4th Quarter 2009
Staying Strong in Tough Times
Growing your business in a turbulent economy
The recent economic downturn has been challenging industry-wide, but there are reasons for hope. For example, LIMRA has found that employers are maintaining core employee benefits despite the recession.1 Here are steps you can take right now to help position your business for the inevitable turnaround.
Short-term:
- Go where the growth is. Construction, real estate, retail, manufacturing and finance have taken big hits. But health care, education and public administration are expanding.
- Use the tough economy to support your points. Today, protecting income is the priority concern for many people. Disability and life sales are where you'll find the best opportunities to help them.
- Stress carrier quality. Given the meltdowns suffered by seemingly blue-chip companies, assure clients and prospects of a carrier's strength and quality.
- Increase your volume with current clients. Acquiring new clients can be a longer-term, time- and resourceintensive activity. Your lower-cost approach would be to work with current clients to sell more, or more often.
- Branch out. Develop other services you can provide to employers, such as retirement plans, traditional ancillary lines and executive benefits.
Long-term:
- Upgrade your customer service. Encourage client confidence. Make it easy for people to reach you. Make sure office staff provide a polished and professional experience at all times.
- Upgrade your office systems. Keep your technology current. If you have a convoluted touch-tone phone menu, banish it. If your clients always end up in voice mail, change it. Again, it's all about client confidence.
- Don't neglect your marketing. Do regular outreach. Schedule a regular call rotation where you touch base with your current clients. These are courtesy calls; you are cultivating clients for good word of mouth and referrals.
1. A Subtle Shift: Examining Employee Benefits in the Midst of Economic Uncertainty, LIMRA, 2009