“We all need somebody to lean on,” as Bill Withers
said in his famous song Lean on Me. Yet, it can be challenging to know
when and how to ask for help. Working in an independent agency, you likely need
more help than you know. With a small team, everyone is usually tackling more
than one job at a time, making it easy for something to fall through the
cracks.
Though you may intend to put effort and thought
into something, invariably other time-sensative matters comes up. For many
agencies, that something is insurance agency marketing. Whether it’s a customer
request, an uptick in claims, or another important measure, marketing gets put
on the back burner again.
So how do you know when it’s been too long since you paid attention to your insurance marketing? There are a few signs that it’s time to get help.
1. You can’t remember when you last updated your website
In the last five years, websites have gone through
many changes. If you don’t remember when you last logged in to your website’s
editor, you
need to get in there now. Do you have your current logo and branding?
Recent photos of your staff? Is your website readable on mobile devices as well
as desktops? The time to update is now.
2. Your social media presence is stale…or nonexistent
When it first came on the scene, social media was primarily
a tool for personal connection. Now it’s a powerful business tool, too. If your
agency doesn’t have an up-to-date social presence, you’re missing out on
numerous marketing opportunities. Look for help to bring social to your agency.
3. You don’t have (or know how to use) marketing automation
One
excellent tool to help with your social presence is marketing automation. With
marketing automation, you can schedule social media posts to keep your feeds
fresh and reply to interactions with your followers. Plus, marketing automation
can send an automatic email and social messages, track customer and prospect
engagement, and more. It’s now a must-have tool to gain insights into how to
market effectively and streamlines your marketing processes.
4. Your lead generation and closing strategies are old (or don’t exist)
You absolutely need a lead generation, nurturing,
and closing strategy. While
word of mouth marketing is powerful and effective, it cannot be your only
strategy. In recent conversations with independent agency owners and insurtech
providers, we’ve repeatedly heard that finding and cultivating quality leads is
essential for modern independent agencies to survive. Get help to define and
hone your strategies.
5. You don’t have a CRM (or know how to use it)
An insurance CRM is critical to creating and
managing your lead generation and closing strategy. CRMs hold all your customer
and prospect information and help you see the links between
who is your ideal customer and why. It also provides data on what methods
convert leads and keeps customers around. But it can be confusing and
intimidating if you don’t know what you’re doing. If you’re unsure about an
insurance CRM, get help in implementing and customizing. The investment is more
than worth it.
Find out more about how the Partner Platform
agency management system and insurance CRM, and the Partner Platform community,
can be your lifeline. Get
in touch with us at [email protected]
or 800.747.7005, Option 6.
Adam Rapp Director of Product Management & Marketing Greg TIllar Alex Deak Michael Doran Beth Wenning Adam Rapp Bruno Paganini Jake Thaxton Luke Purnell Jordan Owens After 9 years with SIS’ sister-company, Adam joined the SIS team in 2018, making an immediate...
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.
Enter Exago and their Exago BI solution. They
offered canned templates to make available in Partner Platform user libraries and
allow users to adjust reports and dashboards in real-time as needed. Plus, Partner Platform
users can create ad hoc, highly customized reporting and dashboards from
scratch.
What Exago BI Brings to Partner Platform Agencies
In our search for a business insights tool, we knew
we needed something that would adapt to our Partner Platform agencies’ unique
needs. In Exago BI, we found a system that was:
Flexible with canned and ad hoc reporting
and dashboard abilities
Easy to use so employees of all levels of
tech and business understanding could create, manipulate, and read information
Web-based to integrate seamlessly with
Partner Platform’s cloud-based system
Customizable to fit the varying needs of
agencies of any size
Exago BI checked all the boxes. Plus, the people
at Exago mirror the SIS and Partner Platform team: imaginative, resourceful,
client-focused, and community-oriented. SIS CEO Alex
Deak said it best:
When
we decided to start our search for a business insights integration, we knew we
were looking for a partner, not just a solution. After meeting with several
different companies, Exago stood out. Everyone we met with had enthusiasm and
drive. They were client-driven and relentless in finding the best solutions.
Not only is their BI tool powerful and offers great features, but their people match
its excellence. We’re happy with our partnership and look forward to success
for years to come.
Learn More About Our Partnerships
The ingenuity and utility of Exago’s BI system are
part of what makes the system a great fit for SIS and our Partner Platform
agencies. The other part is the common culture we share. As Mike Brody,
President & CEO at Exago, said:
SIS
shares our client-first approach to product development, and it’s made them an
ideal partner. We strive to provide the most user-friendly, self-service BI and
reporting solution on the market, and that wouldn’t be possible without engaged
clients like SIS. They’re always forthcoming with feedback and insight into
their use cases. We look forward to a continued partnership.
Exago is an example of just one of the great
companies we partner with here at SIS. These tech relationships are more than
integrations with our Partner Platform system – they’re commitments from
like-minded companies with diverse strengths working to serve mutual clients.
Our next “Behind Our Insurance Agency Software”
series focuses on encrypted email and
signature provider RPost. Based in Los Angeles, CA, the team at
RPost operates in the U.S., the U.K., and more than 100 countries worldwide.
Formed in
1999, RPost filled an emerging need in online communications. While the
convenience of email made it the dominant form of business communications, the
team at RPost saw a worrying trend in email security. Organizations were
sending sensitive information via the web and needed to protect it.
RPost stepped up to fill that gap between convenience and security, adding legal verification to email content and attachments through encryption technology. I talked with RPost’s VP of Business Development, Jake Finnell, about how RPost brought its powerful encrypted email and esignature services to SIS and the Partner Platform community.
How did you first become connected with SIS and Partner Platform? What prompted you to want to collaborate?
Our partnership started around 2013 thanks to
mutual clients who saw a possible collaboration. They reached out to us and
SIS, asking to integrate our services with the Partner Platform system. When we
connected with the SIS team, we saw the opportunity – it was apparent that SIS’s
clients needed a secure way to send and sign documents. After talking more with
the SIS team, we knew they were someone we could work with; the drive to
collaborate and innovate was there.
How did you first become connected with SIS and Partner Platform? What prompted you to want to collaborate?
Our partnership started around 2013 thanks to mutual clients who saw a
possible collaboration. They reached out to us and SIS, asking to
integrate our services with the Partner Platform system. When we
connected with the SIS team, we saw the opportunity – it was apparent
that SIS’s clients needed a secure way to send and sign documents. After
talking more with the SIS team, we knew they were someone we could work
with; the drive to collaborate and innovate was there.
What services do you provide for the Partner
Platform customer base?
Initially, we integrated our
RMail service with Partner Platform’s email integration. RMail provides
HIPPA-compliant email security and encryption, allowing Partner Platform users
to email documents with sensitive information to their clients. We recently
expanded our services with our RSign esignature service.
With RSign, Partner Platform agencies can send and receive secure, binding
signatures on documents. This makes it easier for agencies to sign new
business, update existing coverages, and process claims for their clients.
What prompted you to want to
collaborate and integrate your technology with SIS and Partner Platform? Why
did you feel the collaboration would be beneficial?
The market demand was strong. Partner Platform is
a popular management system among independent agencies, and insurance agencies
need better ways to send and receive the confidential documents they deal with
daily. We’re excited to partner with the SIS team to provide this essential
service to their agencies because they’re a great team to work with.
What do Partner Platform clients like about
RMail and RSign? What type of feedback do you hear?
We hear great feedback. Agents and brokers are
constantly focused on revenue-generating activities, and the combination of
“ease of use” and affordability are the top two comments we hear. That
combination makes it easy for agencies to generate revenue rather than worry
about security, compliance, and collaboration.
What has been your experience with the
SIS/Partner Platform team so far?
The SIS
team is highly responsive and constantly provides top-tier support and
educational content for their customers. That combination is rare – we can see
how we can grow together, continually improving our services.
What emerging needs do you see for
cybersecurity and insurance in the next 3-5 years?
Every day, we learn something new about how
technology can help us and how it makes us vulnerable. Cyber
threats and attackers are constantly evolving,
and the insurance industry needs to evolve, too, to stay one step ahead. We’re
focused on continually improving our services, and we know SIS is as well. Armed
with SIS and RPost, insurance agents and brokers can keep ahead of these
threats.
As a community-minded, independent agency, you can’t afford to expose your customers to that risk. Not only would it affect you financially, it would also damage your reputation in the community. How can you keep your customers and agency protected?
Know the Possible Threats
Your first step to protecting your agency is to know
what you’re up against. Cybercrime has evolved over the years, and there
are now multiple common attack methods. Some notable ones to watch for are:
Phishing: when a cybercriminal tries to
get an employee to provide information to help them access funds or data (i.e.,
bank account number, access to password-protected data). Phishing usually
originates in an email link or attachment sent from the cybercriminal posing as
someone in the organization or a member of another trusted organization.
Spear-Phishing: when a cybercriminal
targets a specific person in a phishing attack, delivering a personalized
message rather than a mass email.
Malware: a type of software that gets
downloaded and causes data on a device to become scrambled or locked by a
hacker. Malware typically comes through an email attachment or link.
Ransomware: a specific way hackers use
malware, asking for a fee to release control and/or refrain from sharing data
in a way that would harm the organization or person.
Spyware: a type of software used to give
hackers access to a device, allowing them to look at files and use the device’s
camera and microphone. This helps the hacker gather information to manipulate
an organization to give access to their data unknowingly. Spyware is also sent
through an email attachment or link.
Educate and Equip Your Agency
Once you know what to watch for, you can put
together tools and training to help your team stay alert. You can also
update your processes and tools to ensure they’re providing the highest level
of protection. Some critical steps to take include:
Upgrade your software and tech, especially
if you’re still using Windows XP or 7. Virus protection and support ran out for
these a few years ago, so your agency is vulnerable if you’re still using them.
Use two-factor authentication to log into
your agency’s systems, especially your management system, to add extra layers
of protection.
Use a VPN to access your agency’s system,
especially when accessing it out of the office.
Upgrade or install firewalls on browsers to
filter out malicious websites.
A large part of upgrading your protection is
educating your staff. Have regular training to keep them alert for suspicious
activity like:
Unexpected emails from you or your management
team
Emails marked as “URGENT!” or asking them to
take quick action
Receiving an attachment they weren’t
expecting
Requests for passwords or links to re-set
passwords
With your staff as your first level of protection,
you can close potential openings for hackers. Simple actions like googling a
link before opening it or sending someone a separate email when you’re unsure
if they sent a message can go a long way.
Partner with Like-Minded Providers
A final way to keep your agency safe is by
partnering with providers that are protecting themselves (and you!), too. Data
privacy laws hold data owners responsible for all data breaches, so if a
third-party provider makes your agency’s data vulnerable, the blame ultimately
falls on you. Vet your partners accordingly to make sure they’re as on top of
their cybersecurity game as you.
You can learn more about how we put security first
and get a first-hand demo of our Partner Platform agency management system by contacting us at [email protected] or 800.747.7005,
Option 6, today.
This year continued a trend of technology’s growing influence in the insurance market and all industries at large. We saw a shift where more clients embraced agency software and integrated it into their regular systems and processes. This growing interest and influence prompted our Partner Platform and SIS teams to ramp up our tech focus, including several blog posts on this highly relevant topic.
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We’ve worked with countless agencies to help them get their insurance prospecting software to work with and for them. Here are some common pitfalls we see in agencies struggling to put their software to work.
The year 2020 was unique in many ways, one of which was how the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the use of technology across industries. This was just the beginning. We continue to see insurance software emerge as a decisive factor among agencies. Many...
