High Growth Agencies Have a Strategy to Beat the Incumbent

18 Apr High Growth Agencies Have a Strategy to Beat the Incumbent

Every large account that your producers want to write is currently written by an incumbent agent that has no intent on losing it. High Growth Agencies live by this rule: “someone has to lose for me to win.” Michael Jordan, the basketball player, lived by this rule every night. He would scout his opponent to find their weakness and did his best to exploit that vulnerability night after night. He played to win, period.

Without a strategy, producers will fail to conquer the incumbent over 60% of the time. A very real and significant part of your system should be creating strategies to beat the incumbent while meeting prospect needs.

It’s a simple formula. If you want significant organic growth, you have to work on accounts that would be in the top 20-40% of your account base. Otherwise, you’re adding accounts but not much revenue.

Every one of those high value accounts has an incumbent. That incumbent has to lose for you to win. As a leader, you want to create a mind-set around beating the incumbent, not just getting an opportunity to quote. It does two things:

• It brings out the competitive juices of your producers and helps differentiate your agency’s strengths and your competitor’s weaknesses to help you win.
• It also reduces your overhead costs.

What does it cost your firm to go through the entire proposal process?

We’re talking about systems. Some agencies are still working from spreadsheets, sticky notes and 3×5 cards to manage prospects. It makes the process of creating account strategies more difficult due to missing information and the inability to drive it as a process.

I’ve been to hundreds of agencies that have been in business for decades. They have competed with the same core group of agencies for many years. And yet, there is no easy way for a producer to access a list of those competitor agents and agencies. All the knowledge that has been gained from competing against them over the last 10 years is difficult if not impossible to access for the average producer. You’re the only one that can estimate what that lack of knowledge is costing your firm in new business, profits, producer confidence and real growth.

For more information on the iWin Agency Growth System, contact the Wedge Group.