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178 THE UNCAPTIVE AGENT

producers (or for agency principals seeking to make the
shift from primarily selling personal lines to selling
commercial insurance). In addition to producer schools,
a number of carriers offer training programs for client
service representatives. These programs are designed to
help fill a tremendous need in the independent agency
workforce for trained client service people. And impor-
tantly, they include a focus on the sales role in client
service. One of the benefits of representing one or more
high quality insurance carriers is access to these kinds
of educational training programs at little or no expense.
One of the questions that agency founders should
ask marketing representatives is what kinds of training
and education programs their company offers.
The other kind of training resources companies
typically offer are in the area of marketing. Insurance
companies are increasingly offering search engine opti-
mization (SEO), Internet marketing, and social media
marketing resources for their agents. These resources are
designed to be seamlessly integrated in agents’ websites
and marketing programs. While they often have a bit
of a cookie-cutter feel to them, they can help you build
content for your website rapidly. And they can also
provide ideas for how you can develop your programs
and resources that have a more tailor-made feel to them.

Be a Joiner

There are two industry trade associations that you
will want to consider joining. The first and largest
is the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of
America. This is the largest industry trade group for
the independent agency system and operates a number
of programs, including education and E&O insurance
as well as marketing programs, at the national level.