Every day we see how easy it is to misunderstand someone, whether in our professional or personal life. Communication truly is key when working on building relationships. Effectively communicating one’s needs in a way that comes across clearly is crucial. Yet, not everyone knows how. It isn’t something you are born with, but something you have to continually work on throughout your life.

To understand the importance of communicating effectively, think of these facts from FEMA’s “Effective Communication” course:

• The average worker spends 50% of his or her time communicating.

• Business success is 85% dependent on effective communication and interpersonal skills.

• Forty-five percent of time spent communicating is listening.

• Writing represents 9% of communication time.

• One-fourth of all workplace mistakes are the result of poor communication.

• A remarkable 75% of communication is nonverbal.

Customer service should be the #1 concern for everyone in your agency. Most people agree with that statement, but you can’t provide great customer service without effective communication.

An agent’s goal is selling the agency’s products and services to the client, but are you communicating with them about all of the exposures they aren’t covered for currently? Do you document what you have discussed? Are you protecting your agency by doing all of this?

Offering adequate protection to your client. You should try to meet with your clients at least once a year at renewal time, if not more frequently. When you meet with them, make sure to ask what has changed in both their business operations and their home life, even if you are not currently reviewing all coverages with them.

You would be surprised how much can change, even in a small town. For instance, your client could be looking at expanding their business operations or building a home. This not only leads you into a selling opportunity but also keeps you informed of what your clients’ plans are for the future. This also shows that you want to provide the proper coverage while they make changes.

Also, while you are reviewing their coverages, explain all of their exposures—completely. Go into detail regarding what they do and don’t have coverage for currently, and what you would be able to offer to adequately provide them the best comprehensive insurance policy to cover their exposures and needs.

Having an insurance checklist has helped our agency make sure we aren’t missing a potential exposure ourselves. The insured and the producer sign the form and we keep it on file. Not only could this be a selling opportunity in rounding out your accounts, but your agency is also protected by having offered the coverages that your clients may need. Also, your clients will know their exposures and be able to make an informed decision on how they would like to protect their assets.

Producers updating CSRs of client meetings. After meeting with a client, the producer should discuss that meeting with the CSR. This keeps the CSR informed of any changes that the client discussed with the producer. It also keeps the CSR informed about the entire account so that when he or she is speaking to the client, the CSR is knowledgeable about what could be changing or what has already taken place. The client and CSR can complete what is needed at that point which saves the insured time and reflects the agency’s professionalism.

Documentation. It is important to have a good documentation system set up and utilized in your agency management system. However, it is just as important for everyone in the agency to use this system in the same way. You should document every conversation and meeting you have with your client so that every staff member will know what is going on with the account.

It will also help in case the client calls to see if a change was made. If the conversation that took place was adequately documented, it will help in recalling that conversation. Proper documentation can also assist the agency in an E&O case. The agency then can submit to the court those records that are date- and time-stamped by the agency management system.

Loss control for clients. We recommend several types of loss control meetings or training videos for our clients to help them avoid losses when possible—whether it be defensive driver training, safety talks, first-aid response, or any of the other programs tailored to their specific operation. Don’t most of those revolve around communication? The majority of these involve more communication and interaction in the training. What your clients communicate to their employees is just as important as how they communicate to the producer or agency.

Changes in agency operations. Most agencies keep reviewing their operations to see what they can change to make their processes more efficient. During this time, it is best to keep in mind that most of the day-to-day operations are handled by your CSRs. If you communicate the agency’s future with the CSRs, they will be able to contribute their ideas and make the transition smoother. Two-way communication shows that you do care about how the CSRs feel about the changes and the vision you have for the agency.

One agency, several locations. Our agency has several different branches in the same region of the state. We operate each branch in a similar way, but we have found that communication is important as each branch operates a little differently. It is vital to keep all locations on the same page, not only from an E&O point of view, but from the standpoint of being able to assist and fill in for staff while they are away.

Some say: “The quality and effectiveness of your communication is your key to success.” I truly believe this. Every time something occurs on an account, I inform the producer or the producer informs me. It helps not only in saving us a tremendous amount of time, but it helps make the insurance process easier for the client.