What’s happening to quality time with customers?

The percentage of brokers saying they spend time directly with customers is starting to slip, Canadian Underwriter’s 2024 National Broker Survey finds.

While this year’s survey finds 71% of respondents say they spend ‘a meaningful amount of time working directly with customers in a producer capacity,’ that represents a five percentage-point decrease from 2023.

The 2024 percentage is also below levels seen in 2022 (75%), 2021 (74%) and 2020 (75%). What’s more, men say they’re able to spend less time with clients (69%) compared with women (76%).

Brokers with fewer than 16 years in the business are spending the most time with clients (79%) and veterans who’ve logged more than 30 years on task spend the least (69%).

“Be more knowledgeable of the clients needs,” says a male respondent with fewer than 16 years in the business. “Don’t wait for them to have to make a decision, provide them the answers to the questions they were going to ask in the future. Provide them the solution to their issue prior to them being forced to make one.”

From prospect, to customer

The emerging time crunch is problematic when you consider how brokers answer questions about how best to convert prospects into customers.

Their Number 1 response, with 82% saying the practice is highly beneficial, was ‘Engaging in a substantive dialogue about customers’ needs.’ That answer has consistently tracked above 80% over the past five survey years and peaked at 89% in 2020.

In a verbatim response, one veteran male respondent put it this way, “[Brokers need a] clear understanding of [the client’s] insurance history and needs to improve coverages and related understanding of claims controls.”

Another respondent with 30-plus years in brokerages lists these key skills: “Listening, understanding the client’s needs based on a specialized technical expertise for insuring a particular industry segment, and asking relevant and impactful questions instead of generic ones.

“Using our specialized knowledge and methods to differentiate what we do as brokers, and understanding how it is either common to, or different from, other distribution methods or competitors,” he adds.

Know your client

Beyond substantive discussions, 63% of respondents say doing some research on a prospect prior to the first meeting benefits business, and 56% say it’s important to tailor the sales approach to a customer’s age. Only 14% say it’s helpful to tout credentials or awards to win business.

Another key move? Pick up the phone! Fully 87% of 2024 survey respondents say rapid replies to customer inquiries will wow prospects. That’s a slip from 93% in 2023’s survey but the metric has remained solidly above 80% over the past five survey years.

“Fast response is the best way to convert prospects to clients,” says a woman at a larger firm who’s newer to the business. “They want to know they are valued.”

Adds a man at a large brokerage and with between-plus years in the business, “Customers expect quick responses and timely results. We call our clients back as soon as we are able upon receiving a request.”

Less popular options include responding to queries outside of normal business hours (50%), contacting prospects after hours (33%) and using teleconferencing tools like Zoom to interact with clients (23%).

Within the verbatim survey responses, male respondents seem more prone to advocate calling back after office hours – including several who say they’re open 24/7 – while women respondents are more apt to set some limits.