Three Shifts to Become Indispensable in Insurance

Welcome to the Agent Leader Podcast. My name is Brent Kelly. I am your host. It is my honor to be with you on this podcast, and as always, the mission, the purpose of the Agent Leader Podcast, and of course, we serve the independent insurance agency system, but to help those independent insurance agency leaders gain clarity on what's really important, build consistency on the vital few things that really matter, and make a commitment to yourself, to your team, to your clients, to your community, to become that best version possible.

And as a reminder, I've done this many times, but the Best Version Possible book is out there, whether you go to our site, which you can go to sitkins.com/bvp, get yourself a copy of the book. It's a short read quite frankly. People will tell us, "This book is smaller than I thought." It's like because we got all our best stuff right there, and we've designed it specifically so that you can hop on an airplane or a flight for an hour or two and read the whole book, take notes, and more importantly to go back and implement some of the key items in that book.

And within that book, we share the Best Version Possible experience or at least a snippet of what that is. And that's what we take our Sitkins Network members through. It's a true experience or a process that's transformational. It is a process, not an event. And if you're an agency leader and you're looking to take the next step in transformation in your agency, you want to learn more about what we do as an organization, how we help agencies truly get that clarity I talked about, build consistency throughout the entire team, make that commitment so you have coaches and accountability to really get your agency to the next level, we'd love to have a conversation. Just go to sitkins.com/experience.

Now, I want to get into something transformational right now on this podcast. One of the things I love to do and able to do is to share some of these ideas that we continue to see with our agencies and give them to you, the podcast audience and all the listeners that we have. And one of the things that hit me was this idea that when we're talking about agency transformation, agency change, whatever it is, what are the shifts that you need to make as an agency leader or within your agency, your agency culture, to get you to the next place? And I think back, this has been quite a while now. When I turned 16 years old, it has been a while, my very first car, so you all know, was a 1988 Ford Tempo. Love that car. By the way, it was a red car that was actually more of a pink car because it had faded, it was older.

And anyway, I had some fun with it, but it was a 1988 Ford Tempo, and it was a stick shift. It had a manual transmission, and actually enjoy driving stick shifts just because it's kind of fun, you have a little more control. But obviously the analogy here that I'm getting into is that there are certain gears that you need to go in to get to the next level. First gear's only going to take you so far and you got to shift and a second, and then into third, and then into fourth, then of course, finally to fifth or overdrive. And when I look at agencies, I don't think it's just one transformation that you make. I think there's multiple shifts that agencies make, and I think we always can look for that next shift, that next level of agency excellence. And that's what I'm going to talk about today.

In fact, I'm going to highlight three shifts that I think agencies can make to truly become indispensable. And you think about that word indispensable. Indispensable is exactly what it sounds like. You become almost impossible to replace. And this becomes indispensable as you look to acquire future ideal clients, indispensable as you want to retain your best clients for a long period of time. It's this idea that you are absolutely necessary. So I want to talk you through three shifts, and of course, you as an agency leader listening, you might be in, maybe you're in gear two and you're looking to get to gear three. Maybe you're down in gear one, or heck, maybe you're in reverse and you need to shift it around the other way. But wherever you are, as I go through these three shifts, I want you to think about whereas an agency are we today? And certainly if you're a producer listening or an insurance professional, where am I? Where is our department? Where is our team today? And what's the next shift that I can begin to make in this area?

So, let's go through these three shifts. And I've used these in different ways before, but I want you to really think about where you are, where you want to go, and again, that next step for you.

The first shift is this - shifting from quotes to risk advice. Shifting from quotes to risk advice. Now, here's my belief, and I know some people will challenge and argue, but if you look at the marketplace, you go to websites, you see what's communicated. You certainly think about how the insurance buyer approaches the insurance buying process. The word quote is thrown around all the time. In fact, I would guess that if you would ask the average insurance buyer or just people out there in the marketplace, what is one of the main roles of an insurance agent? I would be certain that the word, "Well, they give quotes," they give insurance quotes would be one of the things that they would say.

Now, I think the insurance quote, or we would say at Sitkins, in working with our members, the final process or the final step of the process, which is a presentation of solutions. That's an outcome of a designed process or system. And I tell oftentimes, people that attend our programs, that if someone were to come to you and say, "I'm looking for a quote." When you have the true confidence and capabilities to do this as we teach, you should be able to say, "Well, thank you, but we don't, or I don't offer quotes. I don't offer quotes." And by the way, that's a subtle shift, but obviously it could be a major impact, even on the mindset of someone who asked that question, because in their mind, that's what insurance agents or agencies do. They provide quotes. "No, we don't provide quotes. What we do do is analyze specific risk needs and determine if there's a fit for us to move forward."

Now, some people don't want that. Some people say, "No. Well, your job is to give me a quote. I want it cheap. I want it fast. If I say jump, you say how high." That's not what high level professional advisors and this idea of the shift from quotes to risk advice, that's what those professionals do. Again, this is the culture out there, is that that's the job, that's the role. Again, websites, free quote, we'll give you free quote, free quote. First of all, there's very little value in that. Computers in many cases do that better than you can as a human being. We're going to get to that in a little bit later, is shift two. But this idea that our job is to give you a quote is incorrect. I mean, no different than you going to a doctor and telling them exactly what they should do for your body, or at least a good doctor. They should be asking meaningful, impactful questions to help understand and diagnose what's really going on so that they can prescribe what's really going to be valuable to you.

One of our favorite phrases at Sitkins is this. "Prescription without proper diagnosis is malpractice. Prescription without proper diagnosis is malpractice." And so often agencies and agents, producers are out there going, "Oh, let me look at your policies, copy what you have, and we'll give you some quotes and then we'll come back and pray that you don't take this back to your current agent." It's a quote, hope, pray game. And that doesn't do you any good. It's what I believe is a race to the bottom. Because if you're trying to compete at a quote only game, or that's the mentality, and that's what you think, "Well, my job is to get you a quote." No, your job is to be the first line of underwriting. You are a risk advisor, you are a professional, you have value, you must ask the right questions, you must be prepared. Not everybody is a fit. Not every business is a fit.

This is what we do and how we do it and why we do it and why it matters. And I will share this, and I think I've shared this in other podcasts, but if you're watching the YouTube or the video portion of this podcast, I'm holding up a No Practice Quoting poster. And this is something that Roger Sitkins developed years and years ago. We have a lot of our agencies put this poster, this no practice quoting. By the way, if you can't see it, it looks like a no smoking sign. But it says "Practice quoting" in the middle. And it's a very key mindset that turns into the right processes. To me, the right processes are determined by the right mindset and attitudes, and the idea of practice quoting, it says this on the poster, "The art of providing a quotation to an unqualified prospect in order to force the incumbent agency to lower their renewal price while retaining the account." I'll just say it again. "The art of providing a quotation to an unqualified prospect in order to enforce the incumbent agency to lower their renewal price while retaining the account."

So, this idea, again, of practice quoting is what a lot of agencies do, and it's a mindset, and can you have some success providing a bunch of practice quotes or being a quote monster? Yeah, I suppose. You can do okay. You'll never reach your best version possible unless the first thing is we've got to shift as many ways. Here's my challenge to you. The last thing I'll say on this one. Whereas an agency are we quote monsters or quote machines or whatever it is you want to call it? Where do we do the practice quoting? And what would be the next shift or shifts we can begin to make to truly be that risk advisor? We're asking risk-based questions, we're thinking like a risk advisor in many different areas, we're preparing our ourself different? All these things that go into it. Again, we go very deep in this in our programs of how to do some of these things, but I want to challenge you right now of what is one shift you can begin to make to move from quote to risk advice? One shift you can make in that.

All right let's get to the next shift that I see that agencies can make certainly to move forward in these areas. This next shift is shifting from transactions to relationships. Now, these are all going to be ... They cross over each other to a degree. It kind of goes back to quote versus risk advisor. But when you move from this idea of transactions versus relationships, what I really want to highlight here is this. When I ask insurance agencies during our live programs or in person programs, or even if I'm doing keynotes and workshops, I'll ask the audience or participants, and I'll say, "Is this still a relationship business?" Basically, 100% of people say "Yes." Well, then my next question is, "What are we doing as agencies, as professionals, as human beings, to truly engage our prospects and clients, to add value, to make deposits, to truly be a relationship businessperson, a relationship agency?" Because it's easy to say relationships are important, but what do we actually do to live up to that idea that relationships are important, that it's still a relationship business?

I mean, the analogy I often use is relationships is much like money in a bank. If you take too many withdrawals from a bank, you go overdraft, you go broke. If you put enough deposits in, you get really rich. It's the same with our agency relationships. The more deposits and here's the key to deposits. Proactive, intentional deposits. Picking up the phone when the client calls is not a deposit. That's an expectation. Answering an email is not a deposit. That's an expectation. I'm thinking about little subtle things you can do to truly enhance the power of your relationships. And by the way, here's the cool thing in today's world, and this will continue to expand. And everybody listening to me, you're already doing this to a degree. It's called using technology. I love technology. I'm using technology right now to distribute this podcast, both video and audio to multiple people. It gives me an advantage. You should be using technology in your business to give you advantage as well. And most of you are at different levels, but you're using technology. Here's the key and why I'm saying this.

Technology does not replace relationships. See, it happens too often with agencies. "Oh, we have a drip campaign. We're doing this, we're automating this. This is going out; technology is doing this. So guess what? I can kick back and do nothing. I don't need to worry about the relationship. It's taken care of." Bull. That's not true. Technology is there to supplement the human experience that you can provide. And by the way, the human experience does not have to be complicated. You know some things that humans can do that technology can't? Humans can proactively think. Computers can be programmed to think. Humans can proactively think and prepare at different deeper levels. Humans can show empathy. I care. My voice shows that I care. My response shows that I care.

All these things, humans can display that emotion of empathy, humans can use teamwork and collaboration. They can continue to network with, whether it's the carriers or influencers or different people, parts of the organization at an ongoing basis. So, use the human experience, the human power to leverage the technology that's supplementing. Technology can be a really nice baseline in some of these things. But imagine the deposits you can begin to make done the right way that'll have significant impact in the relationships that you make.

And here's my overall thought on this. If you go into a new business relationship, and by the way, there's that word relationship, you should be thinking about a long term, meaningful relationship. If you're trying to do a transaction, how can I get the next piece of business, next piece of business, next piece of business, churn and burn, churn and burn, churn, and burn. You have new clients that come in, you have clients that come out, new clients come in, it's this ongoing battle. If you are worthy of your time and effort, energy to bring a new client in, you should be thinking, what is the relationship process, the relationship management, we are going to have? And by the way, this can be a team and should be a team effort, not just one person. But what can and will we do to ensure this relationship as the highest level possible? That is a shift that you all can make as insurance agency leaders within the culture and with your team that you have.

So here's my question. Again, don't overthink this. What's one additional relationship deposit that you and your team can begin to make with the people that matter the most to your agency? And by the way, this certainly is your clients, your future clients, your prospects, you might have influencers, team members. But what can we do to add more value and make more deposits in those relationships? That's shift number two, shifting away from the transaction mindset transaction focus to truly relationship business, relationship engagement. That's shift number two.

Shift number three, kind of putting the first two shifts together, and then I'll put a bow on this, but I want to get you thinking. All right, shift number three is this. You shift from this idea of we are a vendor, or we act like a vendor to a true risk, here's a key word, partner. Risk partner. Shift from what? Vendor or commodity, whatever term you want to use to a risk partner. This is how you begin to become truly indispensable. See vendors, and you already know this, but just think about how you're positioned with your clients. Vendors can be easily replaced. It's a transaction, it's another expense. It's something on the budget that you're looking at. "Oh, we have an expense and it's a vendor relationship and it's a transaction." A risk partner is someone who's earned the right to be that trusted advisor, that trust and confident. They have positioned themselves and the business and the agency as someone who truly understands the needs of the clients. And that's a big part. I understand the needs of your clients.

See, this goes back to this idea that your clients in particular, they expect you to know insurance. That's what you do. You're an insurance agency. What they don't often expect, and what they truly appreciate is when you really understand them and their business at a very deep level. What makes you tick? What frustrates you? What are you looking for? For example, for business owners, most business owners care about three things the most. They care about their clients, their employees, and their profits. A risk partner goes, how can I help as a partner in these areas of your clients, your employees, your profits? We talk together in alignment. That's what risk partners do; they're risk advocates. We're going to walk with you. Some of our success leaves clues. And I've mentioned we've done Elite Mastery or Sales Mastery, some of our programs and be able to be around high-level producers and achievers. I'm very blessed to have that opportunity.

And as much as I like to teach and coach, I also learn a ton, often where I share content like this, and I had a conversation, few years back with one of the top producers, book of business, personal Book of Business commission was about $3.5 million. Pretty darn good. Bigger than a lot of agencies. $3.5 million person. I said, "What? Obviously, you do lots of stuff. You've been doing this for a while, but what's been some underlying key? You try to look for clues." And what he told me isn't complicated. It's a mindset that he's turned into a process in the way that he communicates. He goes, "I always, and when I really flipped the switch, I saw myself and I see myself today as a business consultant. That's what I am. I a consultant to go in and diagnose, to work with the business, to help them think through the next year, two years, three years. What are the specific problems? And then what can specifically my tools and resources bring to the table to address that?

I can't fix every problem, but I can ask the questions to say, listen, I hear you, understand you. I want to be on your side. I am on your side to help you and your business move forward. And this certainly can be true with individuals as well." And that to me has been a critical thing. That was the second part. What he said is, "I help people or businesses move forward. How can I help you move forward?" Now, that's very high level. It is. But think about how you approach both seeking future clients and then working with clients if that is your mindset.

So, here's my question to you overall on this. Are you a vendor or risk advisor? How are you currently positioned today? And by the way, here's a quick litmus test for all of you. If many of your clients today call you, and I'm talking about something more substantial, there's a business, again, you're working with a business and they're looking at, I don't know, adding a whole new building or there's some contractual language or whatever. It could be a number of things, and they go ahead and do the thing and then call you afterwards to do the insurance stuff that goes into that. You are positioned as a vendor. If they call you after they make a significant or serious business decision, you are a vendor. If they call you before and say, "Listen, I'm seeking your counsel. I'm seeking your advice. You've always been here for me. I want to know how I should think through this, what I should know. What I'm missing?" That's what professional advisors do. That's what risk partners do. Then you're positioned more as an indispensable risk partner, which is where you want to be.

My guess, you may have both. My question is, what is the shift to have more of your clients, and of course, the goal is to have all of your clients, but the goal is to have the majority of your clients in that category that they seek you out, seek your team out as a risk advisor, and that truly makes you indispensable.

Now, listen, I said the beginning of this podcast, this is about making small but important shifts. Now, I never, at least I don't think I did. Who knows? Maybe I screwed this up. I don't remember my car being in first gear and just shifting it to five. Now, if you've ever never driven a manual shift, what typically happens is, again, there's an amount of torque. If you go from first to fifth, there's nothing there. So, you've got to do your shifts in order. I'm in gear one or number one, how do I get to two? How do I get to three? How do I get to four? I don't know where you're at. You may be in different areas with what I just mentioned on these three shifts, but I just want to continue to challenge you to think about this.

Going back to the three shifts, number one, what is one shift I can begin to make in my agency? We move from this quote mentality to a risk advice mentality. What is one shift or area I can move from this transaction mentality to more relationship mentality that I talked about? What's one shift we can make to move from a vendor or commodity to a true risk partner or advocate? So, to me, it's not about what this is going to look like in three years. I'm going to challenge you. What's the next shift that you can make?

And last thing I'll share in this. These things that I'm mentioning, you don't have to do any of them. And if you're like many agencies, you're still going to survive. In fact, you might be doing okay. If you really want to thrive in these areas and where we're going and where the model's going, where the insurance industry is going for you to be at your best version possible, shifts are vital for you and your agency. And you can do the easy things now. Quoting is really easy. Quoting is easy. Let's face it. Now, it may be time-consuming if you do too much of it, but it's easy. Transactions are pretty easy. Being a vendor is pretty easy. You get some, you lose some, you win some, you lose some. But being indispensable in these shifts that I mentioned is hard.

Here's the good news and the important news. You do the hard stuff right now or beginning to do the hard stuff. It makes everything else easier longer term for you and your team. You do the easy stuff now; you're always going to be fighting a hard battle. And I said at the beginning, we as an organization at the Sitkins Group, our design, our mission, our purpose, our soul, is to help agencies thrive in good and difficult times, to help you see things a bit differently, to help position you in a way to truly become that best version possible. And if you want to learn more about, again, what we do, how we help agencies, I'll tell you right now, we are only working with select agencies as we begin to move forward. Because not every agency is a fit with us.

We're only looking for agencies that truly desire and seek the highest expression of what they want. Doesn't mean they're going to be perfect. It means they want to be part of an organization, part of a group, and part of other, be a collaboration with other agencies that seek the same thing. And when you do that, you can build incredible things. And again, if you're interested in that, you go to sitkins.com/experience and learn more about our experience, how we work with agencies, or just reach out to anyone here on our team. We're here to help you. So, with that, make that next shift in your agency. I wish you and your agency all the best in your success. Thanks for listening.