So many factors these days make serving as a successful personal lines insurance agent more difficult than ever. The economy makes our customers more wary about every dime they spend, and rightfully so. Our competitors' mass advertising puts the thought in our clients' heads that they could find better rates for homes and automobile insurance. Steadily rising rates by many of our insurers open our customers' eyes to how much they pay. When all is said and done, people seem to be shopping their personal insurance more now than ever.

Related: Read Jeffrey Wyrsch's previous Getting Personal column, “New strategies for growth.”

So how can we keep our personal insurance customers from leaving? Personal lines direct writers are everywhere, and with many shopping their insurance it's easy for customers to turn to them first. We all see Flo and the Gecko constantly fighting it out on prime-time television, and we know most agencies can't compete with advertising alone. Almost everywhere you turn, independent agencies are losing more personal insurance business every year. And of course, we are all competing with other local independent agencies as well. Between the economy and the fierce competition, we're all feeling the pressure to find new and better ways of bringing in new business to offset what we are losing. But what about new and better ways of keeping our existing customers?