It’s a no-brainer: cross selling insurance improves retentions,increases profits, and strengthens relationships by offeringcustomers everything from life to pet insurance. But although thereare no statistics on how many independent agencies are activelycross-selling to their customers, many experts say they’re notdoing it as often as they should—in spite of the fact that theirsurvival in today’s customer-driven environment may depend onit.

“With commoditization of personal lines auto and the comingassault from the direct channel on small business, agents need torealize that it is difficult to position themselves as efficientand profitable when continuing to operate as an insurance vendorthat takes orders and quotes business rather than a professionaltrusted advisor providing guidance,” says Tom Barrett, president ofthe Midwest and Southeast regions of the SIAA, Inc. agency network. ”The majorityof agents are not cross selling, but the informed ones seriousabout their future are.”

[Related: Fromsmall to large, three cross-selling successstories]

Convincing the average agency owner to cross sell is still anuphill climb—even though failure to do so can result in yourcompetitors stealing your lunch, says Shirley Lukens, principal atReagan Consulting.More to the point, effective cross selling can retain business,even in tough times. “I remember a workshop I did for CentralInsurance Co.,” Lukens recalls. “One of the agents said they hadlost the commercial lines business of a large account when theeconomy tanked but was able to keep the personal lines business ofseveral of the key people in the business. Once the economyimproved and rates began to harden, they were able to come back andwin the CL business they had lost just because they kept that dooropen through the PL business.”

Excuses, excuses

The reasons some agencies are reluctant to cross sell can beboiled down to:

1. Lack of efficient processes. Cross sellingcan’t happen in environments where employees feel “overworked andoverwhelmed,” says JackBurke, president of Sound Marketing. “The more you overload theback office with trivial jobs, the less time they have to move intoa strategic role with your clients.”

2. Lack oftrust between staffers. Internecine distrust—betweenpersonal lines and commercial lines, or employee benefits andcommercial lines—can stifle cross selling when producers on oneside fear their counterparts will “screw up” their clientrelationships, Lukens says. “The big issue still comes down toservice—if an agency can’t effectively service both lines, then itis best to not cross-sell. But it sure opens the door for otheragencies to come in and take all the business.”

3. Reluctance to learn new skills. “Many agentsaren’t keen on learning new skills but rather cling to ‘doing asthey have always done,’” Barrett says. “They need to relearn theskills and reinvent themselves as a problem solver and guidingspecialist to those they serve.”

4. Failure to see the big picture. Most agencyowners don’t look at their firms as a business, but as a “salesorganization designed to support their lifestyles,” Burke says.When they need more money, their solution is to attach a new nichemarket or get a new product to sell: “This doesn’t go to the heartof the problem but actually complicates it.” Visionary agents whosucceed at cross selling don’t approach it through hard sell, butas another way to meet all of the risk mitigation needs of theirclients.

Read on to discover six ways to get started on oraccelerate cross selling.

1. Target the discriminating buyer. Independentagents are increasingly targeting the high net worth individual asa great opportunity to cross sell. When cross selling to businessowners, first focus on coverage for the “business of the business,”such as key person insurance, Burke says. “But that’s just the tipof the iceberg because each key man is usually a high-netindividual. Why haven’t you gone after their personal life,financial strategy, $2 million home, and their toys?”

2. Examine your processes. Too many times,agency owners tell the back office they want a certain line to becross sold to existing clients. But overburdened CSRs who don’tlike selling to begin with won’t do a good job with this method,Burke says: “The agency must take a holistic look and determineworkflow backlogs that could prevent that nurturing support of theclient.” The first step is to conduct an analysis of the office’sinfrastructure before going strategic with a cross-selling plan.Once glitches are corrected, examine the book of business for thestrongest markets, examine how well rounded each client account is,and determine what other products the agency can bring to thetable, Burke says.

3. Create a system. Whether it’scolor-coded process sheets to help producers pinpoint clients’needs or a formal action plan for cross-selling five or sixspecific lines of business, ditch the order-taking mentality andrefocus on giving the client a no-hassle experience and addingvalue, Barrett says. Instead of looking at specific lines ofbusiness to cross sell, “focus on a revenue target per account inaddition to multiple line sales.”

4. Lean on technology. Tech tools make crossselling easier than ever. Automated marketing products providestructured ways to contact clients--not just at renewal time, buton birthdays, anniversaries, and other life events to help nurturethe relationship and present cross selling opportunities, Barrettsays. Using automation, social media, and websites as a platformfor “social presence” is also important.

5. Target products based on client needs—not insurermandates. Legendary insurance salesman Cosmo Conte ofState Farm set the standard for cross selling to personal linescustomers by proactively asking if they were happy with theircurrent coverage, Burke says. Today’s agents must shift fromproactive mode to “providing nurturing support, which will createreactive cross selling to clients who request it,” he says. It’s asubtle difference, but one that shifts the emphasis to put theclient in charge.

6. Encourage teamwork among your employees. IfJoe is a workers’ comp specialist and Mary is a benefitsspecialist, and Joe brings in a big account and gets a bigcommission, he may feel threatened when Mary tries to cross-sellbenefits because he fears it will jeopardize his relationship withthe client, Burke says. It’s the principal’s job to spot thisfriction and encourage all producers to collaborate on customeraccounts.