Danielle Kunkle is the co-owner of Consumer Benefits Group, a family-owned agency specializing in Medicare products. As a Medicare Supplement Accredited Advisor, she focuses on Medicare education for Texas beneficiaries, so they can make informed coverage choices.
- Don't be a jack of all trades - pick a specialty, then do everything you can to be the very best and knowledgeable agent you can be in that market segment.
- Join a professional association, such as NAHU, and support the industry that's putting food on your table. You'll meet agents who specialize in other segments and need your help when they run across business they can't write. And you'll get those referrals.
- Realize your competition is not your enemy. There's more business out there than you could possibly write. Make friends with other agents and learn everything you can. You can lean on them for knowledge and experience when situations come up you haven't encountered before.
- Be real. More than ever, clients are seeking agents who know them, understand them, care about them, and remember them when they call.
- Get a database in which you can log time-stamped notes when your clients call or meet with you. It's fine to use Excel when you have only 50 clients and can remember them all off the top of your head, but as your agency grows, a professional database will help you retain your memory of each client and your last conversation with them.
- Document, document, document. E&O insurance exists for a reason. Be ethical every single day, and back yourself up with a history of your contacts, presentations and phone calls should you ever be questioned about your actions.
- Create a Web site and an e-mail address linked to that site. Joe@abcbenefits.com is so much more credible to your prospective clients than joeinsurancesales@yahoo.com
- Pick something unique about you and brand your business with it. My agency is family-owned - two siblings. We send clients an annual newsletter telling them about our nephew, our family traditions. They get a kick out it! Remember No. 4 - be real to your clients, and you'll win their loyalty.
- Don't partner with other agents unless you know them thoroughly, and take the time to be certain their work ethic is the same as your own.
- Schedule a monthly happy hour with those agent friends. WE may know that insurance is glamorous and exciting, but surely you've seen your spouse's eyes glaze over when you're talking shop. So grab some dinner with your agent friends and listen, learn and vent your frustrations. You can share your war stories and glory moments to your heart's content with people who love it like you do. After all, it IS a glamorous industry, isn't it?
