EAGB

Trusted Advisors

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Back in the office today after a long day in Telford and Birmingham yesterday, but wow was it worth it. I co-sponsored an event with Barrie Ross-Dow of Quantuma and we had 116 lawyers and financial professionals in the room, great energy and lots of interesting conversations. Exciting times, who knows where they will go?

There are undeniably lots of different ways to prospect for new business, which is why it’s called the marketing mix, they include:

·        Cold Calling in person or by phone

·        Direct mail

·        Flyers & posters

·        Email campaigns

·        Social media

·        Referral marketing

·        Partners & introducers

·        Sponsored events

·        Expos, seminars, the list goes on…

Whilst the first three are very direct, they have a low hit rate, but if you want volume it has to be the way to go. Its quick and efficient but you need good information before you start. Quality of data is at the very heart of this approach.

My colleague Richard Brice and I are about to embark on a bit of face-to-face cold calling, talking to nice people on trading estates, at their businesses, who often struggle to find the right advisors.

It’s also very good because we can “LOOK” at the businesses and qualify them on the spot. An afternoon every couple of weeks through the summer should set up a nice little pipeline of businesses to approach during the winter months.

The best way by far, however, has always been to build relationships other trusted advisors, as a warm referral from is likely to have a far higher hit rate than anything else. If the client trusts that advisor, it carries over to you. You are also likely to get information in advance, you would normally have to dig out in a lengthy process, so you are more likely to succeed.

I’m off to London tomorrow, on the early train, to do build more relationships at the The Executives’ Association of Great Britain (EAGB) https://eagb.org.uk/about/

If you ever want an invite, just let me know?

Have a great day 😊

BIBA 2023

BIBA 2023 Manchester Central

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As a proud member of The British Insurance Brokers Association for over 40 years, and now as a board member, I can say without any hesitation that the BIBA conference in May each year, bringing brokers and insurers together in one place for three days, is one of the best and most productive weeks of the year.

This year the theme is “Rising to the Challenge” The BIBA Conference 2023 | The British Insurance Brokers’ Association

If you have annual arrangements you wish to arrange or renew, doing it at the BIBA conference each year is probably the most effective way. The range of providers present and more importantly decision makers, all in one place make for an excellent conference.

Add to that the line up of keynote speakers and sessions each year, bring everyone up to date with what’s new and emerging as well as all the legal and regulatory matters that will affect our businesses going forward over the next 3 – 5 years. If you are an insurance professional #biba2023 is the place to be.

It’s also nice to be in the middle of something which has been in planning for the last 12 months, leading directly from the manifesto which is published in January each year. In 2023 we are #managingrisk & #deliveryingstability.

Looking forward to meeting friends old and new and securing services that will directly benefit our clients going forward.

Have a great week, I know I will.

 

 

 

Marketing Mix

The Marketing Mix

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I’m always looking for ways to get new customers.

I believe in the marketing mix, in essence you must have more than one activity ongoing, and at any given time one or more of them should produce results. Not all of them all the time and not the same ones at the same time.

If you find that a marketing activity is not producing results, you don’t necessarily stop doing it immediately, but you can decide to prioritise resources and time on the ones that are working best at the moment.

If it becomes clear that one activity no longer works, for very sound reasons, then you may well terminate it and only revisit it if circumstances become more favourable for its success.

Here are some of the ways in which we have gained customers over the last 10 years, it would be interesting to find out which ones you prefer and why?

  1. Referral Marketing
  2. Direct Mail or Email Campaigns
  3. Social Media
  4. Cold Calling – Phone or in Person

Today I’m putting to bed a renewal provision for a long-standing client and in the process, I will ask the client for a referral, but only once I believe they are happy with the result.

Clients can be some of the best champions for your business, after all if they are pleased with the results you have delivered, surely, they will be happy to refer you to their friends, colleagues or associates, comfortable that the referral will raise their standing at the same time.

To leave your happy customers out of the marketing mix, would seem to be an open goal you really can’t afford to miss.

Remember to be #openhonesttransparent because customers love it when they know you have their best interests at heart and that’s when they stay for the long terms.

Have a great day!