How to Get Insurance Clients to Come to You
"All things being equal, people want to buy from those they like.” This paraphrase from speaker and author Bob Burg says a lot about how to get insurance clients. Independent agents emphasize the relationship piece of the client acquisition equation, and rightly so....
Agencies Weigh In: Service Call Centers for Insurance Agency Support
The idea of call centers may bring up heart rates for some, and bring a feeling of relief to others. This somewhat polarizing insurance agency support method has its pros and cons, which can vary from agency to agency. There is no “one size fits all” call center, and...
Making the Most of Automation
If you’re like most small business owners, you’re constantly struggling to get a handle on how you’re using your time. It seems like there’s never enough to get all your work done. You have numerous areas you want to improve, specifically around serving and gaining...
Why Agencies Fear the Self-Service Portal – and Why They Shouldn’t
Control. Fear. Empowerment. 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...
Insurance Agency Marketing for the Generations
It’s never been fair for Generation X. Grouped between one of the largest generational groups (Baby Boomers) and another that remains tantalizingly interesting to marketers (Generation Y, aka Millennials), Gen X is the forgotten middle child. Let them be forgotten no...
People, Profit, and Process: Confronting Agency Succession Planning
Agency succession is coming. You have two choices: make it happen or let it happen to you. As an independent agency owner, you know the first option is the best. Taking control of your succession planning means you’re ready when the time comes. To prepare, you need to...
What to Expect at the 2019 Partner XE Community National User Conference
Here at Strategic Insurance Software, there is one thing I am most looking forward to in 2019: the Partner XE Community National User Conference. As SIS President, the National User Conference brings together all the things I love most about working at SIS: people,...
Modeling Agency Workflow Efficiency
Every minute counts when it comes to your agency operations. There’s no time to waste in an industry with such tight margins. The difference between gaining and losing a customer can come down to which agency reached out first, so quick action is valued. But, speed...
Leading Your Agency into the Digital Age
The average insurance agent is 59 years old. That means they’ve lived through multiple insurance agency systems, having been in the workforce through the advent of PCs, the rise and fall of CD-ROMs, the introduction of email and Google, and a whole host of other major...
To Text or Not to Text: Best Practices for Customer Text Communications
If you’ve been in the business for a while, you’ve seen communication methods evolve. From in-person meetings to phone calls to email, the methods for staying in touch with customers have changed throughout the years. The most recent evolution is texting – a technique...