Page 140 - The UnCaptive Agent

TOOLS YOU’LL NEED AND WHEN YOU’LL NEED THEM 113

is an area where I suggest you engage a professional
design person to assist you. This does not have to be
expensive. In fact, there are a number of places on the
Internet where you can post requests for proposals.
Independent graphics artists and other marketing and
design professionals can respond and make proposals
to do this design work for you on a very low-cost basis.
While much of today’s business is conducted on the
web, you will still need to provide for printed collateral
material, including business cards, a simple agency
brochure, and a professional proposal template. While
business cards are used less frequently than in the past,
you will still need to have them for those prospects
and company representatives who aren’t comfortable
exchanging contact information via a vCard.
Your agency brochure doesn’t have to be elaborate,
but it should be something you include with proposals
as well as on cold-call drop-ins, along with your busi-
ness card. The brochure should briefly outline your
history, capabilities, and focus. Again, the brochure
is something you can ask for proposals for online and
create a competition among graphic designers literally
all over the world. For your design and the writing of
the brochure, you should be able to produce a profes-
sional, well-designed, well-written brochure for a few
hundred dollars.
You will need to design a proposal template for insur-
ance proposals. This may be as simple as inserting your
agency name and logo into insurance-carrier-provided
proposal templates, but I suggest you actually develop
your own proposal package that focuses on the services
and the unique capabilities of your agency, in addition to
the coverage and carrier information you will be giving
to prospects. The proposal format should be relatively
simple and straightforward, and certainly easy to use.