Imagine that you're the president of a brewery. One night you see a rival's TV commercial. It's a terrific spot—peppy, eye-catching, fun, unique.
The next morning, you summon your marketing chief to your office. You tell her, "Their new commercial is fantastic. Have our ad agency put together something like it pronto."
You're probably thinking, "I'd never do that." You'd first want to find out if your rival's cool commercial is really spurring sales. Maybe it looks great, but people aren't buying.
And even if the commercial is doing the job for your competitor, it doesn't mean a knockoff would work for you. Your brew tastes different and appeals to a different group. You'd just be confusing your customers.
The same applies to those who run independent marketing organizations. We see a competitor with a slick ad in a trade magazine, and we say, "Me too!" We see a carrier with a lower term rate and think, "I want to represent them."
It's human nature see what others are doing before we act, but stealing a page from your competitor's play book could be the worst thing you could do.
Marketing, advertising and recruiting can't be done on a me-too basis. It must be individualized to you, your shop and built around your story. Every marketing organization (IMO) needs a compelling, unique story to recruit good agents in a competitive marketplace. Like beer or coffee, each IMO has a unique "flavor."
Your job is to capture your flavor, your WOW Factor, and let your market know about it. What is a WOW factor? It's simply that when an agent gets off the phone or leaves your office, he or she thinks, "WOW—This outfit really has it together!"
Consider A.L. Williams. He started his company in the mid-1970s—like today, a time of economic stress, with high unemployment and a lingering recession. Despite that, his sales organization and its agents became incredibly successful. An innovator, he departed from the old ways and told a new story. He tore down barriers to success, created a formula for success, and fueled agents' dreams.
His story shows that you can't copycat your way to success. Instead, do things differently. Be a game changer. Do it your way. "Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower," says Steve Jobs, whose brilliant innovations transformed Apple from a laggard to a global titan.
Look Inward First
Research underpins effective marketing, but you don't have to go far to get your data. Before you can create your WOW factor, you need to take an objective look at yourself, your organization and your staff.
We can call this your "you product." And after all, the main product that the agent is buying is you—your experience, wisdom, systems and carrier relationships.
So where do you shine? Is it sales? Can agents learn sales techniques from you?
Perhaps your strength is in sales concepts and sales systems. An effective sales system that helps agents be more effective at prospecting and sales can be a game-changer for you and them! If you are a first-rate trainer or motivator, but are not providing a sales system for your agents, consider using a successful sales system to set yourself apart from your competition.
Now delve into the skill sets and systems your staff has. Where do they excel? If you have a great back office, you'll want to leverage that strength. If you don't, you'll want to select markets where it's not important.
