There's room for your new company

Gerrymandering is pathetic, divisive and disgusting. On the other hand, it came to mind as a great analogy for distribution.

*Emptying my brain, pardon the grammar*

About 18 months ago I ran a program for a struggling brand. It was an identical program to one I had done successfully before. The big difference is that the first time I used a really strong product with great pricing. This time it was a strong product with terrible pricing. On the surface, that is enough, but another problem was the one with terrible pricing had squandered its reputation for the last 5-10 years.

Another variable in there was clarity. The first time, the company new their identity and more importantly the appetite and tastes they had for consumers. They knew what they wanted and just wanted to get it in front of more people which would lead to more of the "right" people. The second time, I didn't have that luxury and, even with a wider geography, it quickly collapsed.

Fast forward a bit and I'm speaking with a known brand of a large company. They have another company, just for auto insurance, that I really know nothing about. But, they seem to have characteristics of my prior failed endeavor. Solid enough product with terrible pricing. Very quickly I was able to say, if you want to really learn about where your "new" pricing is, you need quote volume. Period. No discussions. If we were working together I would need to do 50-100 quotes before I'd say anything. And, the reality is, in any state you likely need to do 50-100 per county/region.

But, as much as that would help, there is another challenge. I wanted to see who else is already appointed(able to write business with them). In theory, they could use more distribution. But, it isn't necessarily to have more distributors its because of the effort needed to undo the behaviors of the existing companies that already do.

Some context; I went from a captive, to a broker with enough options to a broker with to many options, back to being a broker looking for the "right" mix. I can tell you, with evidence and facts, a brokerage should have 5 options that can write an auto/home/umbrella package. But, I can also say you really need 1 very flexible auto company and 1 very flexible home carrier. Preferably 2 of each. Now you are at 9. Then there are a couple of specialty carriers/wholesalers who have very low expectations of volume but that is their model. CRAZY but it is reality. The other reality is saying no more often with lower numbers. To each his own, plenty of "successful" operations with less and more.

But how do you get attention? Stay top of mind? *I really do not like that concept, but I get it*

I had a carrier run an analysis on a book of business that was 50 years old. IT WAS AMAZING. They plugged right into the management system, it took two sessions over two days, but the data they came back with was awesome. Yes, slanted to what they want, but really useful in identifying opportunities. This isn't for everyone, but it is so much better than being one of 10 companies who really want roughly the same customer and not doing anything to really distinguish yourself.

What if you do not have those resources? Find another way. If you are a specialty carrier, could you compliment a large national company nicely? Example; Dear Business owner with large book of Auto/home business with (insert particular carrier here) Why? Becuase you are familiar with who looks good to them and, you have some evidence or at least a theory that those people have what you want.

More context; I had 4 offices. Without backstory, lets say they were 4 different worlds and within those worlds there were multiple planets. I knew this, and also listened to the complaints from carriers who couldn't get the same attention in each office. Maybe, somewhere, there is a similar scenario where humans do not have preferences and can be completely controlled, but I doubt it. "Hand to hand combat," is time consuming and not easy, but it works. Especially if you play the strongest hand you can and know that you will not win all battles. Save time, by not just being patient, and playing the long game, but by being willing to be nice to everyone while focusing attention on those that are open.

Within that previous paragraph, I have also seen the two main approaches; regularly loading your desk with chatzkis, pens and similar as well as financial incentives. Both have value and the scenarios where they are deployed will differ. But, if you choose to do nothing, you better be really patient and really amazing. Personally, I'm bored by several month long contests that do not have any instant gratification built in. Do you understand how much your business owner distributors have going on? PLEASE do not be another task, another thing to keep an eye on. Same goes for those employees, I've seen owners not follow through on contests and I've seen already overwhelmed employees tune out before they even tuned in.

Personally, I like the carrier that when I bind, sends me an alert about a point/prize I just earned. But, I also like the one that simply acknowledges the volume of quotes and does something nice WITHOUT there being some sort of official contest happening. And, if you did have some sort of contest happening YOU TRACK IT. Any time spent tracking extra stuff takes away from policies we may write for you.

And, if it is a contest, I think we all know that everyone is different. I'm sure there are agencies that thrive on seeing their agency name in your emails. They love knowing that for that contest they are "better," than the people down the street. I have no f's for this silliness. Why? Well partially because my mortgage company doesn't care. The other reason is, among your 100, 200, 1000 agencies you have several "weight classes," if you will of agencies. And the "pound for pound," winner likely never has their name in lights and that will then sabotage your next effort.

Alignment, I suppose that ties with the above paragraph. If you are "new" or trying to reemerge from years or a decade of bad rates, you need quotes nearly as much as you need bound business. You need to shift the behavior so that you are being thought of as part of the offering rather than just a plaque on the wall or a link on the website. So, yes, reward both the result of activity that leads to a sale and the sale.

But, can you also help me sell more? The key here is helping me sell more NOT just sell more of your product. I'm not saying be the auto-posting linkedin spam bot that many national companies deploy. I'm saying hold my hand and show me a couple of things I can do on different social platforms to engage people. Since your lame, seasonal or very topical article may make no sense to my audience.

Ok, thankfully this thought has now left my brain and I can move on with my day. Maybe this helps, maybe it doesn't :) Yes, there are opinions blended with facts but I can prove or at least dive deeper on everything I said.