Insurance agency marketing is a game of results. Whether you hire an experienced producer or build a sales team from scratch, there are performance expectations. But, expectations without structure is a recipe for disappointment. Consistency and focus are key ingredients for any person or organization to sell successfully,
How can you create structure that encourages consistency and focus within your agency? Below are a few steps to get you started.
First, establish good data habits.
Rather than an exclusive focus on results only, pay attention to the habits that breed them. Reliable, complete data entry is one such important habit. Once you’ve established a culture of entering data in your management system, you can access the building blocks to sales success: quality data and performance metrics.
- Quality data means data that is complete and accurate. Get your employees in the habit of filling out prospect and client information in a set way. Incomplete or inaccurate data can throw off your entire sales strategy.
- Performance metrics are established using the quality data you have to know where you are and plan where you want to go.
Read more on establishing and tracking metrics to inform agency growth
Next, identify leading indicators.
Leading indicators are the actions that happen leading up to a sale. Take a look at what you’re doing to gain customers and record what’s working. Establish goals with each and map out sequencing for prospects. Examples of leading indicators include:
- Phone calls: net new phone calls, as well as follow up. Differentiate between the two as they drive different results.
- Conversations (including emails): pay attention to the quantity and quality of conversations you’re having and who they’re with (prospect vs. client).
- Appointments: how many net new appointments and follow up appointments are held each week.
Find out how to motivate your producers for sales success
Finally, measure results-driven indicators.
Coming after leading indicators, these are the results that show something has happened. Examples of results-driven indicators include:
- Quotes or proposals requested: establish stages for requesting and track them.
- Quote submitted and reviewed: identify these as well-qualified selling opportunities.
- Quotes won and lost: …and the reasons why. Use these indicators to determine how to improve your sales process.
Learn more on tracking and predicting customer behavior
Sales excellence is not a one-time event nor does it happen randomly. Anyone can win a few deals. To build a career, it takes attention to doing the little things right each day and building on that.
Your agency management system is a big part of those small steps. Recording, reporting on and analyzing agency data are foundational to identifying performance metrics and sales indicators that help form an effective sales strategy. If your management system is intuitive and adaptable to your agency, it’s reflected in your sales process and overall agency performance.
See how Partner XE adapts to your agency’s needs with personalized workflows
At SIS, we pay attention to and understand this ripple effect. That’s why we regularly update our Partner XE management system based on our partner agencies’ input and direction. Thanks to this close partnership, we continue to improve Partner XE system operations, making data storage and processing easier so you can run your agency better.
Find out what Partner XE and SIS can do for your agency. Get in touch with us to view a demo and talk with a SIS staff member today.
President of Strategic Insurance Software and a Partner at NuGrowth Solutions. At SIS, he is responsible for ensuring a great client experience. This involves all aspects of marketing, sales, implementation, client services and training. For the past two decades, Michael has worked at a variety of technology companies focusing on building great cultures and great client relationships.