The most obvious lesson from these budding entrepreneurs is to check your spelling and grammar. You should always double check your work by using any tools available to you, like spell check, or by having a team member look over your work. Communicating clearly and professionally is critical for both efficiency and establishing a reputation as a trusted and knowledgeable resource.

The various things they did right in their advertisement is what many people don’t do, and it ends up costing them time, money, clients, prospects, and employees.

They know what their time is worth, as well as their limitations, and this leads to clear pricing, realistic expectations, and boundaries. One common stressor I hear is that people do not have a good work life balance but many of these same people give out their cell phone number. You don’t have to stop giving out your cell phone number but don’t say “call me anytime!” Set boundaries and expectations and control your time and access to you.

Ask Yourself

• What are you spending your time on that isn’t worth your time?
• What business do you have, or are you going after, that may not be worth the time and energy to earn or keep?
• Do you have boundaries where you can see the line when you might not be the best place for that person to do business with?
• What is your hourly rate and are the activities you are doing far below your hourly rate and should be outsourced or eliminated?

We spend a lot of time communicating with clients and prospecting. Some of it is necessary but in many cases the back and forth is due to not having clear instructions or questions to be answered which leads to multiple contacts and inefficiencies. For example, if you must have a document in order bind insurance coverage don’t be shy to ask for it and don’t waste hours trying to get it yourself. If you give your clients, or prospects, precise instructions on what you need in order to accomplish what they want, they should be able to complete that task. Telling a prospect “I will need a letter of experience” is a start. But you have to provide more in depth guidance than that and explain what a letter of experience is, who they will have to contact to get it, and the information that must be included in the LOE. You want to go above and beyond for people but you don’t want to waste your time and setting realistic expectations is the best way to accomplish this. For example, when you are giving the prospect directions on how to obtain a letter of experience stating that you would do it for them but only the named insured has the authority to do so is an excellent way of expressing that you would be happy to do the leg work if you could. Communication should be professional, efficient, concise, and easy to understand.

Their ad not only promotes their core business offering but it also includes additional services they provide. Most insurance agencies have personal protection products that are available and needed by clients and prospects, but they are rarely mentioned if at all. Why don’t more insurance professionals talk about additional ways they can protect their clients like life insurance, personal umbrella policies, financial services, and riders and benefits available on their personal lines policies? Children tend to say the most obvious things without even thinking about any possible negative outcome. Many adults seem to have the opposite thought process and they hold back on saying or doing things out of concern or nervousness about every possible negative outcome. It is our duty as licensed insurance agents to make every effort to inform consumers of what you can do for them and allow them to decide what they are or are not interested in. Do not allow the fear of possibly upsetting someone keep you from educating others and building the insurance portfolio of protection that is right for them.

The chaos of their marketing piece could use some work but even with the messy structure it is still very obvious what service they provide. Can you say the same about your advertising? How are you promoting your agency or yourself? Are you separating yourself from the competition especially call centers? How are you getting the word out that you are an insurance professional? Think about what you do better than others and promote that!

My biggest takeaway is their commonsense approach for their business. For the most part life and work experience is a positive thing but sometimes it causes adults to be scared, overthink, overcomplicate, or miss the most basic steps that would be valuable to their clients and prospects. Many times in my career I have said “it’s time to go back to basics.” It is essential to have a solid foundation for every facet of your career or business and when things seem like they are not working it is often related to one of the fundamental pieces being broken or missing. Practicality coupled with consumer perspective and customer experience helped me make decisions on everything including staffing, marketing, processes, and talk paths.

Lastly, go after what you want. Promote yourself. Don’t be afraid. You will make mistakes, but you will also learn and grow. If you don’t try you might not make mistakes, but you also won’t evolve and reach your true potential.