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EXECUTIVE PERSPECTIVES
Businesses situated in small communities and towns excel at building relationships. We all want
what's best for the people who live in our neighborhoods, the people we see at our children's Little
League games, and even the people we run into at the grocery store. This is the philosophy of
many of the agencies in the $500,000 - $1,250,000 category, who generally consider customer
service to be the driving force behind their success.
Keys to Their Success
Smaller agencies have depended on an extensive refer-
ral network to facilitate growth year over year.
Networking with other professional groups in the area
has proven to be mutually beneficial. Agencies also
look to cross-sell life, health, long term care, and retire-
ment planning products to round out P&C accounts.
Moving customers to Direct Bill can save both time
and effort. Agencies in this revenue size category con-
tinue to embrace this option. With as many as 98% of
agency clients on Direct Bill, employees are free to do
the things they do best. By not having to track down
past due A/R, producers and CSRs are in a better posi-
tion to proactively address the needs of their clients.
Challenges They Face
Agencies of all size struggle with finding and developing new talent. This is no different for the
agencies in this revenue category. Despite an increased willingness to bring in sales people from
other industries, 50% of Best Practices
agencies that hired someone in 2003
recruited that talent from another insurance
broker. In many cases, the agency principal
is the largest producer as well as being
responsible for new hires. Smaller agen-
cies simply do not have the time or money
to train and develop young producers or
CSR's without experience.
Being able to grow top line revenue is a
concern that has to be addressed on an
annual basis. Favorable market conditions
in 2003 helped to temper the issue; however, agencies did what they could to insulate themselves
from an inevitable downturn in the market. Many firms enjoyed excellent renewal rates that were
augmented by increased pricing. Revenue per employee for this group was up to $108,742 for
2003, an amazing increase of 62.8% from just 10 years ago!
REVENUE SIZE CATEGORY HERE
EXECUTIVE
PERSPECTIVES
PROFILE
REVENUES/
EXPENSES
FINANCIAL
STABILITY
EMPLOYEE
OVERVIEW
PRODUCER
INFO
SERVICE
STAFF
INFO
TECHNOLOGY
INSURANCE
CARRIERS
APPENDIX
31
AGENCIES WITH REVENUES BETW EN $500,000 AND $1,250,000
Factors Most Critical to
Agency's Success
(Top 5 Listed in Order of Frequency Mentioned)
1. Dedicated, knowledgeable, happy
employees working in a positive
environment
2. Stable markets with good array of
products
3. Customer service that results in
high retention and referrals
4. Being well respected and involved
in the community (local community
as well as the agent and carrier
communities)
5. Positive return on technology
investment
Top Challenges
(Top 5 Listed in Order of Frequency Mentioned)
1. Meeting carriers' premium volume requirements
2. Finding and retaining quality, skilled people
3. Offsetting declining commissions with
increased production
4. Overcoming demographic limitations of smaller
towns
5. Time management - finding time to sell