Page 65 - The UnCaptive Agent

38 THE UNCAPTIVE AGENT

possible. Certainly, selling across a large geographic
area is commonplace in commercial lines where niche
marketing works very well.
Technology is rapidly increasing the capability for
forward-thinking agents to escape their traditional
geographical boundaries. Augmented Reality companies
are already demonstrating the capability to merge real,
physical space with virtual reality. What AR does is
allow people to do things like meet around a physical
conference table even though one or more participants
may be located hundreds of thousands of miles away.
As of 2020, this technology has a number of limitations
due to form factor, processing power, and cost. But those
limitations are rapidly being resolved. It’s estimated that,
within five years, AR will be available in a form factor
as convenient as the short-lived Google Glass specta-
cles. Rapid adoption will follow as the price plummets
(as it does with all technology). Think about how this
technology can make a difference in the development
of your agency. As a down payment on this capability,
you can now get part of the way with free services like
Zoom™, which allow face-to-face conversation across
all screen-based communication devices.
In 1998, I had an agent in a small, rural community
drive me all over her hometown. After returning to her
office, she told me she had done so because she wanted
me to understand the limits of what she could insure.
Asking to see her insurance license, I pointed out that it
said “Oklahoma” on it, not the name of her community.
I told her that with a laptop and a cell phone, I could
build an agency in any wheat field in the state. Twenty
years later, you can insure anyone in the country utiliz-
ing strong, personal relationships based on face-to-face
interactions. In a few years, these same people will all
be able to come to your office virtually.