To set ourselves apart while making a lasting impression on our prospects and clients, we need to have a strong personal brand. Specializing in a certain industry or coverage line—whether that's golf courses, restaurants, cyber or environmental insurance—will support you in building that brand.

But what happens when we are the least experienced insurance broker in the room? How do we get buy-in from our prospects so they trust us in brokering the insurance for their business? Credibility is the core of building trust. But how do you build credibility without years of experience under your belt?

Here are five ways to build credibility before you get those years of experience:

1) Enroll in a designation. Choose a program that is of interest to you, doesn't have a prerequisite of years of experience, and, most importantly, supports your long-term career goals. This designation is a stepping stone and a resume builder. Choosing an applicable program opens a pathway to additional designations that you might want to get later down the road in your career.

2) Take a certification class. Certification classes are a great way to gain an extremely focused education on a specific topic that you want to build your career on. You want this class to hold weight with your current company and with the decision-makers within the industry or coverage line of focus.

3) Ask to be a guest writer. If you are comfortable with writing and enjoy sharing your knowledge, being a guest writer for blogs, magazines, newsletters and newspapers is a great way to do that while also building your credibility. If you aren't comfortable with writing about insurance and risk management quite yet, practice writing behind the scenes and have a trusted friend read it over.

While you should try to write for a variety of publications, you also want to build relationships with the editors so you can continue to pitch and publish articles with them. 

4) Join industry associations. Joining industry associations within the niche you want to specialize in shows dedication to their industry. By participating in the association, you will learn their pain points and can craft insurance solutions. If you continue to stay active in the association, you might even grow into a position on their board of directors.

5) Ask to be a guest speaker at conferences. If you find writing uncomfortable but have an educational topic you want to share, ask to be a guest speaker at a meeting or conference in the industry you'd like to focus on. A simple topic is to solve a problem for the audience regarding insurance.

For example, what is a loss exposure that is not automatically built into a base ISO form? Outline the exposure, who it could impact and why they should care. Finish with how they can solve it with insurance and risk management. You don't have to sell them anything in that presentation—the education will do that for you.

Don't let a lack of experience hold you back in building your brand and credibility within the insurance industry. This industry has vast opportunities to build a prosperous career and to make an impact in many people's lives. Getting involved in a specific industry or coverage line early in your career will pay off by filling your sales pipeline, increasing your book of business revenue and building long-lasting relationships.

Kari Dybdahl Kohal is the president of ARMR Brokerage, an environmental insurance wholesale brokerage company based out of Madison, Wisconsin. Over the years, she has won many awards within the insurance industry, such as Top Producer, Hot Guns, and Elite Women in Insurance. In addition to working in wholesale insurance brokering, Kohal owns Balanced in Pink LLC, a sales and leadership coaching and consulting business for insurance professionals Including public speaking at industry events.