Multiline Agencies Are Missing Out On A Huge Profit Center!

By Author: Lew Nason
Total Articles: 136
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Whether you are a Multiline Agency Owner, a life insurance agent, a financial advisor or a financial planner, here is a great opportunity for you to significantly expand your sales and your income!

Every Multiline Agency Owner (Property/Casualty Agency) I talk to tells me that they would like to be selling a lot more life insurance, annuities and investments. They have studied for and obtained all of their life, annuity, health and NASD licenses. They are already contracted with some great life insurance and annuity companies, and a full service broker/dealer. Now, they are looking for a quick way to generate a consistent flow of leads to bring in more clients and some quick additional sales to their agency.

But, as one agency owner told me; I have great intentions. Every morning I go to my office with plans to work on building my agency and doing the things that will make my agency revenues grow. However, before I know it, I'm caught up in the day-to-day agency activities and problems. I know there are plenty of opportunities to dramatically improve my revenues, if I could just find the time to work on them. ...
... I don't have a huge agency where I can delegate everything, and the things I get stuck doing are all important, so how do I sort through it all and do the things that will make me money?

As a Multiline Agency you have a huge potential advantage over all of the other Insurance Agents, Financial Advisors and Financial Planners because the prospect they are seeking is already your client! As their agent, you have already built a trust relationship. Yet the average penetration per household for the majority of Multiline Agencies is only two product lines per household. So, the opportunity for you to fill more of your customer needs is wide open. If you can just provide more services to those customers, you can dramatically improve your revenue per household!

Multiline Agencies who aren't servicing their clients' total needs are not only missing out on a golden money-making opportunity, they are undermining their business and their professional reputation. Today, people are looking for more information, and they rely upon their agent for the answers. If they aren't able to get the information they need from their current agent, they are likely to go to someone else. The trouble is that if they go to someone else to get their questions answered, that someone else is not going to be shy about inquiring about all their current insurances, too.

If You Want To Significantly Grow Your Agency, You Must Establish A Separate Profit Center! Selling life insurance, annuities and investments is not a part-time job. While many Multiline agents do have the needed licenses and are knowledgeable about the products involved, they aren't properly trained on how to market and sell those products. Selling life insurance, annuities and investments is a different type of sales, requiring a different marketing approach and a consultative selling set of sales skills. Unfortunately, most Multiline Agency Owners have allowed their property/casualty products to become a commodity, sold primarily based on price, and their agencies have become nothing more than glorified order takers!"

If You Want To Build A Separate Profit Center, You Have Several Options
You could delegate everything you do and focus all of your efforts on building a separate profit center yourself. However, that means you have to give someone else control of the day-to-day operations of your agency. It means you have to be willing to take the time to learn the marketing and sales skills required to be effective in selling life insurance, annuities and investments.

Or, you could hire an agent to build the separate profit center for you. Which means there is a significant up-front cost for a base salary, benefits, office, clerical support, training marketing and more, before you see any revenues. The problem is that most of the agents who would be willing to work for a Multiline Agency are the people who are struggling to make a decent living on their own. Most Multiline Agency owners who have tried this approach and have been very frustrated with the overall results.

Or, you can form a Joint Venture (Strategic Alliance) with a successful Life Insurance Agent, Financial Advisor or Financial Planner. Regrettably, many Multiline Agency Owners summarily dismiss this option, because they are afraid of losing their client and/or because they have to give that person a larger piece of the commissions. They are making a huge mistake.

Forming a Joint Venture with the right person can be one of the most profitable decisions you'll ever make. Joint ventures are a win-win proposition for both parties.

You gain, because you are able to add an additional profit center to your agency without investing a lot of time and money to build it from scratch. There are very little startup costs. You are not paying that person a salary, providing benefits or support services. You are only paying for results. (Splitting Commissions)

Your Joint Venture partner gains, because they don't have to spend as much time and money to find new clients!

You both gain significantly from the Joint Venture partnership, because it allows each of you to grow and expand your business more quickly and efficiently. Each of you is freed to concentrate on growing your core business. You are by benefiting from each other's credible, trustworthy, professional reputation. You are both shutting out most of your competition.

To protect yourself from the possibility of losing your clients, you'll want your joint venture partner sign a Non-Compete Agreement where they agree that they will not engage in any sales activity that may cause you to lose in-force, or future business, with anyone who is a client of your agency. You should have this non-compete agreement drawn up by an attorney! You should also sign a non-compete agreement protecting your joint venture partner.

The key to forming a successful Joint Venture (Strategic Alliance) is finding the right person. You won't find this person by running an Ad in your local newspaper. The person you are seeking is constantly seeking additional training from one of the Top Training Organizations. They are running Ads for seminars, or offering free reports. They are writing articles for trade publications and local newspapers. They are sending out a monthly newsletter to all their clients, prospects, family and friends. They belong to a local industry association. They have an industry designation after their name. They are already very successful. This is the person you need and want.

You can find this person by doing your homework. Call your clients, friends and family to find out if they have a Life Insurance Agent, Financial Advisor or Financial Planner that they trust. Check with other successful business professionals in your area to see whom they work with. Call the Top Industry Training Organizations to see whom they are working with in your area. Call your local NAIFA (National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors). And, you should become a member of NAIFA.

Taking the time to find the right person for your Joint Venture will produce huge rewards for your Multiline Agency.

If you are a successful life insurance agent, financial advisor or financial planner and you want to spend a lot less time and money searching for new prospects, then form a Joint Venture Send a copy of this article, with a copy of your resume, and your press kit to the leading Independent Multiline Agency Owners in your area. And, then follow-up with a phone call!
Claim your free Report "How to Attract & Sell Your Perfect Prospects" at
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