CRM is one of those catch acronyms that is gaining popularity in most rapidly growing industries. Contact Relations Management (CRM) is the art of keeping up with prospects and clients in a system which utilizes today's technology to help agents increase close ratios. These type of systems are the driving force of sales departments for such companies as Harley Davidson and Staples. These companies have found that recording, tracking and maximizing their prospecting efforts saves time and resources. Throughout the past few years, this type of technology has been making its way into other industries besides the fortune 500, but does it have a place in the Insurance Agency? Absolutely!
Insurance Agents are constantly seeking referrals, purchasing leads, networking, cold calling, and paying for local advertising. What do agents do with the prospect's information if the sale is not made? It is lost in the deep abyss of paperwork in our offices. Post it notes, hand written notes and printed leads proliferate desks of agents across the country. All the necessary questions are asked and typed into a rating system then, they close the sale. But what if the sale is not closed? What is done with this information? How does an agent follow up in six months, send mailers, and retain the information for future repeat marketing? Agents are paying thousands of their hard earned dollars every year and yet not keeping the information they have achieved in the process.
In the past 10 years, a new resource for prospecting has taken the insurance industry by storm. Online Leads. Many agents have been burned by companies that required high deposits or provided shoddy leads. There have been some great resources that have grown despite the problems and agents are flourishing by utilizing these resources. The average cost of an internet lead is 8-15 dollars. These lead sources have a close ratio of about 15-20%. What is being done with the other 80% of their investment? Agents have the prospect's name, date of birth, home information, renewal date. Why not continue to market to these people at their next renewal? How does an agent remember to follow up on each quote, how do they track email correspondence or conversations? In six months, these prospects are still familiar with the agent's name, maybe some good report was created previously. What are agents currently doing to maximize their investment?
CRM systems fill this gap by allowing producers to easily input, manage and utilize the information retained in their prospecting. Such systems have various customizations, email templates, cross selling tools, and automation which allows the insurance agent to focus on what they do best. Agents are available to service the customer and help them preserve their lifestyles through quality insurance.
The key to selling anything is multiple exposures and timing. Agents using CRM tools keep in repetitive contact with their prospects and are able to maintain information such as expiration dates of policies and notes about each prospect for later use. Keeping all the information at the agent's fingertips and allowing for easy access is essential to fully utilizing a CRM system. Most systems allow agents to attach documents and track all notes in one place which eliminates needless paperwork piling up in their offices.
When shopping for the best system for your office, agents must look at what processes the system offers to aid in prospecting and making selling faster and easier.
1. Most captive agents cannot install software on their system so this mandates an online system. Choose an online version to eliminate the need to download software. Online CRM's allow the producer to track the productivity of their office from any computer and still provides all the security required for the insurance industry. Be aware to inquire if they require online versions to be hosted on the producer's servers. Some companies tout that they are fully online, but neglect to mention that the agent needs to pay for separate server hosting with another company. Find an all in one company to make utilization of the system easier on your daily process
2. Consider how the agency receives its leads. Does the system facilitate for various lead sources? Does it have easy data entry? Does it allow agents to import an excel spreadsheet or require the technical department to do it? How do Online Leads work with the system? Will it automatically import online leads and automatically assign those leads to producers to eliminate the down time of someone handing them out?
3. What follow up tools does the system offer, auto responders, drip emails, individual emails, reminders and easy reports to access prospects by expiration dates and other criteria? Following up with prospects is a big job and can consume a large portion of the prospect's day. Explore options for multiple automatic email follow up's, reminders, email templates, and scheduled emails to be set up all at once and delivered on the agent's schedule. Look for a system that will take care of the follow up, allowing the agent to make calls and follow up on time sensitive tasks.
4. How difficult are the customizations to meet the agent's needs for their industry? Insurance agents are experts on the insurance industry, not software developers! A system should not take longer than a few hours (off and on) to train and should be able to be workable easily within a week. The customizations should be geared toward how the agent works their business, not the standards of what the industry mandates. This allows the agent to get up and running faster and with little discomfort. Make sure to explore what integrations with lead companies and carriers that company may provide to cut down on set up hassles.
5. How supportive is the customer service to learn the system and teach the system in a manner that is best for the agent? Does the system provide online training, help functions, support online or by phone? Each person has a different combination of ways in which they learn easiest. Also consider what timelines for training meet your agencies work schedule. Training should be completed at the agent's schedule and with the options of learning in stages. Continued support should be provided as well for when the agent is ready for the next stage in the system (make sure to explore if there are additional charges beyond the first few hours).
6. What security does the system offer both externally to unauthorized users as well as internal security for other agents inside your office? Systems that are housed on a computer are available only on that computer. This option provides a lot of security but are available only on the computer they are housed on. This also allows only one agent in the system at a time on that computer. This discussion opens up the question of what happens if something happens to the computer.
Online systems beg the question of internet hacking. When exploring CRM options, ask what type of security do they provide? Do they manage their own servers, what type of documentation for security measures can be provided and what type of security certificates are in place. When inside the system, make sure the web address starts off with https:// rather than a simple this indicates that a security certificate is in place and actively monitored for outside disturbances.
7. What reporting and marketing tools are available to allow the agent to make the most of each lead? Tools for making the daily processes easier are the core to the CRM system. Agency managers need to look deeper and explore what reporting features are available. Are there productivity reports which are easy to access and easy to read? Do they give a lot of information that is not needed, or are they customizable to view what the agency manager cares about tracking? Does it have easy tracking of the agent work flow and daily activities? Can data on prospects be accessed based on what the agency manager wants to access? Exploring these questions can help the agency administrator decide what kind of system is right for their agency.
8. What do you get for your money? Does the CRM charge for various sections of the application? How much are updates? How often are updates rolled out? Are there additional charges for internet hosting of your system somewhere? Are there hidden fees for activity or limits on data storage? Are there hidden fees for additional training or support? Are the developers open to suggestions on how to improve the system to match daily work flow needs?
Contact Relations Management Systems are great tools for keeping the salesman on top of prospects and keeping the sales process efficient. CRM's are driving every top industry today and the insurance industry is not far behind in discovering the useful tool it can be to the industrious agent. Sales professionals in every walk of the industry are taking the time to investigate how these systems can help them to use their marketing dollars to their fullest extent. Explore the options available and discover what CRM can do for your agency.
Visit agencyiq.net agencyiq.net for more information and resources regarding prospecting for the insurance industry.
Teresa Kitchens
VP Operations of Net-Lead, LLC, the creators of the AgencyIQ System
Teresa is one of the co-founders of the AgencyIQ System and a proud owner of her own insurance agency. agencyiq.net agencyiq.net
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