How do you compete with Farm Bureau and State Farm in rural areas

Judyinfinity · 08-19-2008, 12:13 PM

I am a captive agent with AGLA and am looking for ideas on how to compete with the branded companies in my rural area like State Farm and Farm Bureau for Life Insurance and Annuities. The office I work out of is the home office, but I have no agency; therefore, I have to create my own.
I have driven thousands of miles, stopping by and introducing myself to business owners in multiple counties.
I am looking for a more value added approach (I also just pick up the phone book and call everyone in the yellw pages for that area) I have sent many appointments this way and have made sales, but are there more efficient ways of prospecting that can be more productive?
Your suggestions are welcomed!
Thanks

Judyinfinity · 08-19-2008, 02:01 PM

Anyone???

fastrack1 · 09-17-2008, 11:33 AM

I'm a State Farm agent, so I'm glad to see that no one has any suggestions on how to compete against us!!!

g-squared · 02-01-2009, 12:56 AM

I think you just have to keep doing what you are doing. You are never going to "out-brand" big companies that have name recognitions and that spend millions of dollars on advertising their brand.

Is there some feature of your company or your personal service that differentiates you from SF or Farm Bureau?

Turn State Farm's strengths into weaknesses. For example, will your clients get the same personalized service at State Farm (where they may be one of hundreds or thousands of clients in an agency) as they do from you? Make people think...when's the last time they actually met with their agent (not his staff) in person and reviewed their coverages? When's the last time the SF agent came to visit them?

When I was first starting my agency, I often referred to us as being "The Fastest Growing Insurance Agency in the Western Suburbs". No way to prove or disprove this....but in my first year, we grew at an infinite rate, in my second year we grew by 100%, in my third year by 50%, fourth year by 33%. I glommed on to the fact that one reason people did business with State Farm or Allstate (the two big, branded competitors whose home offices are in my backyard) was because they thought lots of other people were also doing business with those companies, and people like to follow the crowd. So, I made it sound as though there were a "crowd" of people doing business with me, too.

patch36 · 02-01-2009, 09:25 AM

If folks are buying State Farm or Farm Bureau Life or Annuities, it is because nobody is giving them other options.

I can see a problem if you are competing with them for P&C, but Life and Annuities are not their strong points.

*STIBROKER@AUSTIN.RR.COM* · 02-01-2009, 09:49 AM

Ride up to your appointment on a cow.......

patch36 · 02-01-2009, 01:30 PM

...and milk it, and offer them cream for their coffee. FYI, You will have to skim it off the top of the milk., but you should already know that if you are working the rural market.

1manshow · 02-02-2009, 03:29 PM

Do you offer "extra value"? If you can't list at least five things you're offering that state farm isn't, mr prospect probably won't see you as "value added"

For us it was cultivating referrals, gathering client testimonials, client newsletters, much more nurturing of client relationships,etc.... and having good pricing all in conjunction with lots of hard work, then we could provide the "proof" to our prospects....same stuff your competitors may be doing already

scottinaustin · 07-23-2009, 05:36 PM

I'm with State Farm in TX...here we're not super competetive in rural areas

Norwayguy · 07-24-2009, 11:43 AM

I would explain to my prospects that Both State Farm and Farm Bureau are excellent companies that specialize in P&C, However like any business you have an area that you specialize in and for State Farm and Farm Bureau that area is not Life insurance and Annuities. If they already have a policy with these companies offer to review it side by side with them with one of your competetive products...My last case where a client had a State Farm policy we discussed how the face amount (only 50K) and term length (5year) did not meet their life insurance needs, the client agreed but told me that was all she could afford. I mentioned that in this area State Farm is not as competetive as other companies and we where able to doulbe her coverage and guarantee the rate for 20 years and still save her some money.

ginnajohns · 07-25-2009, 03:58 AM

Yes i was also looking for the same topic

xrac · 07-25-2009, 03:51 PM

Use this:

Rankings of companies based upon claim paying practices.

Top three to avoid are: Hartford, State Farm, and Allstate

"FBIC Ranks Insurers Records To Pay Or Deny Legitimate Claims"

GreenSky · 07-26-2009, 11:30 AM

I didn't know that being the biggest (I'll take your word for it) means that State Farm is the best. I don't do P&C any longer, but in the heatlh insurance world in CA, Blue Cross has the most Medicare supplements. Becuse they're the biggest, are they the best.

A 70 yr. old in Los Angeles is paying $221 for their Plan F. Same plan with Aetna is $171. Blue Cross has far more enrolled than Aetna. Which company would you choose.

I realize there may be more promises made with P&C. But in my case, State Farm would cost over $1,000 per year more than my current auto/homeowner company.

My mother was in an accident where the other party had Allstate. Under your definition of quality, they certainly are big and therefore a company to work with. They delayed the court date for so long that ultimately she dropped the case. Why? They waited her out until she had a stroke which caused her to lose her ability to talk. Ask me how happy I am with Allstate.

State Farm is a fine company but if I sold P&C again I guarantee that I could find enough reasons to sell against you. If the price is the same then you have an advantage. But State Farm is not known for low rates. The perception of paying claims well works only until you are priced higher than a pospect is willing to pay.

Interesting discussion.

Rick

Newby · 07-26-2009, 03:53 PM

When a company is as big as State Farm, they are going to have a LOT of people that love them and a LOT of people that hate them.

The way you compete with them is to find the ones that hate them and sell them first. Then if you need to go after the ones that love them you learn all your competitive advantages and take a swing at them that way.

You win some you lose some.

I was a State Farm client for 15-years. I always paid my premiums on time and never haad any claims. I thought I was real satisfied and you couldn't have sold me very easily.

Then within a couple of years they did 3-things that pissed me off. I dropped them and would never use them again at any price.

If you would have approached me at the wrong time, i would have been hard to sell. If you approached me a yeaar later, I would have been an easy sell.

That's how it goes.

xrac · 07-26-2009, 04:33 PM

Originally Posted by Newby

When a company is as big as State Farm, they are going to have a LOT of people that love them and a LOT of people that hate them.

The way you compete with them is to find the ones that hate them and sell them first. Then if you need to go after the ones that love them you learn all your competitive advantages and take a swing at them that way.

You win some you lose some.

I was a State Farm client for 15-years. I always paid my premiums on time and never haad any claims. I thought I was real satisfied and you couldn't have sold me very easily.

Then within a couple of years they did 3-things that pissed me off. I dropped them and would never use them again at any price.

If you would have approached me at the wrong time, i would have been hard to sell. If you approached me a yeaar later, I would have been an easy sell.

That's how it goes.

Me too Newby. My SF agent was a personal friend and I had all my personal auto insurance with SF. Then a young kid in a Ford Mustang hit one of my business trucks. It was the kid's fault and his insurer SF. I wanted a replacement OEM bumper because the truck was less than 2 years old . SF would not do it and wanted to put after market. We got into a pissing contest and I had to go. I talked to my agent and he could do nothing. I got what I wanted through subrogation but SF made me so mad that I dropped my personal coverage. I still like the agent but SF will be the last one I insure with.
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Originally Posted by Caliban

Touch a nerve there Sparky? Gotta throw up some obscure survey from a fringe insurance grip-site? You make it sound so official though--like it is a real survey or something. I know it must be hard sometimes being an independent trying to compete against State Farm, but you look weak and petty throwing that up on the thread.

Here's what you REALLY need to understand: State Farm is the largest home insurer in the country. State Farm is the largest auto insurer in the country too. We insure one out of five homes in the country. Same with cars. The freaky thing is there are a couple states we aren't in, and some areas where we are below that 20% penetration. So that means, in many other metro areas, we insure more like 1 out 4. In my area it is 1 out of 3. When you are that big, you are an easy target for frivolous lawsuits and dirtbags looking for a big payday. If State Farm owes, it pays. If we don't owe, we won't pay--even if someone gets a big shot attorney with a big phone book ad.

State Farm has the resources to fight fraudulent and frivolous claims--smaller carriers grind them down to a settlement and move on and chalk it up to the cost of doing business because they don't want to spend more fighting it than the settlement costs. Do we make mistakes? Of course--every carrier does. But because we are so big, if we even fart in front of a client it is on a 20/20 episode. So the extra scrutiny we get makes it so that every sin is exposed.

The bottom line is, when many consumers decide who they want to protect their homes, they chose the company they trust the most to be there when they need it--not some obscure carrier who is a subsidiary of another company that is owned by another company whose parent company makes toasters. (I stole the toaster line from another thread--an homage to Greenman or Legion or one of those dudes).

Since I don't sell P&C I don't know how it touches a nerve. It was something I saw posted elsewhere lately and consider it fodder for his canon. That was what he was looking for. Your post makes me think someone else may be a little touchy. Seems I also remember some bad press for SF over New Orleans.

xrac · 07-26-2009, 10:26 PM

Originally Posted by Caliban

Touche Xrac dude! A hit, a very palpable hit. You caught me falling into "be true to your school" babble. I was going all "we got spirit, yes we do!" on the thread and that was silly.

But, in all fairness to your retort, if you do some research, you will see just how impactful State Farm was after Katrina--especially compared to other insurers who rely on independent claims adjusters (hired guns) to do their adjusting and have no Catastrophe Team to role out when the sh*t really hits the fan. For everyone bitching on TV that State Farm wasn't going to pay for their home that washed away in a water surge (get a flood policy dude) there were thousands who thanked God they went with State Farm. There I go again man! I guess I am not as much of a malcontent as my AFE says I am . . .

Back on serve though. I hope this is a nugget for the thread--it has sort of been stated already, but I want to drive it home. The best advice for the dude trying to compete with State Farm is to do what the best State Farm agents do WHEN THEY HAVE TO COMPETE WITH OTHER STATE FARM AGENTS: make the comparison all about YOU bro, not the companies involved. Why should they buy from YOU. Forget the spec sheet on the company and policy minutia. What are they getting from YOU. How will YOU be different than every other relationship they have had with a plaid jacketed insurance jockey? Are you a dude who's got their back? A dude who explains all this jargon to them? A dude who first asks what is most important to them and then takes care of it?

If the prospect is some data wonk who just wants to make a spread sheet of policy differences, what does he need you for anyway? He'd just buy it off the internet. You want to bring in business from prospects who are coming to you, FOR YOU. (But then you gotta be that dude you claim to be . . .)

Say, "Here's why new clients come to me" and follow it up with five moving reasons. Then say, "Here's why clients STAY with me" and do the same. But, again, you gotta be that dude. If you can walk that walk, and make it clear that referrals are a cost of doing business with a caring dude like you, you will lay waste to the inferior salesmen who just rattle off product jargon. Plus you protect your book of business from dudes like me who come creeping around your back step trying to take your best clients. (Why WOULD they want to come with me when they have a sweet dude like you taking care of their assets?)

Caliban, I have read enough of your posts to know that you are SF through and through. Nothing wrong with that just an observation. Personally based upon what I have learned on this forum and observed I don't think SF is quite the company today it ONCE WAS.