Know-How Exchange : Strategy

Why would you want to partner with another brokering firm? If a foreign firm wants to come looking for business in your country, they can simply open a rep office at a very low cost. Not totally legal, but business for them can be done through the internet with their headquarters. Moreover, what is the advantage to them, and to you, in getting into this kind of partnership? It can easily break and you risk losing your clients to them!

What I suggest you instead, is to grow through alternative channels other than coldcalling, affinity programmes and referrals. For example, you can engage in massive PR. Below some ideas.

- Write a newsletter to your client so that if you don't have the time to keep frequently in touch with them, at least it will seve as a reminder that your firm exists through out the year and not just one week before renewal date (make it interesting with useful contents, not just an advertisement of your services)

- Contact the local and national media (local and for-foreigners print media, trade publications, as well as radio and tv. Let them know that you can be their expert's voice when they need an opinion on the industry.

- Anytime you can piggyback on an event, come up with a different angle or an engaging idea and communicate it to the media.

- Come up with ideas that can generate a direct response. For example, offer one 1-year international medical policy premium as a price-draw to the people that will enquiry about medical insurance within a certain time frame (it's an investment, but if you publicize it properly, it will generate many leads, or at 'worse' a lot of brand awareness!!) Make sure to collect names, DOBs, telephone numbers and email addresses for follow up.

- If your website does not feature this already, have an enquiry form that allows prospects to ask for proposals online. You don't need to provide the proposal online, butat least you will have leads with an 80% conversion rate at little efforts. (A note to the website: keep it professional, clean and jeargon-free).

- Partner with local chambers of commerce and hospitals and become a public speaker. Organize events related to insurance but that do not focus on your company. It'll surely pay off immediately after.

- Launch affinity programmes with big alumni associations and chambers of commerce (1000+ members). If the insurer think it's worth, you'll be able to provide a discount of 10% on the premium and you will be building a lot of brand awareness (which at some point will turn into signed contracts).

Hope this helps. If you would like further advice, you can contact me on [Contact information deleted by staff].

Best of luck,
Davide Pasini

Like Davide Pasini, I do not understand how an international broking firm could add anything to your value proposition.

I think you should draw out your value chain so you are very clear about what you supply your clients and what your suppliers are providing to you.

Then have a look at what an international broking firm offers you and see how that fits with your value chain. I suspect you will find it does not offer any significant additional value.

Now think hard about what additional value you want to bring to your clients. What do you need to enable you to do that? I would suspect that rather than an international broking relationship (i.e. with an international broker) perhaps what you may need is a broking relationship with an international underwriter or two.

What do you think?

ChrisB