The year was 2016. Dave was in a period of transition in his career and decided to move from banking to insurance. A fancypants headhunter recruited him out and sold him on the idea of owning his own business and controlling his income and future.
There was one caveat though.
The carrier wanted the Agent to open in Ohio. Dave lived in Arizona.
It was a big decision for Dave and his family but ultimately they decided it was the right one and they moved across the country in pursuit of a lofty new dream.
The Agency opened as planned and Dave did everything as instructed.
Hung the sign. Bought the direct mail package. Bought the social media “ad package”. You know – the one that Agents pay for that brands the carrier but gets no leads for the Agent
Bought the “discounted lead program” that he was told to. Hired staff.
The phones did not ring. The people were not coming. It was smile and dial just like in previous careers.
The type of stuff that wears an Agent out.
He joined a networking group AND the Chamber of Commerce. Woke up early once a week to network with other business owners for referrals that were rarely provided and offered up by Dave as a new person in town, even less.
Tried to run for a position in the Chamber and got boxed out. Threw his hat in the ring at his networking group for some leadership and no one voted for him. Same incumbents won every seat.
The pressure was mounting. At home he was stressed. The bank account was moving in the wrong direction. His wife was giving him quite a few “I told you so’s” about the move. The carrier was also threatening Dave that they would pull his contract if his performance didn’t improve.
Dave was feeling like all may be lost. A move across the country to chase a dream that was quickly becoming a nightmare.
In a moment of desperation Dave decided to follow some crazy advice he had heard in Insurance Soup, the FREE Facebook group for Insurance Agents with 30,000 members across North America all in the trenches selling policies every day.
Something that did not feel natural….but enough people were saying it works well so he decided to give it a shot.
He decided to create something where HE was in charge and HE was the leader and main voice being listened to.
He started a Facebook group for the locals in his area and gave people reason to join.
Running point on all things going on in the community, the locals quickly flocked.
Steals and deals, recommendations, school goings on, events, charity – you name it – if it was going on in his town Dave was reporting and supporting it.
His few local friends that he made all invited their friends…. And their friends invited friends… and before he knew it Dave was sitting at the top of a community of people that were visiting his Facebook group very regularly to have fun and learn about what was happening this week around town.
And then it happened. On the 3rd week of owning the group with just under 400 members… one of the members asked
“Does anyone in here have a good Insurance Agent? My payments are out of control and I need to shop it.”
Well… Daves local friends all began tagging him. And as the owner of the group running the conversation and keeping people infotained regularly he was the obvious choice for a chance at the business.
Dave called the woman and was very competitive. Assuming that the prospect would need to shop around or think about it he did not try and close. New to sales and not confident, this was another major flaw in Dave’s game.
The prospect closed themself!
“What do I need to do to get started”
Dave COULDN'T BELIEVE IT.
This prospect that came to him in the group was a lay down sale – almost like a referral!
And then it dawned on him…. These people were all coming to hang in his community every day.. but at the same time they were getting to know, like, and trust him.
It then became his goal to grow that group as large as possible and to continue to infotain while lightly promoting his business.
Business continued to flow and as the group grew Dave now had other opportunities coming his way as well.
Business owners wanted to partner up. The top loan officer in town wanted to be an admin in his group. Several realtors too.
Before he knew it Dave had 1400 locals buzzing around his group daily and 4 referral partners that swore allegiance to him. Business owners were asking for face time in his group.
A myriad of lucrative opportunity opened up both insurance and non-insurance related.
Everyone wanted to be recommended by the admin of this little local social media community.
As the group grew Dave picked up more and more clients and they all came to his office at no cost.
He now hosts events with the locals.
Rents out movie theaters. Hosts Happy Hours. He’s invited to every local event and even MC’d a local parade hosted by the town mayor.
All as someone who moved from Arizona to Ohio to a new town where he knew no one, Dave was now writing 4-5 policies a week for free from the group while also pulling a nice amount of referrals from his new referral partners… and the group continues to grow and prosper.
Dave will be the first to tell you that he now looks at his Facebook group as his virtual and digital “agency”. And his "Agency" has thousands of people in it every single month - just about every single day!!
And his digital “Agency” currently boasts 4700 people with over 250 households in his book directly coming from the group itself and an untold number more coming over from his referral partners who also are highly recommended in his community.
All because in a moment of desperation, a transplant from across the country decided to follow the advice of some strangers that were praising the idea in Insurance Soup.
If you are struggling to pick up momentum in your town, we strongly urge you to create your own online community.
Following the Blueprint laid out by Career Agent Concepts in the mini course “Growing Profitable Groups on Social – The Definitive How To” Agents across the country are closing a ton of business without spending any money on marketing – all while having fun and gaining credibility and clout in their community… and monetizing in a number of manners that are truly outside the box and fun.
If you are not in Insurance Soup you need to be – 30,000 of your peers are having conversation about how to win and every day there is something being dropped in there that is a major a-ha golden nugget moment.
Click here to join Insurance Soup
Interested in learning how to build your own thriving community on social media that will do business with you and look to you to be the leader they need?
Grab a copy of Growing Profitable Groups today! Follow the link at the top of the page! $197 one time payment gets your thriving community off the ground!