More
than 90% of companies with more than 11 employees use a CRM to manage their
business better. This includes insurance agencies – yet a targeted CRM for
insurance agents can be hard to find and can be even harder to implement.
Independent insurance agents using the Partner Platform agency
management system are looking for a CRM that fits their agency-specific
needs. They’re looking for a CRM that:
Builds a meaningful pipeline and tracks it in a
single system
Uses shared information to deliver meaningful
coaching to producers
Better manages companies by providing insights
into why “Company A” responded to a quote while “Company B” did not
Increases understanding of lead sources and win percentage
…all within the unique constructs of independent insurance agency operations. When confronted with this challenge, we suggest agencies take the following steps to bring the right CRM into their agency.
Independent agencies are unique in how they sell
and manage new business. Your CRM system
should reflect how you do business and provide structure for greater efficiency
and improved results.
A quality
CRM experience starts with a system that integrates with your agency management
system. Once you have an integrated CRM, the next step is to ensure customizable
workflows, dashboards, and reporting, along with high-quality training and
support. With full system integration, customization, and continued support,
your agency has a solid base for successful CRM usage.
2. Audit and clean your data
Up
to 30% of data stored in CRMs is considered “not useful” to the businesses
that use it. That useless data usually stems from database neglect, with
agencies declining to clean data before transferring it to their CRM. If you
start with clean data, you’ve already saved dozens of hours of backtracking and
deleting or editing incomplete or outdated information. Save yourself the
headache and get ahead of data cleansing.
Think about how you want to use your CRM to align
processes with sales activity. Do you want to look at producer progress? See
how one industry responds to messaging versus another sector? Are you looking
to identify lead sources and win percentages?
Your answers will determine your CRM structuring:
naming conventions, critical data fields, and reporting, among other areas.
Identify these structures at the onset to avoid confusion and eliminate
backtracking to rename misallocated information or find lost data.
4. Identify prospect segments and test how best to reach them
Data segmentation and grouping is the hallmark of a
CRM. Identify segments within your data and begin organizing. Segments include prospects
in the same geographic location, businesses by industry, current versus lost
customers, and a host of others.
Once you segment your data, you can determine and
implement targeted outreach tactics for each group. The more segmentation you
have, the easier it is to understand how different groups respond to tactics. Segmentation
can also help you identify niche markets so you can pursue clients in those
markets and communicate your value.
Gain the Prospecting Tools and Training You Need with
Partner Platform
Get the customization, integration, and training
you need to get the most out of your CRM with Partner Platform.
Our integrated experience means all you need is a
single data transfer to access our
agency management system and Producer
Results Manager CRM among other tools. This all-in-one system provides data
and training consistency, ensuring your entire agency is connected within one
solution, improving your selling process and results.
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.
These are just a few of the emotions I’ve seen on both sides of the client self-service portal experience. Agencies wonder if self-service portals will render human agents irrelevant while customers feel emboldened with the freedom to get immediate service. In this context, this top agency management system tool seems like a must-have yet a no-win for independent agencies. (more…)
Choosing an agency management system can be overwhelming. The thought of overhauling your workflows, teaching staff a new system, and transferring management system data is enough to make your head hurt. But, it doesn’t have to be this onerous. (more…)
Choosing an agency management system can often feel like buying a home. It’s a big decision and will impact your life for years to come. The process can be overwhelming and time-consuming, making it one you don’t want to repeat. (more…)
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.
We strive to provide the best insurance agency software to our Partner Platform agencies, but we don’t have all the answers on our own. That’s where our trusted technology partners, our Partner Allies, come in. In this series, we get to know more about our industry partners and how they bring innovation and expertise to the Partner Platform system.
Based in Nokomis, FL, Lightspeed Voice® is a VoIP, cloud-based IP telephone provider founded in 2009 to provide the insurance industry with reliable VoIP and client relationship management (CRM) solutions.
Lightspeed differentiates through high-touch and high-service, which aligns nicely with Partner Platform’s approach – and is also true for the way our independent agency clients sell. Both Partner Platform and Lightspeed strive to be hands-on, building relationships with clients just as our independent agents do with their customers.
I talked with Lightspeed’s VP of Sales and Marketing, Steve Mohr, about the partnership.
Have you properly equipped your insurance website for sales? Almost three-quarters of insurance shoppers go online to do research and obtain quotes, so you need a quality website to attract those sales.
This shift to online prompted our Partner Platform team to think more about agency websites and how to optimize them for sales and service. We now work with agencies to help them create a custom site to grow their business after seeing several common mistakes. Here are some of the ways we saw agency websites missing the mark – and how we helped them correct their missteps.
