Thrive and grow: 4 ways to protect and grow your business

A solid book of business is an advisor’s lifeline. But while most advisors understand the work it takes to build their client list, they spend less time and energy on protecting and nurturing their book of business for organic growth. 

That can be a costly mistake, considering that the typical insurance agent loses 16% of their clients every year. And with the average cost of acquiring a new client higher than in any other industry, agents who actively work to retain clients will give themselves a considerable advantage over those who do not. 

There is no single rule for reducing client churn, but there are some best practices that can help improve client satisfaction and make it harder for clients to look elsewhere for the services they need. Here are four steps to keep the fox out of the henhouse and protect your book of business.

1. Find additional opportunities to serve clients. 

A client list is more than a record of people you do business with. It is a list of people whose trust you have gained and who reliably open the mail you send or answer the phone when you call. Repaying that trust by expanding offerings to better serve client needs allows you to increase revenue from your book of business and deliver efficiencies and peace of mind for clients. 

Health insurance is a great place to start as you look to expand, and Medicare in particular offers significant opportunities. Considering that more than 10,000 people in the U.S. turn 65 every day and the entire baby boom generation will be age 65 or older by 2030, it’s clear there is a demographic trend that creates business opportunities in this category. In addition, you may already have many clients who are reaching Medicare eligibility, and nearly all of those people will need to make Medicare decisions. Putting yourself in a position to help those clients as they age will increase your value to them and eliminate reasons they might have to look elsewhere for services.

Beyond Medicare, look for opportunities to tailor offerings based on the needs of your specific client base. For example, individuals and families may be interested in long-term care insurance, while business clients may want products that help them attract and retain employees.

If you’re not sure what your clients want or need, a simple 30-second questionnaire can help you better understand what you can and should offer. If you find that you lack expertise in a specific area or aren’t sure your agency is bringing in enough business to hire additional agents, you can partner with another local agent who specializes in that area or reach out to a local or national insurance marketing organization to borrow the talent until you increase your experience in each product category. 

2. Enhance client education.

Your clients don’t want to spend a lot of time thinking about insurance — that’s why they hire you — but that doesn’t mean they don’t want to be informed. However, statistics show that only 44% of clients have been in touch with their agent in the past year. This is a golden opportunity, because communicating with and educating clients is easy, and it’s a perfect way to build relationships. 

Start by establishing a variety of communication channels with clients. That could include an occasional lunch-and-learn session or a simple, topic-driven email newsletter that allows clients to easily scan headlines and click through when they find something they want to learn about. 

These efforts do not need to focus strictly on insurance, either. Consider hosting educational seminars with other professionals you work with or insure. For example, you could partner with a local financial advisor for a seminar on 529 plans for young families or how retirement trends might shape their planning. Keep an eye on emerging trends, both good and bad, and keep education going back and forth with clients. 

3. Make yourself easy to work with.

The easiest way to alienate clients is to be difficult to work with, and clients don’t wait long to leave if they feel they are not being treated well. In fact, an estimated 61% of clients will jump to a competitor after just one negative experience, and 76% will leave after two bad experiences. 

Make sure your service model is attentive and responsive to inquiries, and that you’re consistently looking for ways to remove roadblocks that may keep clients from finding the information they want or adopting new coverage. This starts with providing training to fine-tune your team’s customer service skills. In addition, building an office culture that emphasizes customer care will keep the client’s needs top of mind for all employees.

It’s also important to consider clients who aren’t looking for the personal touch. With digital-first solutions increasingly in demand, investing in new technology will satisfy consumer demand while also making it easier for your clients to get the support they need — even when your staff is not available. This can be an important differentiator in an industry that is often slow to embrace new technology. 

If you don’t feel equipped to make these changes, you can look for outside help to enhance your ability to serve clients. 

4. Be present in the community.

Being visible and available to your clients is key to protecting and growing your book of business. Active communication helps with this, but it’s also beneficial to be present  in the community you serve. Whether that means volunteering, supporting local sports or arts activities, placing ads in local media outlets, or another activity that better suits your particular client base, find ways to get your name out there without giving the impression that you’re always trying to sell something. 

Become an advocate for your client base. For younger populations, that might mean hosting yoga or fitness sessions at a local brewery or restaurant. If you serve mostly older clients, on the other hand, you could sponsor pickleball or bingo events at a senior center or 55-plus apartment complex. 

Marketing can be challenging if you don’t have the background or resources to create ads or other collateral, so you may benefit from working with an IMO that can provide design resources and expertise. 

Building a solid book of business is only part of the battle for advisors. Protecting against churn — whether due to the competitive landscape or changing consumer attitudes — is key to building and maintaining a successful agency. By taking a few proactive steps, independent agents can build and maintain a thriving business.

Todd Villeneuve is managing partner of IFC National Marketing. Contact him at [email protected].