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7 Ways to Fine-Tune Your Agency’s Playbook for Growth

7 Ways to Fine-Tune Your Agency’s Playbook for Growth

It’s natural for seasoned agency owners to rely on the strategies that got them where they are today. But just like winning teams in any sport, staying competitive requires annual adjustments to the playbook to incorporate changes in personnel and playing conditions.

Here are some tips for fine-tuning your game plan.

#1: Step back to move forward

Assess your agency’s current state. Review your strengths, pinpoint areas that need improvement, and identify untapped opportunities. Inviting key team members and clients to weigh in can yield insights you might not have considered.

#2: Skate where the puck is going to be

Understand the evolving needs, preferences, and challenges of your client base. Solicit direct client feedback during meetings and through short, follow-up surveys. Being an avid consumer of the latest generational and wealth research allows you to be in a position to meet needs as they change.

#3: Ensure the agency works for the team

Craft a growth strategy that aligns seamlessly with your agency’s core values while addressing your agent’s needs. Identify areas for expansion that dovetail with their requirements without disturbing the equilibrium of existing relationships. Then, clearly communicate how your growth initiatives will directly benefit them.

#4: Tackle different fee structures

Consider incorporating fee-based services and trail commissions into your growth strategy. These innovations can enhance your client services but still serve your agent distribution if they are designed to include flexible fee structures.

#5: Embrace a tech-forward position

Support a tech-forward culture within your agency. Invest in staff training and development to equip your team to thrive in a technology-enhanced environment. AI, in particular, has the potential to streamline operations, reduce costs, and provide data-driven insights for better decision-making.

#6: Make it personal

Personalization should remain at the heart of your expansion. Ensure that any new services you add are tailored precisely to each agent’s unique requirements and preferences. The basic principle of getting more from less applies here.

#7: Monitor, assess, adapt, and repeat

Continuously monitor the outcomes of your growth strategies. Assess agent satisfaction, track revenue trends, and evaluate efficiency gains. Remain agile and be ready to refine your strategy based on data-driven insights. Then, repeat.

Remember, changing to meet your clients’ and agents’ evolving needs does not compromise your legacy. It’s how you ensure that what you’ve built continues to thrive

7 ways to fine-tune<br /> your agency’s<br /> playbook for growth

Est. 1919 · Des Moines, Iowa

HOTEL FORT DES MOINES

A century of stories, one remarkable address

Famous Guests
Scandals & Secrets
Firsts & Innovations
The Beginning
1922
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1922

Helen Keller rang in the New Year here, staying at the hotel while in Des Moines for performances over New Year's Eve.

1927
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1927

Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig had breakfast here before an exhibition game. Two of baseball's greatest, at the same table, in Des Moines.

1927
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1927

Charles Lindbergh hosted a banquet here after his famous transatlantic flight. The menu featured boneless squab — reportedly a rare Des Moines delicacy at the time.

1933
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1933

Amelia Earhart visited the hotel to speak about her solo flight across the Atlantic — a rare chance for Iowans to hear her story firsthand.

1947
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1947

Mae West stayed here during her performance of "Come on Up" at the KRNT Radio Theater. One imagines she made an impression on the staff.

1959
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1959

Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev occupied the Presidential Suite during the height of the Cold War. This hotel has seen history made.

1960
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1960

JFK, LBJ, and Hubert Humphrey all attended dinner here and held a meeting on farm policy — three future or sitting presidents under one roof.

1980
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1980

Elizabeth Taylor stayed here during a Des Moines appearance. Hollywood glamour, right here in the heartland.

1980
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1980

Elizabeth Taylor stayed here during a Des Moines appearance. Hollywood glamour, right here in the heartland.

2003
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2003

Cher requested her own personal mattress be placed in room #1025. The hotel obliged. Room 1025 has never quite been the same.

2008
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2008

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton both stayed here during the Iowa caucuses — rivals for the presidency, sharing the same address for a night.

1939
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1939

Police raided the Log Cabin Room on the 11th floor, seizing liquor and gambling equipment. The tip reportedly came from the men's own wives.

1927
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1927

When Lindbergh dined here post-transatlantic flight, he reportedly insisted on serving boneless squab, an extravagance that raised eyebrows across Iowa.

1959
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1959

The FBI monitored Khrushchev's stay closely. Guests on nearby floors reportedly had no idea who was sleeping down the hall.

1971
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1971

President Nixon greeted supporters in the lobby during his stay — a reminder that this hotel has always been where Iowa's political drama plays out.

1919
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1919

When it opened, every single room had a bathtub, purified chilled circulating water, and a window. Unheard of luxury for its era.

1938
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1938

The hotel announced the first air-conditioned guest room in Des Moines, a genuine technological milestone that made front-page news.

1953
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1953

100 rooms received TV sets in what was reportedly the largest single installation of televisions in Iowa at the time. The fee to operate yours? 25 cents.

1982
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1982

Governor Terry Branstad nominated the hotel to the National Register of Historic Places, cementing its place in Iowa's official history.

1919
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1919

The hotel opened on July 15, 1919, built for approximately $1.5 million and designed by the architectural firm Proudfoot, Bird & Rawson.

1919
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1919

Its opening was a statement of ambition: every room had a private bathtub, purified water, and a window. In 1919, this was genuinely extraordinary.

1974
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1974

Ronald Reagan attended WHO Radio's 50th anniversary celebration at the hotel, proof that Fort Des Moines has always been Iowa's premier gathering place.

2021
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2021

After major renovations, the hotel reopened as part of the Curio Collection by Hilton, a century of history, restored for the next hundred years.