Habits of Successful Insurance Agents and Brokers

It’s important to incorporate good habits into your daily life if you want to be a successful insurance agent and help your business grow. Having a solid routine and making time for both your work and your clients is a difficult balancing act. However, when you incorporate the habits of successful insurance agents and brokers into your routine you will always have enough time to follow up on prospects and check on referrals without feeling like you are taking time away from other vital tasks.

As we have mentioned, creating new and useful habits is a great way to help your insurance agency grow. But what are the patterns of successful insurance agents? 

Along with prioritizing your time, you can also make it a habit to learn more about the industry by staying up to date on the latest trends, and checking out digital tools to help you and your clients stay connected. When used daily, these good habits can help you make the most of your knowledge and reach your full potential as a successful insurance agent.

How to be an Effective Insurance Sales Agent 

Successful insurance agents are also highly effective. Their habits, developed over time, contribute to their continued growth. Being an effective insurance agent takes hard work, consistent follow up, and good habits. Here are five great habits of successful insurance agents you can implement.

1. Create a Solid Daily Routine – The most successful insurance agents always allow time for themselves during their day. Doing so provides them with free time to focus on things besides their work so that when they return, they can get back to their tasks with little or no distractions. Setting aside short 15-minute breaks to check texts or social media, or scheduling time to take a quick walk outdoors to clear your head can mentally prepare you for the work tasks that are most important to you and your agency. It helps to balance your schedule so your mind isn’t drifting while working on a quote, policy review, or even while assisting clients.

2. Keep the Doors of Communication Open – One of the most critical factors in any business relationship is communication. You want to be available to communicate with your clients whenever they have a question or concern. Making it possible for them to reach out to you at any time on their schedule is a significant plus. Responding to emails and messages promptly is one of the best ways to ensure your agency remains successful. Also, allowing your clients to send messages to you around the clock is much easier for them than having to wait until regular business hours resume. Even if you are unable to respond to a message immediately, knowing you have received it, can provide your clients with peace of mind.

3. Never Stop Learning – The insurance industry is ever-changing; this means there is always something new for you to learn. Staying up to date on all the latest news and trends is a great way to help keep your agency innovative and successful. Many of today’s most productive agents are continually learning new tactics and skills that will help them assist their clients more efficiently. That can include finding new ways to stay connected using digital tools. 

4. Systematically Manage Your Time – When you manage your time correctly, you will see more success within your agency. By allocating time each workday to check up on clients and contact hot referrals, you will steadily close more deals than agents who do not display this type of consistency. Consistency and persistence is the name of the game in the insurance world. The most efficient insurance agents always work smarter, not harder. And by doing so, working systematically, allows the agent to maximize each minute in the workday.

5. Make Good Use of the Digital Tools Available to You – The best insurance agents will take advantage of all the valuable benefits they have available to them. That includes the use of digital tools. Technology has changed how the business world operates and plays an especially important role in the insurance industry. Regardless of what type of insurance your agency offers, you can benefit from implementing the latest digital tools into your process.

In addition, applications and software programs can help make it easier for your clients to reach out to you whenever they need to file a claim. By allowing your clients to fill out basic claims forms on your website, or even request a new quote online, can eliminate the need for them to stop by your agency. This will save you time, and most importantly, save the client time. 

How to Effectively Recruit Insurance Agents 

After you’ have implemented the habits of successful insurance agents and you see your sales declining or your marketing tactics aren’t as effective as they once were, the reason could be because you need to recruit new insurance agents. Many agency owners throughout the country face these challenges and have come to realize the solution is to hire/mix in younger, more energetic agents.

Tips for Recruiting Insurance Agents

By recruiting new agents your team can reach out to new demographics you may not have had access to in the past. New blood can also help re-energize your team and bring new ideas – all attributes that help your business grow. But that process is easier said than done. So, we have a few tips for recruiting new, successful insurance agents to help improve your agency.

• Post job links on social media – If you are looking for younger, fresh agents, social media is the best place to reach out. By sharing job listings on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, you are looking for candidates in the places they communicate.

• Offer an insurance internship, or offer to do an insurance career seminar – If you have internships available at your agency, let local universities know about it. You should also contact local universities with Risk Management programs and ask if you can provide a guest seminar on what it’s like to work for an independent insurance agency.

• Leverage the young agents you already have in the recruiting – Use your existing, younger agents to help with the recruiting process. Doing so can help give potential candidates a boost of confidence when they see someone closer to their age working at the agency and doing well.

• The buddy system – Provide new hires with a mentor who can help guide them on the road to success. If you have an agent or two who are reaching retirement age and don’t mind taking a new agent on, allow them to help mentor the younger agents. It can help provide new hires with basic training on how tasks are carried out in your agency. It also allows older agents to pass on their knowledge and wisdom to a younger generation of agents as they exit the industry. The seasoned agent might truly enjoy this.

Factors to Look for When Hiring New Insurance Agents 

When hiring new insurance agents in general, there are several factors you should look for to ensure your agency will be successful. Here are a few questions to ask yourself when considering hiring a new agent. 

Do They Have a Passion For Sales? 

While everyone understands the importance of having insurance to protect their family, home, or business, it’s up to your agents to sell the idea your insurance is the best total value, regardless of its cost. Having an agent on your team who is convincing, but not too pushy when it comes to selling your services, is a worthwhile asset to have at your agency. Insurance agents need to be excellent salespeople and be ambitious enough to keep going even when they are initially rejected.

How Well Do They Handle Rejection?

While it’s important to be persistent with your target audience, it’s also just as essential to understand when you have reached a dead end. Insurance agents will hear the word “No” a lot throughout their careers, and therefore they must be able to handle rejection well. Having the confidence to move on after a failed attempt is a quality all successful insurance agents have. It is also a trait you will want to look for when hiring new agents.

How Honest Are They? 

Honesty is the best quality an insurance agent can possess. Many times, small business owners and other potential customers are unsure about insurance agents. That’s because it may seem they are only interested in making a sale and do not care about the needs of the customer. Customers who feel their insurance agent is honest and trustworthy are more likely to purchase coverage from them, refer them, and establish a long-lasting relationship with them. 

Enjoy Success as an Insurance Agent by Using Technology

Another habit of successful insurance agents is embracing the use of technology to aid in the growth and management of their business. Highly successful agents embrace technology rather than holding steadfast to old habits. They recognize that the way consumers purchase services they need, such as insurance, has changed significantly over the past few years. Technology is changing the insurance industry for the better, and the use of digital tools is one of the best ways to improve your agency, become more successful, and attract more clients. 

While the insurance industry looks to add a wider demographic of customers to their target audience, including young buyers, you and your insurance agency must reach them where they already do business – online. By learning new ways to promote and sell your products digitally, you will have the chance to reach out to more potential clients than ever. With the right digital tools and the right team to help you learn more about their benefits, you can improve your client experience and watch your agency gain more success.