WHINS Insurance Agency: Crushing the customer experience
By Stacy Stevens
Hi. If we haven’t met, I’m marcomm director at TrustedChoice.com. If we have (Elevate 2017, anyone?), then you already know I’m the curious type.
After hearing about an Encino-based indie agency having success writing several large commercial policies referred from TrustedChoice.com, I had questions. WHINS Insurance Agency cofounder Joel Wagner generously agreed to share his story with me…and all you curious IA types too.
What’s your agency story?
My cousin, Darren Hasson, and I started the agency in 2010. After many uninspiring years of working in IT for a global entertainment company and Darren’s experience at a large insurance company, we wanted to build the kind of company we would want to do business with.
We chose insurance, and with little background in running a business or connections in the industry, we found mentorship everywhere—from a past president of the Big I to YouTube videos to insurance networking groups. Everyone needs a hand in life, and from the start, we experienced the generosity and camaraderie of the IA community.
Our first big challenge was getting carrier appointments, so we joined the Big I early on and quickly learned the benefit of using services to drive referrals, referrals, referrals.
What makes your agency unique?
I know that saying ‘our people’ isn’t unique, but we’ve built our team based on attitude first, licensing second. Our feeling is that a customer can buy insurance anywhere, but they can’t get Karen, Steve, Yelena, Steven, Morris or Stella anywhere but here (evidence below)!
We view people as our most precious resource, so putting clients first drives everything we do. From onboarding clients with a friendly welcome kit to a referral program that doubles our agency’s quarterly contributions to select charities are just a few small ways we show our appreciation.
Why are you a TrustedChoice.com subscriber?
We joined the Big I early on and we’ve been big supporters since. Getting involved in the TrustedChoice.com referral program made sense to us, and it sure beat going with an unknown. Three years on, we’ve found that people connecting to us through TrustedChoice.com are ready to buy. And because we write a bit of everything, the types of referrals we get are a good fit for our agency.
What do you feature on your digital agency profile?
Our approach is keeping our TrustedChoice.com profile personal and friendly. We feature a team photo, visitors are greeted with “’cause everyone wins at WHINS” at the top of our profile and we also put a spotlight on client reviews.
How do you field incoming requests from TrustedChoice.com?
We’re hungry, so we never let emails sit. We recognize that a person has gone online and is waiting for a response, and we don’t want to leave them hanging. That means there’s little, if any, delay from when a request comes in to getting a prospect connected with a producer.
What’s your referral appetite?
First off, we always start with yes. A lead from TrustedChoice.com often has had the preferred market turn them down. Because we have many relationships with many carriers, we’re willing to do the legwork to place business. We welcome unique requests, even if it’s a longer sales process, so we don’t weed out referrals if they aren’t a one-and-done, 48-hour turnaround. For example, we recently had a machine learning business based in Hong Kong contact us via TrustedChoice.com, looking for coverage for both its offshore and California-based offices. It took us 3 or 4 months to write the account, ultimately placing the California portion of the business. While there may be a longer sales process, it pays off in revenue and, often, more personal referrals.
What types of business have you written from TrustedChoice.com recently?
Our most successful account so far was writing a janitorial firm that had been with the same insurance company for 20 years. The carrier no longer had an appetite for the market, so we picked up the non-renewed business that became a $100,000 account. We also recently wrote a $50,000 premium on a Workers’ Comp policy for a string of fitness centers, a package for tech company that creates software for smart appliances, and a $10,000 property premium for an outfit that fixes tractors. Like I said, we like unique.
In addition to your TrustedChoice.com profile, what other digital tools do you use to build relationships?
Early on, we had clients leaving unsolicited reviews on Yelp, so we’ve had 7 years of organic growth and well over 500 requests that have found us through that social account alone. Facebook is the place we share personal stories about our agency, and we feature reviews from a variety of sources on our website.
Below: A peek inside WHINS fun and informative guide created to welcome new clients.
Any other thoughts you’d like to share with your peers?
Agents today keep hearing they need to adapt to new ways of networking. It’s important to keep in mind that, regardless of the digital tools an agency uses, it doesn’t matter how a referral finds you, it’s the personal connection they make with you that matters most.