An independent insurance brokerage in Manchester lives on trust. The restaurant owner in the Northern Quarter insuring a new fit-out, the haulage firm in Trafford Park reviewing its fleet cover, the tech start-up in Salford looking for professional indemnity, the landlord with a handful of terraced houses in Levenshulme: they all want someone who explains, compares the market and fights their corner when a claim goes wrong. Until now, most of them have come through referrals and long-standing relationships.
Increasingly, though, they start online, comparing brokers or asking an AI assistant who to speak to. Once you decide to invest in being found, a practical question follows: what monthly budget makes sense, and how do you know it is reasonable? This guide answers with the plans on the Traffic Engine offer page, and helps you compare that budget with the alternatives.
What a client is worth to a broker
Before talking budget, talk value. In broking, a client is not a one-off sale. A policy renews every year, a satisfied client adds a van, then the premises, then refers a business contact. A company that hands you its fleet or its liability programme can stay for years. Comparison sites have trained consumers to shop on price, but commercial clients and complex risks still want a broker who knows them.
The calculator on the offer page asks you to choose the value of a client. For a broker, the right figure is the commission and fees a new client leaves you over a year, including likely renewals. Be cautious for personal lines; be realistic for commercial accounts, where one client can be worth many times more.
The budgets available with Traffic Engine
Your budget has three parts, all known in advance.
- The Visibility Audit: £590, delivered within 48 working hours, fully deducted from the setup if you start within 30 days.
- The one-off setup: £1,300.
- The monthly plan, on a 12 month commitment with a measured review at 3 months.
| Plan | Per month | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|
| Presence | £940 | An independent broker who first needs to be found |
| Momentum | £1,600 | An established brokerage that wants to grow, the most common choice |
| Flood | £3,000 | A firm aiming to lead across several lines and towns |
| Momentum Exclusive | £3,300 | Momentum with the sector locked in your area |
| Flood Exclusive | £5,050 | Flood with the sector locked in your area |
To judge any of these, divide the first-year cost (setup plus twelve monthly payments) by what one new client is worth to you. For many brokerages, a small number of new commercial accounts over the year is enough to cover Momentum.
Comparing with a new hire
Many brokerages consider hiring another account executive to go out and win business instead. That is a legitimate option, but compare it honestly.
- A hire costs every month: salary, employer's National Insurance, pension, car allowance, training, and months before they are fully productive. Put that full monthly cost next to the plans above.
- They work office hours. An online presence receives enquiries in the evening, at weekends, while your team is in meetings or on holiday.
- They prospect people who are not looking. Enquiries from an online search come from people who already need cover, often urgently, such as a renewal notice that has just landed.
- They can leave with their contacts. Visibility that has been built stays with the firm.
The two are not mutually exclusive. A good account executive converts far better when inbound enquiries are already arriving. But if you must decide where your first growth budget goes, run the comparison with real figures.
Comparing with advertising
Paid social and search ads deliver quick attention. Their limit is simple: when you stop paying, the effect stops. In insurance they also reach many people who are not shopping for cover and who ask for a price and disappear.
Lasting visibility works differently: you appear when someone is actively looking for a broker or a specific cover in Manchester, and what has been built keeps working in the months that follow. Our guide on splitting a small marketing budget helps you weigh the two.
How to set your budget
- Start from capacity. How many new clients can your team take on each month without letting claims handling or renewals slip? If the answer is modest, Presence is a sound start.
- Start from client value. Divide the cost of the plan you are considering by the annual value of a client to find how many new clients you need over the year. Our guide on how many clients a broker needs to break even walks through the calculation.
- Start from who you trust with it. A budget is only as good as the partner spending it. Our guide on choosing a visibility partner as an insurance broker sets out what to check.
What your budget buys with Traffic Engine
Traffic Engine is Kolonell's offer that makes your brokerage appear when someone searches for an insurance broker in Manchester, on Google and in AI assistant answers, so you receive qualified enquiries. Your budget buys a tracked result: a dated report every week, results visible in your own Search Console, and a written guarantee (everything your plan includes goes live on schedule, otherwise the following month is free). Seats are limited to 3 per sector and per area. See the full offer.
Your next step
Open the payback calculator with a client value that reflects your book, and compare the result with the full cost of a hire. For a view on which plan fits your brokerage, email contact@kolonell.com: you will get a reply within 24 working hours.