Not too long ago, I attended a PIA business conference inAtlantic City, N.J. During a break from one of the continuingeducation classes, I overheard two agents discussing “how thingswere going.” One was lamenting that new business revenue was downin his agency. He supported this position by making the point thathis phone had stopped ringing. My first thought was that waitingfor the phone to ring was probably not an ideal marketing strategy,and that the agent probably hadn't developed much of a saleseffort. I didn't give it much thought until sometime later, duringconversations with several company marketing reps who mentionedthat other agents were using the “my phone has stopped ringing”comment to describe what was occurring in their agencies. That gotme thinking about what agents can do while they're waiting for thephone to ring. In the poker game Texas Hold 'Em, many players usethe strategy of going “all in” to win. Here is an “all in” strategyfor developing additional revenue growth in your agency.Analyze
Get into analysis–not psychotherapy,but business analysis. But like psychotherapy, the first step inthe process is to admit you have a problem. Let's begin with thepremise that your agency is not generating enough new revenue. Ifthat's the case, you need to find out why. Blaming your conditionon the marketplace, the economy, the carriers, your staff, or evenyourself may make you feel better, but it won't change anything.You need to look deep into your agency and determine if there arepolicies or procedures that are keeping your organization fromgrowing. At the same time, determine what proactive steps, if any,you are taking to stimulate growth. Some agency principals complainabout lack of growth but secretly are content to keep on doing whatthey have always done. You must face up to the possibility thateven if you think you have a sales organization, you may not.Examine your business model with no preconceived notions andevaluate its effectiveness. The first question to answer is whetheryou're really a sales organization. Take a sheet of paper anddivide it into two columns. In the first, list every proactive stepthe agency takes to generate growth. In the second column, writeanything that might impede growth. One area to examine carefully isany policy that causes service to trump sales. Many agencies haveprocedures in place for handling transactional actions (i.e., “Howmuch do I owe?”) that do not complement the ability to generate newsales. You should never let transactional service get in the way ofrevenue-generating opportunities. A candid analysis will let youknow what needs to be changed. With enough effort, an overlyservice-oriented culture can develop into a true sales-orientedculture. Listen
Once you've determined theneed to transform from a service-oriented culture to a salesculture, then you need to develop a plan. The biggest mistake inthe planning process is to involve only a few people. Some of thebest ideas come from people on the front lines, usually the oneswho are never asked what they think. One of the best ideas ouragency developed to generate new growth in personal lines actuallycame from a commercial lines account manager. Begin planning bybringing everyone in the agency together and telling them whatyou're trying to accomplish. Tell them why it's important to theagency–and to them–to maximize revenue generation. Be specific thatthe agency must grow. Never take it for granted that theyunderstand why growth is necessary and how lack of growth affectsthem. Ask them to conduct the same analysis that you conducted.Tell them to focus on processes that may hinder growth and steps totake to generate new revenue. Don't give them your ideas first, orthey'll give back what you're thinking. When they give input, payclose attention. If you listen carefully, you will be surprisedwhat you hear. Look for opportunity
Now it's time to take that information and develop your specificplan to grow. An effective approach centers on seeking out new andexisting growth opportunities. You need to look inside and outsidethe agency for those opportunities.

Internally, the most obvious place to begin is within theexisting book of business. Although the strategy of “round, retainand refer” is pretty fundamental, the execution is not. The bestway to develop a program to retain business, round accounts and askfor referrals is to go back to your staff. A successful approach isto provide dedicated time over several days for your team todiscuss among themselves how to effectively “round, retain andrefer.” Then they can report their suggestions back to you and youcan develop a plan incorporating their ideas. This approachguarantees buy-in from your staff.

External opportunities are all around. All you need to do isimagine the possibilities. When the New Jersey Workers'Compensation Plan instituted a new surcharge on plan business, theopportunity presented itself to prospects in the plan. Producersnow had a story to tell a potential client. Agencies thatrecognized that opportunity have done very well writing newbusiness. You don't have to be the sole generator of good ideas.Encourage your staff to look for opportunities. Have regularsessions with them to discuss marketing ideas. Offerincentive for sellers
You've developed your plan,everyone has bought in, and even you are excited. Here is wheremany principals make a big mistake: They fail to offer an incentiveto the people they're relying on to generate new sales. Manyprincipals take the attitude of, “I pay their salaries, it's theirjobs.” This is a shortsighted position guaranteed to hamperproductivity. It is human nature to seek gratification andacknowledgement. Providing incentives for sales success is aneffective tool. It motivates producers; why wouldn't it motivatethe rest of your staff? Dedicate part of the additional revenueyour plan will generate and earmark it for an incentive program. Ifyour carriers provide promotional incentives, make sure they makeit to the people doing the selling. I can guarantee that agencystaffs know when principals are keeping the promotional money forthemselves and it is human nature for them to resent it. Failing tooffer incentives to the sellers is not the mark of an agency with asales culture. Nothing is off the table
Most agency principals started out as entrepreneurs. They had apersonal sales culture; they embraced it and passed it along to thepeople around them. Their initial success was a direct result ofthat entrepreneurial spirit. For the entrepreneur, the operationalpremise was that nothing was ever off the table. Any new idea, anyopportunity was fair game for consideration and it warrantedengagement. They considered, planned and executed, sometimes withabandon. Those were some of their most exciting days in thebusiness. Somewhere along the way, much of the essence of thatspirit was lost. Day-to-day activities got in the way. Problemsolving became more important than dreaming. Talking became moreimportant than listening. The rush felt every time a sale was madewas replaced by worry about the bottom line. You may be one ofthose individuals who have lost your way. If so, you will never besuccessful in reinventing your agency unless you reconnect withyour former entrepreneurial self. Nurturing that spirit in otherswill only increase your success. When nothing is off the table,everything is on. Look to become your old entrepreneurial self; itwill certainly make coming to work more interesting! Going “all in”is a tactic in gambling. Going “all in” in insurance is a tacticfor success. Good luck!