With limited placement options, rising customer expectations and the constant scramble to stay on top of renewals, now is the time to make the most of prospecting.

However, while the hard market is not exactly the greatest selling opportunity, it is the perfect time to engage a new producer to set appointments for new business because there may not be another time when so many excellent commercial accounts are willing to consider a second opinion.

Here are four strategies producers can implement in the hard market:

1) Build an acre of diamonds. While it may not be possible to assist with every new opportunity that comes up in the current market, there will be future opportunities to capitalize on. Create a list of vetted expiration dates—an acre of diamonds—that can be harvested when the market shifts. Think of it as planting little lead seeds.

To capitalize on building an expiration list, you will need:

• To identify clear expectations with the team on the prospecting requirements.
• A location to log and store expiration lists, such as an agency management system or customer relationship management system.
• A plan to stay in contact via phone, as well as automated email touchpoints.
• A written plan for when to reach out and what to say.

2) Prequalify your leads. While more prospects are shopping, not everyone is qualified or worthy of your agency's expertise. To manage time efficiently, agencies must vet opportunities, focusing on what can be written and saving what cannot currently be written for a later date.

Every agency should set a new business-standard. This empowers all team members to understand what to focus on and what to reject. Agencies should place their standards on the quote sheet to remind the team. Agents who fail to follow these standards may face consequences, such as loss of commission.

3) Identify pain points beyond price. Many sales agents look for a prospect's pain points. In the hard market, many shoppers are being prompted by increases in price. However, clients may need to pay more for their insurance to be accurately insured. By identifying pain points, agents can establish a reason to change agents even when the client may need to pay the same or more.

Here are some common pain points to consider that clients may be experiencing with their current agent:

• No proactive contact with the prior agent.
• A negative claims experience.
• Unmet service expectations.
• Change of agency ownership or point of contact.
• Mistakes.

4) Create clients for life. When markets are tight and time is at a premium, every lead should be a “complete" client to qualify to work with the agency.

Too many agents leave money on the table by only quoting what the client requests. In this market, agents should look at all possibilities. Can agents quote four lines on every account? If they can't, is the lead even qualified for the agency?

Quoting may not mean the client purchases the policy, but now the client knowws the offering is available and agents can continue to work those opportunities at renewal. Agents must understand that the account remains in an active sales cycle until they have all insurance with the agency and the client provides a referral.

Kelly Donahue-Piro is president of Agency Performance Partners.

This article is an excerpt from the Trusted Choice® Hard Market Toolkit Expansion, which contains strategies for sales, marketing, client communication and retention in the hard market—including downloadable scripts, sample agency standards, process packs and more.