Q&A with
CHRIS MILLER
Chris Miller, CIC is a principal agent with Miller Insurance Protection Team, a full-service independent agency in Jonestown, PA. Chris also serves on the Insurance Agents & Brokers Board of Directors. Q. While you grew up around insurance, when did you decide to make a career of it? And what was the draw? A. And here I thought everyone grows up wanting to be an insurance agent! While I did start at the agency fresh out of college, the truth is I didn’t even entertain the thought until the last few months prior to graduation. Being that Miller Insurance was a multi-generational agency laid amazing groundwork, but from the outside looking in, it was definitely a “legacy” agency in the truest sense of the word. Having a very strong technology background, I thought retooling this beast would be a fun challenge. It sure has lived up to that expectation. Q. You’ve been in the industry for 12 years. What do you know now that you wish you had known when you started? A. This question made me audibly laugh. While it’s tangentially related, when you actually stop and recognize the vast change that has taken place in this industry over that short period, it’s shocking. It makes those two bookends almost incomparable. While these might not be revolutionary, let’s call this “The Top 5 Things I Wish Were Beat into My Head the First Day … That Still Hold True.” 1. If you win on price, you will lose on price. 2. The sales process does not start with prospects; they all begin as suspects. Consequentially, never try to qualify a suspect. You will save yourself an incomprehensible amount of time if you try to disqualify them first. 3. Every agency has a personality. Find the clients that fit yours. Ignore the rest. 4. After decades, and more than a century for some, your carriers still do not understand what actually occurs in an agent’s office. 5. We are not in the insurance business, we are in the relationship business.
Chris and his wife, Sara, enjoying travel.
10
JULY 2021
