It’s October: time for football, pumpkin flavored everything and of course annual price increases.
Each year around this time, providers update premiums on cable, satellite radio, agency management systems, and other products. I can’t blame them. Inflation affects us all. Yet, like a quarterback on fourth down, these changes prompt a mad scramble to get my money’s worth. Do I switch to a new provider? Do I cut my services? How can I get more out of what I’m paying?
When it comes down to it, I have the option to adjust what’s happening. Rather than accept what is “given” to me, I can call an audible and change the play. For agencies, this can look like reinvesting in learning, taking advantage of resources, and looking for ways to gain the advantages available to them.
Until I sat down to write this post, I’d never considered this option. And I’m not alone.
I work with agencies on a regular basis and find many aren’t maximizing use of their management system. They overlook capabilities like email integration and customized reporting, paying for time-savers they never use. For many, their agency management system is one of their highest expenses, yet their most underutilized.
Sadly most agencies simply don’t know where to go for help. As a National Account Manager for Strategic Insurance Software (SIS), it’s my mission to ensure clients never feel this way. I strive to connect each agency with tools to use our Partner XE agency management system to its fullest so that they get the most out of their investment. Tools like:
Personalized onsite and online training workshops walking clients through the most efficient ways to use the Partner XE system
Monthly webinars targeting how to best utilize specific capabilities, workflows, and systems
Online Knowledge Base, QuickGuides, and Learning Center linking users to step-by-step guides and how-to videos
These are just a sampling of the many learning resources we provide to our clients. But, the greatest resource is the clients themselves. We at SIS look for ways to connect clients, encouraging them to share best practices and learn from each other’s mistakes. Through regional learning workshops and client-run workgroups, our agency partners are constantly investigating and improving the Partner XE management system.
Through these tools and networking opportunities, we help our clients get the first down they need. I challenge you to do the same.
When he bought Berndt and Murfin Insurance Agency back in 2006, Dan Cassidy was introduced to an early version of Partner XE, SEMCI Partner. As he continued acquiring agencies – six over the past ten years – he also continued to choose Partner XE and Strategic Insurance Software.
“It just keeps getting better,” Dan said of the system, noting features like integrated agency accounting and commercial lines download. Dan also named SIS’s forethought and attention to client needs as integral with each acquisition. “It’s always a little shaky at first,” Dan commented of the transition process, “But we get through it because of the SIS staff. They are always onsite to help us out, and that’s key.”
Partner XE users continue to shape the future of the system through workgroups, surveys, regional learnings and more. Get in touch to find out about this rapidly growing community.
Events Demos Guides Blog News Carriers FAQs Events The Partner Platform is more than a management system, it’s a community of users, carriers, and partners. Our Partner User community hosts regular events to support collaboration and innovation. Events are hosted...
We engage with and live in a variety of community environments throughout our work and life. Our workplace, neighborhood, running group– these are all groups of people that form communities. When it comes to your independent insurance agency, the first community you might think of is your staff. However, there are many others—from the town you live and work in to your Rotary, state or national professional insurance association, or your agency management system user group. Not to be forgotten are your customers. Of course, depending on your level of involvement you may not really consider these groups to be “communities,” just people living where they live and doing what they do.
Formal definition aside, the true benefit of community comes of what YOU make of it. You need to recognize the benefits and foster relationships within your various groups.
Why do we form these communities? What is it that draws us together? Why should your agency be concerned about community? The usual response is that communities fill a human need to be connected with one another. Although coming together in such groups does speak to this need, forming and fostering communities brings other benefits as well. As a whole, communities:
Multiply resources
Each individual in a community has certain assets. By joining with others, the number of available resources multiplies. As we know, no one person can “have it all,” but a community can come close!
Ensure longevity
Even if a community is not multi-generational, it still has the power of continuation as new members join. This creates stability for the group and opens up opportunities to create big change, knowing the ideas and plans put in motion will continue on after those who set them up leave.
Foster connections
Relationships can grow and strengthen within a community. As relationships develop, members are apt to introduce new connections. Similar to the multiplication of resources, each group member has its own connections to others outside the community. These connections can be fostered and utilized for the benefit of its members.
At SIS, we value community within our workplace, and beyond our office walls by participating in community service locally here in Columbus. We want our clients to experience that same community, which is why we invest in NASPA, the Partner XE user group. Through regional learning sessions, national conferences, and product improvement workgroups, NASPA connects Partner XE users across the country. NASPA not only helps Partner XE users connect and form relationships, but educates our users on the most effective ways to use Partner XE and its capabilities. To find out more about NASPA, including our regular regional conferences, contact us today at [email protected].
Your agency management system is among the most
critical pieces of technology you use for your insurance software. Every day
you rely on your agency management system to create certificates, write new
business, and process claims, among other essential functions.
With such a valuable piece of technology, you want more than just a vendor or provider for your agency management system. You need a partner – a partner who focuses on long-term, mutual success. That’s what we are for our Partner Platform agencies – someone in the trenches with them and working for them to make their business run smoother.
We often check in with our Partner Platform
agencies to determine what it is about SIS and Partner Platform that they
value. Our
client stories share various reasons – from service to technology to
accessibility – but there are two that stand out: relationship and innovation.
Building Relationship from Day One
The loudest feedback we hear from our Partner
Platform agencies is that they value the relationship they have with our team. That
relationship starts from day one and continues indefinitely. Our team builds on
that relationship, growing trust and confidence at every stage.
The Evaluation Phase (pre-customer)
Clear, direct communication with targeted
contacts who stay with agencies throughout their decision journey
Individualized meetings with each person in the
agency, covering what they need to know to feel confident to make the big move
to a new system
Regular
touch-points with account managers, via regional and national meetings, and in monthly
informational webinars
Going
beyond answering questions to solving the problem, dedicating all the time
needed to resolve issues fully
These points throughout an agency’s experience are
what make the difference. Everything looks good in a product demo, but what
happens after is what matters. What if you need to make unanticipated changes
or want something added to fit your business workflows? That’s where our
agencies rely on our innovation.
Committing to Continual Innovation
Technology isn’t static, nor is the insurance
industry. We value innovation to keep our team nimble and proactive. And we
strive for collaborative innovation, from the macro-level helping
agencies compete to the micro-level improving productivity through reducing clicks.
Some of our most notable innovative strategies
include:
For us, being a true partner means keeping this
collaboration and innovation alive every day. And it’s something we know our
Partner Platform agencies value above all else.
Part of what makes our Partner Platform agency management system and insurance CRM so robust is the partnerships we foster with insurance tech companies. Our Partner Allies specialize in their arenas, from esignatures to comparative rating and more, each Partner Ally hones their technology to serve agency needs.
Our Partnership with Exago and Exago BI
Today we highlight our longstanding partner, Exago. Exago specializes in building and delivering customized business insights with intuitive reporting and dashboards that anyone can use. After designing and implementing our own BI ad hoc reporting system, we found it too cumbersome and confusing for our Partner Platform agencies. Acting on our spirit of innovation and efficiency, the team knew it was time to look for an expert to work with and for our community.
Gaining and retaining customers is a big deal in insurance. When you have a diverse, loyal book of business, you are set to grow and try new things in this evolving digital insurance landscape. In fact, according to the Harvard Business Review, retaining just 5% more customers can boost profits by 100%.
How can you bring that kind of growth to your independent insurance agency?
Know What Your Customers Want
A surefire way to retain customers is by giving them what they want. The same goes for gaining quality leads – give the people what they want!
