maintain relationships with customers successfully. Some circles call this common sense, while others call it relationship marketing. Whatever label you put on it, know that anyone can successfully connect with customers and prospects.
If you do this right, you can engender loyalty that will pay off for many years. The pay off can come in the form of referrals, renewals, and genuine friendships that position you well in your community.
It is critical to remember that happy customers become loyal customers. They create repeat business and can bring you their friends, colleagues and business members. Satisfied customers can give positive reviews of your business online, too. In today’s social-driven economy, positive ratings are critical to your success.
Here are some tips for building relationships with clients:
Become a Trusted Resource. Share the most relevant news with your clients. Read the latest industry news and publications. Write articles for publications – both online and print. Keep an up-to-date blog.
Effectively Communicate. Schedule in-person meetings or phone calls. Stay in touch using email and social media to let customers know about changes to the industry and your business. Keep all communications friendly and helpful.
Be Authentic. No one likes the used-car salesman approach. Open and honest relationships with others show them that you are genuine and have their best interest at heart. It also shows that you value the relationship. Cultivate trust and loyalty by consistently being real and authentic.
Reward Loyalty. Everyone loves to feel like they are getting something for their efforts. Sometimes people like to get something for “free.” Invest in gift cards and send them to clients thanking them for their business. When they refer someone to you, acknowledge it with a note and a token of your appreciation.
Remain Visible. Proactively reach out to customers and prospects to let them know you’re thinking of them. Suggest ways you can help them. Don’t be “out of sight.” Ask customers and prospects what you can do for them or how you can help. Asking questions about the client’s potential issues and problems can open dialogue and doors for sales.
Promptly Respond. Excellent customer service and solid customer relationships occur when you make clients feel important. Going dark or being slow to answer calls and emails send a message that they aren’t important. Demonstrate your attentiveness by quickly responding, even if you’re simply acknowledging their message and need to get back with them later.
Building relationships are critical to the success of your business. When you are intentional about how you interact, reach out and follow-up, you are sure to create loyal customers for years to come.
by Syndicated Insurance Resources | Dec 6, 2017
Your customers are typically business owners, which means they have a long list of things to think about and manage. Help yourself by setting your insurance business apart. Proactively help business-owner prospects understand why they need insurance.
Knowing what a customer needs and why it is important to them ultimately helps you sell. Needs-based selling can increase your sales while improving your customers’ satisfaction.
We all know that running a business comes with inherent risks that range from financial loss to protecting employees to potential lawsuits. Build on this base knowledge by readily explaining why your customers need to insurance for their business.
Here are five reasons why your business owner clients need insurance:
Potential Accident Coverage. Workers’ compensation regulations and requirements vary from state to state. Regardless of the state your business owners clients are located in, workers’ comp ensures that their employees who suffer from job-related injuries or illnesses get the medical care they need, as well as wage replacement if they are unable to return to work.
Lawsuit Protection. We live in a society where lawsuits are commonplace. Liability insurance gives peace of mind and coverage for lawsuit and liability claims. This type of protection can protect your business from lawsuits resulting from accidents or disgruntled employees. Liability coverage can even help with expensive legal defense costs.
Contract Requirements. From client contracts to bank loans to leasing a business facility, your business owner clients may be required to carry insurance. Requirements vary from agreement to agreement and state to state. Regardless of the fine print, having insurance policies in place show potential vendors and clients that a business is a credible, safe bet.
Business Continuity. In the event of a natural disaster, property and casualty insurance can cover the loss of buildings and equipment. And Business Owner Insurance can help a business survive the loss of income and compensate for regular operating expenses.
Mandated by Law. Businesses that have employees are required by law to provide certain types of insurance. What is required varies from state to state, but failure to have insurance policies in place can result in civil or criminal penalties or fines.
Actively share with your prospective business-owner customers the types of insurance coverage they need to protect their business. Help clients purchase peace of mind so they can focus their attention on growing and developing their business.
by Syndicated Insurance Resources | Oct 17, 2017
These days it is challenging to sell products and services to people.
Your competition is not just the insurance broker down the street. You’re also competing with the wealth of instant information your prospective customers can access on their computers, smartphones, and iPads. With the click of a button, anyone can quickly research reviews and prices for almost anything.
So what can you do to compete and win the business? If you genuinely want to be different, you need to sell on value not price.
Selling value over price can get you a higher caliber of customer that is willing to stick with you for the long run. Studies show that value is the difference between the price you charge and the benefits the customer receives.
Exactly how do you sell the value? Here’s a couple of approaches that may work for you:
Showcase Your Company’s Success. Share how your company stands out. Tell how you’ve helped other clients be successful. Use case studies and testimonials. Feature these stories in your conversations and on your website.
Showcase Your Customer Service. Many competitors don’t offer excellent customer service. They sell the product or service and move onto the next client. Let your customers know that they are important and you’re with them for the long run. Tell stories about how you’ve supported other long-term clients over the years. Be genuine, and let them see that they are more than just a number to you.
Showcase Your Product and Service Benefits. Start by identifying your customer’s fundamental problems. Every customer has unique circumstances that are important to them. If you can readily recount these issues, they will know you’ve really been listening. Then highlight how what you offer solves their problems. The more you focus on the value, the less important the price becomes to them and the decision they are making.
Showcase the Cost Difference. Provide a market analysis and quantify the difference they receive by doing business with you. If your policy is $100 more, divide that by 365 days and show them what they’re getting for only 27 cents more per day. Most agents claim they make a difference until push comes to shove and a client has a claim. Tout your success as an insurance consultant by really analyzing the value and showing the ROI you’re bringing to them up front.
Showcase the Discounts. Everyone loves a discount. The more discounts you can offer, the more incentive people have to do business with you. Be sure you know how to explain why and how they are qualified to receive specific discounts. When they see you know what they are entitled to receive they will understand yet another value of doing business with you.
Remember loyal customers don’t always buy based on the lowest price. Long-term clients— which is what you want for repeat business and future referrals—always buy based on the rapport, relationship and value you bring to them.
