Profitable ways to use an agency brochure 

If you don’t have a printed agency brochure that puts forth what you believe, what you sell, how you service what you sell, then you are missing a critical sales support. 

Sure, if you have a Web site it can play the role of an agency brochure…and should.  But your site should go well beyond playing that role; it should be an interactive tool that provides customer communication services. 

I compare agency print brochures with baseball utility infielders, players who can fill in anywhere in the infield.  Check out these advantages. 

Agency capability brochures build business

  Your agency brochure helps you tell customers, suspects and prospects why you are a different and better source for their insurance needs.  They tout your agency’s professionalism and knowledgeable people.  Most importantly, your brochure cross-sells your total agency capabilities.  How often have you discovered that a good personal lines customer has his BOP with a competitor?  Or his life insurance?   How come?  The customer’s answer is usually the same, “I didn’t know you sold it.”   

Agency brochures are super-versatile

 Your agency “utility infielder” can play these critical sales support roles: 

. Prospecting for Sales Appointment:  Enclose with a brief cover letter and three business cards. 

. X-Date Follow-ups:  Send with a “thank you, we’ll be in touch,” and an “oh, by the way, we also sell…” notes and three business cards.

. Referral Solicitations: Send to your A clients and centers of influence with a note and three business cards. . Proposal Enclosure: Send with an “oh, by the way” note and three business cards. 

. Appointment Leave Piece:  Use at point of sale as a visual aid to briefly explain what you believe, your staff and services.  Then leave a couple of copies while suggesting that your prospect may want to pass along one copy to a relative or neighbor with your business card. 

. Handout at Home or Auto Shows et al.: Enclose a business card and distribute as many as possible! 

Producing your agency brochure 

All too often, we consult with agents who have no agency brochure or any type of agency capability literature---a flier, a postcard, whatever---and don’t see the value of investing in one.   

I hate to say it, if you don’t have some type of capability literature that describes your agency and your total services, you aren’t really in sales.  In fact, there is a good chance you are losing sales to competitors who are cross-selling your best customers with home-auto account programs, business insurance and financial services. 

A couple of suggestions if you have decided to produce a brochure:   

(1)  Make sure it includes photos of people who are benefiting from insurance services (insurance is an intense people business, yet many brochures we see don’t have the presence of any people);  

(2)  Produce in full color; full color is no more expensive to print than two-color these days;  

(3)  Order a healthy supply and distribute them everywhere you go; 

(4)  Make sure you include every way that a prospect or customer canget in touch with your agency---street address, e-mail address, telephone, fax, etc. 

(5)  Feature your Web site address prominently and include interactive thingsthat your customers can do on your site; 

(6)  Always enclose three business cards with your brochure mailings (I guarantee you at least ONE will be saved by the prospect or customer).