There were 500+ mergers and acquisitions in 2019 involving insurance agencies. With acquisitions come greater resources, employee count and regional footprint. Independent agencies and advisors who have gone out on their own cannot compete with the big shops on the number of services provided. Instead, we have to take control of our narrative.

Being a boutique agency is in. Providing results-based solutions is in. Caring is in. Our clients and employees are hungry for connection and solutions, but how do we represent this internally and present it externally? Our session will focus on the three areas of business we have seen advisors struggle with the most: infrastructure, communicating solutions and creating a marketing strategy.

Investing in your infrastructure

Every employee is responsible for growing the business. This could be through receiving referrals, maintaining high retention through excellent customer service, or by bringing on new clients. Historically, agencies have been out of touch with this concept, building their business on the work of account managers who don't get paid very much, don't receive sufficient recognition and are sometimes understandably skeptical of the purpose they serve.

Investment in what many people would call "the bottom of the organization chart" will have a far bigger impact on the agency than any bonus or incentive you provide to a broker. Our session will provide ways an agency can hire and compensate team members to increase value for the organization overall.

Evolving your solutions

In a recent interview, I was asked about my biggest prediction for the benefits industry over the next decade. I think we will see a distinct separation between the advisors who provide solutions and those who provide services. It's more beneficial to be an advisor who finds a niche and fills it than an advisor who is trying to be "everything" to as many clients as possible.

If you are taking your Audi to the repair shop, would you prefer to go to a Midas Auto Repair or an auto shop that specializes in German cars? If an employee is getting an MRI, would you tell them to go to a nearby hospital or to a free-standing diagnostic imaging center? If an employer realizes this is finally the year they have to save on health care, are they going to continue working with a broker who offers a great benefit guide and a big brand name, or will they hire an advisor who specializes in cutting health plan costs?

Let's own the fact we will never have the dozens of services a large agency has. The biggest differentiator a small-to-mid-size company has is the ability to be nimble. Advisors can practice and pivot until their niche is found. The price advisors charge for their specialization tells a lot about their expertise and the quality of the solutions. Jeff and I will provide insight into how an advisor can get creative and modernize the solutions they offer to clients and prospects.

Creating a marketing strategy

As a producer, I have experimented with social media ads, direct mail, email marketing, cold-calling, seminars, webinars, drop-ins, press releases and even those "salesy" instant messages we all get on LinkedIn. The most important marketing lesson I have learned so far is to know what's worth my time and what should be outsourced. As Jeff says, "Marketing is no longer postcards and handshakes; it requires programming, data management, statistical analysis, search optimization, and social platform expertise. The rapid evolution of digital advertising and marketing has created major gaps between agencies that understand the space and those that do not."

An individual producer or small agency may not have the resources to invest in hiring a marketing agency. However, they must have a marketing strategy. Do you think Gusto, Zenefits, and the "hip" PEOs out there get more leads from digital marketing or from cold-calling? They are bringing in leads while they sleep. You may not have the bandwidth to learn about landing pages, SEO, and campaign scheduling; however, there are ways you can implement a marketing plan without spending a lot of money.

Bringing our session to a close, we will provide actionable items an agency can use to create and improve their digital marketing strategy.

Read more: 

• A 9-step action plan to establish your brand
• 10 tips for managing your business and defining your brand
• Podcasts: An untapped marketing opportunity