Page 104 - The UnCaptive Agent

PLANNING 77

The Marketing Plan

Now that you have determined how much business you
need to produce and how you are going to keep that
business on the books once you’ve secured it, the next
thing you need to think through is how you are going
to make the phones ring. One of the areas that former
exclusive agents sometimes overlook is the value of the
marketing their employers did on their behalf. While
they became very accomplished salespeople, their mar-
keting muscles often need a little work.
With that in mind, the next plan you need to build
is a marketing plan. How will you get in front of the
prospects who you need in order to accomplish your sales
plan? This doesn’t have to be overly complex, and you
may not be a great marketer, but you do have to find a
way to get in front of people. The average independent
insurance agency receives most of its new business
through referrals, according to the Agency Universe
Study. But you have no business to get referrals from
… or do you?
Most founders come to the startup of their business
under some sort of non-piracy agreement from their
former agency or company. This prevents you from
soliciting your former clients for their business. But it
doesn’t prevent you from talking to them and sharing
your dreams of the business you are building. You can
explain to them that you can’t help them with their
insurance (at least until you have honored the time
period in your employment agreement), but that you
would appreciate any help they can give you by referring
their friends to you now.
I have found an extremely effective way to do this.
When I ran for the legislature, I learned that asking for
a favor is incredibly powerful. If you ask anyone for a