by Syndicated Insurance Resources | Aug 27, 2018
Finding affordable workers’ compensation coverage is a difficult challenge for every general contractor and construction manager. This task becomes more daunting because they are typically working with independent contractors that bring together many subcontractors to get a job done.
At the end of the day, finding the right workers’ comp coverage is one of several risks facing firms and independent contractors. Other challenges include site security issues involving theft, delays from strong winds and storms, skilled labor shortages, and much more.
As an insurance broker and agent, you are in an excellent position to eliminate the stress general contractors and managers experience by helping this target market find the coverage they need.
Protecting Contractors with Workers’ Comp Insurance
You know that while every state has different requirements and state laws, workers’ comp coverage is necessary for any business with employees. But do your construction clients know this?
Take a moment to share with them that the reasons why they need workers’ comp. Since construction workers operate machinery that can be dangerous, all contractors face daily risks.
Share with your clients how Workers’ Compensation Insurance can offset some of the risks by acting as a safety net by covering:
- Medical expenses relating to on-the-job injuries and work-related illnesses.
- Wages their employee would have earned if they were able to perform their work.
- Legal fees should their employee file a lawsuit against their construction and contracting business for their work-related injury or illness.
Since construction is inherently risky, the general contractor or manager already knows they are considered hard-to-place and high risk. As the insurance agent or broker, you can build trust and value by offering to help construction management find the right policy options and offering free valuable information.
Documentation is the Best Construction Defense
The more tips and insights offer your construction clients, the better prepared they are before a possible audit occurs.
Consider sharing these insights:
- Thorough and comprehensive documentation can help decrease insurance rates.
- Documentation includes maintaining site inspection checklists, time cards, descriptions of completed jobs, and job classifications.
- Without this information, the contractor or subcontractor has very little data to prove its case in a job classification dispute, and inclusion or exclusion of workers from coverage.
- Proactively ensure workers comp insurance is in place offers the most comprehensive protection.
- Document that your employees are trained in specific safety protocols from machine operations to first aid training.
- Record signed paperwork from employees acknowledging the need to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) such as safety boots and glasses, etc.
To help you increase their trust in you, as well as their ability to document, we created a free site checklist you can offer to your construction clients.
Sure, they may already have something like this on hand. But the act of giving a free gift, like this Site Inspection Checklist, creates an environment of reciprocity where your construction clients want to return the favor by doing business with you in the future.
Download your free Construction Site Inspection Checklist now.
Need help finding a quick quote for your construction clients? Take a look at how we can help you find construction industry workers’ comp options.
by Syndicated Insurance Resources | Aug 15, 2018
Every decision we make is driven by logic and emotion. This combination includes both conscious and subconscious thoughts.
Understanding your customers’ mental triggers can help you tap into their psyche and get them to say yes to the insurance program and service you’re offering them.
Before we unpack these tips, I need you to take the following oath: “I promise to only use these psychological triggers for good and to do no harm.” (Go ahead, hold your hand over your heart, repeat the oath. I’ll wait.)
Okay, now that we’ve settled that, let’s take a look five fundamental rules that can open doors, minds, and wallets. (There are more than five, but this should give you a good running start.)
These tips, when used correctly, help move prospects know, like and trust you while moving them through your sales process faster.
5 Mental Triggers You Can Easily Use
The five mental triggers you’ll want to focus on include building authority, anticipation, reciprocity and social proof. Let’s take a look at what each trigger type means and how you can do it in in your insurance business.
Authority occurs when you position your personal brand or insurance company as an expert for a specific industry or a particular service. For example, we specialize in finding workers’ comp policies for your hard-to-place clients. To demonstrate this expertise, we continue to create and offer free information, tools, and resources about selling workers’ comp insurance. Our knowledge and understanding about the topic of workers’ comp is one of the many ways we prove our authority in the space.
Your Turn: Consider writing a consistent blog or creating videos with tips about the area you specialize in. When you do this, you’re building your credibility as a thought-leader. (Tip: You can share the content and resources we create as your own, which saves you time and can make you look good.)
Anticipation is as American as apple pie. From sporting events like the Super Bowl or Final Four to the next new product Apple is going to release – the excitement and anticipation build.
Your Turn: You can do leverage anticipation in your insurance business by creating a campaign to build excitement about the next new product line you’re going to offer. Consider adding a “Coming Soon” page to introduce customers to new services well before the launch date. You may also want to handpick long-term customers to receive the new insurance product or service before anyone else.
You can also use the power of anticipation to map out and respond to any potential objections before they are asked. When you lead with answers to anticipated objections, you’re showing you understand the customer’s perspective. In turn, you build trust and confidence in your expertise. This approach makes it is easier for the sale to occur.
Reciprocity occurs when you offer customers something helpful and valuable. In turn, they feel obligated to give you something. This approach works because we tend to get uncomfortable when we feel like we owe someone something.
Your Turn: One way to create reciprocity is by reminding people what you’ve given them and specifically asking for something in return. Here’s an example: “Since I’ve given you this free checklist of workers’ comp questions, could you do me a favor and share this link with your friend socially?”
Scarcity occurs when a product or service is available in limited amounts. When people perceive something has a limited supply, it tends to make it more desirable and attractive. Scarcity works because of the fear of missing out phenomena.
Your Turn: Consider creating limited-time scarcity by focusing on the fact that there are only a few days left before the rates increase. Consider offering a discount or special offer to the first 10 people who sign up with you.
Social Proof conveys that buying insurance products from you is the safe thing to do. Social proof occurs on your website and through your social media channels.
Your Turn: One way to do this is to share your customer success stories. When you show prospects how others who have used your insurance services and experienced positive results, they are more likely to engage your services, too. Another way to do this is by listing the types of products and services you’ve sold. (You can find an example of how we do this here.)
What to You Can Do Next
Using these mental triggers create a subtle impact on the risk your customers perceive when they agree to buy insurance products and services from you. Applying these principles can increase your sales with yes responses.
Try one or all of these strategies with your business, and you are sure to see your sales grow.
While you’re at it, since I helped you out with these tips, can you please click one of the buttons below to share this article with your social channels. (See what I did there?!)
by Syndicated Insurance Resources | Jul 20, 2018
Your inbox probably looks like mine. It is jam-packed with requests from vendors, carriers, prospects, customers, and even competitors.
Trying to respond to all the emails in a timely fashion is overwhelming. Sometimes you’d like to ‘select all’ and hit ‘delete.’
Since doing so would quickly dry up your pipeline, you’re tempted to rapidly reply with short responses, or only reply to top priorities. (I know. I am, too.)
Today’s digital economy has raised the bar. Customers are online in a fast-paced world. They seek convenience, speed, and value.
If you want to stay relevant, you know must offer your customers a best of breed that uses the phone, email and other forms of technology to provide rapid, but thoughtful interactions.
Are you communicating clearly and doing things to ensure you retain existing customers while finding new ones?
There many things you can do to stand out from your competitors. Here’s a few you’re sure to have success adding to your daily routine.
It all focuses on evaluating things through the eyes of a caveman and passing the grunt test. Read on to see how you do…
Three Ways to Pass the Grunt Test
Let’s look at your website, emails, client education, and quoting process. As you walk through these exercises, think about how your competitors would do, too.
Your Website
If a caveman looked at your website, would he be able to grunt what you offer, or would he be confused? (What about your competitors website?)
Donald Miller of StoryBrand suggests using the grunt test to review the copy on your website. In fact, he suggests that your site should answer three simple questions:
- What is your offer?
- How can you make their life better?
- What do they need to buy?
Before we go on to other ways to apply the grunt test, let’s pause for a moment.
Go look at your home page. Does your website answer those three questions? Does it pass the grunt test? If you answered no, you better stop reading now, so you can get your website fixed immediately.
Next, Let’s Look at Your Email Responses.
If someone read what you wrote in a quick response would they feel like you were just brushing them off? Or would they think that you genuinely cared to offer them the best customer service ever?
Like you, I receive email responses all the time. And it is really easy to see who put thought into what they write versus the person (or machine) that rapidly responds to my reply. Or worse yet, the person who never responds to my request.
Did you know that 98.4 percent of consumers check their email at least once a day? And 77 percent prefer [well-thought out emails] over today’s plug and play marketing automation systems.
Okay, I added the well-thought-out part to that statistic. But think about it for a minute. If your customers prefer email, shouldn’t what you write in that email pass the grunt test?
It may take you a second more to write out a thoughtful response. But the payoff is huge if you retain or gain a new customer. Right? (I bet your competitors aren’t doing this.)
One trick is to keep a template handy of the basics you want to include in your email replies. Then all you have to do is copy, paste and edit it to fit the response that is needed.
Apply This Approach to Your Talk Track, too.
Whenever you interact with your clients and prospects, do you look for ways to educate them about the importance of insurance coverage?
Does what you say about the insurance products and services you offer pass the grunt test? Is what you say simple to understand and jargon free?
Find ways to showcase your knowledge and expertise in every form of communication you send out via email, share via the phone, or say in person.
Or do you talk to impress using lingo that only other agents and brokers would understand?
You can increase loyalty by consistently providing value when you connect with others. In fact, one study found that loyal customers by 25 percent more insurance and deliver 250 percent referrals more than disgruntled ones.
Your Quoting Process
The grunt test can also be applied to your insurance quoting process.
Are you using archaic processes from days gone by? Are you dialing the various carriers and using a mix of market technology tools?
How’s waiting by the phone for replies to your requests working for you?
You can move beyond the caveman approach by using one platform that gives you access to more than 150 markets and 40+ unique product offerings for FREE.
Learn more and sign up today!
Now that you’ve read this far, you’re equipped with the same knowledge and information I possess. You now know how to pass the grunt test and stand out from your competitors. You are armed with some quick and easy tips that can help you grow your business.
When is now a good time to get started?
by Syndicated Insurance Resources | Jul 4, 2018
Imagine that you’re a prospective customer who needs workers’ comp insurance.
You’re searching Google looking for an insurance agent that offers the types of policies and services you need for your business.
You find several agents that look like they may have what you’re looking for, and you send each one the same email with a request.
The Story of Three Agents
Warm Welcome. One agent responds to your email inquiry immediately with a reply. He warmly thanks you for reaching out and lets you know that he will get back to you within the next 24 hours. In the interim, he sends information about their process for working with clients, so you know what to expect next. He also points you to a page with a Workers’ Comp checklist that has questions he should ask as you work together.
Unresponsive. Another agent never responds to your email request or phone calls for days or weeks. In fact, you start to wonder if you sent an email to the right address. When you call, you immediately go into a voicemail box but never receive a response.
Minimal Communications. The third agent you reached out to lets a couple of days go by before they send you a response. When they finally do, they merely point you to their website or a landing page. They don’t say anything more. This leaves you hanging wondering about the credibility of the agent.
Tough Questions to Answer
If you were the prospective client looking for help with insurance coverage, which one of the three agents listed above would you want to consider working with?
It is easy to see that the first agent had done a few simple steps to connect with the prospect and provide them with helpful information before they have even spoken.
The other two agent response examples show a lack of interest or consideration. If you were the prospective customer, you would mark them both off your list and focus on the first agent in a heartbeat.
Pause for a moment and think about the way you respond to your clients and prospects.
It can be tough to admit, but which of the three agents do you look most like?
Communicate and Connect with Customers
With any form of customer interaction, you can have success when you follow the age-old rule of treating others the way you want to be treated. Here are a few tips to consider.
Provide Timely, Personalized Responses: Today’s society is built on instant everything. We tend to look for immediate responses whenever we send an email. So how can you apply this? Give your prospects and customers a timely response that is personalized to them. Ensure they experience a connection and feel valued by you.
Write Clear and Concise Messages. We live in an age of sound-bite journalism. We all tend to scan the pages of things we see and read. From our emails to social posts and billboards—we all are guilty of scanning. So how can you overcome the scanning issue? Write clear and concise messages that are easy to understand.
Speak Your Client’s Language. It is easy to get caught up in insurance jargon or industry speak. Remember that your customers don’t have an insurance world dictionary to help them translate what you’re saying when you use buzzwords. Use easy-to-understand terminology and analogies without acronyms when you communicate. Doing so ensures your clients connect with you and what you have to offer.
Make Lists & Use Bullets. Writing a detailed paragraph takes up your valuable time. It also means the person you’re sending it to has to take time to unravel what you’ve written to determine how it applies to them. Consider writing short sentences. Make lists and use bullet points to make what you’ve written a quick read.
Give Calls to Action. Have you ever read through an email response and scratched your head wondering what to do next? Your client has, too. Make it easy on both of you by spelling out exactly what they need to do next. Give them a call to action.
These are just a few ways you can ensure you are effectively communicating and connecting with your clients and prospects. You can also apply this tips to every audience you reach out to – from vendors to carriers to customers and friends. Doing so consistently is sure to make a positive impact and create a win-win situation for everyone.
by Syndicated Insurance Resources | May 3, 2018
Allied Healthcare Professionals are among the fastest growing occupations in the U.S. With a projected growth of 18 percent between 2016 and 2026, there will be more than 2.4 million new jobs created.
This non-physician healthcare group includes anesthesia technicians, nurses, dentists, massage therapists, physical therapist, technicians, and even yoga instructors.
No matter what type of allied healthcare service an individual provides, most are contractors or self-employed. Their focus is on creating, growing and expanding their business.
While these optimistic, entrepreneurial careers sound amazing, there are also potential risks they encounter daily. Putting things in place to mitigate the risks is where you come in.
Help Your Clients Get Peace of Mind
Most allied healthcare professionals know they need some type of insurance to reassure clients and to protect their business. But they may not be sure what kind of coverage they need. And some practitioners need reminders about why they need this type of insurance coverage.
Here are some compelling insights you can share with prospective allied healthcare customers who need a general liability policy.
Liability: When complaints are filed against the services an allied healthcare business performs; the business owner is financially liable. The potential risks sometimes seem abstract and unrealistic. For example, unexpected accidents can happen. A simple trip or fall could result in unforeseen medical expenses the allied healthcare provider has to pay.
Statistics: According to The Hartford: 10 percent of small business claims come from customer slips and falls. Insurance Journal cited that 35 percent of all general liability claims results in a lawsuit. With 22.2 percent of small business owners experiencing a client complete or dispute, the potential adverse financial impact is staggering.
Selling: Customers are more likely to hire allied healthcare contractors who are insured. In addition to the right license, general liability insurance tells customers they are working with a business-savvy professional. Part of selling customers is putting their mind at ease and reassuring that your work is fully covered by general liability insurance.
Protection: A simple, general liability policy can make the difference between staying in business or closing the doors. When an accident happens, the policy covers damages and medical expenses. If a lawsuit occurs, the insurance covers any defense costs or attorney fees. The protection gives peace of mind while ensuring protection from unexpected incidents.
Provide Your Allied Healthcare Customers General Liability Protection
You can quickly offer general liability policies tailored to your employer client’s specific business needs. In fact, you can get a quick quote when your customer answers a simple questionnaire.
With two simple steps—fill out our form and click submit—you can receive a confirmation email with instructions to bind.
Learn more about our General Liability program. See sample GL classes.
You can even set yourself apart from competitors by signing up to offer the general liability application on your website.
Don’t let your prospects become another failed business statistic because they didn’t take the necessary steps to protect their business. Proactively share with customers how you can help them ensure their hard earned money and business is never at risk.
by Syndicated Insurance Resources | Apr 18, 2018
The competition independent agents face has exponentially grown with today’s technology age. Today your customers and prospects can shop for insurance policies one of two ways: online or by working with a live person.
You have to strategically do things to remain relevant and get noticed by your ideal customers. If you don’t highlight why your services are better, you run the risk of losing them to online vendors.
One of the best ways to keep customers coming to you for their insurance needs is to educate them continually about the value you bring. Find creative ways to constantly share WHY doing business with you is better than getting coverage over the Internet.
Five Advantages Agents Offer
Here’s a starter list of the many advantages businesses and individuals receive by working with an experienced insurance agents like you.
Trustworthy Relationship Building: While the advent of artificial intelligence makes computers amazingly fast and smart, they offer empathy, or evoke emotions like humans. Interacting with a living person who cares for you allows for sincere relationship building. In turn, trust and loyalty are built to create repeat customers for years to come.
Genuine Cost Savings: There is a misperception that online insurance is cheaper. In reality, the unique situation of a business or individual, as well as the type of coverage they choose, can drive the insurance costs. Working with live agents allow individuals to compare insurance policies that make the most sense to your situation while ensuring you’re not overpaying. In fact, multiple products can be bundled together to create a cost savings not found online.
Seasoned Expertise: Yes, artificial intelligence empowers machine learning. But insurance needs extend beyond mechanical calculations. You’ve invested your time training and learning the markets. With your know-how, you have a knack for anticipating your clients’ needs and making recommendations a computer could never do. As a licensed pro with 10-30 years of experience, you can offer actual advice that fits the situation.
Personable Customer Service: You provide a familiar voice and a trusted answer that is accessible on a dime. Urgent questions, distressing claims, policy changes and urgent inquiries can be addressed immediately. This is preferred over the alternative of long hold times, automated phone queues, or sifting through a computerized list of frequently asked questions.
Intuitive Analysis: Independent agents or brokers are wired to watch over customers protectively. You conduct renewal reviews that machines cannot offer. You know when there are discounts available or other options to save your customers’ money. Online systems don’t look out for your customer’s best interest while being attentive is something you take pride in doing for them.
Extend Your Value By Using Free Resources
Help your customers see the many benefits that come from doing business with you instead of faceless Internet options. Eliminate any questions or concerns by shining the light on the value you bring that simply cannot be duplicated by machines.
Extend your value by tapping into Syndicated’s free quick response system of tools that makes it easy for you to find quick quotes for hard-to-place clients and situations. Already signed up? Access our Quick Start Guide or call us so we can personally walk you through the system.
