Tips From Liberty Mutual & Safeco's "2020 Agents For The Future"

For the third year in a row, Liberty Mutual and Safeco Insurance have teamed up for Agent For The Future which recognizes 20 standout independent insurance agents in the game. They choose insurance leaders who are making strides in marketing, technology, products and people. We took a peek through their list and have cherry picked the best tips from the group. Take a look below and see if you're on the same page as any of these rockstar agents.

 

Chris Paradiso has some excellent advice for agents trying to create a larger presence for themselves on digital media. He suggests agents and agencies should create a brand guide, diligently track their numbers, keep their website updated and be active on Facebook. He also recommends creating an app for your agency. An app creates an entirely new level of virtual service and convenience for your customers and it doesn't cost a fortune to have one made.

 

 

Flowers feels that independent agents sometimes lose clients to direct carriers, not because their product is inferior, but because larger carriers make customer communication and online purchasing more efficient. He suggests focusing on the ways your CLIENT wants to do business and those ways are largely through text, email and other automated processes. Asking your client how they prefer to receive content and reminders is a great way to know what's easiest and what works best for them.

 

 

Tracy Cotton is a Farm and Small Business Account Executive who contends that learning the language of your niche is vital. As an agent who focuses largely on farms, food manufacturing and retail, restaurants and craft breweries, she learned that she needed to be able to communicate with her clients about what they needed on their terms. So just like an homeowner's insurance agent wouldn't go looking for clients at a boat show, she adapted and sought out new ways to meet prospects by going to farmer's markets, breweries, wineries and new restaurants. She began learning about the things her clients were passionate about as a way to learn how to bring them better service.

 

 

Whitney, whose agencies are located in northern Michigan, aims for her agencies to be a top pick for employees. She's passionate about creating value from the inside of her agencies OUT to her customers. She believes that making sure her employees understand that they're there at work for a purpose, not just a paycheck, is a game changer. She likes for every employee to know that their voice is important and should be heard, which leads to greater company morale overall. 

Gaining insight from other agents in the field is an important way to stay relevant and to make sure you're always trying new things when it seems that something has stalled out. You always have to be willing to dig in and learn from others in order to keep growing. These 4 Agents For The Future are continually growing and definitely on their way to great things.