Becoming a successful insurance broker doesn’t just happen by chance. It comes after building a foundation of disciplined best practices and habits that lead to success. As an insurance broker, you lead a busy life managing agents and others on your team. No doubt you want to position them for success. The best way to do this is to lead by example.
Insurance agents often find inspiration through the brokers who are training them. Your team is studying your work habits and ethics and incorporating them into their own practice. That’s why it’s all the more crucial that you’re utilizing proven successful insurance habits and techniques that can help mold your insurance organization into the successful agents they were meant to be.
Let’s look at ten successful insurance habits that the industry’s top brokers practice every day.
1. Structure each day by creating and sticking with a routine and a schedule.
With all of the moving parts involved in insurance sales, having a regular schedule helps to boost productivity. A daily routine can help optimally manage your time while also allowing for a bit of flexibility when an opportunity to make an unexpected sale occurs. One way to accomplish this is by scheduling strict time for networking, phone calls, appointments, and email communications. But, leave a couple of openings in your schedule for opportunities that happen by chance. However you choose to structure your schedule, make it a routine habit that caters to the growth of your insurance business.
2. Stay up-to-date and current with the insurance industry.
Both customers and insurance agents admire a broker who understands everything going on in the industry. Part of being a successful insurance broker is staying apprised of evolving insurance laws and guidelines. That can be challenging in the insurance landscape, where running your company is a challenge all its own. But, business insurance agencies and the industries they cover must always adhere to compliance requirements to avoid regulatory scrutiny. Meet with your team regularly to ensure that everyone is brought up to speed with the industry’s compliance changes, particularly those more likely to impact your clients. That way, you’ll be seen as credible, knowledgeable, and indispensable resources that your clients can’t be without.
3. Set goals, and then meet or exceed them.
Goal-setting is an integral part of becoming a successful insurance broker or agent. But meeting those goals can be challenging when your days are filled with phone calls and sales activities. At times, it can seem like you’re just treading water. To progress in your career, it’s vitally important to create new goals while evaluating old ones, whether it’s to design a brand new marketing campaign or to incentivize your agents to write a set number of policies each week. It’s also a good idea to have personal goals as well as professional ones. A healthy work-life balance is vital for well-rounded success. Whatever your goals are, plan and outline how you can reach them. It’s also good to have short and long-term goals. With long-term goals, outline the steps necessary to get there. Then, track your progress through a spreadsheet or whiteboard. It’s always helpful to visualize how far you’ve come in working towards your goals.
4. Have a positive outlook when practicing successful insurance habits.
Insurance sales has its peaks and valleys. Some workdays are non-stop, and on others, everything seems to go wrong. The latter can certainly make it more challenging to remain optimistic. Nonetheless, if you want to be successful, a positive attitude is a requisite in the insurance business. Chalk a lousy day off as a bad day, but walk back into the office the following day believing that everything will go better. This is good not only for you but to help boost morale with your team of insurance agents. Positivity is contagious, and your team will feed off of the energy you put out.
5. Seize the opportunity wherever you go to form connections.
Many insurance brokers and agents think of networking as connecting with other insurance professionals at conferences and such. But, networking goes well beyond that, and it’s more important than ever in building a successful insurance practice. Building relationships in your community is a vital insurance habit that can help sell more insurance policies down the road. Whether you’re having lunch in a cafe or attending a parent-teacher conference at school, connecting with your community builds trust and familiarity. So, when business owners in your community need insurance, they’ll remember you.
6. Never stop learning what’s relevant in your specific insurance industry.
Most insurance brokers and agents are good at maintaining their insurance licenses and taking the required continuing education courses. Not all of them continue to learn beyond the regulatory requirements to expand their knowledge base. But, the most successful insurance brokers do. Just as the world evolves, so does the insurance industry. If you want to position yourself for success, you have to stay apprised of insurance laws, policies, procedures, and trending insurance product lines. The most successful insurance brokers learn about new products relevant to their market before they become available. In fact, these brokers train their agents about new products before the launch date so they can be the first to offer them to clients. What’s great about having a digital world is that most of those learning resources are available online. Digital podcasts, videos and tutorials, webinars, and more are right there waiting for you to seize the opportunity to learn more. The more you know, the more you’re seen as the expert in your field.
7. Streamline your business through technology.
In today’s insurance climate, it’s more important than ever to simplify and automate tasks and processes. There are several software programs geared for insurance sales to help you stay on task. The most successful insurance brokers and agents implement various software programs and tools in their day-to-day operations. Study the different programs on the market and evaluate which ones would help your particular insurance business. Find out what your competitors are doing, or even those outside of your specialized field. Is there a software program that can be more tailored and customized for the needs of your insurance group? If you find it challenging to explore technology, get a technical genius on board to help. The result should be that any technological tools you use should help conserve your time and allow for more efficient operations of your insurance business. That way, you can get to the business at hand — building a rapport with potential clients to land more sales.
8. Stay ambitious and motivated.
It’s easy to get burnt out in the insurance business when you lose focus. But as a broker, you have to keep that fire lit, not only for yourself but for the agents in your organization. So, you have to stay hungry for success and keep your eye on the ball. One key to staying motivated is to remember your “why.” Why did you become an insurance broker? What keeps you going? For some brokers and agents, it’s because they genuinely love connecting with people. They enjoy cultivating relationships and providing a solution for a problem.
You might enjoy helping your clients protect the business they’ve worked so hard to build. Then again, you may appreciate the financial freedom that comes with earning a good living and providing for your family. Whatever your reason is, stay motivated and remind yourself why you work in insurance. It helps to have a visual reminder in your office for the days that are challenging and frustrating. It could be a picture of you and your family enjoying a vacation in Hawaii. Or, it could be a thank you note from a client. When insurance brokers stay motivated, it inspires your team and promotes success for you and your agents.
9. Hone your skills.
Mastering several soft skills is vital in succeeding as an insurance professional. Good communication, organizational prowess, problem-solving skills, and the ability to think outside the box are necessary skills to have. Consider role-playing practices within your insurance organization to refine those skills.
10. Cultivate a healthy work-life balance to help manage stress.
Let’s say you’re named the top insurance agency for three months running. But you’re working all the time and haven’t had a decent day off in a while. You’re surpassing your sales quotas, but you’re miserable. Would you feel successful? It’s hard to feel accomplished when you’re not loving what you’re doing. A healthy work-life balance is vitally important to leave you feeling satisfied and refreshed. You can’t be happy in your work if you’re running on empty and not feeling happy in other areas of your life besides work. Because remote work is becoming more of the norm, it’s even more challenging to hit the “off” switch. But, you have to do it to have a healthy work-life balance that helps keep your stress levels at their lowest.
Final Thoughts
Successful insurance habits must be practiced to achieve a fruitful and rewarding career as an insurance professional.
Every broker wants to be productive and grow their business. They want a positive, balanced work environment as well as a fulfilling life away from the office.
Implementing these habits can help form the connections and rapports you need that will lead to a sustained and successful career as an insurance broker or agent while also affording the freedom to maintain a successful work-life balance.
To discover more about achieving greater success in your business insurance practice, contact our qualified professionals at NIP Group by calling (800) 446-7647.
Looking to motivate your broker staff? Learn how to make selling fun again! Read this blog.
