Step 1: Commit to Growth

Let me ask you a question… is there anything in your life that you’ve truly committed to that you don’t have?

Really, think about it.

Half-Hearted Commitments Almost Always Fail

For most of us the answer is no. If we wanted something bad enough, we found a way to get it. However, half-hearted commitments almost always fail; especially when you’re trying to accomplish something hard.

Take dieting for example. There are many people who say to themselves, “You know, I should probably try to start eating better. Maybe I’ll try this new diet for a while and see how it goes”.

Then a few weeks later it gets tough. The desire for sweets and carbs intensifies and the idea of sticking to the diet feels like too much work. So they cave and revert back to unhealthy eating.

However, if you went to the doctor tomorrow and he said, “Listen, I need to have a serious talk with you. We got your blood work back and if you don’t make some big changes to your diet you’re not going to live much longer. You need to avoid sugar and refined carbs from now on.”

Now how committed would you be to your diet?

Would you grab some soda and brownies in the break room tomorrow when you got a craving for sweets or would you resist the temptation and stick to your plan?

If your life depended on it, you’d stick to the plan.

Some people call this the “gun to the head” approach. Others say, “half measures availed us nothing.”

The point is, it’s a universal truth. A law of life that you can harness to accomplish amazing things… like growing your agency 10%…15%…or 20% year over year.

So when people ask, “Why aren’t more agencies growing at a faster pace?”

The only plausible answer is simple. They just never committed.

Step 2: Motivate Your Producers to 2X Growth

Once you truly commit to growing your agency, the next step is to make a plan on how to grow an insurance agency.

And since we’re talking about how to grow organically, versus growing via acquisitions, your plan must include a way to get your producers to sell more.

If you can get them to do a better job at prospecting, selling and retaining business, your agency will grow. The more they grow their books and personal income, the more your agency’s value will increase.

My strategy to motivate Producers

For the last 20+ years I’ve used a simple, yet highly effective, strategy to do this.

I teach owners how to sit down with each of their producers and help them set some long-term personal income goals. I have them essentially play the role of a financial advisor and ask them what kind of future they want 10, 20 and 30 years from now.

Then they write down how much money they should be saving each year to hit those goals. Once they see how much they’re under funding their future it should light a fire under them!

With this newfound motivation you can then lay out a plan to help your producers double their book of business in 3 years or less with half the accounts they have now. Of course you’ll need a plan on how to do that, which is a subject for another time.

But imagine how much your agency would grow if all of your producers doubled their books in the next 3 to 4 years? What if even half of them did this? Would that be more growth than you’re seeing now?

The point is, you need a path and plan to get your producers where they want to be so your agency can experience extraordinary growth.