As a wholesale broker, sometimes educating the agents you work with is part of the job. Whether it’s bringing them up to speed on a line of coverage or helping them complete submissions that will pass muster with your market, there are several ways to educate agents. Here are a few ideas.
Webinars. Webinars are especially useful when talking about new lines of coverage you’re specializing in, or helping agents solve a problem you’re seeing in the industry. For example, you might notice that, even though many companies need cyber insurance, it isn’t a common line of coverage because this is still a fairly new product—business decision-makers don’t know the risks they face, and insurance agents may not know enough about cyber insurance to confidently sell it.
You can help insurance agents get up to speed on this type of coverage with a webinar. Provide details on what types of risks the insurance covers, which industries need it most, the risk factors, and common barriers to the sale. Make it interactive using techniques such as answering audience questions submitted over Twitter, or including in-presentation polls.
White papers and reports. If there’s not a lot of potential for interactivity, you can create white papers and reports instead. You can also repurpose the content from a webinar into a white paper or report, giving you several different ways to reach your audience. Generally, it’s recommended that you keep these pieces relatively short, at approximately 5 to 7 pages. If the topic is very complex, consider breaking it up into two or more pieces
Email messaging. Email announcements can be a powerful tool to educate agents as well as to market. Email news and announcements are much more likely to be opened and read when they contain educational information that readers need—not just promotional materials. Generally, these should be used for shorter, more easily digestible topics—if the topic is very complex, consider doing a series or repackaging it into a white paper or webinar.
Blogging. One of the benefits of blogging about the insurance you specialize in is that it improves your SEO ranking for that type of insurance. This can bring you a lot of new business. In addition, if you’re just starting out, blogging can help you build your audience and mailing list, and it can also help you establish a credible voice.
There are plenty of ways to educate the agents you work with—these are just a few. If you’re diligent about educating agents and present yourself as an expert resource, you’re sure to build your audience—and grow your business.
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