Ask questions, act on answers 

Research should be a high priority for the development of your agency business plan.  To be most successful, marketing is generally based on some research even if the research is relatively unsophisticated and tends to be subjective. 

Research and answer the following questions accurately.  Then act on the answers to accomplish the objectives suggested by the questions.  Get several people in the agency involved in answering the questions.

>  What does your business do?  What do you do well?  What do you not do well? 

>  Who are your best customers?  Why?  How do you get more just like them? 

>  What do your customers want---personal lines, commercial lines?  How do you ensure satisfying their wants and needs?  How do you predict their future needs?  

>  Who is your competition?  What do you do better than they do?  How do youi stay ahead of them? 

>  How do you keep yourself in front of your customers? 

>  How do you keep yourself in front of your best prospects? >  Where is your business heading?  What is your vision?  What do you need to do to get there?  What will you do differently once you get there? 

The answers should find their way into your Agency Business Plan (ABP) or the preparation of one if you don’t have an ABP now . As a working document, it should be kept in front of you and your staff and reviewed frequently.   

Done with a great deal of thoughtfulness, the document becomes your roadmap to success.  It also leads directly to the development of your marketing and sales plans.