As a team who has been in the industry for over a decade, we love when January rolls around.  Why? Because the start of the new year brings a new mindset to many agents on how to approach the growth of their agency this year.  Realizing the successes and failures from the year before can help anyone set up this new year with a different approach to their business.

This isn't just something that happens in business, but with everyday consumers as well.  There is a reason why we make new years resolutions, and hashtag #newyearnewme.... because we WANT better for ourselves.  When the new year rolls around, change is on the minds of everyone we encounter.  We notice that agents take a hard look at their marketing strategies.  Did your team spend months chasing business that never closed?  Did you have a marketing program set, but for some reason or another it didn't pan out the way you wanted? 

Working for an insurance marketing company has allowed me the unique opportunity to see a lot of agencies in different stages of their online marketing efforts. From their expectations to their willingness to make those expectations happen, there may seem to be endless ways insurance agents can approach online marketing in the new year, but from my experience, I can say that it boils down to two different types of agents.  

The Proactive Agent:  The proactive agent has a lot going for them. They spend their time  engaged within their community, and spend a reasonable amount of time putting their brand both locally and within the states where they are licensed.   With events like little league sponsorship, bake sales, and farmers markets that start to pop up in January, the active agent is spending their weekends engaging with the community and sees every opportunity to become a trusted advisor for those they serve.

They’re willing to work on their local branding as they outsource the day-to-day marketing to a company like Avenge Digital.  To this type of agent, digital marketing is another one of their many growth avenues.

In a previous post we talked about why being a local agent is no longer competitive, however when used in tandem with an online source, your funnel expands as your brand grows in awareness.

The nature of going online involves taking a leap, but it shouldn’t be the only method of outreach. The active agent understands this, and is always willing to test ways to grow their presence, which in turn results in their online strategy, more often than not, increasing their success.

The Cautious Agent: The cautious agent gets stuck in the muck of small details, insisting on a “professional” (and non-compelling) content voice to focusing on what they see as a path to success.  By making assumptions about their communities and ability of their reach, they’re unwilling to approach a prospective audience half-way, or look at the data on close rates and training opportunities within their teams.  The cautious agent is the one who takes weeks to make a decision, stagnating their producers' growth with their inability to adapt.

On a personal level, I know there’s a lot of fear that can plague anyone who takes a leap into digital marketing. With so much noise and misinformation out there, the mind can become paralyzed against making effective decisions. I know, because I’ve personally been there.

As an example, over the years I have come in contact with hundreds of agents who only want to market a few specific zip codes.  This isn't due to writing restrictions, it's due to the fact that the insurance rates are the cheapest in those areas and considered an "easy sale".  What these cautious agents fail to realize is that the consumer in the next county over could very well be the easiest policy to write because they are looking to close TODAY but because the agent was unwilling to market to their area, they missed out on the truly "easy sale".  I can't tell you how many times I've seen agents with the best intentions fall flat on their face because they are unwilling to grow their team to not only be consultative producers, but to think outside the box on how to engage with their communities.  The cautious agent may eventually get on track, but the time it's going to take will set them back and can be seen in the lack of new policies in force, and worse may need to sell their book because they can't keep up with rising costs.  

The only way to progress is by taking action, leaving any failures and mishaps in the past to augment your successes in the future. This is the key to why we love January!  Nobody can change what happened last year, but with a bit of foresight, the new year can bring new opportunities as long as you have the willingness to make those expectations happen.  We love finding you new opportunities for branding and expansion, and you can bet we’ll always provide quality calls that result in higher close rates and have tips to help your team succeed.  If you've been looking to make a change to your marketing, we would love to speak with you!  By clicking the link below, you can see how we help agents nationwide, and can schedule a consultation with one of our experts.

What do you think?  Are you an active or cautious agent? We would love to hear from you!