Where to Find the Business Opportunities in COVID and How to Use Them

I remember back in 1994, I was on the corrections board in my home state helping to manage the prison system, and I saw a demonstration of something that was really cool. You see, these prisons are out in the middle of nowhere, and it's really hard to get doctors and nurses to come to those places and take care of people. 

But inmates get sick too, right? So we saw this thing called telemedicine, and it was revolutionary in its capability to solve a problem. Well, here we are, 25 years later, and telemedicine is literally exploding.I also remember back then, if you wanted to buy marijuana you had to go to some shady guy on the corner, and now there's a marijuana shop on every corner. Business is changing, and it's changing very rapidly through the impact of  the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the changes may be here for the long term, such as the remote work operating model.

A friend of mine said that this crisis is causing some people to kick butt (because they're growing so fast) while others are having their butts kicked. If you’re an insurance agent, you need to figure out where is your opportunity to kick butt and find growth opportunities in the insurance sector as we go forward. 

Growing industries in COVID times

Manufacturing is going to be a fast-growth sector in the next few years, as reshoring becomes increasingly popular. I don't know if you tried to buy a can of peas at the store, but they're hard to find... and you can't get a can of mushroom soup for love nor money. I've been looking for three months!

That right there is supply chain disruption, and it threatens business continuity. We're going to fix that business interruption with reshoring of manufacturing, which in turn is going to lead to an explosion in distribution businesses. So there are lots of opportunities in there: life insurers will have a field day, as will insurance companies offering workers compensation. Pandemic insurance may evolve and grow, especially as people gradually stop working from home and social distancing.

Sell insurance anywhere

Since COVID forced business in general - and insurance in particular - to go virtual, you now can literally build a book of business from anywhere, and those businesses can be located anywhere, because geography no longer matters.

Some ideas to take advantage of the new virtual business that is coming your way:

• Invest in digital marketing

• Niche down, and be as focused and specific as you like

• Outsource your customer service to a service center

If you'd like to explore some more thinking around how COVID-19 is changing the insurance, industry, and the landscape and opportunity for you, please download my new ebook, The Silver Lining of COVID-19, which is available below.

Oh, by the way, if you happen to have an extra can of mushroom soup, would you send it my way? Thanks!