One thing we are keenly aware of as consultants to insurance agencies is this: Consulting has a bad rap. First of all, it sounds like it must be expensive. Secondly, it sounds kind of vague. And lastly, it can sound a little offensive or intimidating, as if because we’re consultants we must know more than you.
In reality, none of those things are true. Since we were also agency owners long before we were consultants, we make sure the benefit we provide to agency owners more than pays for our services. We approach every project with an exact outline of what we’re going to do and what objectives will be achieved. And we would never presume to know more about your business than you do.
But the one distinct advantage we do have as outside consultants is that we can see things about your business that you simply can’t, because you’re in it all day.
It’s like when you walk into someone’s house and it smells like dogs, but the people who live there don’t smell the dogs, because they’re in that house 24/7 so they just got used to the dogs. But you’re walking in for the first time and you smell those dogs immediately. That’s how we see things at insurance agencies. The owner and staff are there all the time, get caught up in the daily grind, and at some point doing things a certain way just became routine and seemed to make perfect sense to them. But when we walk in for the first time, we see things in a completely different light.
That’s why we came up with the Agency Report Card.
It is exactly what it sounds like. A no-nonsense report about the things we see in your agency that you probably can’t see and are holding you back from achieving what you want to achieve. And just like the old report cards you got back in grade school, the Agency Report Card doesn’t just point out the observed issues; it includes specific recommendations on how to overcome those issues to move forward. And it also tells you what you’re already doing right.
There is no cookie-cutter approach to running a successful insurance agency and there is no cookie-cutter approach to observing an agency’s operations and making recommendations in a Report Card. Each agency is different and has its own characteristics. What works in one, may have no applicability whatsoever in another. But there are definitely some very basic principles involved in things like the service workflow, sales tracking, compensation plans, and other aspects of business that are common among all agencies. And understanding how your agency handles those basics as compared to how highly successful agencies handle them, can be very useful in helping you make some changes for improvement.
The process for preparing the Agency Report Card is very simple:
1) An onsite visit to observe the operation and go through a questionnaire with the agency owner to get specific information about how the agency operates.
2) A review of certain data, reports, statements, and other supporting documentation while onsite.
Summarize the key findings into an easy to understand document (the Agency Report Card) that the agency owner can then use to address priority areas.
If you’re interested in learning about this service, please contact us today!
