When I started in the insurance industry 35 years ago as a producer, our agency advertised low cost, low down payment auto insurance. When those calls came in, whoever was available got that lead. I took 0 of those calls because that was not my ideal customer, even though we had just adopted a 6-month-old baby and I could have used the commission. But I knew my ideal customer was a landlord, as I was one and was involved in the local real estate investor organization.
Since I opened my insurance agency from scratch 22 years ago, that has been our focus – the landlord real estate community. At this point I get calls week after week from the clients I want, and when people ask for recommendations on who to contact in this niche, my name always comes up. Here are my thoughts on how I’ve built my niche, and tips on starting your own.
My Niche – Real Estate
About 33% of our book-of-business is now landlord policies, and it keeps growing and growing. When a real estate investor buys a property, they don’t just stop at one—they buy 4 more, 7 more, 10 more properties. Another unique thing about this particular niche is that there is little to no service work. Aside from the occasional billing issue or change of mortgagee, the phones just don’t ring as often as they would at an auto–heavy agency. Plus, landlords talk to each other all the time, so the referrals stay constant.
In addition, most of our insurance companies pay 20%, making it a higher paying niche than auto insurance. We probably average 25-30 new policies a month just in this niche alone, and then we add their auto, homeowners, and umbrella policies.
Creating a Group of Experts
My very good friend, who owned 22 properties himself, ran our location real estate investor group for about 20 years (I worked the member signup table every meeting). Upon his retirement 10 years ago, he handed the group over to me. In addition to monthly meetings (about 200 members now) I started a Facebook group as well, which now has over 1,600 members.
We bring in a speaker every month to provide education—it could be an attorney, hard money lender, 1035 Exchange expert, real estate management company, or an insurance expert (me!). With a small annual membership fee to cover costs, it is very inexpensive for landlords to join and get access to a number of peers, experts, and resources. Not to mention every meeting brings in several new clients for the agency, if not more.
Finding Your Niche
Try to find your own niche because as the saying goes, “the riches are in niches.”Maybe it’s not landlords like mine (I happen to think it’s a great one), but it could be contractors, trucking, high-net-worth and restaurants. See where your clients are coming from, look to see what specific policies you write 6 or more of (dentists,anyone?), and develop your own niche market. It really makes you the go–to person when others are seeking an expert in a particular field. A niche could also be your church community, your gated community, the PTA you belong to…it really can be whatever you are involved with that you have a passion for and are knowledgeable about!
Facebook groups are a good place to start gathering an audience in your demographic. In my Facebook group, I am the only admin so I can control who can join and participate. I don’t want scammers, fake profiles, or even salespeople that always are selling, selling, selling instead of offering good information. Realtors use this platform to post their listings and open houses, and mortgage brokers post the current interest rate and qualifications for a borrower.
You have to identify the pain point in your particular niche, or an area where many people need expert advice. It usually isn’t difficult to become the “expert” in your niche because most of your competition are generalists that write anyone who calls their office—which means they’re not competition for a specific market.
I hope this article gets you thinking about where you can build a niche market for yourself. If this subject interests you and you want to discuss further, you can find me on LinkedIn and Facebook. I am always available for a conversation. I truly hope you find as much success as I have in your own niche!
Author
Tom Larsen, Chief Encouragement Officer (CEO)
Larsen Insurance
Williamsville, NY
