Agents Ride A Learning Curve In Selling Bank Products

Wyrsch credits InsurBancs representatives for their ability to instruct and assist his agency as it moved into loan services. But, he adds, the agency is moving incrementally, adding services as it feels comfortable with them.

"We are just expanding and doing more and more," Wyrsch points out. "We have certainly not taken advantage of [all the banking services] yet."

Looking to make a splash in financial services, the Thompson Group in Parker City, Ind., wanted to market many services to its customers quickly.

As David George, the agency's vice president of commercial insurance and financial services, explains it, the first step two years ago was for Andy Thompson, the current owner, to embrace the idea of full financial services–a concept he says that Andy's predecessors had actively fought for years.

After discussing the idea with partners Michael Stafford and Ron Shumacher, the agency decided to make a commitment, and hired George. With his extensive banking experience–most recently as a vice president with American National Bank in Muncie, Ind.–he became responsible for setting up a financial services department within the agency.

With only an inkling of what the agency wanted to do, George began researching banking options. He came into contact with Assurance Partners Bank of Carmel, Ind., the subsidiary of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, and later Grange Bank, owned by Grange Mutual Casualty Company of Columbus, Ohio.

Wanting to become a "full blown broker," the first step was to market banking products to customers, which meant training the staff to recognize cross-selling opportunities, especially when it comes to mortgages and small-commercial loans.

But the marketing did not stop there, explains George. It extended to the use of billboards, radio spots and advertising in local home magazines.

"People who are interested in buying a house pick up these magazines, and when they see a full-page ad they think about us and realize we do everything," observes George.

Other marketing techniques the Thompson Group uses are e-mail and fax campaigns to send out a weekly one-page memo, which, for example, would inform customers about the current 15-year fixed-rate mortgage or give information on refinancing. Such marketing techniques have resulted recently in the processing of 74 mortgage applications within 51 days, he notes.

For insurance agencies contemplating entering the financial services area, especially in a big way, having someone with banking experience is important, advises George. Even if the agency is just contemplating getting into financial services at some point and finds someone with minimal background in the field, this is someone they should hold onto in case the agency decides to expand further into banking.

He also advises that if an independent agency is not well versed in banking, they should consider getting into the referral end of banking first "to get their feet wet."

However, customer service remains the main priority, no matter what financial services business you are in, he says.

"Typically, we dont lose business because our sales culture lends itself to phenomenal customer service," George observes. "If you are not servicing your customer, someone else will."

Mark Ruquet is an assistant editor of NU's Property & Casualty/Risk& Benefits Management edition.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Life & Health/Financial Services Edition, April 15, 2002. Copyright 2002 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.