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Review and Outlook 2009-2010: Independent agents and brokers

What are 1 or 2 initiatives that your firm must execute in 2010 to reach your growth goals?
Robert C. Smith: We are working with each producer to develop solutions that address specific issues clients are facing in this difficult economy. On the P-C side of our business, these solutions include reducing the total cost of risk through insurance program design, safety programs and loss control or claims analysis. On the employee benefits side of our business, the solutions address access to wellness programs, health savings accounts and plan design options that help defer some of the increases employers are facing with rising healthcare insurance costs.
Karen K. Farris: Our firm has a 10 -year strategic plan that includes specific growth objectives. There are two initiatives within that plan that are critical to us achieving our goals. Three years ago we embarked on a mission to reposition ourselves as a stronger sales organization. This involved an overhaul of our sales process as well as a shift in culture. We work with an outside accountability partner to keep us on track. It has paid off and we are successfully executing a growth plan in a down economy. The second initiative involves a change in the way we bring in young producers; relying more on sales profiling and the establishment of a learning path to make them validate in a shorter period of time. Discipline around these two initiatives will be critical to achieving our growth objectives.
Allen Fee: We are just starting our planning process and have identified several key action items that we must accomplish to attain the type of organic growth we are hoping for: