Mining your market niche
Like the Forty Niner’s who worked the fields of California and exclaimed, there’s “gold in them dar hills”, the Multi-billion dollar restoration service industry provides unlimited opportunity for success to persons who have the right combination of guts and business savvy to overcome identified hurdles. To succeed, you must do more than purchase equipment, attend industry schools or subscribe to the leading industry magazines; in addition, you must have a plan and you must intelligently work that plan. In conjunction with your plan, you must establish guidelines for marketing and this includes marketing to that most important entity - the insurance professional.
For those persons just starting in the restoration business, marketing may seem unnecessary; however, it Can not be stressed more stringently, that your ultimate success is unlikely if you do not recognize the importance of marketing to the insurance agent.
Marketing your restoration services to the insurance Agent may at first seen daunting. But, by following a few simple rules and working with the persistent outlook of a gold miner you will begin to see the “gold” you seek in your business.
The restoration industry is integrally tied to the insurance industry. For this reason you must sow seeds to develop a working relationship with insurance agents. Accepting the importance of insurance professionals in the success equation of restoration services is the first step to a successful career.
(IP + RS = IRS)
Insurance Professional + Restoration Services = Insured Risk Solution
The formula is your key to success. Working hard to develop contacts in the insurance industry is like the miners of old, panning until they found that nugget to light up their eyes and imagination. You will need patience and persistency, but after a period of time you will find your first insurance professional and this nugget will provide you with some confidence and direction for continuing your success.
A discussion of insurance agent marketing requires a brief mention in this piece and maybe something more detailed at a later date about Preferred Vendor Lists. This current hot button topic illustrates why small players in the restoration service industry feel helpless. The fact that some large carriers guide the insured’s, and not always in their best interest, towards listed restoration vendors is
recognized; however, there is a movement to legislatively discontinue this practice and provide a more level field for all legitimate restoration firms to operate. In the mean time, it is important that you identify insurance agents, and offer them a solution to their problems at any opportunity you are given.
As long as the preferred vendor list exists, you must be clever enough to overcome this obstacle. This is why it is important that you effectively market your services to insurance agents and start your efforts with “high profile” agents.
The “high profile” agent is one who is equally influential in his community and within his company. It is this agent who has authority to assign a job to your company and to see that you are paid for your services. Insurance companies that have Vendor programs typically mandate that their agents follow loss protocol by referring their policy holder to the call center which then forwards the claim to their preferred vendor. There is however, an unwritten policy within the insurance company. Never ever, under any circumstance chastise or reprimand the high profile insurance agent for not following loss protocol. These are the men and women who typically have large books of business and the insurance company can not afford to ruffle their feathers. The “high profile” agent must be approached in a professional way and you must sincerely present him with a “win-win” package. Ask yourself “what can I do for this agent that will be best for him and his clients?” But you may ask “how do I find the ‘high profile’ agent to help you succeed?” Research!
Research the Market:
As business professionals we have all been exposed to insurance professions in some manner. We have our personal agents who have policies for our autos and
homes and we have our business liability coverage with another. This is where we begin our research to market to insurance professionals.
Example: You enter Mutual XYZ Insurance to make a payment on your homeowners policy (I know you normally do it by mail or on the net, but you are making an excuse to see your “favorite” agent) and while your agent looks up your account you make polite conversation about your business and your success. When the time is right, ask your agent: “who handles your claims?” In the course of your discussion you may determine he is a person to know having draft authority. Don’t stop here.
Build a profile sheet for each agent you or your staff contacts. Use the profile sheets to send your insurance professional a birthday wish or some interesting information you discovered in the course of your business contacts. Be a useful resource for your insurance professional friend by offering your expertise with no strings attached.
Profile sheets or other methods used to gather information are useful if used correctly. It is insufficient to just place the information on the sheets and consider this the end. The information you gather must be assimilated and categorized. Recognize there are differences in agents and agencies and categorize your findings to reflect difference
discovered.
Example: You enter two different agencies on Wednesday. Agency A is the office of agent “X” who is dressed professionally, speaks professionally and whose office reflects his professionalism by being clean and neat. Later you enter Agency B and the agent “Y” is slovenly and the office in disarray. Note the information, but don’t go by first impressions. It may very well be that the “slob” is the person with draft authority.
Research is an ongoing process requiring your profiles be routinely updated with additional information gathered. Assess your information constantly; remember the profile sheet is a living document; that lazy agent who always played pong on his computer and whose office smelled like a category 3 sewage loss may have had an epiphany and now is Mr. GQ and has an immaculate office as a result of his promotion and new found draft authority. But don’t stop!
Continue to Research:
One of the neglected methods of research in our high tech society is the phone directory. In this ageless tool you will find an exhaustive list of potential contacts. Identify agencies you would like to approach. List those agents you know personally or believe that your insurance professional contact knows personally. Prepare referral letters and have your insurance professional contacts put a personal note on the letter for you. Get that first meeting to sow the seeds of future project referrals.
Additionally, for those more comfortable with the computer tools, you may access similar information by use of on-line directories by way of Yahoo or Google or other web engines. The important thing to remember is that you are using research tools to gather initial agency information in order that you may establish that important rapport with your insurance professional.
While you’re researching, spend a week or two learning the language spoken by the insurance agents. Words like peril, co-insurance, reserves, multi line, etc. Being able to speak the language used within the insurance industry will drastically increase your odds of success. A great place to start learning the basic language is with your own insurance policy.
Marketing to the insurance agent requires persistency. You must do the research, make the calls, send the letters and meet face to face; perhaps, many times, before you gain the trust and eventually that first assignment. Then, when you have the first job, remember that you must do the research, make the calls, send the letters and meet face to face with the next of your insurance professional contacts. The process is never ending. Make your marketing efforts routine. It has been our experience that the optimum time to meet agents is between Tuesday to Thursday and on a rotation schedule between eight to ten weeks. Do this with each of the agents you have researched or with whom you have an existing relationship and you will have a good start for your profile sheet data base.
Remember that you want to make a good impression with your insurance professional and this requires that you step out of the self-serving mentality and think about the agents needs. Ask yourself how you can help him to help his clients and you will serve yourself as well.
This truism was most aptly demonstrated by Tom Cruise in the movie “Jerry McGuire” when Cruise, as a self serving sports agent, unsuccessfully tried to market the aging, injury prone football player acted by Cuba Gooding, Jr. As the movie continue Cruise learns more about the Gooding, Jr. family and personal dynamics.
It is only when the Cruise character steps back and asks himself “what can I do for him?” that he becomes the success as a sports agent he was destined to be.
Do the marketing and market to the right people and you will find your company profiting. Make certain that your insurance professional understands that you
are a co-equal in the successful completion of a risk project. Follow the simple acronym for marketing your business, KISS (Keep It Simple and Smart) and you will achieve a high level of success.
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