When you’re just starting out as an insurance agent, it’s not always obvious what your priorities should be. After you earn your license, pick your market niche, and set up your office, what else can you do to put yourself on a path to success.
Consider these priorities:
Review or create a personal financial plan. You can develop a financial plan on your own – or with help from a professional. You’ll want to look at:
- Total net worth (cash, financial accounts, investments, real estate, and liabilities such as outstanding loan balances, student debt, and other accounts, if applicable).
- Your current and projected cash flow [this includes your rent/mortgage, utilities, vehicle payment or lease, insurance (auto, home, medical, disability, other), cell phone, cable TV/streaming/internet. student debt payments, gas, groceries, restaurant expenses, out-of-pocket medical or dental, clothing, entertainment, travel/vacation, charity, gifts, misc. savings (both short-term and long term), investments (stocks, bonds, commodities, real estate, collectibles), taxes, and professional expenses (license renewal, Continuing Education Credits and other training].
- Updates to these figures (at least annually) to account for periodic cost increases, changes in your situation (like marriage, divorce, or having a child), inheritances, or market shifts.
If you’re concerned about the costs of developing a financial plan, look at some of the many free tools available. There’s more information available online today than ever before. Some options include Investor.gov, SmartAsset, Fudget, Goodbudget, Empower, or others mentioned by Forbes in a 2024 article.
Adviser or Advisor? If you engage a financial professional to help you, it’s important you know whether they are credentialled. An Adviser (with an “e”) is a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) accredited by the Securities and Exchange Commission or state securities agency. A Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) is a person with even more rigorous financial training.
In addition to asking about credentialing and titling, you’ll want to consider whether your selected financial professional is a fiduciary, who must act ethically and legally in your best interests.
Tap the expertise of other professionals. Consider engaging others for professional expertise related to your business’s finances. That might include a bookkeeper or accountant, tax expert, or payroll professional. While your agency is small, you might not see the need. However, as your business grows, it’s good to have a bench of professionals backing you up. That way, you can focus of what’s really important: sales.
Advisory: While we offer this guidance to you about engaging professionals to help you and your business be more successful, it is important to remember that Word & Brown is not a tax or accounting firm. This column should not be considered legal, tax, payroll, or accounting advice.
Networking is important – at the local, state, and national levels. Get involved with your local, regional, or state insurance professionals’ associations. There’s no better way to track what’s new and what’s happening in your area than to be an active member of your local and/or regional chapter of the National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals (NABIP). You can find a listing of regional chapters on the NABIP website.
Most NABIP-related organizations sponsor quarterly or more frequent meetings or host online events featuring industry experts and carrier representatives. Continuing Education (CE) Credits may also be available for attendance and participation in meetings.
Your level of participation in the national group is up to you, but there are many reasons to join, including:
- Advocacy: NABIP conducts advocacy efforts at both the state and federal levels to advance the interests of insurance professionals and to promote affordable, responsible private health insurance solutions.
- Education: For more than a century, NABIP has helped health insurance consultants accelerate their careers with high-impact education. It’s your source for advanced designations, certifications, continuing education, and online learning.
- Compliance information assistance and tools: Our industry is greatly influenced by Congress and government agencies. Being able to get immediate updates can set you apart from your competitors. NABIP brings you the latest legislative, regulatory, and compliance information – so you can provide the greatest value to your clients. Learn more on the NABIP website.
- Networking: Among the most valuable benefits of joining NABIP is being able to meet and interact with insurance industry leaders and influencers. NABIP allows you to build relationships with others you might otherwise not have the opportunity to meet.
- Industry news and reviews: NABIP shares relevant association and industry news through its Daily Newswire, email blasts, topic-specific newsletters, and a weekly Washington, DC update.
- Getting ahead: NABIP can help you promote yourself and grow your business. It provides members with essential resources, including the NABIP Healthcare Happy Hour
Your membership in NABIP makes you part of an elite group of individuals committed to the principle that everyone should have adequate and affordable health insurance coverage.
Carrier or General Agency training. Most insurance carriers doing business in California and Nevada offer broker training and other broker resources. These often include live, in-person or online training as well as printed and online guides, brochures, flyers, PowerPoint decks, and other materials.
You can access these through the carriers’ websites, regional marketing reps, or your GA. Word & Brown offers a wide variety of carrier materials through our online Insurance Forms Library. It’s updated regularly and we’re told even our competitors direct brokers to our site.
Word & Brown’s Paul Roberts, REBC, makes presentations across California, Nevada, and the nation in connection with his role as Senior Director of Education and Market Development. In 2024, Paul appeared before many state chapters, including CAHIP – Inland Empire and Desert; CAHIP – Northern California; CAHIP – San Diego; CAHIP – OC; NABIP – Northern and Southern Nevada; and others.
California brokers have been taking advantage of Word & Brown’s annual Week of Webinars (WOW) for years – and it will return June 2-10, 2025. WOW features a roster of CE-approved courses to help you earn many of the credits you need to maintain your California license. Stay tuned for details on the 2025 courses, expected to be announced in March.
More Best Practices
Three other best practices to help you expand your sales are:
- Develop and promote your unique value proposition
- Implement technology to generate new leads and better serve your clients
- Create an insurance event marketing program
Check out the many blog posts we have published that discuss these and other topics to help you be more successful in your insurance sales career.
Talk with your W&B representative, too. He or she may be able to suggest more things you can promote your agency, attract and retain more business, and increase your market share.
If you are not already doing business with us, it’s easy to get started. Fill out our online registration form, or call us today at (800) 869-6989.
