Impossible to Ignore

I basically grew up in the office of an independent insurance agent. My mom was the secretary and receptionist for a successful agent in Seymour, Ind. During my time there, I learned a great deal about the importance of essential values like integrity and persistence by watching Richard Dailey, the agent for whom my mother worked.

Given the dramatic changes of today’s insurance marketplace, I often wonder how Dailey’s agency would fare in the current environment. Insurance customers today are not disappearing. Instead, they are becoming infinitely more discriminating in how much—and where—they spend their time and money. So what can an independent agent do to succeed when the market grows even more challenging?

First off, there is no doubt that now is the time for agencies to reduce or remove any unnecessary overhead. However, it is also incumbent that they provide compelling reasons for their clients and prospects to remain—or become—engaged. The Harvard Business Review recently quoted a CEO of Procter & Gamble, A. G. Lafley, on how he decided on a plan that would involve simultaneous cost cutting and investments in innovation and education.

“We weren’t going to win if it were an ‘or.’ Everybody can do ‘or,’” he said. The results clearly displayed the wisdom of his leadership and why doing more than merely cutting back is vital for an agency’s future. Your ability to stand out and move up in this time is going to depend on the “ands”—the extra points of distinction you create.

About a year ago, I saw comedian Steve Martin interviewed on the PBS Charlie Rose Show. Rose asked him, “How does someone become successful?” Martin responded that he’s given the same answer for decades and, to his knowledge, no one has followed his advice. The problem, he said, is that when someone asks what it takes to be successful in show business, what they really want to know is, “How do you find an agent?” “How do you write a script?” “How can I make as much money as you?”

Martin said the way you become successful is to “become so great at what you do, you become impossible to ignore.”

Here’s the problem—it seems nobody wants to hear that answer. They want to know a trick, a secret or get an introduction to some success genie that grants their wish. So, if you want to become distinct, here’s a fundamental question: Are you willing to do what it takes to become so great at what you do that you become impossible to ignore?

Consider these steps—what I call the “four cornerstones of distinction.”

Clarity: You cannot differentiate what you cannot define. Agents who fail to clearly characterize their quality proposition to customers and prospects cannot distinguish their efforts from their competitors. What makes your agency, and you, distinct? If you can’t answer that, why should a prospect choose you?

Creativity: This doesn’t mean doing everything different from your competition—it means doing one thing in a creative manner. Enterprise Rent-A-Car still rents the same automobiles as their competition. We all know the one point that makes them different, however, is “they pick you up.” What can you do to be creative in how you approach clients and prospects?

Communication: Remember President Barack Obama’s election night speech to a cheering throng in Chicago’s Grant Park? After receiving more than 65 million votes, the new president concentrated his remarks on the story of a solitary voter, 106-year-old Anne Nixon Cooper. Viewing the monumental events of his election through her eyes presented all of the chapters of our nation’s history in a more personal and powerful dimension. Agents must consider whether they’re telling their story with a technique that connects emotionally with their insureds.

Customer-experience focus: Top agents realize the experience their clients have in dealing with them will transcend transaction. By creating intensely personal and compellingly emotional experiences, agents who focus upon the experience—rather than mere service—develop more loyal customers who purchase more and provide excellent referrals.

I know the value of these steps—not just because of the research for my book or my experience as a business owner—but through watching the impact a successful independent agent had on the lives of so many in my small community. It’s the same impact you can create every single day. It’s what makes you impossible to ignore.

Scott McKain is author of “Collapse of Distinction: Stand Out and Move Up While Your Competition Fails.”