Chadwick Wright grew up in a small town outside Raleigh, North Carolina. He studied business marketing and graduated with a degree from University of North Carolina Wilmington.After graduating, he went into banking and learned about financial services.
“As a bank manager at Bank of America. I learned a lot about managing people, exceeding expectations and goal setting,” Wright says. “I liked my job and stayed on for five years, but I wanted my own business. I eventually met people in the insurance industry, and they opened my eyes to the possibilities of running an agency. Most people don’t think of insurance as a lucrative career, but it can be.”
First, Wright opened a State Farm agency in Dallas, Texas, but he eventually purchased a book of business, which led him to open an Allstate agency in Long Beach, California's Belmont Shore in February 2022. With three agents assisting him, Wright sells auto, home and life insurance as well as financial planning services, like a 401K rollover, Roth IRA.and mutual funds.
“The way I found my book of business is interesting,” Wright recalls. “I was messaging people on LinkedIn and other social media channels. I was eventually referred to a guy in Southern California.just two blocks from the beach. I was living in Arizona at the time but I knew it was a good book.”
Wright juggled relocating while working out the launch of the business. He learned a lot about insurance and how to run a business simply by running the agency. He spent that first year finding the right team and getting situated in the community.
“We have some walk-ins here because we are where there’s a lot of foot traffic, but I just started going out there and talking to lots of young people in the area. When I go to restaurants, I tell people who we are.”
Wright also likes live transfers insurance leads because the shoppers are right there on the phone and want a quote. Often, there is no need for follow ups so he buys up to 10 calls a day and has been having great success!
“We can help people with warm transfers right away,” Wright says.” But not all vendors have the same quality leads. During my first four months in business, I was trying different lead vendors trying to find the right fit. We experienced quality issues, dropped calls and people saying they don’t want a quote. Finally, I stumbled upon SmartFinancial and I started having a positive experience.”
Wright’s account manager has been a huge help in writing over 50% of his new business using SmartFinancial leads. In fact, he just had a meeting about auto-home bundle live transfers, which he’ll be starting right away. As for long-term goals, Wright plans to buy a second agency this year, and he knows that with the right leads, his second business will be a success too!.
5 Golden Insurance Sales Tips from Chadwick Writght
- Recruiting people is the most important part of running a business. Onboarding, managing and mentoring other agents are vital.
- Building relationships with customers and getting to really know them is very important. Team members need to offer a high level of customer service.
- Know your numbers and your budget. Stick to that budget.
- When you buy live transfers, you have the customer on the phone, so it’s important to do all you can for a quick, seamless process instead of having to call them back. Give them the quote on that initial call.
- Ask the customer the right questions to really meet their needs.
