As a broker, you’re constantly asked to do more for your insureds. You help your clients overcome challenges, and often you get to foot the bill for new tools, programs, resources, and risk solutions. Also, new risks and new technologies are constantly breeding new services and new needs. These new tools are important. They can be critical in helping reduce losses for your clients and in turn keeping rates low. That makes a win-win situation for everyone, right? 

The problem is that this leads to a cycle of agencies being overspent. Many agencies find their teams feeling overtaxed having to learn all about these new tools. Meanwhile, your clients seem to expect more and more. They constantly have questions about new kinds of risks, new services they heard of, or big issues in the news like #metoo. 

Changing Perspectives on Risk Solutions

If you’re simply trying to fill a checklist of services to cover specific perils, you could be missing the mark. Consequently, you should change the way you think about these services. Rather than simply checking a box for “safety” or a box for “HR,” look deeper. Assess the business case for the services available to you. In other words, when thinking about the risk solutions you offer, ask these three questions: 

Firstly, are the tools you provide retaining clients?  
Think about whether you hear positive feedback about your tools, and how introduction of them may have impacted loss runs. 

Secondly, are they attracting prospects?  
Evaluate whether the risk solutions you provide line up with the issues prospects come to you with. 

Thirdly, differentiating your agency in the marketplace?  
Conduct a gap analysis on your lineup of solutions and compare it with your competitors. 

If the answer is no to any of those, it’s time to rethink or reposition a few things. Afterall, your insureds aren’t looking for a completed checklist of value-adds.  

Your clients are looking for two key things: solutions that solve their very specific problems or pain points, and your unique consultative guidance and expertise.   

But where do you start?  

In conclusion, we’ve put together a guide on choosing solutions, positioning them effectively, and expert tips for consultants like you. Within the guide you’ll find a framework ready to implement in conversations with clients and prospects right away.