• Agency Exchange: Free online marketplace to buy and sell agencies
• Webinars: Monthly online seminars on various topics; participate from your office
• White papers: In-depth insight to manage your business
List an agency to sell Search agencies to buy
• Articles and Blogs: Information, news, and comments on the latest insurance market trends
Dunn & Bradstreet While there is usually a charge for in-depth D&B reports, you can obtain some information for free. It may reveal potential red flags that can guide you to further research or the need for the full report.
Glass Door.com The most telling sign of a good company is how they treat employees. Glassdoor.com is a site that specifically publishes employee opinions of employers. Depending upon an agency’s size, you may even find out employee feedback ratings and specific comments regarding management and the company’s financial health.
Old versions of agency website There may still be outdated versions of web pages (or cached pages) available on online. The Wayback Machine (check out http://wayback.archive.org) is a website that stores snapshots of previous websites. You may be able to glean some historical information from these snapshots, like what products and services they offered, who key leaders were, etc.
These online resources can also help you jumpstart your search for an agency to acquire or for an agency buyer. More extensive due diligence will be necessary, but this preliminary step can help separate the good candidates from the bad ones.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
As chief marketing officer for Oak Street Funding, Carissa Newton oversees marketing and new business development. She has over 18 years of marketing experience in a variety of industries including financial services, insurance and technology. Newton is an active member of the Business Marketing Association and the American Marketing Association (AMA). She earned a B.A. degree from Northwood University, an M.B.A. from Anderson University and an AMA Professional Certified Marketer designation. She is also an adjunct professor of marketing and management.