Working as an insurance sales professional can be a very rewarding experience. It offers both financial rewards and a sense of fulfillment when you’re able to help others get the valuable protection they need. But it can also be extremely competitive. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are more than 44,000 insurance sales agents in California and nearly 3,700 insurance agents in Nevada.
To be successful, you need to find ways that help you stand out from your competitors.
Here are five tactics to help differentiate yourself from your competitors:
1: Embrace a specialty/carve out a niche for yourself. You can focus your business practice on a specific type of insurance (like health care, ancillary, property and casualty, etc.) or on particular segments of the market. You might focus on business types (partnerships, co-operatives, corporations, non-profits, etc.). Or you could focus on what the business does – manufacturing, health care, agriculture, retail, energy, or any of a dozen other fields. When you are able to zero in on an industry, you can develop deeper insights and greater connections with your clients. That expertise can help you nurture a reputation as an expert, which can bump up your profile and lead to increased sales and referrals.
2: Master a product specialty. Health insurance is something that everyone needs, although not all employers are required to offer it. For businesses with fewer than 50 full-time and full-time-equivalent employees, there’s no employer mandate to offer health insurance. However, there are still many reasons that could help persuade an employer to consider it. These include the tax deductibility of health insurance premiums and the fact that benefits help employers attract and retain workers and help employees stay healthy – reducing absenteeism. Your mastery of health insurance (or whatever your sales focus) makes it easier for you to tailor the right solution to address your clients’ diverse needs – and the needs of their employees.
3: Leverage technology to deliver personalized service. Technology can truly help set you apart from other sales professionals. First, there’s quoting technology – like Word & Brown’s WBQuote and WBQuote Lite – that gives you an easy way to compare different carriers and plans, view rate differences, and select coverage that best fits your clients. Our tech can also ensure your clients have access to their preferred doctors, medical groups, and hospitals in the plans they are considering. That’s true for Rx coverage, too. You want to be sure plans being considered include benefits for prescription drugs that the business leader/owner and employees are currently taking.
Next, there’s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tech. It helps you stay organized and connected with clients and prospects. CRM ensures your timely outreach and follow up, while automating processes to improve customer service and your (and your staff’s) time management. For more on CRM, read our prior blog, The Benefits of Implementing a Robust CRM System.
4: Nurture strong relationships through education. Word & Brown can help you develop a stronger connection with your clients when you tap into the resources of our exclusive in-house compliance and education team. We offer valuable courses for you and your clients. Many classes offer Continuing Education (CE) Credits – or, for employers, credits from HRCI and the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM). We can help you stay up on the latest compliance and regulatory updates at the state and federal levels as well as product intros, bonus programs, and more from our carrier partners.
5: Demonstrate your commitment to social responsibility and ethics. California and Nevada both require ethics training as part of insurance agent licensing. However, clients are often not aware of those requirements. Business owners want to work with those they can trust. You can demonstrate your pledge to ethical business practices by being an active member of the National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals (NABIP) – and your state and local NABIP chapters. Being an active participant in these groups enhances your credibility and helps you in other ways, too. (Read our related blog, Active Participation in NABIP and Other Groups Can Benefit You Professionally and Personally.) You can also discuss with prospects and clients your commitment to protecting their personal, employee, and client information from cybersecurity threats. As a reminder, Word & Brown in 2023 earned its third HITRUST risk-based certification for information security.
Differentiating yourself in today’s marketplace is vital to your ongoing sales success. It can help you attract and earn new business as well as drive increased retention and referrals. If you’re already doing business with Word & Brown, you know our tech, product and service portfolio, and pledge to deliver “Service of Unequalled Excellence” help you in a variety of ways. If you are not yet working with us, it’s easy to get started. Complete our online form or call us at 800-869-6989.
