6 Cross Selling Tips to Increase Agency Profits

If there was a magic wand to rapidly increase agency profit, it would cross selling. The profitability from new clients peeks at about 20%. However, when selling to current clients, profitability levels can skyrocket to nearly 70%.

Not only will cross selling increase agency profits, but your retention rate will also increase. By rounding out accounts, you prevent other agents from attempting to solicit the business clients have placed with you.

Fortunately, cross selling consistently is much easier than prospecting for new clients. It is often a wonder why so many agents forgo tapping into revenue that can be found within their own book of business. To jump start your cross selling journey, we’ve listed the top six steps to implement today.

Create a Menu – As an insurance agent, you likely have many products at your disposal. But don’t assume your clients are aware of all you have to offer. Create a list of all the products your agency offers and provide a copy to your clients every chance you get. And even if your client doesn’t make an additional purchase, the menu can drive referral business your way.

Have a Process – Cross selling needs to become a habit to have a meaningful impact to your bottom line. Incorporating cross selling into your agencies every day processes will maximize the number of chances of rounding out your book of business. Review every agency process and seek out opportunities to introduce additional products to your clients.

Ask the Question – You would be surprised how often you can increase an account size just by asking clients to purchase another product from you. Case in point – it is estimated McDonald’s sees an additional 15%-40% increase in revenue just by asking “Do you want fries with that?” Asking for additional business doesn’t need to be any more difficult than that.

Don’t Stop Asking – Asking your current clients for their other lines of business once is a start. But even with cross selling, it can take asking your clients 7 to 13 times before they make an additional purchase. Cross selling can take many different forms and needs to be included during in person consultations, within all written communications, and used in all your marketing efforts.
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Require a Sign Off –** More than any other product, buying insurance is often an emotional experience. Request your clients sign off on any products they do not purchase from you at every renewal. Not only does this reinforce the importance of the products you sell, but doing so will also protect you from potential errors and omission claims.

Collect Expiration Dates – For many lines of insurance, timing is everything. Make it a practice to ask for your clients’ expiration dates on their other policies and let them know you will be reaching out beforehand to help ensure they have the best coverage at the most competitive premium.

Cross selling can be just the spark your agency needs to reach new heights while also providing a great service to those you serve.

If you want to take advantage of more cross selling tools, schedule a 1-on-1 demo now!