Consultative Broker Briefing - Stop Nibbling for Crumbs!

The Consultative Broker™ Briefing
Volume VIII, Number 6
A Free Publication of C.R. Ekern & Company
888.670.1177
www.crekern.com
Copyright, C. R. Ekern & Company, 2006

Stop Nibbling for Crumbs!

Ah, spring is in the air. What a beautiful time of year! The grass is getting green, the flowers are blooming, and the air smells sweet. It is just too bad that most of us take this time of year to make ourselves crazy. This is the time that we fully engage our strategy for July 1 renewals!

July 1^st is one of the most important dates in our industry. You don’t need me to tell you this. If I were to look at your desk it would become obvious. July 1^st is the second busiest date for renewals. (January 1 wins the prize for first.)

What this means to most agents and brokers is a late June of crisis, confusion, and searing competition in the marketplace. These are not the “lazy days of summer”. In fact, some of us need the extra hours of sunlight so we can feel good about working longer hours!

How does this craziness come about? By being afraid of your own renewal clients and focusing only on the price of insurance policies. So, many of us scurry into the insurance marketplace like animals seeking just one nibble of pricing success. At the same time, competing with all the others for underwriter pricing crumbs.

In other words, we do this to ourselves! Do you remember one of the questions we asked our readers during the C. R. Ekern & Company Annual Readership Survey? We wanted to know why agents and brokers took a client into the marketplace. Here are the results:

As you can see by the above chart, we go into the marketplace 58% of the time for the wrong reasons. To access the marketplace because we “anticipate competition” or because we “market all accounts”, is just plain nuts!!! This insanity falls under the category of we are paranoid about our own clients.

Imagine taking close to 60% of the submissions out of the marketplace. What would you have left? What would you do with the extra time? How much more money would you make? How much more profitable would your firm be? How much better would your quality of life be?

So, let’s examine the alternatives to flooding the marketplace for the wrong reasons:

Stop making the Marketplace your main Value Proposition. When you discuss your renewal strategy with clients, it is important to focus them on the value your organization has brought them.

Explain to clients the Marketplace shortage. As you know, because of your Consultative Broker readership, there are only 7 National Direct Contract insurance carriers. A client, who utilizes the marketplace regularly for pricing reasons, may find themselves in trouble in the event they really need it.

Learn how to create Broker Control. Consultative Brokers know that a client who values their judgment does not use the marketplace to “keep them honest.” These clients understand that the broker is the most important part of the equation.

Accept the fact that a renewal is simply a project. Sometimes we believe that the sun rises and sets upon the renewal date. Consultative Brokers accept the fact that the renewal is only a project. It is one of many projects they complete for the client throughout the year.

Have your renewals negotiated 15 days in advance. When an underwriter knows that you have Broker Control, they will provide you with terms well in advance. It allows you to get out of the way while all the rest chase underwriter pricing cheese.

July 1^st offers you a great opportunity. As Consultative Brokers you can bask in the warmth of the summer sun. Or, if you chose to spin your renewals into the marketplace, you can use the lengthening daylight to work longer and harder hours. It is your choice. You can feast on your bounty of successful Broker Control now, or nibble at underwriting pricing crumbs later.

Best regards to all Consultative Brokers,

Rob Ekern
President
C.R. Ekern & Company

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Consultative Brokerage® Techniques are utilized by agents and brokers across North America in the development and retention of upper middle market revenues. The Consultative Broker Briefing is delivered electronically free of charge to selected agents, brokers, and other insurance professionals across North America. To subscribe to The Consultative Broker Briefing, please click here.