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Published by Carolyn Portanova
It's the new year, and it's the perfect time to implement new strategies to grow your insurance business. It's also important to keep your existing business. Client retention strategies that are practical and easy to implement are one way to ensure your clients don't go elsewhere. Below we'll discuss six easy strategies that you can put into place today.
1. Exceptional Service
Initially when you turn a lead into a client, it's important to set the bar high and treat that new client with care. Providing exceptional service will benefit you in the long run. Treating a client as a transaction is doing yourself and your client a great disservice. Networking and referrals are an excellent way to grow your business, and when you provide your clients with amazing service, they will not soon forget! Your happy clients will share the news with friends and family that you're a top notch agent!
A big part of providing exceptional service is listening, following up and ensuring your clients understand their new policies. New clients may have a plethora of questions, so it's important to acknowledge them. If you don't have the answer, that's when you let them know you'll get back to them with the answer. Exceptional service is what will set you apart. 
2. Regular Communication
Setting up regular communication with your clients is incredibly important. Whether it's a monthly newsletter or weekly email campaign - your clients will appreciate the contact. Remembering their birthdays and policy anniversary dates is also another great way to show you're thinking about your clients. It can be a quick call, a text or an email.
If you need ideas for a weekly email or monthly newsletter, look to sharing industry news combined with personal ways you've assisted clients. Sharing stories about how you help your clients can spur your readers into thinking about other ways you can help them. For example, if you share how you helped a client save on his monthly Medicare Supplement premium, that can invite calls and questions from other clients or Medicare eligibles. If you share how you helped a young couple with a Whole Life insurance policy after the birth of their new daughter, that can elicit a response from other clients who need to think about Life insurance. Story telling is a great way to keep clients connected, and it showcases your expertise. 3. Complete Solutions
Clients who come to you for insurance are doing so because you are the expert. They don't know what type of policy they need and that's why your recommendation is so important. And with that comes a great deal of responsibility. Being the expert means you need to ask those probing questions to make sure you're getting the full picture before recommending a certain type of policy. Allowing your clients to communicate with you about their lifestyle and health is how you can draw from your vast knowledge, and put together a complete solution. Here's a scenario: perhaps a client reaches out about a Medicare Supplement plan, but after speaking with them you discover they don't have Dental, Vision & Hearing coverage. By recommending a DVH plan, they'll be covered and there will be no surprises the next time they go to the dentist or get an eye exam.
Providing a complete solution for your clients is what sets the bar higher. 4. Appreciation
Everyone likes to feel heard, respected and appreciated. Your clients are no different. It's important to recognize your clients and show them that you appreciate them. Little things such as a birthday email, a gift card or hosting a small client appreciation gathering can go a long way.
Everyone loves to be recognized and remembered. 5. Utilize Technology
Leveraging technology can assist you when it comes to retaining clients. When you have your clients information stored in a CRM and all their data is at your fingertips, you have everything you need. You can quickly look up policies, medications, pharmacies, doctors, health issues, birthdays, anniversaries and important notes you've stored about your clients. You can also use automated marketing tools to send out emails and texts to your clients. Tech adoption is critical in order to be a successful insurance agent these days. If you're looking for a robust solution, we offer our IntegrityCONNECT platform which is free to our agents.
Technology is your friend. 6. Proactive Policy Reviews
Policy management and reviews are important when it comes to retaining clients. Being proactive and reaching out to your clients before their policy is up for renewal shows them you're looking out for their well-being. Policy reviews can potentially save your clients money and provide for greater benefits. They'll certainly appreciate the fact that you take the time to go over their current benefits and answer any questions they may have.
Proactiveness is the key to success.
Retention strategies don't have to be difficult when you put the right tools into place. Keeping the mindset that your clients are like family can go a long way in retaining them for years to come. Remember, they just want to be heard, treated fairly and respected. They can always go elsewhere for great service, so it's up to you to make sure they don't.
If you have questions or need help with strategies or tools discussed in this blog post, feel free to reach out. We're always here to help. |