While boosting sales productivity is key to success for insurance agents, it can be one of the hardest goals to achieve. For Farm Bureau agents, it’s not bold undertakings that make the difference. It’s the little things they do each day that help them accomplish their goals while protecting the communities they serve. Here are few tips to help you maximize your productivity as a Farm Bureau agent.
Insurance Agent Productivity Tips
1. Stick to the Plan
As an insurance agent, it’s easy for your daily schedule to get off track. Whether it’s email notifications, interruptions from your team or your own multitasking habits, you can find yourself wondering where the time went and why you don’t feel like you got anything done.
Having a plan helps you make the most of every day by prioritizing the tasks that you need to complete. It may help to:
- Try to get at least one high-level task finished first thing in the morning, before calls, emails and interruptions start.
- Focus on one thing at a time. Ideally, give yourself enough time to complete a task before going on to the next one.
- Schedule time to check your email instead of letting notifications interrupt you.
At the end of your workday, plan your next one. Even if you can’t always stick to the plan, you’ll be able to jump back in.
2. Make Meetings Count
Whether you’re talking with clients, prospects, staff or people in your community, meetings are an important and inevitable part of the workflow for Farm Bureau insurance agents. Here are some ways to make them more productive:
- If possible, batch your out-of-the-office meetings. Try to keep your meetings in the same geographic area to minimize travel time and maximize the time that you’re productive.
- Know your own rhythm for phone and video meetings. You may want to schedule them all back-to-back in a morning or afternoon. Or, you might prefer blocks of space between meetings to check email, return calls and prep for the next meeting.
- Consider 20-minute stand-up staff meetings. Standing can encourage your team members to provide brief, succinct updates so you can all lead a more productive day.
- Keep a running list of short tasks you can finish in five to 10 minutes. That way, if you have a few minutes free before or after a meeting, you can get one of these things done.
3. Take Care of Yourself
Your health can directly contribute to increased sales productivity. Be sure to stay mindful of self-care to maintain good health and a positive attitude.
When you need an energy boost during the day, try taking a walk around the block or drinking a bottle of water instead of turning to sugar- and caffeine-loaded drinks that can lead to an energy crash later.
4. Feed the Funnel
Nurturing prospects is crucial for increasing insurance sales productivity, so it’s important to set aside time every day to reach out to a set number of prospects. That could be a personal phone call requesting a meeting or an email asking a prospect a specific question.
Consistent outreach to your prospects or existing clients shows you are available for them when they need you and that you care.
5. Set Realistic Goals
Setting attainable goals and developing clear plan to reach those goals can boost productivity more effectively than working longer hours. Little wins build momentum and can eventually lead to big successes. Keep the SMART principles in mind when setting goals: they should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-based.
6. Use Tools and Technology
People have been looking for ways to streamline and optimize business productivity since the days of paper planners and shared whiteboards. Those tools may still have a place in your workflow, but you can also leverage everyday technology like managing tasks in your Outlook, tracking appointments or scheduling emails.
Let Us Help You Build Your Future
At Farm Bureau we have the resources to help our agents be productive. Our support helps agents make the most of each day and grow their businesses. Ready to learn more about becoming a Farm Bureau agent? Reach out for more information.