Often, we see our business leave our “household” and go to a competitor. Sometimes, we are presented with the opposite opportunity. We have a chance to “steal” some business from a competitor.
It’s a dilemma. It happens often in today’s business world.
In the insurance industry it happens all the time. It’s called “AOR” or Agent of Record Transfer. Many agents build their entire book by “AORing” business away from other agents. It’s an accepted way to do business in many circles.
It is not an option in the PEO world. PEO’s do not now or plan to honor a “BOR” (Broker of Record transfer).
What is the right thing to do here?
John Will Tenney
From Our CEO:
“I came from the insurance industry. I lost a lot of clients to AOR. It was painful and frustrating. Conversely, a few times, I had clients ask me to transfer their Master Comp Policy to me using an AOR. For the record, the two times I actually tried to do it, my AOR was declined by the carrier. In retrospect, I am glad that happened. It would have definitely caused some conflict between me and the incumbent agent. Instead, I contacted that agent and offered my assistance. I still do that. It doesn’t always result in an income source, but it has led to several referrals.
I do the same thing in PEO brokered deals. If someone wants me to move them from an existing PEO, often (after discussing it with the client), I will contact the current PEO and ask them what I should do. In many cases they say ‘Go ahead, move them.’ Even in the cases they don’t I still get a positive response. In fact, one of the PEOs now refers me business. In one case a PEO assigned me one of their clients, because they wanted us to represent them as a broker.”
So It’s Wrong To Take Business From a Competitor?
“Not always. Sometimes it’s your duty. If they are being treated poorly, being overcharged and under serviced, or even worse, in a precarious situation where there is substantial risk to the client to stay there, changing PEOs is not only acceptable, it’s imperative. Failure to do so is an error.
Still, in these situations it is very important to communicate with the incumbent PEO. In all cases, I try to maintain a professional relationship and avoid burning bridges. The PEO may change in the future, or may be a better match for a different client. There is never a reason to treat them badly.”
So What’s the Message Here?
“The message is we are all in this together. There are approximately 9,000 businesses starting every day (number I heard in a SCORE meeting yesterday.) There’s enough business to go around. We don’t need to go wantonly stealing business from our competitors. I have found that by working with my competitors I often find they aren’t really competition at all, and we can fill the other’s gaps in business coverage.
Stick together. It makes for a happier life.”