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This past May, one of the world’s largest rock groups wentunnoticed in the 42^nd Street subway station in New YorkCity. Dressed in disguises, U2 played their hit song “I StillHaven’t Found What I’m Looking For” to a handful of Big Applecommuters as part of an experiment for “The Tonight Show.” Itwasn’t until they ripped off their wigs and fake mustaches thatpeople stopped to listen to the music. After the unveiling,hundreds recorded the impromptu show on their smartphones.

This experiment revealed something important: Identity iseverything.

Many agencies struggle with creating and defining theiridentity. Herein lies a big problem: Without some sort of definedidentify, it becomes nearly impossible to articulate what makes youunique — what makes you valuable. Agencies tell me they arebest-in-class, but many haven’t found a way to incorporate thatphilosophy into their agency identity in any meaningful way. Thelack of a defined identity and tangible ways of demonstrating it,along with the inability to articulate who the agency is, arebarriers to growth and retention.

Here are four ways high-growth firms create an identity andmarket their agency brand:

1. Standardize your sales team’spresentation. Sitting down and creating a uniformpresentation for your sales team will force you to start definingyour agency’s identity. Your sales team is hungry and ready to setthe world on fire. Good. But how do you want them to berepresenting your agency? Who should they tell prospects andclients that you are? You need to ensure that not only all yourknowledge and experience is translated to your green producers, butthat they know the critical components of your value proposition.Every time a rep picks up the phone or leads a meeting, he or sheis representing your brand. (I’ll let you in on a secret: if yoursales team “wings it,” it’s safe to say they are not contributingto a uniform identity and building your brand.)

2. Provide a stewardship report. Brokerstoday are expected to do so much more than just provide a quote anddeliver a policy. Today’s brokers know what value they bring totheir clients year round, but a lot of times, it’s hard toillustrate. A stewardship report is an effective (and simple) wayto demonstrate all the hard work that has taken place throughoutthe year. It illustrates that you’re “best-in-class” and that youridentity as a broker is that of a trusted advisor.

It’s also a great way to set expectations at the front end ofthe year and demonstrate your follow through when you have yourrenewal conversations. Some examples of items that you can includeon your stewardship report are negotiating the renewal, providingcompliance support, claims analysis and employee plan decisionsupport. A formal stewardship report will help you illustrate yourvalue during the prospecting and renewal phases.

3. Analyze claims and showimprovement. Let’s face it, there’s a lot of fluff in thebenefits world. Eat an apple a day and lose weight. Take thestairs, not the elevator. All good stuff, but do any of thesewellness initiatives move the needle as it relates to theemployer’s bottom line? Partner up with a firm who can help youanalyze real health claims and identify red flags and opportunitiesto move the needle. What are controllable factors that are drivinghealth claims? Determine a game plan with the employer on how tostart addressing cost concerns. Provide employee communicationssuch as newsletters and plan design support content. Offer to run amultiyear report to hold the group accountable and set the stagefor a long term relationship.

4. Have a presence on socialmedia. No, this doesn’t mean you post pictures of yourchildren in Halloween costumes on Facebook. This means you delivervaluable content, insight, perspective and experience onhighly-viewed and reputable professional sites, such as LinkedIn.Show prospects and clients that you are focused on helping themaddress issues like HR, reducing health care costs andunderstanding PPACA compliance and regulations. Being active onsocial media is an inexpensive way to reach thousands of people tolet them know who you are, how you can help and what you bring tothe table that makes you different and worth partneringwith.

The music that U2 played when they wore their disguises was thesame as when they revealed their true identity. But it wasn’t untilpeople knew who the band was that they understood the value of whatthey were experiencing. Before your next prospect or renewalmeeting, ask yourself: Is the presentation I’m giving making itclear who we are and just how valuable our partnership is? Ditchthe wig, take off the fake mustache and show who you truly are.