A collection of news releases and articles written by our staff
4/3/09 Find an Extra 1-2 Hours per DayFind an Extra 1-2 Hours per Day (Reprinted from The Standard)
Time. There is never enough of it, but by becoming efficient we can find more time in our day. This is something we all want, efficiency, but what does it mean, exactly? Yes, most agencies have an agency management system at this point, but using its full potential is another story.
I knew an agency that would receive an email, print it and fax it over to the company (and then put a copy in the file). Hmmm, do you see an efficiency problem here? If you’re already receiving a document in an electronic format, there is no need to duplicate it. Simply forward the email to the company.
Let’s take a look at a few of tools that are probably already in your arsenal. Consider implementing these three time saving suggestions.
1) Real Time: Most agency management systems have this feature. While in a client screen, one click should take you directly to the client billing information on the carriers website. You should not be getting out of your system, opening the company website, entering your user id and password, entering the client info and so on. See the difference? It’s been reported that by using this one feature, CSR’s can save anywhere from ½ to 1 hour per day.
2) Rating: Integration with your rating system. Your agency management system most likely integrates with your rating system. You should only ever be typing your clients name, address, and policy information once. Period. If you enter it into rating then you should import that information into your agency management system (and vice versa).
3) Building a bank of Additional Interests and Certificate Holders: Again, a great time saving feature. For each and every Binder and Certificate created, the additional interest should be added to the master list in your agency management system so that it’s never typed again.
Change is never easy, but it’s certainly worth it. I took a class once where the instructor’s southern drawl alone was enough to hold my attention, but he said something that has really stayed with me. ‘Just cause your pappy, grand pappy and great grand pappy did it that way, don’t mean you have to keep on doin’ it that way.’
Having your agency become more efficient requires a small amount of effort and helps the CSR’s have more time to write new business and provide improved customer service. Make it interesting for the staff, not overwhelming, add one feature per month. Before you know it you’ll be finding an additional 1-2 hours per day!
June Sousouris, AAI, is the Director of Sales for Special Agent, Inc. in Holbrook, MA. Ms. Sousouris has over twenty years experience in the insurance industry with her most recent prior position as Vice President of Sales & Marketing of a large insurance agency.
Growing Your Business Using Automation (Reprinted from The Standard)
I recently received an email listing the most overused and outdated business buzz words. Target marketing and niche markets were right near the top of the list. I was quite surprised, these words have been in my lexicon for over 20 years. I consider it one of the most basic elements of smart spending.
In the 80’s target marketing was a hot new concept. Big business had been doing this for some time; researching the customer base, breaking down demographics by age, region, race, religion and so on. Asking the question… who is buying our product?
Years ago when agencies tried to target market to prospects it became quite cumbersome and expensive. This is no longer the case due to agency automation.
With the average agency’s employee expense somewhere close to 60%, writing more business with the same amount of staff, allows for increases to the bottom line. The trick to accomplishing this goal is to become more efficient by utilizing the agency management system properly to target new clients.
Designing a marketing/growth plan for your agency can be accomplished in these 4 steps.
Step One: Research your present customer data base.
Many agents think they ‘know’ their book of business make-up. Most are quite surprised when they actually break it down and take a look at it. Agency management software systems allow an agency to extract information about their customers. By doing a breakdown of the number of policies by type, age of clients, zip code, step and so on you can gather the numbers to understand the story of your agency.
Step Two: Where do you want to go?
Now you know what you have (and don’t have), the next step is what do you want? This is your vision. Are you happy with your profit sharing, does your client base allow for you to maximize your company relationships. If so, then you’ll want to design your marketing plan to get more of the same types of clients. If not, then design a plan that will target the types of clients you want to help round out your book.
Step Three: Weigh the options, make decisions.
There are many, many options to reach out to your desired prospects: radio, newspaper, target mailings, telemarketing, email, home shows, local advertising, high school talks, chambers of commerce. Make a list of the options with a budget for each. But beware; sending out one mailing will not bear the results you are looking for…. Doing 3 mailings to the same group of prospects, supported by a radio and newspaper ad over a 6 month period, however, will produce the long term results you are looking to achieve. Commit to it and implement it.
Step Four: Keep track and revisit.
Keep track of your spending and the new business brought in by your carefully designed plan. Again, your agency management system should allow you to track where business is coming from. Use these features, run the reports. This is an investment that will pay out over time, don’t expect immediate returns; this is a long term growth plan. Look at your results monthly and make adjustments to the plan as needed.
A marketing plan that is thoughtfully designed with plenty of research and smart spending choices to produce the most effective results for your business is just plain good business.
With the advances in agency management systems and the information available to us on the internet, it’s never been easier for insurance agencies to spend smartly by target marketing for growth and profitability.
June Sousouris, AAI, is director of sales for Special Agent, Inc. in Holbrook, MA. Ms. Sousouris has over twenty years experience in the insurance industry with her most recent prior position as Vice President of Sales & Marketing of a large insurance agency.