Case Study: Turnaround, then growth
By establishing true dialogue with executive prospects, DBH Consulting has doubled sales for a premier reinsurance program
For more than two decades, the gold standard in errors and omissions protection has been Professional Agencies Reinsurance (PAR), Ltd. Because PAR brings a depth of protection and a portfolio of associated benefits, it is regarded in the industry as a sophisticated offering.
It’s also a complex program to market. So it’s significant that Assurex Global, which derives a high percentage of its revenue from PAR, Ltd., has entrusted DBH Consulting with all of the marketing and sales of PAR.
“PAR is a higher-priced program than what else is out there, but [DBH] knows how to communicate it as a high-value product,” says Jim Hackbarth, president and CEO of Assurex, one of the three companies that partnered to launch PAR. “DBH also understands the importance of professionalism in sales and marketing – they practice it and help others practice it.”
When DBH Consulting assumed responsibility for marketing PAR in 1995, the program’s sales had been in decline. After conducting an analysis of how PAR was being presented to prospective clients, DBH concluded that the approach being used to sell the program did not match the sophistication of PAR’s target customer.
“It was being sold as a transaction, through a call center,” says Demmie Hicks, founder and CEO of DBH Consulting, “but the PAR customer was a C-level customer who was sophisticated and had a range of specific needs for errors and omission protection and prevention. At that level, a program can only be marketed if the prospect can quickly understand both the need and the value.”
Immediately, DBH introduced a more consultative approach. Beginning with the initial call, DBH established dialogue with potential PAR customers. Through this dialogue, DBH sales professionals asked “client-centered questions” in an effort to learn about practices and procedures relating to errors and omissions at the prospective client’s agency. Where the ensuing discussion showed a good match, a sale usually followed.
The approach has had a profound impact: In just 13 years, sales of PAR, Ltd. have more than doubled, from $10 million in premiums to $23 million – strong performance for a niche captive program.
DBH Consulting’s success also helped give rise to the firm’s consultative selling practice, which shows independent agencies and brokerages how to transform their selling techniques and stimulate exponential growth.