Carve Out Your Competitive Edge
Competition for insurance clients is fierce. How do you stand out from the pack?
With more than 881,000 licensed insurance agents and brokers vying for clients’ attention, the same old stuff just isn’t going to cut it.
Employers have plenty of options when it comes to getting employees benefits and health insurance. It’s not as simple as a friendly broker-to-broker competition. Professional employer organizations (PEOs) and direct-to-employer software companies (DTEs) are breaking down their doors, too. Offering better, offering more, and offering easier solutions by cutting brokers out of the equation altogether.
But here’s the deal — none of those have you. Your connection to the community, your knowledge and expertise, and your drive and focus to do what’s best for your clients.
Who is your competition?
Step one: You can’t challenge your competitors unless you know who they are and what they bring to the table.
You already know employers in the small- and medium-sized business (SMB) space can be price-sensitive. But they want more than just low prices. These groups are searching for a trusted, secure resource to holistically help them:
- Meet HR and benefits needs and enhance operations.
- Better engage Millennials and Gen Z through accessible, easy HR software.
- Maintain a centralized location for all employee HR information.
- Develop solid and enticing benefits packages to help recruit top talent.
- Spend less time on enrollment and managing changes throughout the year.
PEOs and DTEs are rapidly adapting to this new landscape. And they are shouting it from the rooftops with value-adds like HR services, compliance support, and payroll. Lesson learned: Offering only health plan coverage is no longer enough.
But we can’t look past your homegrown competition, either. Who is consistently at the table with you for new business? And how do they fare? Maybe their sales deck is slick or the agency owner goes off the cuff. The better you objectively understand what you’re up against, the better chance you have at challenging them.
What’s your insurance specialty?
Once the insurance plans are picked and open enrollment is completed, a broker’s role can feel reactive to clients. To stay relevant, you need to pivot from handling transactions to being a valuable business partner year-round.
This value could look like one, two, or any combination of the below.
Voluntary benefits
Wellness perks
Flexible spending accounts
Group-level reporting and analytics
Payroll
Identity protection services
Custom collateral
Tax assistance
Off-hours availability
Digital enrollment
Community event sponsorships
On-site meetings
Telehealth access
Enrollment assistance
Compliance & risk mitigation
And honestly, this is just the beginning when it comes to additional services your clients could want. Keep a pulse on emerging options with the help of trusted sources like BenefitsPro, SHRM, Employee Benefit News, and your local NABIP (formerly NAHU) chapter.
A quick trick to cut through the noise.
A good rule of thumb: Potential clients don’t want to hear about you. They want to hear how you’ll help them. Seems like a small shift, but let’s see it in action.
- Example 1: We offer an extensive network of coverage so you can rest assured that you are getting the most affordable policy to meet your specific needs. (25 words)
- Example 2: Find the most affordable policy for your specific needs thanks to our extensive coverage network. (15 words)
The more concise you can be in your reason why, the better it will land. Studies show that when you write or say more, your audience actually understands less. Psst: Free tools like Grammarly and Hemingway App can suggest and assess your writing.
Ready to fine-tune your competitive advantage?
OK, now we put it all together. Download your own copy of this eight-question worksheet to drill down to your competitive edge.
