As you get started killing commercial insurance, something you have to do is create your ideal prospect profile. You cannot deliver value and an exceptional client experience to your clients if you don’t define who it is you are going to go after and be able to give the most value. It’s crazy because this is a natural place for any agency to start in commercial insurance. Still, as I’ve talked to agency owners from all over the country, none of them know how to begin writing good commercial business. They write what comes in the door, what calls on the phone, who fills out a web form for a quote, and that’s just how they build their commercial practice.
You can’t do that and be successful, ultimately, in larger commercial accounts. I don’t take anything away from these agencies because they have good commercial books. Still, my goodness, the amount of services that it takes just to handle the basic and mundane tasks, is a drain on the profit margins of the organization. It’s nuts! And the fact is there’s only so much that you can automate.
If you want to deliver an awesome client experience, then you need to identify who the ideal prospect for your firm is. It could be a different one for each producer. You might have three or four total that you’re going after. Still, by diving deep into that ideal class of business, you’re going to be able to handle risk management functions. You can look at things like loss control, the total cost of risk analysis, training, and development, leadership accountability programs, all of these things that help your clients save way more money than you’re ever going to be able to negotiate down in premium.
I go to continuing ed all over the country, and when I’m in there, I hear people talk about the differentiation of agencies. It’s crazy because the one question that instructors always ask is who differentiates themselves by customer service? And I look left, and I look right, and every agent in the room has their hands up. The ironic thing is when I look left and right, and I see agencies that my firm takes business from every day because they don’t deliver an awesome client experience. See, customer service is the verbiage that we used ten years ago. Customer service is the expectation. If you want to make yourself different, you have to deliver an awesome client experience.
An awesome client experience starts from the prospect phase through onboarding and, ultimately, to them becoming your client. So if you want to do that, focus with a narrow focus. Anybody can hunt with a shotgun; it doesn’t make sense. Be a sniper; hunt with a rifle and pick off precisely what you want your target to be. And I can promise you, and you will kill commercial insurance.
In the ever-evolving world of commercial insurance, marketing has become a critical lever for growth. Yet most agencies still struggle to understand what’s actually working. From websites that generate leads with no attribution to CRM systems that silo vital data, insurance agencies are often flying blind.
If you’re a commercial insurance producer trying to grow in the middle market, you’re probably aware that the old-school prospecting methods—cold calling hundreds of businesses, dropping off trinkets, hoping someone is “coming up on renewal”—are no longer enough. In today’s competitive environment, success isn’t about how many people you reach. It’s about reaching the right people at the right time with the right message.
Too many agents stop learning once they’ve earned their license. The bare minimum—meeting continuing education requirements—is not enough in today’s climate. Producers often resort to online forums, asking where they can complete CE hours “as quickly as possible.” This mindset directly impacts their ability to communicate complex subjects like reinsurance or risk modeling to clients in an understandable way. As a result, they struggle to retain accounts and close new business in an increasingly competitive market.
The problem? Too many producers are pitching too soon, to the wrong people, with nothing more than a quote to offer. This article walks through how to close more business by positioning yourself as a trusted advisor, selling Total Cost of Risk (TCOR) outcomes, and using a structured approach to differentiate at every stage of the sales process.
In the modern commercial insurance landscape, trust is no longer built solely through in-person meetings, networking events, or polished brochures. It’s earned digitally—often before a prospect ever takes your call. As sales dynamics shift and competition tightens, the producers who will thrive are those who understand one thing: educational content is the new handshake.
Most commercial insurance producers think of referral networks as an afterthought—something that might generate a lead or two if they attend enough events, shake enough hands, or stay active in their BNI chapter. But the producers who consistently dominate the middle market think differently. They treat referral networks like revenue engines, built with the same discipline as a sales pipeline, and they use those relationships not only to generate appointments but to recruit the next generation of elite producers.
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