As the holiday shopping season approaches, we’re bombarded with ads for new gadgets that will “change your life.” These devices might deliver on that promise – but often they don’t. A new phone, updated tablet, or surround sound speaker system can end up feeling, well, underwhelming. Why? Because we often don’t realize their full potential.
The same rings true for your agency management system and its potential for insurance solutions.
Are You Leaving Money on the Table?
If you’re like most agencies, you’re using your management system daily…but only to manage data. There is so much more your system can accomplish! Tap into your management system’s potential by utilizing its time-saving, workflow-optimizing features.
Use tailor-made workflows
Great management systems provide the ability to customize workflows, naming conventions, and reporting to reflect how your agency works. Take advantage of these opportunities to make your agency management system more in sync with your processes.
Create shortcuts, allowing users to jump right to the screen they need. Design workflows that match individual users’ daily processes. Make reports that give you the information your team needs, in the way they need it. These seemingly small changes can seriously overhaul your agency’s workflow.
Read about Partner XE’s customization options
Get rid of the paper
If you haven’t yet, your agency needs to go paperless. The time and money saving benefits alone are huge.[bctt tweet=”If you haven’t yet, your agency needs to go paperless. The time and money saving benefits alone are huge.” via=”no”] Plus, documents and data stored virtually is protected from loss, damage, and theft in the security of the cloud.
Your management system is set up to run a paperless operation. Use email syncing to send and receive policy documents and attach them to customer profiles. Skip printing directions and documents when on the road with mobile access via your provider’s app. Take advantage of easy scanning and document management, transferring all your agency documents to one centralized location.
Sync with download
RealTime, personal and commercial lines, and bill commissions download were designed to speed up your agency’s operations – use them! RealTime alone can save hundreds of hours over the year, eliminating keystrokes and automatically updating customer information daily.
Personal and commercial lines downloads hold the same benefits. Your customer service team can skip hours on the phone with carriers and simply download their recent pricing and coverage updates. For producers, bill commissions downloads process “who gets what” in a matter of minutes. And each process reduces human error, upping your E & O protection.
Learn about other agency efficiency tools here
Grow your business
Use reporting to monitor and grow your book of business. New business reports give an idea of your annual cycle and referral methods – that is, if you track referral methods in your management system (you should!). Retention reports provide similar information, giving a look at your annual and monthly rates and average length of retention. Pay attention to drop off patterns as they may signal gaps in your customer service.
Improve your retention and referral by building customer relationships. Your agency management system’s email integration and notes features can help you track customer engagement, growing your relationship with each customer. Calendar and reminder features allow you to track birthdays, anniversaries, or other important events and remind you to reach out. These small touches can make a big difference.
Find out how to gain business through referrals
The Key to Maximizing Your System
Many agency members will look at this list and think, “Great – but how do we start maximizing our management system this way?” The key is changing agency culture to focus on continual learning and improvement. Start by:
- Accessing your provider’s learning resources
- Providing time on the job to share best practices
- Engaging your provider’s training teams
At SIS, we’re continually improving our Partner XE management system to meet our client’s needs and engaging agencies in ways to use Partner XE to the fullest. Through agency specific workshops, regional trainings, and online support, we’re committed to helping our clients maximize their Partner XE experience.
Want to learn more? Request a Partner XE demo and contact us with questions at 800.747.7005, Option 6 or [email protected].
Sarah Deak has been contributing to the SIS team since 2013, covering topics like agency perpetuation, workflow improvements, data security, and marketing. She has a background in small business, working with organizations to improve their online presence and client engagement. Sarah also writes for the SIS newsletters and website, and counts herself lucky to hear from our many passionate, hard-working clients for our client stories. Her favorite part about working for SIS are the dedicated, service-minded people.