How to go pro

You’re a licensed insurance agent with a growing agency. You may even have several staff members working for you. Congratulations, you’re a professional! But here’s the important question: Are you really going pro in your business?

It’s not enough to be a licensed agent and run an agency, you have to make sure that every aspect of your brand and business clearly supports a professional image. When someone’s looking for a new agent, who do you think they’re going to choose: The agent with the Yahoo email address and cropped photo from a family gathering, or the agent with a solid online presence, company email address, and professional headshot? I think you know the answer.

Today I’m going to share with you some important ways you can quickly improve your professional image, allowing you to take your agency to the next level!

How to take your presence to a professional level:

• Email Address: Make sure you’re using a professional email address such as name@company.com or name@yourname.com. Don’t use standard free email providers such as Yahoo, Gmail or Hotmail. When emailing with clients, it not only comes across as unprofessional, it also makes your business look less legitimate.
• Email Signature: Include an email signature at the bottom of every message you and your staff send. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it has to be professional and provide easy access to contact information. Include your full name, title, business name, email address, direct telephone number and website (which you need). Make sure that everyone in your company uses the same formatting for consistency.
• Business Documents: Any paperwork, mailed letters or other documents that are printed should be on professional paper with your company or carrier name and information at the top. Don’t use ten different fonts or colors, and don’t use different styles or designs. Keep it clean, simple and consistent.
• Headshot: Don’t crop a photo from your most recent family reunion, go out and get yourself a professional picture to use online and on your website. Be sure to look into the camera, smile, and wear a nice shirt. More importantly, use a recent photo and consider updating it once a year. You don’t want to confuse people by posting a photo of you that’s close to a decade old, make sure you stay current.
• Website: If you don’t have a website, it’s time to get one. This day and age, most everything can be handled online and people expect it. If you don’t have a website, or yours is dated and from the 90s, it’s time to get something professional and current. We’ll talk more about this in an upcoming blog post.
• Be Consistent: Consistency is key when it comes to going pro. Find what works in terms of processes, branding, marketing and communication, then be consistent. It’s fine to make changes as you grow your business, but clients shouldn’t have to guess what to expect every time they call or come in. Same with your brand and messaging, stay consistent with your promise, quality and marketing in order to establish yourself and grow your agency.

My final tip for going pro is to do everything as if that one specific task is your full time job. Treat filing paperwork with the same level of importance and professionalism as you do working directly with your clients. Pay your bills on time, answer your phone like customer service is your life’s work, and regularly look for ways to improve how you do things. Hire the best staff and agents, use dependable and professional vendors, and honor your commitments.

Going pro is as much attitude as it is action.

Leave a comment below!

I’d love to hear at least one way you’re going pro this year in the comments below. If you have additional ideas and suggestions, please post them below so that others can benefit from your experience and expertise as much as mine.