As an independent insurance agency owner, improvement is constantly on your mind. The best way to set up your agency for growth is to set goals, and start to tackle each one by one. But, how will you know you’ve met your goal? The answer comes in the form of hard data – the most efficient and effective way to track and show change.
We suggest you start out by asking yourself three simple questions to gauge your success, and getting answers through various forms of data. Is your agency improving? Ask yourself:
1. Did business increase?
You can figure out business increase by looking at number of new clients or number of new policies written. It’s up to you to decide what is the best measure for your means. Also, take a look at how business came to you. Was it referrals? Online? Phone? From one producer more than others? Use this info to decide if you’re succeeding in marketing and sales.
2. Did income increase?
The quickest way to tell income increase is a look at total premiums, but you can also garner information from average revenue per client and average premium per policy. Again, each measure tells a different story, and you’ll have to decide which is most useful in relation to your agency’s goals.
3. Did client retention increase?
Retention rate is a telling stat, giving you insight into how you’re viewed by your clients. Take a look at annual and monthly rates, and check your average length of retention. Gathering this data will give you a good picture of any holes in your customer service and let you know what goals to set for future client retention rates.
Once you’ve started gather data to address your success, be sure to make a plan to do it consistently. Set up who will be gathering what data, when, and how. The most effective way to track data is through reports in your agency management system. Your provider can set you up with trainings on creating reading reports, like the Partner XE trainings offered throughout the year. Check out our client resources page to find out more about trainings, or contact us to find out more about how Partner XE can help you track success.
