“If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.” (Seneca, Roman Philosopher- 50 AD)
“I simply don’t have time to devote to planning. I’m too busy servicing my customers.” (Anonymous Independent Insurance Agent – 2024)
Every year at about this time, we encourage agents to devise, energize and update their Strategic and Tactical Plans. Happily, more are doing so every year. They are easy to identify. They grow at rates approaching double that of the non-planning agencies and are proactively changing their businesses to meet the challenges of changing economies and marketplaces.
But so many others fail to plan for a variety of reasons:
- Planning is hard work. It’s much easier to push paper or see prospects and customers than to plan. Individual client work that we all accomplish on a daily basis is focused and targeted. Whether or not we are successful, it feels as if we’re doing something. A Plan requires labor of the mind. You must focus on the future (a scary thought) and evaluate the past. Strategically, you must validate that the direction you have been following is still valid for you personally and for your organization. If it is not, you must recreate your Mission and Vision and change your Strategies accordingly.
- Some agents fear failure. Like gerbils running in a wheel, we like to be busy. Some of us equate being busy with being productive. Yet many agencies find themselves stagnant or moving backward. These agents tend to blame others (carriers, disloyal clients, inadequate staff, the economy, the hard/soft market). They fear planning because if they plan and do NOT implement their action plans, they would have no one to blame but themselves. They prefer operating ‘by the seat of their pants’ because they are never held accountable for their results (their favorite quote is “Whatever happens, happens.”)
- Some agents fear success. Strange as it may seem, we have seen agents who refuse to implement plans that they agree would bring them growth and profit. They normally cite lack of time, lack of money and lack of personnel as their reasons. But, in reality, success has a way of breeding further success and these agents are most afraid of having to work harder (or differently) than they currently work.
Some agents have created wonderful Plans on their own. They are the exception, rather than the rule.
We would be more than happy to either facilitate your Planning Session or send you a guide to Strategic and Tactical Planning to permit you to do it yourself. Either way, we know that agents who plan tend to be more successful and our goal is to maximize the successful independent agencies in the U.S. and Canada.