NAPAA - National Association of Professional Allstate Agents, Inc.

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usiness tips 4 Ways to Grow Your Agency in 12 Months by Steve Mohr cross-selling and up-selling opportunities. An agency management system that integrates with your book of business through nightly downloads takes it one step further by accepting new information, such as new business, endorsements, cancellations and renewals; thereby eliminating the duplicate data entry often involved with maintaining a separate database. It can also save time spent updating cancelled and renewed policies and help you more accurately track producer premiums – all of which give you more opportunity to work on the four steps to agency growth. Where do you want to be this time next year If you’re an optimist, your answer is likely “Bigger, better and faster” but for others, “Still in business” might suffice. Whatever your goals, meeting them takes the right combination of effort and resources to realize results. These days, it’s all about getting back to basics. Agency growth can be summed up into four easily manageable metrics: • Retention • Policy growth • Cross-selling and up-selling • Profitability With the 2011 RFG framework updated to include an emphasized reliance on auto policy growth and a new minimum life policy count goal, it pays for both established and start-up agents to look at how they approach their practice, their current clients, their prospects and their referrals. And while retention may no longer be a factor in the RFG points system, it still goes a long way toward boosting the overall health of your agency. Keeping track of your goals and monitoring your progress can be as simple as integrating a robust agency management system (AMS) into your practice – one that helps you document activity, conduct better follow-up, and better manage 1. Retention Signing up new clients is only half the battle. With rate increases, increased competition from other carriers and everyday financial instability conspiring to take your customers away, you need to be on top of your game in order to hang onto great clients and turn them into loyal followers. When you’re using your AMS to effectively mine your book of business for additional opportunities, it makes it that much easier to maintain your client list – the first step to growth. • Don’t leave customers hanging. Regular policy reviews are a must. While you don’t want to be a thorn in their side – or take away from your time spent on new applications and renewals – regular, personal contact is no longer a given. Stand out from your competition and touch base with that auto client you signed six months ago. This task can be made even more intuitive by keeping good notes on your clients. Are they getting married Having children Changing jobs Buying a boat Make a note to check in, set a reminder and follow through. • Remember the little things. You already have your clients’ birthdates, so 34 — Exclusivefocus Summer 2011
take a minute to set a reminder in your AMS to send a quick “Happy Birthday” email. Don’t look at this as a sales opportunity, but rather a chance to reach out to your customers and stay top of mind. If they’ve mentioned their children’s birthdays or wedding anniversaries, input notes to touch base on those dates too. Holidays of note are also great opportunities to contact them. • Be proactive. Auto rates in your area are about to increase 5% and there’s a better rate elsewhere. Or, underwriting decides to implement policy changes that impact your customers. Whether the news is good or bad, don’t wait for your clients to find out from some other source. Use your agency management system to sort your clients by policy type or property ZIP code to see who will be most affected. Reach out and inform them, even if it might mean losing a client. Chances are, if they leave, you’d have lost them anyway. But when you’re honest and personal with them, you stand a much better chance of earning their business back again in the future, gaining a referral from them, or even hanging on to them, despite the adverse changes. Only the last item will positively impact your retention, but the first two can benefit you in the long run by enhancing your reputation and creating more loyal clients. sale, is there something in your arsenal that can bring them back If you closed them, can they refer you to others In either case, it pays to keep good records. • Pay attention. Are they seeking homeowners insurance because they just moved to town They might be candidates for a better auto policy rate too. Are they getting married If so, they could likely save money by bundling coverage with their spouse. Are their kids about to turn 16 Let them know about your good student rates. Listen to what your clients and prospects are telling you – and make notes, set reminders and follow up. • Remember the referral. Everybody knows someone who wants a better auto rate, or who might need renter’s insurance. You probably won’t get them to hand you a list of phone numbers and email addresses for their friends and family members, but it will pay to have the referral conversation once you close. In an era of online quoting, your personal touch will go a long way toward cementing your value as an insurance agent. One agent I know recommends sending three business cards to new clients 10 days after the sale: “Make it absolutely clear that you need them to give you their best after you have given them yours.” Then, keep track and follow up. • Don’t take ‘no’ for an answer. You didn’t make the sale because the other guy had a better rate. Implement a “requote” process in your agency. Make sure you or your staff enters a note in your AMS on every quote that doesn’t sell, and set a reminder to loop back around at the next renewal or when your rate might be more competitive. 3. Cross-selling and up-selling Whether you have an EFS on staff or you’re referring your financial business to another Allstate office, using an agency management system to keep track of coverage triggers and customer comments can go a long way toward ensuring your ongoing success. • Document their needs. Similar to your existing client follow-ups, make sure you have conversations with your clients and prospects about their overall 2. Policy growth A good agency management system doesn’t just let you focus on your clients – it also allows you to keep track of your prospects and more easily move them toward a close. • Practice note-taking overload. From the moment you identify or purchase a lead until you close the sale – or lose an opportunity – document every step of the way. Enter every phone call, every conversation. Listen when they say they already have insurance, and make a note of who they’re with and when their policy expires. Keep track of their current rates. Jot it down and enter it into the system if they mention their brother has a motorcycle. Nothing is irrelevant when it comes to fact-finding, and logging it into a robust system makes it easier for you to return to that conversation and leverage the opportunity. If you lost the Reports You Want • Cross-selling • XDates • Referral Tracking • Agent Logs • Policy Tracking (renewals) • Producer Productivity Tools You Need • Customers/policies on one screen • Upload books of business • Carrier downloads (Allstate included) • Scan and protect paper documents • Import electronic files (.doc, .xls, .jpg) • Integrate with other applications Simple, affordable agency management tool used by >1,000 agencies just like yours! For more information, visit us at www.eBridgeSolutions.com or call one of our insurance experts at 877.676.6067 today! www.eBridgeSolutions.com 877.676.6067 © 2011 eBridge Solutions Summer 2011 Exclusivefocus — 35
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