How do you know if you’re getting the most out of your agency network? A best-in-class agency network should be a partner that helps agencies nurture carrier relationships, drive better profits, uncover innovative solutions, and enhance strategic vision. While each business varies in their specific needs, at a minimum a network should provide opportunities to increase your revenue or make it more consistent than you could do on your own. A quality network offers so much more.
Here are common signs your network isn’t meeting your needs:
- Planning isn’t very strategic: Insurance agency networks should help businesses build or refine strategic plans, including analyzing day-to-day operational aspects of the business, identifying long-term goals, and creating internal processes to promote accountability. Gaps in any of these areas can signal a weak or incomplete plan.
- Access to carriers is limited: Networks provide access to a wide range of insurance carriers and products, and the right carrier line-up can dramatically affect day-to-day client relationships as well as long-term revenue and agency value. Consider: is the network profitable with their carrier partners? Are appointments strategically based on market, need, and long-term objectives? If carrier relationships are not contributing to expansion or specialization, that’s a major growth bottleneck.
- Revenue isn’t growing: Working with a network should also have a positive impact on an agency’s ability to drive revenue growth and increase its ultimate value. Measure how much the business has increased revenue and improved its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation & amortization) margin to identify if you have the right partnership.
- Technology is a dud: Cutting-edge technology that streamlines business operations is a must in an industry that is constantly evolving. There are so many new products coming to the marketplace that an individual agency cannot take the time to evaluate each one properly. A top-tier network will identify the systems that can help the agency the most and at a reduced cost. If your current network is behind in the technology space, that’s a key sign that the agency has outgrown them.
- Peers are still in start-up mode: Many agencies seek to connect with other agencies and gain best practices, industry insights, and benchmarking data, but if the other businesses are too new to offer advice or share experiences, it may be time to find a network for more established insurance agencies. There are some networks that offer insightful peer advisory groups and regional meetings where industry leaders meet to share best practices, tackle operational challenges, and foster growth.
- Educational resources lack value: A key function of a network is to provide coaching, training, and resources that enhance culture, producer performance, recruiting and hiring, and organic growth. As agencies grow, they need more challenging learning and development opportunities to further advance in the industry.
- Data is behind the times: Well-run agencies use data to influence their business decisions and get financial comparisons to peers, year-over-year premium and revenue growth, and production data by carrier. Data analytics should be table stakes for an agency partnership.
- Support isn’t personalized: Beneficial networks offer dedicated regional leaders who can deliver industry expertise and knowledge specific to the agency’s individual challenges while also letting the agency maintain control. The right network will tell you, “Call us for any reason” because they have the experience to uncover solutions for anything from navigating large decisions to streamlining costs to unlocking new revenue streams.
These aren’t signs the network is bad or inept, it just means they aren’t a good fit for your agency. A network partnership can be the difference between a plateaued business, and one positioned for exponential growth. The decision is consequential – approach it with clarity, curiosity, and conviction. Your agency’s long-term value and independence depend on it.
Is FirstChoice, a MarshBerry Company, right for you?
FirstChoice is your go-to resource to build agency value through our investments in carrier relationships, increased revenue, education, and technology. There is a reason FirstChoice is the top agency network three years running. Learn more about FirstChoice if you are not already a member and are interested in the nation’s number one agency network.
