Cross-selling additional lines of business should be a major focus for every agent in our agencies.  It should be a focus for sales when a prospect contacts us.  It should also be a focus when a client calls in with a service question and part of an annual review.  As insurance professionals, we should be focused on getting our clients the right coverage at the best possible price.  We cannot do this if we are not looking at the client’s entire risk but are only focused on a specific policy.

There are two major mistakes that I see when working with independent agents when it comes to cross-selling business.  First, there is a lack of effort into even addressing accounts that are not fully rounded.  By not working with our clients to identify other exposures that need proper coverage, we are simply not doing what is in their best interest.  From a business perspective, when we fail to write all lines of business, we are reducing our revenue.  Not only are we making less per client, but we are also making it more likely to leave reducing the lifetime value of the client.  It also leaves us exposed for an E&O issue when we are unaware of client’s exposures and risks.  For the individual agent, failure to cross-sell accounts is simply not doing the job we are paid to do.  As licensed professionals, we need to be the ones that drive what is in the best interest of the client.  We cannot allow them to dictate the process or allow our own fears about selling to get in the way of our responsibility.

The other major mistake that I see with independent insurance agents is viewing any non-monoline client as a fully rounded account.  I will grant that monoline clients are in the most need of a discussion, but a failure to focus on every account that we have is a failure.

For Personal Lines, the approach that we take in both our AppX Sales and AppX Retention programs is to cross-sell the home or the auto as the first item.  The vast majority of clients are in the need of both of these products.  Even if they don’t own a home (renters) or an auto (named non-owner), there is still typically a need.  Once you have both of those in place, start the discussion around an umbrella.  Selling an umbrella policy has a few benefits.  Additional coverage for the client and additional income for the agency are the two obvious.  However, from a sales perspective, writing the umbrella allows us to open a discussion on any other P&C exposures.  During the application process for the umbrella, we will learn about other policies and can work with the client to write those as well.  Finally, for those agents that write life, health, disability, or any other financial or tax products, there are numerous other products to be sold.

Commercial lines is just as easy although there are more variables.  Which lines of coverage are you not writing for the client on which you know they have an exposure?  During your discussions with all prospects as well as clients, you will learn things about the business that will identify other needs.  Mentions of locations, employees, or automobiles are the easiest ways to identify other coverages.  As with personal lines, a discussion on an umbrella can identify other exposures.  Just having the umbrella discussion is an opportunity to build trust, show expertise, and further develop the relationship.  These three items are invaluable when it comes to trying to service our clients and round out their accounts.

Another area that is often overlooked is cross-selling between the personal lines and commercial lines departments.  Every one of our commercial lines clients needs personal lines.  This includes not only the owner but anyone else that you interact with at the business.  It extends even further to the rest of the employees!  Going the other way isn’t going to occur as often, but there are over 24 million businesses in the United States.  The personal lines staff needs to be on alert to identify business owners or other key decision makers to be able to refer them over to commercial lines.

At Agency Performance Partners, we use the term Four & Score.  It’s time that we stop looking at clients as being rounded out simply because they are not monoline.  There are at least 16 different lines of business for both personal lines and commercial lines (can you name 16 for each!?!?).  Typically agents are satisfied when they see an average of more than 2 policies per client.  Our goal should be to write four policies for every new client and increase our policies per client on our existing clients to four!

I realize this is not the easy path.  Clients can be resistant to having the discussion because they typically just don’t want to spend any more time on their insurance than they anticipated.  Insurance agents can get set in a comfort zone and give into the fear of starting a more difficult conversation.  You must remember that good service is providing clients with what they need, not what they ask for!  Failure to have these conversations prevents us from achieving a level of professionalism for which we strive and a poorer customer experience.  Remember, 16 different lines of business.  Go get four and score!