If you want to thrive in 2026, you need to set yourself up for success. Don’t just dream big. Leverage effective goal-setting strategies to accelerate your momentum, overcome challenges, and elevate your insurance success.
What Are Your 2026 Insurance Goals?
Before you can achieve your goals, you need to pick the right goals, and that’s not an easy task. The right goals can push you outside of your comfort zone and inspire you to accomplish more than you ever thought possible.
Many insurance professionals set high-level sales performance goals based on premium or policy volume. That’s OK, as long as you also set goals for the activities needed to reach your target sales numbers. These are the activities within your control that will enable you to hit your high-level sales numbers.
Goals to consider include:
- Outreach. Consider setting a goal and blocking time on your calendar to ensure that you compliantly reach out to a certain number of prospects that you have secured permission to contact each week.
- Meetings. Set a goal to schedule and facilitate a certain number of sales or educational meetings every month. Be sure to file your sales events with your carriers in a timely manner.
- Close Rate. How many of your prospects become customers? Strive to increase this percentage.
- Customer Retention. Set a goal to keep more existing customers. Consider the specific activities you’ll engage in, such as creating a monthly newsletter or sending out birthday cards, as part of this goal.
- Technology. If you’re ready to modernize, consider adopting new tech like quoting tools or a sophisticated CRM, and engage in tech training to help you master your new workflow. (You can access the tech you need through IntegrityCONNECT.)
- Cross-Selling. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid only permits cross-selling of health products alongside Medicare Advantage products; however, by setting a new appointment with your client and cross-selling products like life insurance and annuities, you can round out your portfolio and retain more customers.
- Training. There’s always more to learn. If you focus on training to improve your tech skills, Medicare knowledge, and sales expertise, you can gain the competitive edge you need to meet your other goals. (The Western Asset Protection training hub includes a monthly calendar of events as well as on-demand training resources.)
Are Your Goals SMART?
Imagine signing up for an art class. The course description says that students will paint a masterpiece, but when you get there, the teacher simply hands you a paintbrush and tells you to get busy, without offering any guidance. You probably won’t produce a masterpiece that way. You might just quit.
Many people run into similar problems when setting goals. If your goals are vague or unrealistic, you probably won’t achieve them, and you may get frustrated and give up.
Developed by George T. Doran in 1981, the SMART framework provides a better way to set goals:
- Specific. What EXACTLY are you hoping to achieve? For example, instead of saying you want to modernize your tech, you might set a goal of implementing a new CRM or attending at least one tech-focused training event each month.
- Measurable. How will you measure your success? Focus on something quantifiable so you can determine whether or not you’re meeting your goals.
- Achievable. Can you actually achieve your goals without burning out? It’s good to aim high, but you also need to be realistic.
- Relevant. How will your goals help you in your career? Think about the big picture.
- Time-Bound. What are your deadlines? To make sure you stay on track, it can be helpful to break down your goal into small chunks of time – otherwise, you might find yourself scrambling to catch up next December. For example, what do you want to accomplish each week and each month?
Thriving in 2026
As you look ahead to 2026, remember that change is not a threat to your success. Rather, it is an invitation to reinvent and redefine your processes. You may need to adjust some of the strategies and habits you’ve relied upon in the past. By setting clear and intentional goals, you can stretch beyond your comfort zone and meet the future with confidence.
Western Asset Protection is here to assist you as you work toward your 2026 goals. Check out our training hub and agent tools, and learn how we can support you.