It’s my favorite time of year: football season. Not this one or two goals a game silliness we saw in the World Cup (kidding, I actually like soccer). I’m talking about real football. And we are blessed with both the college and professional varieties that add so much color to fall weekends.

Even a rookie football fan knows that great players don’t always make a great team. How the players work together is the greatest predictor of success. In a game where the goal is to score more points than the other guy, there are plenty of great analogies to a successful insurance marketing plan.

1. Great teams plan to win and believe they can win

Great teams meet the standard in most phases of the game, and exceed it in a few. Those small advantages give them the edge for victory.

Do you believe that great service sets you apart from your competition? What, specifically, are you doing to provide great service? How are you providing service to people who aren’t your customers yet, in an effort to win their business? For many agencies, this means responding quickly to customer inquiries, being available during a claim, and seeking out the best rates and coverage. Unfortunately, these are base level expectations from clients that do little to differentiate. How can you go the extra mile to win that extra business?

“The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.” – Jimmy Johnson, Head Coach, Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins

2. Great teams practice and train

Can you imagine if professional football players showed up on Sunday to play without practicing during the week? Not only would they not be on the same page with their teammates, they wouldn’t be at their best physically or mentally. Great teams focus on training to perfect their plan. State-mandated CE credits are the bare minimum. Seek out sales training so your agents are flawless at converting online shoppers, cross-selling, and x-date re-engagement.

“The principle is competing against yourself. It’s about self-improvement, about being better than you were the day before.” –Steve Young, quarterback, San Francisco 49ers

3. Great teams execute on their plan and measure results

Now is a good time to confess that I’m a New England Patriots fan. Love them or hate them, they execute. They don’t get fancy or try to fake you out. They have made the playoffs 10 of the last 11 years by focusing on flawless execution.

The takeaway? Lack of execution causes agencies to start and stop marketing initiatives, resulting in wasted time and money. Commit to being a winning team and execute proven strategies to drive revenue.

“What this trophy stands for is the team. This is what it symbolizes. Not the guy who leads the league in punting, not the guy who’s got 15 sacks, not the guy who’s got 1,200 yards rushing. This represents the team. That’s the toughest, smartest, most confident team… in the end, the reason why you won is because you identified the situation, you heard the call, and you did your job. And that’s what execution is about. This game is about execution.” — Bill Belichick, head coach, New England Patriots

4. Great teams adapt when the plan has to change

Adaptability might be the most vital characteristic great teams and great agencies possess. Consider the following:

• “Neither Redbox nor Netflix are even on the radar screen as far as competition.” – Jim Keyes, Blockbuster CEO. Oops.
• In 1999, George Bell, CEO of Excite, declined an offer to buy Google for $750,000 because he didn’t think there was a future in search. You’ve heard of Excite, right?
• According to CEO George Fisher, Kodak “regarded digital photography as the enemy, an evil juggernaut that would kill the chemical-based film and paper business that fueled Kodak’s sales and profits for decades.”

Once-successful organizations that disappeared practically overnight are a dime a dozen. Don’t let new ways of engaging clients and customers give someone else the advantage. Adapt aggressively, and enjoy the rewards.

5. Great teams create a great culture and defend it

Great insurance agencies understand the value of organizational culture and go to great lengths to create and preserve it. Occasionally, this means letting go of a successful “lone wolf” producer to invest in a team player that raises the game of everyone they work with. This is critical, because ultimately, your culture determines who wants to do business with you.

“Instilling the right culture almost always takes time. And inevitably there will be some who balk against your standards. But, you must have the courage to confront and even remove the dissenters from your program, even though they might be highly talented. Ultimately, you must believe that your successful culture will attract, support, and retain the right talent and people, which will help you prevail and succeed in the long run.” – Bill Walsh, San Francisco 49ers head coach