I find independent agencies to be fascinating brandlaboratories. They are venerable faces on an otherwise fairlyfaceless, distant insurance industry. They are well liked by theirconstituents—sort of like how Americans view government (“I hateCongress, but like my congressman”).

And sometimes they're their own worst enemies when it comes toseizing branding opportunities.

As I've watched agents over the years, I've observed a fewconcepts and ideas:

1. Don't overdo continuing education at the expense ofcommunications. To be sure, insurance contracts are denseand complex, but there is more to playing this game of success. Allthe insurance knowledge in the world means nothing if you can'tcommunicate with constituents. Check the E&O records: Mostclaims originate from basic client-relations issues. (“They nevertold me I needed that endorsement.”)

Pursuing insurance designations as trophies for the agency andcommunicating well with prospects and clients are not mutuallyexclusive. I've met some incredibly smart insurance geeks who alsounderstand how to keep it simple, conduct written risk managementchecklists, explain things patiently, etc.

2. Young agents are the future. (Duh, Peter.)But the future can be now if you can hire them and get outof their way. Provide some direction, some accountability and somevision—even if you have to swallow some pride or take a deepbreath. They'll do things differently than you've done—so what?That's life. Younger folks will offer a lot to freshen up thebrand.

3. The brand called “you” is as important as theagency's brand. Smart young agents already know this. Thecombination of a strong individual (the producer) and a strongentity (the agency) is powerful.

Who knows where the online world is headed, but in this nuttyenvironment, you have to pay attention to you, the individual,every bit as much as the firm to which you hitch yourwagon.

Idea: If you haven't done so already, grab your name as a URL(e.g. petervanaartrijk.com). If you don't know what to do with it,point it to your bio on your company's website. Or have it redirectto your Facebook or LinkedIn page.

4. Clean up the office to attract the best andbrightest. Where you work is as important asanything for your key brand ambassadors—the employees. Is it timefor an office overhaul? Check this out for some ideas:

http://aartrijk.com/2012/04/extreme-makeover-agency-edition/#more-8400

Peter van Aartrijk ([email protected]) isCEO of insurance brand firm Aartrijk, which will host Brand Camp inBoulder May 7-9: http://aartrijkbrandcamp2012.com/.