Agency Profile: Service That Stands Out

Encore Insurance Advisors

Burlington, North Carolina
Founded: 2008
Employees: 5

When Karen Fentress worked on the company side and visited independent agents as a product manager, she had no desire to ever become one.

But after the birth of her first child, she changed jobs so she could work part-time—at independent agency Professional Insurance Consultants (later to become Encore Insurance Advisors).

“I grew into it,” Fentress says. “I thought, ‘I could never work back on the company side now.’ I just really loved being an agent and meeting the variety of people.”

Fentress bought out the agency’s former owner when he retired in 2008—a transition that was relatively seamless because the clients already knew her.

The timing, however, proved challenging. “After I signed on the dotted line is when the experts came out and said we were in a recession,” Fentress says. “Some of our niches were eliminated almost overnight. It required a lot of effort and creativity to keep our book strong, and we did it.”

How? Fentress credits paying special attention to the “little things” in each interaction the agency has with customers.

VICKI WHITLOW, AGENT AND OFFICE MANAGER

There’s not a lot of “that’s not my job” attitude here. We treat customers as we’d want to be treated. I follow up with customers about things they mention to me: “Congratulations on getting a new car. How do you like it?” It’s not just, “OK, what effective date?” “Do I need to send proof to the DMV?” It’s keeping it personal. This is a small town. We want to give everybody the warmest reception.

In my previous job, I felt like I was directing traffic rather than giving personal service. When you work for a bigger company, you find out you’re just a little spoke in the wheel. Here, I feel like I’m really a part of what goes on day to day. I like that.

KAREN FENTRESS, OWNER

We all want to live by the golden rule. There are little things we do in our agency to send the message that we are committed to taking care of you after the sale. We have a testimonial section on our website, and the comments are exactly what we hope for. It’s very affirming when people realize we want them properly covered.

We try to treat everybody like they’re the most important customer. First, it’s the right thing to do. You’re in this business to take care of people. Second, you never know where that next lead is coming from.

I had a very low commission-generating customer—somebody that other agencies might say, “I just don’t have time.” That customer then referred to me one of my largest customers. You never know what kind of contacts people have. It’s a business strategy, and it’s also the right thing to do.

LORI RONEY, AGENT

This agency is kind of a throwback to how agencies were 20 years ago, when people could come into the office and meet you face to face. We don’t have that with every customer, but we do offer it, because there are customers who still want to do business that way.

We can also be what I call “quick and painless” if some consumers want to do it that way. We provide options. In return, we have a large demographic of different ages and types of people, just because we try to provide what they need and what makes them feel comfortable when they’re shopping for insurance.

We try to listen. I think sometimes people try to sell customers what we think they need, rather than listen to the customer. We try to honestly evaluate each person individually and provide what they need for their current situation, not put them in a cookie-cutter situation.

Photo by Charles Gupton