Trends & Traits of Successful Agencies Part I: Business Planning Series

Chris McAtee | Agency Brokerage Consultants

Meet Chris

• Insurance M&A professional and consultant

• 10 years in the insurance industry with retail & wholesale agencies, MGA’s and Program Administrators

• Over 100 transactions within the insurance industry representing deal volume $250M +

Agenda

• Finances

• Marketing

• People

• Processes / Operations

Finances

Finances

• Financial benchmarks

– Compare your operating performance against industry averages • Growth & Performance Standards (GPS)

– The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research

• Best Practices Study

– Reagan Consulting & the Big I

Finances

• Accounting – Solid accounting practices

– Reconcile financials with the management systems and carrier statements

– Track monthly revenues per carrier statements, track agency bill deposits and commissions, compare against company financials.

– Hire CFO when they grow to certain level

Finances

• Budgeting – Budget each year

– Keep > 3 months of working capital (operating expenses

– Don’t spend what isn’t theirs

– Disciplined spenders

Finances

• Investing – Prioritize investing for growth

– Keep personal lifestyle and expenses in check

– Invest in your marketing and people

Marketing

Marketing

• Develop a marketing plan

Marketing

• Stats – Average agency spends 3-5% of revenue on marketing

nationwide

– Roughly 65% of agencies report having no formal marketing plan

– Over 55% of agencies do not track where their leads are coming from or their ROI

Marketing

• Niche marketing • Faster organic growth

• Higher retention and profitability

• Better competitive edge

• High keyword ranking online

Marketing

• Agency Website Functionality – In-depth content

– Testimonials

– Blog

– Social media

– Mobile ready

– Local search ranking

People

People

• Your agency is only as good as your people!

• Hire people that: • Have the right attitude

• Are of good moral character

• Like to learn and will listen

• Build and maintain a strong team

• Minimize turnover

Process

Process

• Deliver in all areas of business

• Successfully manage the agency – Accounting

– Staff

– Marketing

– Sales

– Customer service

– Legal

Is this you?

Traits of successful agency owners

• High risk tolerance

• Financially disciplined

• People-oriented

• Delegate well

• Students of their business

• Action-based and adaptive

Thank you!

• Thank you for your participation in today’s webinar.

• We hope to see you on October 29th for our next webinar in the series: S.W.O.T. Analysis

• You will receive a copy of the slides/presentation

• Feel free to e-mail Chris with specific questions at: cmcatee@agencybrokerage.com