"There are contemporaries of mine who did the VC thing… most of my competition has gone out of business. They´ve sold their property casualty agencies, or they went whole-hog into the Internet, but we never did that. We branded it as a division. We never disassociated ourselves from Gaston & Associates."
Internet technology, combined with the Gaston & Associates´ long-standing business, has eliminated the geographical stumbling blocks facing traditional insurance agencies.
"Our calls come from all over the country now, and that´s enabled 100% by the Internet. Here´s where you get the synergy between the parent company and the division: Gaston was already licensed and a wholesaler in 48 states. We were all set to go, we just had to turn on the engine. The Internet broke down the barriers in the traditional system for selling out of state."
"I´m not the first to sell beyond my local geography, however, to combine the vision, the technology, the resources available from the parent company, and put it all together is what has made this whole thing possible and given us our competitive advantage."
Has he found any difference between the web-savvy customers that come to Insurenewmedia versus traditional insurance customers?
"With Internet customers, you have to keep up with them and their expectations. They don´t want to wait around for weeks while you get your act together. You´ve got to be very, very efficient. Companies like Amazon have set the bar very high in terms of users´ expectations. You have to endeavor to give that kind of service."
Fred plans to franchise The Coverage Coach to other agencies and businesses as an additional revenue stream. The system was developed with an eye for adaptability, so by simply changing the questions, The Coverage Coach can easily be used by companies outside Insurenewmedia´s realm. Without a doubt, his willingness to take calculated risks for success over time has paid off.
"Incremental improvement, adaptability, and staying power mean that we´ve stayed in the game, that we can afford to stay in the game, we didn´t bet the farm on it, we didn´t go outside for money, we just kept doing what we were doing. We´re long-term players."
"Insurenewmedia has been a trendsetter. It´s taught us a lot of valuable lessons that we´re using in other niches. Its success has changed our business. Everything that we´ve learned, we reapply to the rest of the business."
"I feel like we´re ahead of the curve, that´s where I like to be."
Business profile courtesy of Family Business Strategies.
About the author: Fred Gaston can be reached at http://www.insurenewmedia.com.
