Next in our series on what’s behind our Partner Platform insurance agency software community is the management and operations consulting group, Eisenhart Consulting Group. For over ten years, we’ve been lucky to work with owner Mary Belka and her team.
Mary Belka, CEO and
founder of Eisenhart Consulting Group, has been part of the Partner Allies team
for more than a decade. When she was first introduced to the Partner Platform
system, she was impressed by the hands-on, personalized service the Partner
Platform team provided to one of her clients. Since then, a mutual dedication
to personalized service has made Partner Platform and Eisenhart Consulting the
perfect team for our independent agency clients.
I spoke with Mary to talk about how she came to meet the Partner team, the unique and transformational service she brings to Partner agencies, and how she prepares agencies for the future.
How did you first become connected with SIS and the Partner Platform team?
It was about 10 or 15 years ago while working with an agency
in North Carolina. They had just switched over to Partner Platform and were
experiencing significant accounting issues due to a former employee’s
mismanagement. I hadn’t heard of Partner Platform nor SIS before this, but I
found myself on the phone with them to help my client resolve this issue. Even
though the Partner Platform team had nothing to do with causing the problem,
they methodically and patiently helped us solve it. I was so impressed and
moved by their willingness to help. I’ve worked with multiple big-name
providers and have never seen that level of service.
A few years later, I was running a Total Quality Agency
seminar in Michigan. One of the attendees brought up Partner Platform and the
great experience they had with the system and team. I reached out to (SIS
President) Michael Doran to pass on the compliment, and he got in touch
with me after that. We started talking about ways to connect our insurance
consulting with Partner Platform agencies, and the rest is history.
How do you collaborate with SIS and the Partner Platform community today?
It was clear from the start that the Partner Platform team
shared our interest in equipping agents for success. We provide one-on-one and
group coaching and education sessions for Partner Platform agencies, giving
them hands-on consulting on best practices for distinct areas of their business
and their agency as a whole.
My team has led an Account Manager School, Producer School, and targeted accounting and E&O session,
among other educational programs. We work closely with each agency and provide
process documents and workbooks to individualize their experience and bring it
back to their agency.
How would you describe the experience of collaborating with SIS and the Partner Platform community?
First off, it’s a dream to use the Partner
Platform system as a base in our courses. The system offers a depth of
capabilities without being complicated. That ease of use, combined with the
various capabilities, makes it an excellent tool for teaching. Specifically,
the integrated
accounting and insurance
CRM are essential for the similar-sized agencies we serve.
As for the SIS team, I heard so many good things before I
got in touch, and they all were true. We have a mutual set of clients in
independent agents, and our goals are the same: helping the agencies succeed. It’s
a true partnership all around.
You have unique experience in the insurance industry. What do independent agents gain from working with you over a big-name firm?
Large firms tend to operate on a one-size-fits-all system.
They have a template and fit their clients into that structure in their consultation.
While we have base outlines and procedures, our focus is on fitting our
services around the agency’s needs. We look at ways to help the agency be more
efficient, giving them space to focus on how they can better serve their
customers.
Personally, I have experience in the industry, including as
a certified E&O auditor, and am familiar with the nuances of, say,
accounting within an insurance agency. You might say after this many years,
that, “we’ve seen it all,” at one time or another. The combination of that expertise and
experience means our team can see opportunities where others cannot.
What kind of feedback do you hear from the agencies you work with?
The biggest thing we hear is: “You’ve changed everything for
us.” That means we were successful in helping agencies see old processes in a
new way, opening up space for them to gain maximum efficiency in otherwise
time-consuming tasks and increased accuracy in their customer service. We also
hear that we’ve helped them operate with a new mindset: one of learning and
growing. That’s the kind of lasting change we strive to bring to an agency.
You’ve worked in the insurance industry for over 40 years. What do you see ahead for the industry in the next three to five years?
This is something we think about a lot as we continually
improve our sessions. This past year showed us aggregation is growing, meaning
smaller agencies need to strengthen themselves or be overtaken by a larger
provider. Buyers are on the look-out for vulnerable agencies. That means our
independent agency clients need to think long-term, especially around preparing
for perpetuation and keeping their valuation protected.
The key to building valuation lies in shifting from being
all things to all people to focusing on doing the select things you do well. Insurance
customers want and need knowledgeable agents. The recent COVID-19 pandemic
brought that lack of knowledge to light with businesses, events, and individuals
experiencing loss without coverage. We need more agents to grow their knowledgebase
to serve their customers better.
With a solid knowledgebase, agents can be more flexible and
adaptable, something they’ll need more and more in the coming years. Cybercrime
and climate change threats continue to grow and change. We need agents to be
nimble, embracing elements like automation, remote work, and greater
connectivity to help them stay prepared for the unknown.
Find out more about our educational offerings, including
our Account Manager and Producer Schools, and how the Partner Platform can
serve your agency: get in touch at [email protected],
or 800.747.7005, Option 6.
Small businesses point to accountants as some of the most important professionals for their business. That may be because 60% of small business owners say they don’t know the first thing about finance and accounting. As a small business owner, you can probably relate. Many independent agency owners find themselves in an accounting crash-course when they start or take over their business. How can you beat the odds to get a grasp on your agency’s finances and position yourself for future growth?
The answer is quality insurance accounting
software and training. In fact, close to 65% of small
business owners make use of accounting software. With the right technology,
you can make your agency finances more manageable and even find a way to bring
on an expert with the money you save. To get you started, here are some of our
best insurance accounting posts.
1. Getting Your Insurance Finances in Order eGuide
More than just a blog post, this
eGuide provides a wealth of tips on how to get your agency finances set up
right. With a solid base, you’re ready to delve deeper into assessing your weaknesses
and opportunities.
4. Ask the Experts: Top Financial Questions and Best Accounting Software for Insurance Agents
Before we talked to our accounting experts about
perpetuation and M&A, we looked to Donovan, Sullivan, and Ryan CPA and
Partner Chris Ryan and our in-house expert, Director of Product Management
Bryce Lee, to talk best accounting software for the independent agency. In
this post, Chris and Bryce cover common accounting questions, how to face
challenges and the best tools to manage accounting in insurance.
5. Five Insurance Agency Accounting Blogs to Add to Your Summer Reading List
We pride ourselves on bringing our readers the best
agency accounting information, but we know we can’t contain it all. This
post highlights some of our favorite blogs for the latest in insurance
accounting and finance.
Get the Right Accounting Software and More from the Experts at SIS
Last year, we began planning our 2020 Partner Platform National Learning Event. While we expected it to be different from our 2019 event, we never anticipated the COVID-19 global pandemic challenges. Yet, our innovative and adept team and SIS partners readily came together to form our first Virtual National Learning Event.
On October 15th and 16th, we
welcomed over 750 registered guests for two days of learning. Guest speakers
and our dedicated staff lent their expertise, and well over 3,000 views poured
in as attendees participated in an average of five sessions each.
Over the two days of the event, the Partner
Platform community encountered great insights from all who came, delving into
engaging questions and continuing to sharpen the Partner Platform tools and experience.
SIS CEO Alex Deak kicks off the National Learning Event with a nod to the many SIS Partner Platform partners
As CEO Alex Deak kicked off the event by covering SIS Partner Platform’s 2020 milestones, he also delved into what’s to come in 2021. Then, he turned things over to keynote Dr. Debra Jasper, Founder and CEO of MindSet Digital, who spoke on one of the event’s central themes: remote work and the power of digital connections.
After a Partner Platform 2020.4 overview from Director of
Product Management Bryce Lee, the event turned to simultaneous
presentations on one of three learning paths: agency growth and retention,
valuation, and Partner Platform best practices.
Guest speakers included:
CPA
Chris Ryan, Partner at Donovan, Sullivan & Ryan, speaking on agency valuation
and perpetuation
Bryce Lee joined SIS
President Michael Doran to wrap up the event, sharing about “The Future of
Partner” with updates on coming improvements and enhancements in 2021 and
beyond.
Immediately following the event, our team was
flooded with feedback – a hallmark of the Partner Platform community. Some of
the responses included:
I really enjoyed the webinars. I felt like I learned something in each one I attended. As always, I am very impressed with Partner and your team. Good job!!
Amazing
seminar these past two days! Thank you for all of the great information and
updates. It was nice putting faces to names. It was also nice because we felt
heard. A lot of things we had inquired about and proposed were being addressed.
So, thank you and the Partner team for that.
Just
wanted to thank Partner for the past two days of webinars. I learned so
much. It’s nice to know your company is
always moving forward with technology.
So user-friendly, so glad we become customers!
Thank
you!! We started using SIS at least eight years ago at my agency and have
always appreciated your customer service and willingness to listen to our needs
as an agency. You have come so far since the early days, and love all the
innovation and improvements.
Thank you to all who attended, provided feedback,
and contributed to our commitment to always innovate and grow.
If you have additional thoughts or feedback,
please get in touch at [email protected].
And, if you missed sessions or want to revisit any of the workshops, all
Partner Platform users can access the recorded sessions on PartnerNet here.
Thank you again, and we look forward to seeing
everyone again next year!
5 Key Things to Look For in an Agency Management System Demos Guides Blog News Carriers FAQs Events Your agency management system is the hub of your operations, so considering a change of system is a big deal. We’ve helped over 700 agencies make the transition...
Community matters. It can push us, shape us, affirm beliefs, and challenge them to make us better. That’s why we at SIS shaped our Partner Platform agency management tool around community. Whether it’s our community of Partner agencies or our partnership with local insurance groups, we believe in being a part of community whenever possible.
The insurance industry – like others today – is understaffed. In late 2021, an insurance labor market study showed that 53% of agencies planned to “aggressively hire” within 12 months to fill vacancies. The same study also showed that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to fill open positions. As an owner, your insurance agency management relies on knowledgeable staff, but it can be challenging to fill positions in today’s market.
With hiring season just around the corner, your agency needs to focus on how to recruit new talent for your team. Past tactics may no longer work on a younger, more tech-driven workforce. It’s time to expand your outreach, position insurance differently, and look for diverse qualities to keep your agency growing.
Mike Maranda has been in the insurance business for over 40 years. He’s guided his agency through many seasons, but his recent journey to find the right agency management system for his team was one of the most painful.
After many years with a system they loved, Quality Insurance Service was forced to make a change when one of the big-name providers acquired their original system. Mike and his business partner decided to pick one of the big-name systems to avoid needing to make a change again anytime soon.
Yet, after selecting one of the dominant providers, they were frustrated to move through a cumbersome system with unresponsive service. After four years, they’d had enough and started searching for a new system, eventually joining the Partner Platform community.
As the insurance industry grows more competitive, the particulars of your specific insurance agency management will make your business stand out. Those particulars could be location proximity, ease of doing business, or even something as simple as how your website looks. Though price still matters, changes in cost can only go so far.
The true test of what makes your agency the best choice is the overall customer experience. Seemingly small touches that make each interaction easier, more personable, and leave each customer with a positive feeling have a real impact. Today it’s about more than the best price and the latest tech; it’s how you use these tools to empower, differentiate, and create the best experience in your agency.
