Over the past 15 years in this industry, I asked myself many times "Is the grass greener on the other side?" when considering to partner my practice with an agency. If you struggled to maintain and grow your business throughout the past year, I'm sure this has been a question you posed yourself with at least a couple of times. For me, I consistently drove my answer back to 5 key boxes that I needed checked off before saying "YES". Below are those exact questions I asked Penn Mutual before joining in the midst of the pandemic in April 2020. I hope this will help to guide your decision the same way it helped mine.
1. Do you have a simple system to generate leads?
Having a process in place to consistently grow your practice by providing qualified leads within your target market is what every financial professional strives to obtain. If you're not there yet in this technology-driven world, when do you expect it to happen? There is only so much time in a day so having a system that works even when you are sleeping can be very helpful. Referrals, Current clients, and natural market will only go so far.
2. Do you have access to a variety of products that consistently outperform others?
Wouldn't it be great to go to one place to find competitive products across all categories? There is nothing worse than losing a client because they shopped around or you are not able to offer a specific product or service the client needs to complete their plan. Having a spectrum of highly competitive products can make your business.
3. Do you have a dedicated team to make doing business easier?
Let’s face it, this is not an easy business or everyone would be doing it. However, there are ways to make it easier besides lead generation and products. Having a team that is dedicated to the success of their agents does make it easier. Look for access to teams that specialize in marketing, business processing, case preparation, teaming, and joint appointments so that financial professionals don’t feel like they are in this alone.
4. Do you have a fully digital system to process your clients' applications?
It's one thing to gain a clients trust; it's another to place business with your carriers. Having tools in place to help you and your clients process paperwork and contracts faster for both parties with ease is crucial. As a financial professional, you need CRMs, financial planning software, and communications platforms but in this day and age being able to take, process, and deliver an application without contact is a game changer. Think of the time it would save and lets face it some clients are not comfortable with close contact.
5. Is your return on investment into your business paying off?
High income and low expenses is the name of the game in any business! The difference between the income you make and your expenses is just that. It is easy to feel like a tenant by paying high fees for offices, printing, and association fees. True partners will keep those as low as possible and tend to invest in you on a regular basis.
What you need to win:
1.Name gathering process
2.Portfolio that you can stand behind
3.100 years of experience helping along the way
4.Fast application process your clients will appreciate
5.Competitive compensation with low expenses
These Five Key Shifts alone are enough to accelerate the growth and sustainability of your business in this new environment.
Reach out to our team today to explore our opportunities!
15851 Dallas Parkway Suite 100, Addison TX 75001
AskUs@PennMutualws.com
(469) 737-4000