State Farm Business Plan

Jason Nowicki

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Building an Agency
o Agency Vision
o Investing in myself
o Capital investment
o Team Development

Hiring

Training
o Production Goals

Auto

Fire

Life

Health

Bank & Mutual Funds
o Business Goals
o Local Market

page 3
pages 4, 5
page 6
page 7
pages 8, 9
page 10
pages 11, 12
page 13
page 14
page 15
pages 16, 17
pages 18, 19
pages 20, 21

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AGENCY VISION

Our Mission is to promote a professional, knowledgeable, and upbeat office

environment built around meeting with clients daily to ensure we help them realize a
road map for lifes unexpected turns.

Our Vision is to aspire to be the first choice on the Greater Northwest Indiana (Lake
County) area for all your insurance and financial needs. My team and I will continue to
grow and strive to surpass your service expectations in every encounter while treating
you and your family with the respect you deserve. With integrity as our offices bedrock
principle we will honorably serve our clients and the community.

My Team will be licensed to sell all available non-securities products. They will
provide prompt and friendly client service with accuracy. Each team members top
priority will be becoming the customers first and best choice for insurance and financial
services.

My Office will be clean and professional in appearance. It will be a place of business

where our client and their families feel at home.

Aspirations to employ team members who will become dynamic State Farm Agents in
whatever community they choose.

Personal Core Value it all starts with integrity.

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INVESTING IN MYSELF
Leadership
o Bob McClellan State Farm Agency

Team leader in sales training

Found and hired new employee for the office who is a top producer

o Raffin Construction Company

Foreman in the construction layout division

Responsible for multiple carpenters to get the job done in a timely manner
o Robert A. Nowicki & Associates

Field Crew Chief

Lead draftsmen for the AutoCad Department
Responsible for overseeing 4 crews

Drive
o Bob McClellan State Farm Agency

Lead DAFO in raw new auto for 2011 (890 raw new auto)
Lead TICA front run for production in 2011 & 2012
Top 100 New Agency (Number 71)
60-70 hour work weeks for 2011 (Office is still open 7 days per week)
Lead team in sales since office opened (Averaged 65.42 Apps per month
overall)
Office made the Ambassador travel trip for 2011 (Level 1)

o Raffin Construction Company

Trained fellow carpenters on layout systems

Always hit our goals to complete a project

o Robert A. Nowicki & Associates

Made the company very profitable for many years

Dealt with clients on a regular basis

Make a Difference
o State Farm

Life insurance changes lives, I have seen it firsthand with deaths in my family
Disability insurance changes lives, from my Aunts disability issues which allowed
her to keep their house, due to having mortgage protection
Protect peoples golden years with State Farm Financial products instead of
having them invest with people that may turn out to be less than trustworthy

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o Money

Sponsor youth athletic programs

Youth hockey leagues
Youth golf leagues
Protect my familys future
Allow my son, niece, and nephew to attend any college they choose
Allow my family to have someone who can help them in times of great
financial need

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CAPITAL INVESTMENT
Startup capital
o Liquid Money $30,000 in savings

Fully committed to spending all $30,000

Lifestyle changes
o Time

Fully understand that an agency can take up as much as 60 to 70 hours per week
No Commitments other than family, agency, and success

o Monetarily

Our home has a minimal mortgage payment ($500 per month)

Monthly bills are minimal (Total monthly bills $2,150)
ZERO debt, other than student loans, and an auto loan

o Socially

Have a strong friend base that understands that I will be rarely seen my first two
years
Extremely strong family network of support to lean on

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TEAM DEVELOPMENT
Hiring
o Intensive job interviews

Three interviews

Dress will be evaluated

Speaking skills
Motivation
How early did they come
Prior experience
On the spot role play to sell life insurance
Commitment and reason for wanting job
Entire life of competition and drive will be evaluated
Personality profile

Draw from a pool of candidates from Enterprise Car Rental

Only hire sales elite members
o
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Employees understand their role before hired

Employees are taught basic sales techniques

Employees sales are tracked and recorded
Type A personalities
Long hours
Small compensation so they will be open to other jobs
Highly driven
Understand team concepts
Are moldable and trainable

Agree compensation is fair

Agree on the vision of the office
Align their goals with mine
Agree to take on specific role
Understand what MINIMUMS MUST BE MET

Desired skill sets

Highly ambitious
Willing to go extra mile
Ideally prior sales experience or experienced in dealing with the public
where your attitude can affect your pay (waiter/waitress)
A team player but highly competitive
Moldable

o Team member training

One full month before doors open

Twenty five hours a week

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o
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Competent on doing service work before doors open

o
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Will work at various agents offices

Understand NECHO and ABS
Understand service is how we keep our customers and also how
we get referrals

Understand the need for thoroughness

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Intensive role playing situations

Taught to overcome common objections
Employee training manual of thirty pages developed by myself
and other agents that are leaders in that product
Proper phone etiquette
Understand the need to develop a connection with each
customer

Correct app info

Correct procedural guidelines
Try to keep service emails and underwriting emails to a
minimum (never have a final request)

Allows for more time to sell

Understanding of why each product is important

Progression of being allowed to sell each product once they meet

minimum sales goals for other products

o Auto and fire

Then life and mortgage DI

Then health
Then bank
Then commercial

All team members will be Select Staff (P&C, L&H, Bank certified)

After two months team members will run IFRs for new customers
After nine months team members will help run IFRs for in book
customers

After twelve months at least one team member will be security licensed
o Team member roles

All team members will be producers

If you write a customer you will service that customer

Increases trust and sales opportunities

The team will be split into two shifts (Office will be open 7 days per week)

Shift A will work 8 AM to 4 PM

Shift B will work 12PM to 8PM
Team members will switch shifts every week

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o
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Shift B will help run/train the two cold callers who will be
working 5PM to 7PM Mon-Thurs
Team member success with how well the cold callers do will be
tracked

o Team member compensation

Each team member will start out at $30,000 plus benefits (group plan
level three medical, vision, dental) and bonus
Bonus will consist of a tiered structure
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Employee must write 25 policies before bonus is earned

If employee writes 50 or more policies he/she will receive a
bonus on all policies written
3 percent of premium for auto policy and an additional 2
percent once they renew (only one renewal commission)
3 percent for fire policy first year premium and an additional 2
percent once they renew (only one renewal commission)
First month premium for life insurance
First month premium for health insurance

Winning sub team shift leader will receive special bonus either
monetarily or extra time off
Team members will be given one vacation day for every month
they work to avoid burn out and additional days for exemplary
production
Team member reviews
30 day review
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90 day review
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Firm outlook on future raises

An overview of my vision for team member to become an agent

Six month review

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An outlook for progressing to sell other products

Make sure I am putting the team member in a position to
succeed

Raise could be given

Further evaluate team members goals
Prepare them to meet people that could help them along in
process of becoming an agent

1 year review
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If employee is ready, help him/her in steps of becoming an

agent
Let employee know where they stand in our business plan

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PRODUCTION

Minimum production goals per month to write 165 applications

o By each team member

31.33 raw new auto

15 fire policies

2 life policies

1 bank

1 health

1 mutual fund referral

Production produced by staff

Auto
Fire
Life
Bank
Health
Mutual funds

The agent
o Write at least fifteen products per month (I realize that as my systems get in
place, the agents sales role will fade back)

9 life

2 health

2 bank

2 mutual funds

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TOTAL PRODUCTION

Auto
o Year one

Three sales people that will write a minimum of 15 cars a month off
internet leads per person
They will each be given 120 internet leads per person each month
The average close ratio is 10 percent within State Farm and each
household has an average of 1.5 auto
o Goal will be 15 percent close ratio
o With a 8.33 percent close ratio lower than company average our
office would still produce 15 raw new auto per person off
internet leads
o 54 auto per month off internet leads if production goals
accordingly (company average of 10 percent not my goal of 15
percent)

Referrals from internet leads

o Ask each person to give us 5 names and numbers from their cell
phone of people that would be interested in saving money and
getting great service
o Ask at the point of sale for every auto policy sold
o 10 percent of referrals are written
o 50 percent of people will fill out the referral sheet from internet
leads leading into an additional 9 households and 13.5 raw new
autos from auto internet leads

Autos written from renters leads

o 15 autos from renters leads

Write 30 renters policies per month

50 percent of people who do renters do auto insurance
as well
o Mass Mailing through corporate

Send out 1,452 mailers every month, pave mailers

Call all working numbers associated with the pave mailers to follow up

Underserviced communities

Most individuals have never been given the State Farm service before

Reinforce presence in the community

Not competing with State Farm as much since most individuals in this
area believe State Farm is the most expensive company
Mail area my office is in
Raise brand awareness
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Write twenty households per month from mailing program

o Leads 360

Purchase a minimum of 10,000 aged leads per month

Much cheaper versus new leads

No longer being bothered by other insurance companies

Ability to make more phone calls

o 500 calls per team member per day
o Cold calling program (Implemented in month 6)

Call all internet leads that we have not written after they have accumulated for
two months

Ex-date system will consist of saving each quote and key pieces of
information about every quoted potential customer we did not write
o Reasons we did not write customer
o Their current company
o Their renewal date
o Anything unique about the customer that will help us establish
a relationship or at least let the customer know we have spoken
to them before
o Mail out quote 4 times a year that we originally quoted

Write 24 autos per month from cold calling
o Year two

Increase to 4 sales people

Increase internet leads by 150 per employee per month

Goal to write 100 raw new auto per month from internet leads

o Year four

Add an additional employee
Help with service and be a sales person
Keep internet leads at 150 per month per employee

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Fire insurance
o Year one

Write 25 fire policies per month from multi-lining off auto internet leads
All internet leads will have an in-home appointment to sign paperwork
and bring a home quote, if they are not able to come into office
Average of 70 percent of people bundle their auto and home for the
savings

Write 30 renters policies from renters leads
Buy 100 renters leads per month
Average close ratio of 30 percent for renters leads
o Less competition (less people buy them) and highly competitive
rates with State Farm

Referrals
6 fire policies from auto internet lead referrals
8 fire policies from renters lead referrals

Mass mailing
14 fire policies per month from my mass mailing program
o Year two

Heavily go after commercial business (Will go after Commercial in year 1, after
systems are in place)
Talk to commercial underwriter and find our most competitive
businesses to write
o Buy sales genie

Target these types of business with an aggressive cold
calling program

Call one hour per day 5-6PM for all employees
o Drop off literature to all local businesses every 3 months within
a 6 mile radius
Push heavily for referrals within that business community that we write

Write 12 fire per month off the cold calling program

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Life
o

Year one

Do IFRs for all new customers which means to try and do home visits for all new
business customers
Done by the Agent
To help keep defections low
To evaluate the customers needs
Go over now, later, or never money
o Help inform customers of our bank

Do IFRs for in-book customers

Conduct an IFR for all customers every two years

Have every customer sign a life acknowledgement if they do not have enough
life insurance in force with the L I F E needs analysis
Make sure the customers know the purpose of term and permanent
insurance
Make sure all customers have a small permanent life insurance policy in
force outside of their employment

Have a presence in the community
Life awareness seminars twice per month in local churches

Birthday cards mailed out
Life insurance quote inside
Disability insurance quote inside
Long term care quote inside

Write 15 life policies off home visits for internet leads
More than half of State Farm life insurance customers bought life
insurance within 6 months of going with State Farm
Year two

Mail every customer 4 times a year who does not have life insurance
Mail all customers who do not have permanent policies outside of their
job
Mail every customer who has a child, a 20 and 30 year term return of
premium
Mail a 30 year term policy for every person purchasing a new home, to
protect the mortgage
Mail every newly married couple life quotes and visit them to reassess
their needs

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Health
o Year one

Do IFRs for all new customers which means to try and do home visits for all new
business customers
Done by the Agent
To help keep defections low
To evaluate the customers needs

Do IFRs for in-book customers

Conduct an IFR for all customers every two years

Go after self employed individuals
Particularly construction companies
Have family connections with many small businesses that are in the
construction industry
o Go over Assurant plans
o Go over State Farm Hospital Income
o Great candidates for Long Term Care insurance
Write 4 mortgage disability income off households written from mailers
and internet leads

Have community presence
Go over the need for having at least a basic health insurance plan
Short term Assurant policies for out of work individuals
Hospital Income policies for all new born children

Birthday cards mailed out
Disability insurance quote
Long Term Care quote
o Year two

Mail every household twice per year to make sure they know we offer health
insurance
Make all parents aware that we offer Hospital Income and how it can
benefit parents with active children
Make sure all people who have high deductibles know how a Hospital
Income policy can benefit them

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Bank and Mutual Funds

o Year one

Do IFRs for all new customers which means to try and do home visits for all new
business customers
Done by the Agent
To help keep defections low
To evaluate the customers needs

Do IFRs for all in-book customers

Conduct an IFR for all customers every two years
Help evaluate customers ever changing needs
o If high school age children, make parents aware of the State
Farm student Visa and the perks
o Write 2 student Visa accounts per month

All customers adding on a car or changing vehicles must come into the office
Try to refinance the current loan with State Farm Bank
o Free gap insurance with any State Farm vehicle loan
1-2 vehicle loans per month

Every over the phone payment
Mail out receipt along with another business line quote
Ask if they would like to put that on their State Farm Rewards Card
4 credit cards per month
o Lower income individuals usually do not have a financial advisor
Look to the Agent as the professional on what they should do
Large opportunity for retirement ROTH IRAs and 401Ks
Opportunity for auto loans and home refinance

Ask people where their retirement is
Ask how they decided on that plan
o Did they check a box at work that the HR department person
said was the most common

The HR person isnt licensed and trained for retirement
planning, how do they know what is best for you?
Offer to help them go over every year their 401Ks through work
o Explain where they are getting their money from
o Explain what stocks they have and what return they are getting
Allow for large roll overs down the road
o Over the phone payments

Ask if they would like to put it on their State Farm Rewards card
Explain the benefits
o Every PAC
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Ask if they would like it to come out of their free State Farm checking account

Goal is 2 checking and savings accounts per month for the office
For all commercial customers

Set up Simple plans and Sep plans
ROTH IRA seminars for their employees
o Educate employees on the need for life insurance and proper
retirement planning

State Farm business credit cards

Set up checking accounts for all employees with State Farm

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BUSINESS GOALS

6 months before opening

o A comprehensive training program will be developed

Role Playing

Training manual

Office shadow days set up
o A list of prospective employees

Have an A team through C team of twelve people

Have a pool to tap into to hire future employees

Have an employee referral network in place
o A firm grasp of my fixed expenses

Have a general understanding of my variable expenses
Including compensation and bonus
o An in depth marketing plan in place

Including where

Including what type of people

Including how often

Including a backup plan to reverse the course of marketing if a plan is not going
according to schedule

60 days after opening

o Have a general idea of what employees are producing and who are not

What can I do to fix who is not producing

Are they fixable or should I go in another direction

Have a backup in place and ready to go

o An understanding what motivates my team

Know each employees needs and how I can meet them

What they are doing to accomplish their long term goals

Have they bought into my system
o Be aligned with my AFO goals for the year

Produce at least 1.5 times more than what is the goal of production for all
agents

Contribute to make out AFO a leader in the State

Share ideas and what is working to produce non demand products

Share ideas on employee training
o On pace to finish a top 20 new agent in the country (Top 100 Agent)

Make the Great Lakes Leadership club in at least 3 categories

Make the Ambassador travel trip within the first 6 months of being open

Year one
o Have a well developed well thought out training program

Include a company culture of success and competition
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Include a fair benefit package

Have employees that have bought into my vision for the agency
o Contribute to make our AFO zone leading

Lead zone for at least one area of production

Introduce innovative marketing ideas

Have open door policy to all fellow agents
o Reinvest into my agency

Employee compensation raises

More marketing dollars
o Change marketing plan to change money into more effective avenues

Track how much more money is being reinvested

Know a firm return on investment for each marketing avenue

Year two
o Have a training system that is fruitful without large role of agent

Have interchangeable staff functions

Staff that is able to train as well as myself

Have a culture of success in the office
o Contribute to AFO success

Top AFO in the State

Most growth

Most desirable
o Agency that is a model

Talk to others about successful systems

Ambassador travel level 3

High employee morale
o Highly profitable agency

Higher paid employees in AFO

Net $100,000 dollars

Year three
o Have a training system that is fruitful without large role of agent

Have interchangeable staff functions

Staff that is able to train as well as myself

Have a culture of success in the office

Produce a new State Farm agent every year
o Reinvest in my community

Sponsor youth teams
o Highly profitable agency

Higher paid employees in AFO

Net $140,000 dollars

Have at least one employee going into agency

Ambassador travel Exotic
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LOCAL MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

Southwest Suburban ( 60463, 60462, 60477)

o Population 125,985

Demographics
87.33% Caucasian
2.30% African American
5.63% Hispanic
3.60% Asian
0.07% Other

Ages
Under 18
20.67%
65+
20.03%
o Median age 45 years old

Room to grow agency as community ages

Household makeup
62.17% married
22.53% never married
0.60% separated
8.63% widowed
6.07% divorced
o Large percentage of families with greater needs for insurance

compared to single individuals

Median income $77,566.67

>$10,000

2.63%

$10,000-$20,000

4.87%

$20,000-$30,000

7.83%

$30,000-$40,000

7.73%

$40,000-$50,000

6.30%

$50,000- $60,000

7.77%

$60,000-$75,000

11.40%

High school grad

89.97%

Bachelors

31.77%

Grad/professional

11.83%

$100,000 +
3.00%
o Low unemployment 2.73%

Good number of people with enough net worth to keep
a low lapse can ratio
Education Level

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Joliet (60431, 60585, 60446)

o Population 226,694

Demographics

59.23% Caucasian
10.83% African American
22.80% Hispanic
5.27% Asian
0.13% Other

Ages

Under 18

62.13% married

>$10,000

2.47%

$10,000-$20,000

5.00%

$20,000-$30,000

8.17%

$30,000-$40,000

7.67%

$40,000-$50,000

9.40%

$50,000- $60,000

9.03%

$60,000-$75,000

12.40%

High school grad

85.83%

Bachelors

23.93%

Grad/professional

5.93%

32.17%

65+

6.97%
o Median age 32 years old

Room to grow agency as community ages
Household makeup
25.16% never married
1.00% separated
4.80% widowed

6.90% divorced
o Large percentage of families with greater needs for insurance
compared to single individuals
Median income $72,170

$100,000 +
7.43%
o Low unemployment 4.93%

Good number of people with enough net worth to keep
a low lapse can ratio
Education Level

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