Setting and Achieving Your Insurance Goals: A Guide for Independent Agents

I cannot begin to tell you how goal setting has changed my life, not just as an insurance agent, but as a human. As a young adult, I became a teacher in a foreign country at the age of 21. I had grown up wanting to be a teacher, but at 21, with 2 years of college and no real “formal” teacher training, I was nervous. But being young and pretty fearless (I mean who moves to a third-world country at 21?), I jumped right in. 

Life experience taught me a lot, including:

• Process and procedures are very important, everywhere. In life in general.
• Goal setting is vital for success. Even more important is writing them down and having others know what they are to help with accountability.
• People aren’t always going to agree with you, especially as a leader. But if you know the goals you are setting will be good for everyone, don’t let them argue… show them.
• Always have a plan.
• Build processes and the “how” – how will they get there? To the goal…
• One of the biggest mistakes teachers (leaders) make is not having a strategy, a process, or a procedure. If you start out this way (the year), you are doomed for failure, and you are setting everyone under you up for failure too.
• The worst teaching and insurance agent years of my life were because I didn’t have processes, procedures, goals, a plan, or a strategy.

You’re probably wondering why I’m emphasizing processes and procedures more than goals. You know why, it’s because strategies, processes, and procedures are what get you to your goals. Think about that for a minute.

Independent insurance agents operate in a competitive market where setting clear goals is crucial for business growth and client satisfaction. 

Types and Kinds of Insurance Goals

Enough about life experience, let’s dig into Insurance Goals. Goals can be lofty. The best way to accomplish goals is by mapping them out into small sections and in groups. Short-term goals are ones that need to be accomplished sooner or in a shorter amount of time. The short-term goals may be steps to get you to your long-term goals.

An example of short-term and long-term goals:

Short-term Insurance Goals 

• Increase Client Base
• Improve Client Retention
• Expand Product Offerings
• Enhance Online Presence
• Professional Development

Long-term Insurance Goals 

• Achieve Revenue Growth
• Build Strategic Partnerships
• Enhance Agency Reputation
• Implement Technology Solutions
• Succession Planning

By setting both short-term and long-term goals, independent insurance agents can effectively manage their business, adapt to market changes, and provide valuable insurance solutions to their clients while achieving sustainable growth and success in the industry.

Keep in mind that goals should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound).

Goals that don’t align with these can get messy and may be hard to understand. You want the goals to be easily understood and, therefore, easily executed and accomplished. Also, agency visions & values are also important. You want a vision for the future and values that get you there. 

Don’t forget how important it is to have guidelines for everyone. Guidelines to help people stay in their lane and understand where they are headed. Much like job descriptions. You want this to be a career, not a side hustle. 

Good people stay because they understand where the business is headed and know there is an opportunity to improve. Yes some people will be happy to stay in 1 place and that is great as long as they are open to changes and improvements, but you would much rather attract “go-getters” and they will want visions and goals to strive for, and challenges to accomplish. 

Another strategy relating to goals and goal setting in life is self-assessment. Do you self-assess? Self-reflect, look in the mirror? If you don’t, you need to start. This is where improvement starts. There are so many people out there who think they do everything right, they never self-assess, so they stay stuck in doing it their way when there are better ways out there. Self-reflection allows you to look outward in and discover things you may need to improve on. 

Let’s be honest, self-reflection is not easy, it’s hard, but to get better we have to do hard things. So first set personal, achievable goals for yourself, you cannot expect others to have goals unless you are practicing what you preach. Once you have your personal goals, now it is time to get those professional goals written down.

Watch how to hit your agency goals.

Build Your Plan

So now let’s build the insurance goals out. Start by creating a 1-year, 5-year, and 10-year vision. From there, break the goals into pieces to get you to that 10-year vision by breaking it into obtainable steps. Our strategic plan course has all of this mapped out in an easy format for you to just add in your information. It gives you step-by-step instructions to build your strategic plan. Check it out here – Strategic Planning. 

Find ways to stay on track and stay motivated. Leaders have to guide everyone else, meaning you have to be committed to the plan. If you aren’t, hire a manager that is. Someone who is a driver on a personality test would be a great fit for this. 

You can find out more about personalities in our Agency Ascend Leadership Course. Be sure to monitor progress and adjust the plan as needed. The plan is not set in stone, and you have to have the right goals that help you successfully get to your destination, your final goals.

Make sure you celebrate success and your achievements with your team. You cannot execute the plan alone, so ensure your team is on board and celebrate everyone’s success, from the smallest of goal accomplishments to the large ones. Everyone loves to win, so make sure they know you love it when they win, and it is even better when they work together and win as a team.

We also have a hiring course, processes and procedures, and even a course on over 60 different coverages, how to explain them to customers, and even scripts when a customer gives you an objection. You can find all of these items and more in our Agency School.

Goals and strategic planning can take time, but when agencies reach their Insurance Goals they will find even more success in the industry. Agencies that don’t have plans, processes, procedures, and goals will not be as successful and will struggle in today’s market! So have a plan, grab your team, and go out and accomplish those goals, they are worth fighting for!

👉 Dive into our latest blog and unlock the secrets of 🚀 Build Your Agency Strategic Plan: Insurance Business Planning Examples

Looking to build your strategic plan? Revive our list of the top objectives to tackle in 2025

Ready to elevate your style? Explore our Ridiculously Amazing Insurance Agent Swag Store! Unleash the most stylish t-shirts around. Don’t miss out on our Our Ridiculously Amazing Agent swag is the ultimate accessory for your hardworking team Dive into the swag!

Want to boost team efficiency? Connect with us on our Agency Efficiency Program

Book a meeting with our Agency Performance Partners and unlock tailored strategies for unparalleled success. Elevate your agency’s game – schedule your consultation now!