To say that 2020 was a whirlwind would be an understatement. Our world was completely rocked by the impact of COVID-19, quarantine and adjusting to the reality of working remotely from home. And it wasn’t just people who were forced to adjust; businesses were also burdened with having to quickly change course, some with little direction and few resources.
Take independent agents (IAs) — we recently conducted a survey on the state of the independent agent landscape, and a resounding 60% of agents said that they were unprepared to move their businesses to a fully remote structure, which strained client relationships and led to struggles with retention. Agents reportedly saw an average 38% drop in revenue and sales due to COVID-19. In hindsight, 57% of IAs wish they had better technology to assist them and their businesses during the pandemic. The pandemic taught IAs quite a few hard-fought lessons, which they will need to keep in mind as they begin the work of recovering their businesses.