Here at Symmetry, remote life insurance sales are the norm for our agents who work with clients nationwide. That means remote workspaces, virtual client meetings, and Zoom meetings… lots of Zoom meetings. Networking with colleagues and peers is a huge part of life insurance sales.
While networking from your living room or remote office might seem daunting, worry not! There are many ways to build lasting relationships, even in the digital age.
Rocking the remote-work lifestyle
Embracing a remote-work lifestyle is critical to your success in the life insurance industry. That means creating a remote work environment designed to fuel your productivity while providing boundaries for your personal life.
Remote work, while offering more than traditional amounts of flexibility and freedom, also requires more time management and intention around your day-to-day choices.
Digital networking to the rescue
Networking can have a huge impact on the success of a life insurance agent. Making connections with your fellow agents, carriers and leaders in the industry is just as critical as finding and securing clients. Without networking, you’re missing a wealth of support, guidance and opportunities.
The good news is that even in an industry that has become largely remote, networking is still possible through digital platforms. Having a social media presence is key to generating engagement with a potential client base, but it’s also an excellent tool for helping you make professional connections.
Start by sharing thoughtful content on the platforms where you’ve decided to build a network. Whether you’re creating the content or simply sharing it, regular posts online will help you build connections. Make sure to stay authentic and professional.
Make impactful connections on LinkedIn
It’s no surprise that the platform that allows you to make “connections” with other professionals is perfect for networking. Engaging with your LinkedIn network can be huge for your business.
When reaching out to individuals you want to make connections with, be sure to personalize your messages. Most users can see right through templated messaging, and to avoid making anyone feel like a number in your quota, be sure to send authentic and personal messages when requesting connections.
A quick audit of their profile should give you everything you need to make a good first impression with your new connection. Interests, hobbies, and affiliations are all excellent conversation starters.
Looking for a place to network with other agents? Symmetry’s LinkedIn is a great place to start!
Nurture your virtual relationships
Once you’ve established your digital relationships, it’s time to nurture them. That means regular communication, and it can be as easy as sharing a helpful blog you read recently or a webinar that helped you sell more last month. Sharing helpful content is a great way to maintain lasting connections.
The first step in sharing great content is finding great content. Spend time researching articles, blogs, websites and even YouTube channels to find content that speaks to your experience as a life insurance agent. If these resources feel valuable to you, then they are likely to be valuable to your online connections. Regularly sharing this kind of content will help boost your profile while expanding your network of connections.
Last, if you’re following people in your network on a platform like LinkedIn (or any other social media), add some genuine feedback to their posts. LinkedIn’s anniversary function is a great example of a simple outlet where you can offer praise to a colleague. Help them out by commenting, liking and sharing. Your network will usually pay it forward whenever you have something to celebrate online.
Make digital networking a habit
Like most aspects of the life insurance business, networking should be a daily focus. Finding time to make connections should become habitual. Once you’ve built a solid network of colleagues, it will become easier, but it should be regular practice to check in on your connections and look for new people to build relationships with.
A handful of strong connections will be more impactful to your business and success than a long list of names you’re used to scrolling past on your phone. Be intentional with any connection you make, and work on those before adding a dozen surface-level relationships to your routine.
Stay comfortably connected with Symmetry
It’s easy to feel siloed when working remotely. If you’re only interacting with clients and colleagues through video calls, isolation can become a real deterrent to authentic connections.
That’s why it’s more important than ever to sustain a healthy networking routine. These connections will go a long way in improving every aspect of your business, so regular opportunities to connect are a must.
At Symmetry, we give agents ample opportunities to connect through in-person events and training. The events section of our blog offers information about our networking events and company culture.
