And, being honest, there's very little value one broker can bring to the base transaction of placing an insurance policy compared to any other broker. So, it is critical to identify the other places where real value is delivered.

Marketing – The conversation that takes place with a prospect before you meet them.

Little/No Value – Your website, LinkedIn profile, etc. talk about the years you've been in business, the carriers you represent, your willingness to quote for free, the free stuff you give away, insurance products, and that "damn ACA."

High Value – In those same places, instead, you educate your audience on areas impacting their business. You help them to think differently, gain a new perspective, and gain insight on what may be holding them back, costing them money, and be missing opportunities. Instead of telling them your story, you make it very clear how you could improve their story.

Sales process – The process through which you take a prospect to determine if you should be doing business with one another.

Little/No Value – You collect their relevant information, put together an RFP, build a spreadsheet, and pray your competition missed something. When they don't, you promise better service than anyone else and "throw up" all over their desk about the stuff you're going to give them for free. You sound/are just like most every other broker out there.

High Value – You start by gaining an understanding of what your prospect is trying to achieve (e.g. to be seen as an employer of choice or to be a healthier organization). From there, you evaluate their ability to achieve the goals they have set (Do they have the resources? Are they being used effectively? Are they achieving the necessary results?). If/when you find they have clear opportunities to improve, you build a plan to demonstrate how you will deliver the resources/processes/results in a predictable manner to ensure their desired achievements become their reality.

Implementation – Ensuring the client receives the results they need/expect from every solution you deliver.

Little/No Value – To be fair, most brokers do a respectable job on the implementation of their insurance solutions. Unfortunately, this is nothing more than meeting minimum expectations. Fail on the insurance product and you get fired. But, as I said earlier, it's hard for any one broker to deliver more value than any other simply because of their ability to meet those minimum expectations. Unfortunately, the "value added services" so many brokers use to differentiate themselves become no more than the proverbial "toy in the cereal box". They are promised, but not effectively delivered. A username and password is NOT effective implementation

High Value – No solution (insurance or value added service) is promised until/unless there has been a conversation where both client and broker see that it is clearly needed. From there, every solution has a well though out, step-by-step plan of implementation for which the broker takes the lead to ensure that the client's business receives the results the solution is intended to address.

Constant learning – The things you study to be progressively more effective at your job.

Little/No Value – Studying yet another insurance product. (Note – Of course, it is valuable to know the products inside and out. This is a relative comparison of value to what your clients really need.)

High Value – Always committing to acquire new knowledge in three critical areas: 1. Technical part of your job (learning new products, self-insurance strategies, etc.) 2. Strategic HR (the focus of your primary contacts: attraction/retention, employee engagement, effective communication, etc.) 3. General business acumen (the focus of the C-suite: marketing, finance, brand management, etc.).

You make this commitment and, I promise you, the conversations you will start having with your prospects and clients will become more impactful than ever, and the distance between you and your competition will become significant.

So, stop worrying about commission cuts and start focusing on how to deliver meaningful value to your clients. Deliver meaningful value to your clients and you will always have a way to get paid.

Remember, you don't get paid for the hour/project/transaction; you get paid for the value you bring to it.