It’s a no-brainer: cross selling insurance improves retentions, increases profits, and strengthens relationships by offering customers everything from life to pet insurance. But although there are no statistics on how many independent agencies are actively cross-selling to their customers, many experts say they’re not doing it as often as they should—in spite of the fact that their survival in today’s customer-driven environment may depend on it.

“With commoditization of personal lines auto and the coming assault from the direct channel on small business, agents need to realize that it is difficult to position themselves as efficient and profitable when continuing to operate as an insurance vendor that takes orders and quotes business rather than a professional trusted advisor providing guidance,” says Tom Barrett, president of the Midwest and Southeast regions of the SIAA, Inc. agency network. ”The majority of agents are not cross selling, but the informed ones serious about their future are.”

Convincing the average agency owner to cross sell is still an uphill climb—even though failure to do so can result in your competitors stealing your lunch, says Shirley Lukens, principal at Reagan Consulting. More to the point, effective cross selling can retain business, even in tough times. “I remember a workshop I did for Central Insurance Co.,” Lukens recalls. “One of the agents said they had lost the commercial lines business of a large account when the economy tanked but was able to keep the personal lines business of several of the key people in the business. Once the economy improved and rates began to harden, they were able to come back and win the CL business they had lost just because they kept that door open through the PL business.”

Excuses, excuses

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

1. Lack of efficient processes. Cross selling can’t happen in environments where employees feel “overworked and overwhelmed,” says Jack Burke, president of Sound Marketing. “The more you overload the back office with trivial jobs, the less time they have to move into a strategic role with your clients.”

2. Lack of trust between staffers. Internecine distrust—between personal lines and commercial lines, or employee benefits and commercial lines—can stifle cross selling when producers on one side fear their counterparts will “screw up” their client relationships, Lukens says. “The big issue still comes down to service—if an agency can’t effectively service both lines, then it is best to not cross-sell. But it sure opens the door for other agencies to come in and take all the business.”

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

4. Failure to see the big picture. Most agency owners don’t look at their firms as a business, but as a “sales organization designed to support their lifestyles,” Burke says. When they need more money, their solution is to attach a new niche market or get a new product to sell: “This doesn’t go to the heart of the problem but actually complicates it.” Visionary agents who succeed at cross selling don’t approach it through hard sell, but as another way to meet all of the risk mitigation needs of their clients.

Read on to discover six ways to get started on or accelerate cross selling.

1. Target the discriminating buyer. Independent agents are increasingly targeting the high net worth individual as a great opportunity to cross sell. When cross selling to business owners, first focus on coverage for the “business of the business,” such as key person insurance, Burke says. “But that’s just the tip of the iceberg because each key man is usually a high-net individual. 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 be cross sold to existing clients. But overburdened CSRs who don’t like selling to begin with won’t do a good job with this method, Burke says: “The agency must take a holistic look and determine workflow backlogs that could prevent that nurturing support of the client.” The first step is to conduct an analysis of the office’s infrastructure before going strategic with a cross-selling plan. Once glitches are corrected, examine the book of business for the strongest markets, examine how well rounded each client account is, and determine what other products the agency can bring to the table, Burke says.

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

4. Lean on technology. Tech tools make cross selling easier than ever. Automated marketing products provide structured ways to contact clients--not just at renewal time, but on birthdays, anniversaries, and other life events to help nurture the relationship and present cross selling opportunities, Barrett says. Using automation, social media, and websites as a platform for “social presence” is also important.

5. Target products based on client needs—not insurer mandates. Legendary insurance salesman Cosmo Conte of State Farm set the standard for cross selling to personal lines customers by proactively asking if they were happy with their current coverage, Burke says. Today’s agents must shift from proactive mode to “providing nurturing support, which will create reactive cross selling to clients who request it,” he says. It’s a subtle difference, but one that shifts the emphasis to put the client in charge.

6. Encourage teamwork among your employees. If Joe is a workers’ comp specialist and Mary is a benefits specialist, and Joe brings in a big account and gets a big commission, he may feel threatened when Mary tries to cross-sell benefits because he fears it will jeopardize his relationship with the client, Burke says. It’s the principal’s job to spot this friction and encourage all producers to collaborate on customer accounts.

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4 excuses for not cross selling&mdash;and 6 ways to get started

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