3 Things That Can Give Your Agency a Competitive Advantage

Three things can give your agency a competitive advantage – price, coverage and service. 

But is price or coverage a sustainable advantage? Probably not. Why? Because they are too easy for the incumbent agent to match!

Services can be broken down into two types:

• Reactive Service
• Proactive Service

When I ask agencies about their service advantage, most of them describe their ability to react. 

In other words; they are great at getting out certificates of service or helping with a claim. They are quick to respond to questions and answer phone calls promptly. And on the employee benefits side, they help with questions about coverage and are good at enrolling new employees in the health insurance program.

The problem with all of this is that almost all of your competitors are equally good at responding to the client’s needs. That’s why Reactive Service is not really a strong competitive advantage.

In fact in most cases, it’s the minimal acceptable standard.  With Reactive Service, the client asks and the agency answers. There really is no competitive advantage. The client-agency relationship is stuck in neutral.

Why is having Proactive Services so important?

1.    When your Proactive Services are well-defined, they become the basis for a written service timeline for your best clients. Then you can Wedge-proof them from your competitors.

2.    Proactive Services address specific areas where your prospect has pain. Since the incumbent doesn’t provide them, winning new business is easier for your agency.

3.    Once you’ve sold your clients and Wedge-proofed them with your written service timeline, your clients become much better sources for Red Hot Introductions, leading you to the very best new prospects.