Personal Lines Profit Centers.

The competition for personal lines is as high as I have seen in my 3 decades of sales.  Which for me is very exciting, because it forces any agent, broker, or brokerage that might be considering selling personal lines to stop and pause and likely conclude to pass on personal lines yet again?  No competition!

Here is why;  In the past personal lines insurance had be left to the captive agency force.  Considered not large enough to be bothered with by most large brokers.  Sales and marketing in personal lines was easy as typically there was not the type or level of competition we find even in smaller commercial accounts.

This lack of interest in personal lines left the door wide open for large direct to the public insurance companies to step in, dehumanize, establish efficiencies, take advantage of new efficiencies created by new technology, create service centers, sales centers, and marketing centers.  This has allowed direct to the public companies to take market share by commoditizing the perceived value of products and services. 

The aggressive approach by these companies has to be considered, and more importantly understood by anyone wishing to establish themselves with any success personal lines.

The premise is then; insurance in general and particularly personal lines insurance has, and will continue to be commoditized focusing on premium savings, branding techniques, dehumanization, coupled with frequency.  
 

I believe these large direct companies can be beaten locally, in any town, or region an agency has a presence

The best way to sell anything is by first controlling the product, goods or services by creating a monopoly!  Then before competitors can respond converting the monopoly into a brand!  This is the heart of my plan.  Establishing the agent’s packaging of products, and value added services as “the product”, and then branding the uniqueness to the agency.  Yes it can be done!

The concept I am presenting can be applied as easily to a one man insurance agency, as it can be to a national multiply office agency. 

The process of creating a personal lines profit center can be mechanically divided into 6 groups of activities.  Each group can be handled as a separate function by one person at one location, or by several people acting as a team at various locations.  By considering each phase of the process thusly we can work on developing the efficiencies of well organized scale to create profits.
  

1.  Marketing produces suspects. 

2.  Suspects are filtered into current prospects, future prospects, or not a prospect. 

3.  Current prospects are worked on and become clients, future prospects or not prospects.

4.  New clients enter retention and cross selling programs.

5.  Future prospects enter prospect development programs.

6.  Not a prospect is simply kindly discarded.  

Who then does what, and where? 
It is a very natural process if you take a minute and think about it.

A producer at the producer’s office can market by creating a buzz, telemarketing, sending letters, placing ads, attending service groups, ect… 

Then as the producer gets suspects that producer can decide if the suspect is a current prospect, future prospect, or not a prospect, and handle them as appropriate.   For current prospects the producer can do the fact finding, prepare the quotes, present the quotes, close the sale, fill out the apps, forward the apps to the carrier, set the follow ups, deliver the thank you letters, set up the cross sales, and client retention activities.

Or most of these activities can be done off site for the agency in a centralized location which would achieve economies, and increase profits.