Have you ever used little tricks to help you remember important facts? It's time to use one again. Let's take a look at an old recipe for success that's being overlooked in the soft market. I call it the "Seven and Seven" rule, and I use it to remind myself of a few insurance industry fundamentals.

First, two questions: How long can I expect an account to stay with me? How can I create value and a strong relationship with my prospect to overcome price in this crazy marketplace? The respective answers: seven years and seven touches.Seven years: This is the average client's shelf life for an independent agent. Why? Although we make every effort to exhibit our service abilities and build the relationship in the first three to four years, the agency eventually focuses on other prospects and the client feels ignored. Feeling ignored is far and away the main reason clients leave an agency. We forget that only we see them as customers–to everyone else they're prospects. While we're otherwise occupied, a capable producer is trying to edge us out of the picture.What's the remedy for the seven-year itch? A relationship management program. Here's one:1) Create a formal process for meeting with the top 20% of accounts monthly. Have a set agenda. At each visit, which can be scheduled up to a year in advance, review any billing issues or open claims, deliver recent endorsements, update the list of drivers, vehicles and certificate holders, and confirm any property changes. Also, review the loss control program objectives, go over minutes from the last meeting and develop specific topics for upcoming safety meetings.2) Develop a written service contract with clearly understood and measurable standards. This "report card" becomes crucial in keeping the buyer expectations and agency service initiatives in line.3) Gauge the performance of the producer (which may require a good look in the mirror), CSR or account executive, agency service staff and receptionist. Evaluate the overall quality of the client/agency experience. Identify areas for improvement.4) Bring a prequalified list of referrals to the meetings with the top 20%. Those top clients not only serve as a source of referrals themselves, but can also provide valuable feedback on other prospects in that industry. Use this resource! Don't bring more than 10 names and don't fail to ask these two questions: (1) Is there anyone on this list who shouldn't be? (2) Is there anyone we missed who should be on this list? Do this consistently and you may never make a cold call again!5) Take the diagnostic appointment questionnaire from your last Dynamics of Selling class or other source and customize it for renewal meetings. In this case, you're not looking for problems with an incumbent agency but rather for weaknesses in your own service level. This meeting should occur 120 days prior to renewal, because your competitors will show up 90 days out, trying to identify these same issues and take the account away.6) Create a document that clearly states your value proposition to your prospect. Why should they continue to build a relationship with your agency? What specific help can you offer with their risk management? This is a custom presentation based on the client's value system and presented in order of priority. Listen, create and execute, in that order. Sell the client what they need and what they're looking for. If you don't, someone else will.7) Create a list of expectations and a timeline for performance and share them with the service team. Everyone needs to understand what agency resources have been committed, who is responsible for delivery, and the specific dates those services are due. This gives the agency a way to ensure that agency performance and client expectations match.Seven touches: This is the number of times the average large prospect needs to see materials to have the agency brand stick with them. Therefore, you need to create a specific sales process–a seven-step marketing plan for larger prospects. Here are the components:1) A letter from the agency president to his or her peer outlining the desire to cover their business this year. The letter should introduce the agency's particular strengths and assets within that business segment as well as the industry specialist (the producer) who will be contacting them.2) A producer bio that is specific to that industry, including pertinent references and specific details on the producer's knowledge and accomplishments.3) A claim story of disaster and triumph demonstrating your agency's service capabilities or explaining how you helped a local client through a loss or tough time. Remember, people buy on emotion, so show them you'll be there when needed.4) A testimonial letter in which key clients explain why they do business with your agency. Again, we're trying to highlight emotions. We have this inventory of relationships we call clients, so let's leverage them for more references, testimonials and revenue!5) A letter addressing a typical problem in that industry and how your agency helped others overcome it. This demonstrates know-how and creative ability in that niche.6) Another value proposition letter stating specifically what the agency can do to assist the prospect in solving problems both within and outside the traditional insurance world.7) An invitation to join your organization's exclusive/special insurance program, provided they qualify. I call this the "big, fat claim," or the "power statement."Practice these steps and you too may find the "seventh heaven of insurance sales." Good luck and good selling!Tom Barrett, CIC, AAI, is president of the Midwest and Southeast regions of SIAA Inc., a network of 2,500 agencies. Tom also serves on the national faculty for Dynamics of Selling and Dynamics of Company Agency Relations. He can be reached at [email protected]. For information on Dynamics of Selling, call (800) 633-2165 or visit www.thenationalalliance.com.