State Auto Digital Agent

If you could “divorce” one of your clients who would it be? ...people attach some strange value to what they own, simply because they own it, and are reluctant to let go even when trading makes economic sense. Every time I ask an agent that question, they immediately have an answer, and it’s usually more than one client. My next question is, “Why?” The answers include they have a ton of losses, they’re always rude to our team, they require constant service, they never pay their bills on time, etc. The list goes on. I then ask, “Why don’t you divorce them? Why not advise you can no longer be their agent?” Usually, the answer is in the form of body language. Looks of surprise, shock, or confusion. The concept of dropping a client is foreign to almost every agent I speak with. Richard Thaler’s “Endowment Effect” is the concept that people attach some strange value to what they own, simply because they own it, and are reluctant to let go even when trading makes economic sense. Agen...

"Twenty percent of our insurance clients create eighty percent of our work." Have you heard this line before? I’ve spent a decade in the insurance industry in both the carrier and agency worlds. In my experience, the 80/20 rule seems to be almost universally accepted, and the majority of resources are spent on a small number of needy clients. What’s not universally accepted is this: How much of the resources should be spent on the 20 percent? How can an agency service these clients differently? And, how much stock should an agent put in what these clients say they need? When pressed, many agencies share that the accounts needing the most service are the type of business they don’t really want anyway. So why do they continue to serve those accounts? For some agencies, it simply comes down to pride in providing excellent service to all clients. For most, it’s a symptom of a larger operational problem - lack of data analytics. Spending precious time and resources ...

In case you missed our recent posts, you can start to build a strong base with your social media by completing a social media check up , polishing up your LinkedIn profile and getting ideas for what to post on social media . But to truly get value from your efforts, you must realize the importance of the daily management of your social presence and proper tracking and reporting of your data. Imagine this: You log into Facebook to do a post on your Page, then log out and get back to work. As a result, three things take place: You get a message from someone interested in an insurance quote, a client posts a public complaint about your agency, and a community partner tags you in a post. If you don’t check your Facebook Page the rest of the week, you’ve just missed out on opportunities to nurture a lead, regain trust with a customer and connect with your community. These small social actions may not seem like much, but you might be surprised how much social media can be part of you...

Many of the State Auto agency partners I meet ask, “How do I get started in social media?”   Insurance agents are busy people who do not want to waste time on the wrong actions. You may be relieved to hear that the first thing you should do in social media is simply to listen.   Social media is a conversation.   The technology and tools that make up what we call “social media” allow people to talk with other people all over the world quickly and easily.   People are sharing information, pictures, video, opinions, questions and more.   These interactions are usually open to the public, so anyone can join in.   That also means that anyone can listen. This is your opportunity to get to know your customer better, and it is relatively easy and cheap.   To get started in social media, start by listening to what people are saying on social networks.   You can put monitoring in place to tell you what is said online about your brand, your people, ...