The Insurance Guys
Owner: Brian McNaughton
KW: Tell us about your business.
BM: We are an Independent Insurance Agency that has been open since October of 2005. I deal with personal lines, auto, home, boat, RV. We also do commercial insurance dealing with service, manufacturer, etc. I focus more on small businesses, like tree removal, older hotels, and mechanics. We also sell life insurance.
KW: Who is your target customer?
BM: Personal lines – people that are multi-car homeowners and have toys like boats and jet skis. Our niche is the younger people that are just coming into the purchasing market, and we really try to save them money. We want them to become customers for life with us – we can change insurance companies for them throughout their lifetime, but we would like them to stay customers with us.
KW: What has been the greatest impact of COVID-19 on your business?
BM: The limit on face-to-face interactions with clients has been the greatest impact on our business. We now have 2 clients come into the office, but previously had 20 per week.
KW: What are one or two actions you’ve taken to make a difference?
BM: Since people are working from home, they want to talk to us more. We have developed better listening skills and talk to them longer on the phone. I spend half of my day on the phone now. We also tuned up our skills on emails, since people use that more often.
KW: What is a mistake you’ve made along the way that other people can learn from?
BM: I learned a long time ago, when you get done doing a presentation in front of a client, if you weren’t successful with the outcome, you go back and digest it – figure out what caused it to not be a success. Was it a minor voice tone? Did I not respond quickly enough? Did we make an error and not correct it? Figure out what you can do to make it better. Then ask for forgiveness – don't just say you’re sorry. Another mistake: at the beginning, I was wasting my time buying internet leads from a lead generator. The quality of leads provided was very low. I figured out I needed to work more with referrals instead.
KW: What is inspiring to you today?
BM: I enjoy guiding the younger generations who are just starting out in life by working with them on insurance policies. It is rewarding to help the next generation. Especially since they’ll be pushing my wheelchair for me. Young people are always looking toward the future.
OFFER: Our referral program is: for qualifying quotes, we will give out a $10 papa murphy’s gift card.
The Insurance Guys
Owner: Brian McNaughton
509-532-0388
briantheinsuranceguy@gmail.com
By Kendra Wiiest