TURN PAIN INTO GAIN:
HOW TO TURN YOUR AGENCY’S TOP
PAIN POINTS INTO YOUR BIGGEST
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES
How often have you looked at your agency and wondered what could’ve
been? Change is a core principle that every agency owner needs to embrace or he risks being left behind. Don’t be afraid. You can be whatever
you want, but it’s not going to happen unless you change. The world continues to change outside of your agency, but has your world changed to keep
pace?
Not only are you dealing with perennial challenges like the struggle to find
and keep top talent, the ever-changing technical landscape, and managing
the budget, but you’ve also had to adapt to a whole new world of social
media and digital marketing. That’s a lot of moving parts (and just the tip
of the iceberg). You are not alone if you feel overwhelmed. But,
IF YOU CAN LOOK
AT EACH OF THESE
CHALLENGES FROM
A DIFFERENT POINT
OF VIEW, YOU’LL
FIND HIDDEN
OPPORTUNITIES...
...to outmaneuver the competition and use the impact of these forces to
your advantage.
Let’s tackle a few now.
PAIN: RAPIDLY
CHANGING
TECHNOLOGY
LANDSCAPE
It’s almost impossible to keep up with
how fast technology is changing the way we
do business and interact, but it is critical to find
and leverage solutions that can help you and
your team be more productive.
GAIN: INVEST
IN FLEXIBLE,
PRODUCTIVITYENHANCING
SOLUTIONS
Invest in solutions that:
• Can grow with your business over time
• Require a short learning curve or, better yet,
are turn-key
• Communicate your unique brand
• Are available on PCs, tablets and mobile
devices alike
• Adapt easily to the world of social media
• Provide rich analytics and decision support
for your business
• Are easy for you and your employees to adapt
to your agency
•Do not break the bank!
HOW TO TURN YOUR AGENCY’S TOP
PAIN POINTS INTO YOUR BIGGEST
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES
PAIN: SOCIAL MEDIA IS A
NEW FRONTIER
Your current and future customers and
employees are more connected than ever. They
are connected with their friends, family, peers,
and the brands they love through social media.
Yes, it is one more thing to have to manage, but
those who do it well will put themselves in the
position to gain new audiences, attract quality
new hires, and establish deeper relationships
with clients.
GAIN: CONNECT
MORE DEEPLY
WITH YOUR
CUSTOMERS AND
EMPLOYEES
Today’s information economy is all
about communication, so it is essential
that you can connect with your customers,
employees and prospects using the modes
they prefer. The phone, email, chat, text
message and social media all have a role to
play.
Keep in mind as well that customers are
talking to each other about their satisfaction
with service providers of all types through
social channels. This makes managing your
online reputation essential to long term
success. Be sure to encourage your customers
to post positive reviews and ratings. Give them
useful, educational content like eBooks or
blogs that they can share with their networks.
Update a traditional element of your
business, such as employee recruiting, with a
branded, social media application. Facebook,
Twitter, and other social media platforms are
hot right now, and leveraging their popularity
can make your business stand out, be
memorable, and seem fresh and up-to-date.
HOW TO TURN YOUR AGENCY’S TOP
PAIN POINTS INTO YOUR BIGGEST
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES
PAIN: GOOD HELP IS
HARD TO FIND
As baby boomers retire and other
forces destabilize the work force, it can be
hard to find experienced agents to help grow
your business. Even finding qualified support
staff can be a challenge. But there are also
opportunities to identify talent in new ways.
GAIN: PROACTIVELY
IDENTIFY
CANDIDATES
WITH A FRESH
PERSPECTIVE
Don’t Wait to Recruit Until It’s Too Late – It’s
human nature to become comfortable with
proven employees. Truth is that you really
don’t want to think about what would happen
to your agency if one or two key employees
were to leave. Reality is that you need to think
about it and begin to be proactive. Consider
these survey stats provided by recruiting giant
Indeed:
• 90% of employed people are open to new jobs
• 50% of people start reviewing new job
opportunities within just 28 days of the start
of their current job
• Only 32% of people are fully engaged at work
These stats indicate that the majority
of the workforce is actually just passing time
until they find the next best thing - or it finds
them. You can significantly improve agency
performance over time by eliminating the
amount of non-productive time you have
when employees leave. A proven best practice
approach is to proactively and constantly
recruit new talent in order to build a reserve
pool that you can draw upon when needed
to replace, grow or upgrade the talent in your
agency.
Hire Outside the Industry – Look for
candidates who have experience in adjacent
fields who can bring insight to your team.
Technically challenged? Hire an IT professional
who wants a new challenge. Look to the
banking, healthcare, and customer service
sectors for creative, ambitious people looking
for a change.
Hire Millennials - There’s a whole new
generation of workers ready to step up when
given the opportunity. Augmenting your staff
with these younger workers is a great way to
get a fresh perspective and better understand
the preferences of younger buyers.
Hire the Best, Not the Closest – Modern
communication technology makes it possible
to be productive from anywhere. If you are
willing to consider remote workers, you can
expand your search and avail yourself of the
best talent available.
PAIN: INSURANCE
IS BECOMING
COMMODITIZED
What sets your agency apart in the eyes
of prospective customers and employees from
the other agencies in your community? Keep
in mind that everyone says they provide the
BEST service. Why will people want to work in
your agency? Why will others chose you to take
care of all their insurance needs? How are you
communicating your brand story?
GAIN: TELL YOUR
BRAND STORY…
OFTEN
Your audience, whether prospective
customers or employees, is seeking
opportunity at the right time. Instead of
thinking of them either passively or on
your timeline, think of them as right-time
opportunity shoppers. It’s the simple difference
between shoppers and buyers. When you’re
not in the market for an airline ticket or a pair
of pants, you’re not visiting an airline site or a
retailer site, but it doesn’t mean that the right
destination or pants presented at the right
price at the right time from the right brand
wouldn’t change your mind.
This is why you, as your agency’s
marketer, need to advertise everywhere; the
right opportunity in the right place can drive
a purchase or a hire, and even better, drive
loyalty. You need to be active on social media,
use email marketing and have a top-notch
website. The lessons of consumer marketing,
using an omnichannel, brand-led approach,
should be applied to marketing your agency to
prospects, existing customers, employees and
recruits.
HOW TO TURN YOUR AGENCY’S TOP
PAIN POINTS INTO YOUR BIGGEST
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES
The audience is there, and they are
open to being wowed and impressed. The
experience, however, may not be there… yet.
If you want to impact the experience for righttime, right-opportunity product and career
shoppers, you have to start thinking about
how to create messaging, content, campaigns
and interactions that drive the right prospects
and talent further along the purchase and
candidate journey with your brand.
As you embark on developing your sales
and recruitment marketing practices, it’s pivotal
to focus on your audience and what they seek
in a product or career search experience.
When you lead with brand, you give yourself
the agility to influence the candidates who
aren’t “insurance product or job seeking” – and
instead are looking to connect with a brand
and employer on a bigger purpose, mission and
values.
Hopefully, you’ve come
away with a few new ideas
about how you can turn the
tide in your favor and take
advantage of these trends.
In business, those who are
most adept at turning pain
into gain are also those
who are best at turning a
profit.
Good luck and good selling!
VIZIRECRUITER.COM
+1 (800) 681-9654 | [email protected]