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Today’s insurance industry is more competitive than ever. It has the highest customer acquisition cost of any industry. In fact, it costs seven to nine times more for an insurance agency to attract a new customer than to retain an existing customer. That’s why client loyalty is critical to an insurance agency’s success. Cross selling is a key component to customer loyalty.

The statistics don’t lie. The cross-selling opportunities for insurance clients are tremendous. These simple facts tell the story:

• 61% of policy holders have only one policy with their agent.

• 29% have two policies with their agent.

• 10% have three or more policies with their agent.

According to Marketing Metrics, your profitability from selling to a new prospect is only 5-20%. Compare that to your profitability of selling to an existing customer, which is 60-70%. Why not focus on your best opportunities for success?

Download our cross-selling whitepaper!

Serving Is Selling

Although clients may say they’re satisfied with your agency, there’s no statistical correlation that says satisfied customers will remain with you. Customer satisfaction is not always enough to keep them coming back or renewing their policy. In today’s world, they expect more, and your competitors are waiting to take advantage of that.
A revealing anecdote by AT&T dispels the myth that a merely satisfied customer is “good enough.” In a series of studies, they looked at customer satisfaction levels on a scale of 1-5 and traced it to customer retention. Here’s what they learned:

• When customers reported a level 3 in satisfaction, 50% would leave within three years.
• When satisfaction was rated a level 4, retention rose to 85% within three years.
• When they rated it at a level 5, as excellent, 92% of customers remained after three years.

So how can insurance agencies make sure they’re more than “good enough?” How can they foster loyal client relationships? By focusing more on “wowing” their existing clients. Truth be told, many agents don’t take the time to serve their existing clients because they’re more focused with attracting new clients.
That’s why having the right tools and client management processes are so important. Agents must be able to easily determine the best cross selling opportunities – in the most efficient way possible. Incorporating the right technology can help you do just that. It helps agents serve customers with smart cross-selling strategies. It’s not about product pitches. It’s about tailored customer solutions that give consumers the expert, personalized experience that they expect today.

Cross Selling Leads to A Better Customer Experience

As illustrated in the AT&T story, selling today is all about the “customer experience.” To win, you need to help your customers win too. That happens through conversation. Continual client interaction allows you to uncover needs and respond with solutions that meet those needs. That’s what cross selling is really about. It’s not about being pushy or aggressive. While customers may not appreciate hard sales tactics, they do appreciate superior customer service.
Successful sales teams of today are tapping into technology to work smarter and help open the door to more efficient and personalized processes. High-performing sales teams are adapting their approach with smarter selling strategies. In fact, 76% of these sales professionals currently use or are planning to use sales technology to increase efficiency. The most successful insurance
agents today are doing the same – adopting new technology to improve their sales performance.
With deeper insight into customers and their behavioral patterns, it becomes a natural process to cross-sell, up-sell and serve clients in a more meaningful way.

Independent insurance agents use Agentero to boost their revenue, save time, and deliver a superior customer experience. We integrate with your current technology to modernize your operations and position you for growth. Check out our website to learn more.

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