Page 57 - The UnCaptive Agent

30 THE UNCAPTIVE AGENT

on their unique products, and this is something that you
should look for when seeking agency appointments if
growth in commercial lines interests you. Developing
the rating, quoting, and service capability to compete
effectively is a serious consideration in thinking about
delving into commercial insurance. Commercial lines
client service representatives who typically do this work
are expensive for a new agency to hire. Carriers con-
tinually tweak their product offerings to try to create
differentiation in the market, which makes quoting
complex. The specific insurance requirements for dif-
ferent kinds of businesses vary, which also increases the
difficulty of building a commercial lines book (although
focusing on niche markets discussed later in this book
make it much easier). Larger agencies solve these prob-
lems with specialists called internal marketers, whose
job it is to get insurance quoted and placed with carriers.
Market placement people typically cost in the high five
figures to six figures for salary and bonus! Thus, they
are unaffordable for start-up agencies. That is why my
company developed a department for the exclusive use
of our members called Access Plus™. An advantage of
size is the ability to offer advantages that are otherwise
unaffordable, and this is an example of that. You can
build a commercial lines book on your own—it just
takes more effort and time.

Will You Offer Employee Benefits?

Will you offer health care insurance and employee ben-
efits in your agency? There are a couple of significant
reasons why you may want to consider doing so. The
first is that the more products and services that you
sell a client, the stickier they get. In other words, your
retention will increase by selling additional policies.