One of my favorite movie lines is from Jaws. Sheriff Brody is shoveling fish guts overboard as bait when we see the immense shark pop out of the water for the first time. Everyone else is oblivious as the Sheriff slowly backs away, clearly in total fear. He then says in monotone: “you’re gonna need a bigger boat.”

As insurance brokers wake up to the fact that PPACA is cemented in place, many are concerned as to what the future holds for the industry. The reality is Romney would have been hard pressed to repeal without a friendlier Senate. The shark popped out of the water when the bill was originally passed. So as 2013 approaches, how does a broker strategically plan for the future?

Step 1: It’s all about attitude

The first part to examine in your firm is attitude. To succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure. It’s easy to focus on the revenue that most likely will disappear with the changes, but what about the opportunity as brokers who are unable to adapt fall to the wayside? Your potential prospect list has increased a hundredfold.

Get excited. I recently saw an estimate of the number of brokerages estimated to be in the market in 2018. The total number of firms decreases, however there is explosive growth among those remaining. The number of firms over $5 million in revenue doubles.

Step 2: What’s your story?

The second part to think about is your plan. Sit down and think about why people work with you. If it is simply the transaction of insurance, then it is time to create the weapons in your arsenal. The boys on the Orca used rifles, pistols, poisoned bullets, spear guns, floating barrels and oxygen tanks to battle the shark. You need to look at your offering and create your story.

Employers find value in wellness plans, employee benefit statements, legislative updates, HR information, etc. Right now, every employer is interested in help on navigating HCR. The first broker to create The PPACA Compliance Package will have a big leg up on the competition and have a service employers are willing to pay for. (Hint: much of that can be found at your fingertips in Broker Briefcase.)

Step 3: Start executing

Now that you have your story, you need to change how you do things. Here are some ideas:

1. Get your opportunity in front of you and understand how large it is. Make sure your database of prospects is complete and ranked for prioritization. If not, hire an intern and get it done.
2. Develop your battle plan. Create the story and make sure it can be told well by everyone. This means mocking presentations. Yes, it is uncomfortable and feels weird but if you are past the stage of wanting to improve yourself then perhaps a different career might make sense. No one is interested in how long your business has been around. The presentation needs to be focused on the prospect and their needs and how you are uniquely poised to help.
3. Become the best you can be. Mock asking for money. It is a new day. Brokers will need to move to fee-for-service for a much of their revenue. Get used to sitting up tall, looking the prospect in the eye and telling them what you are worth. There are fee-for-service menus, pricing suggestions, consultant agreements and more in Broker Briefcase. Tailor to your services and become confident in the value you provide.
4. Open communication lines so you can react quickly. Have weekly sales meetings. The environment is rapidly changing. The shark is circling the boat. You need to make sure everyone is on the same page and you are constantly adapting to win. Share success stories and create a culture of growth and winning. Again, revenue will drop initially, but growth-minded firms will rapidly make it up (plus more) with new sources.
5. Make your community sit up and take notice of who you are. Have prospects glad they met you. Be a source of quality information and become a trusted adviser. There are many onerous regulations coming and you can assist business owners. Become known as the place to go to for answers. Get in front of chambers of commerce, run webinars and spend every marketing dollar you have promoting your firm as the market leader in navigating clients through PPACA.
6. Become a growth engine. Walk the walk, and talk the talk of an organic growth agency. I wrote a blog about the 11 indicators to increase agency performance. Evaluate them and communicate moving forward that these will be reviewed. If you are not prepared to measure your success at winning business, then the simple fact is you will not be good at it.

Bottom line: Build the bigger boat

I love working with insurance brokers. They are capitalistic, entrepreneurial people that are driven to help employers navigate through rough waters. If you watch the movie Jaws, as soon as the shark showed its face you see frenetic action, hard work and a crew motivated by a single mission. Many brokers will sink with PPACA. The ones who adapt, accept the challenge and get excited about the opportunity ahead will kill the shark. Presidents will come and go, but no one will take away the spirit, hard work and dedication of an insurance broker. Build the bigger boat and sail to prosperity.