3 Laws of Getting Work as an Adjuster

(this is an excerpt from my upcoming revised edition of the Independent Adjuster's Playbook)

The more you understand about how to get work, the more likely you'll be to get work!

The typical way that adjusters think about our industry is that the process is impersonal and that IA Firms are just drawing straws on who is going to get work, but the reality is much more human.

3 Laws of Getting Work as an Independent Adjuster

Every new adjuster asks the same question, "How do I get work?"

That is why 99% of people contact me, they need help getting work as an independent adjuster.

They all beg for the answer that will unlock the vaults of cash that are being hidden from them.

The question I have for them and I'll pose for you is this, "If you want to get work" and they all say "of course I do!" and I smile and say "Then you have to ask the question "How do you get work?"

I know it sounds redundant, but breaking this down as simply as possible is where you'll find the information and answers we often overlook.

Because I've been asked so many times I had to ask myself "how do you get work?" and I quickly realized there was a 2nd follow up question every adjuster should ask as well, "how do I KEEP getting work?"

Because let's be honest, if I waived the magic wand people believe I had and I magically got you a single claim, you'd be thrilled but immediately afterwards disappointed if no more claims/work came your way.

So we have our two questions we need to ask,

"How do you get work?"

"How do you keep getting work?"

Good news is the answer is the same for both.

In fact, as I reflected on these questions for months, I realized the answer was obvious and right in front of all of our faces, but we are often too involved to see how simple the answer is.

So you ready for the answer?

There are three laws that govern whether or not you get work and I call these the "3 Laws of Getting Work as an Adjuster."

They are,

1. For an IA Firm (or insurance carrier) to give you work... they must KNOW you.
2. For an IA Firm (or insurance carrier) to give you work... they must LIKE you.
3. For an IA Firm (or insurance carrier) to give you work... they must TRUST you.

You've probably heard it said about business before, "It's all about know like and trust." Independent adjusting is no different. Independent adjusting, like any business, requires that you get your customers to know you, like you, and trust you.

Let's break down how this is done in independent adjusting.

Law #1 IA Firms Must Know You

Sounds silly, but if an IA firm doesn't know that you exist, you will NEVER get work.

You may have an adjuster license and live in Rapid City South Dakota (where every firm needs an adjuster) but if you don't tell them you are there, they don't know you exist.

Typically, as an independent adjuster we let people know we exist several different ways.

• Getting on rosters
• Emailing IA Firms
• Calling recruiters and hiring managers
• Reaching out via LinkedIn
• Going to conferences like NACA (National Association of Catastrophic Adjusters)

But what do all these things have in common? What word could we sum up all of these activities with?

Outreach.

For IA Firms to know you exist, you must outreach.

No one can do this for you. So if you think you'll simply get an adjuster license and then work will magically flood in, you are wrong. Dead wrong.

If you think you can get on with one company and sit back and wait for the flood gates to open, chances are you'll be sitting a long time. The more outreach you do, the more work you will get.

The more outreach you do, the more work you will get.

Abide by this first law and you can get a chance to keep the 2nd law.

Law #2 IA Firms Must Like You

Let's be real for a second, if you don't like someone, are you going to invite them over to your house?

What about letting your daughter date them?

What about giving them money?

You are probably screaming, "Heck no!"

But that is exactly what we are expecting IA Firms to do if they don't like us.

When they assign you work, they are giving you money. So before they send you that money you've got to get them to like you.... it's the law! (my law anyway)

So let's talk about how we typically get people to like us in other scenarios.

• We are charming
• We are charismatic
• We bond with people
• We find something in common
• We learn about THEM

To sum these all up we could say, to get someone to like you, you must CONNECT with them.

You could build this connection over months or minutes. You could do it in person or over the phone. No matter how, you must make a connection to someone at an IA firm for them to like you.

Only then can you hope to abide by law #3.

Law #3 IA Firms Must Trust You

When an IA Firm assigns you a claim they are trusting you with their business.

If they give you a claim from XYZ Insurance Company they are banking that you will not embarrass them and lose them an account that is likely worth millions of dollars a year!

Often as new adjusters we waltz right up and say "I have no idea what I'm doing but I'd love to work on your most valuable account."

We'd never think to do this in another scenario, but it's how we view becoming an adjuster.

"I got my adjuster license they should give me work."

This is a lie and huge misconception in our industry.

So let's talk about how we typically build trust with someone.

• Referal
• Certifications
• Proof of Work (portfolio)
• Resume
• Confidence
• Industry Lingo

How you talk with an IA Firm is a huge part of whether or not they'll trust you.

If you open your mouth and use terms none of us use or show complete ignorance to our industry and processes, you have harmed your chances to get work.

We can sum these different ways of building trust up with one word: trust must be EARNED.

You must get someone to trust you.

But trust goes much deeper than know and like. To earn the trust of an IA Firm you must first trust yourself.

No IA firm will dare trust someone that doesn't trust themself.

That is why a huge part of the IA Path (which we'll reveal next) is about having good training, a mentor, and certifications.

You'll feel confident that you can do the job, that when you have questions, your mentor will help, and having certifications builds trust with IA Firms.

These principles are the foundation of everything we do at IA Path.

We want to shortcut the time, effort, and energy you have to put out to get IA Firms to know you, like you, and trust you.

But you can get an IA Firm to know you, like you and trust you with or without an IA Path Certification but if you want our help building the know, like, and trust just head to IAPath.com and join our adjuster mentorship community to get started.