Closer Look: Agency Technology

March 12, 2007

Technology expert Steve Anderson of The Anderson Network Inc., a licensed independent agent for the last 25 years, began his presentation to the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas conference in February by asking his audience to consider these key questions: What technology is important to grow a business and how should these tools be used?

Anderson’s answer was that Internet search engines are the new modern and efficient way to prospect clients — a technology tool that offers strategic advantages.

It’s all about the sales culture, Anderson said.

“If you’ve developed a sales culture in which your producers are relentlessly building their book of business — not simply maintaining it — then using the Internet can only enhance their productivity and the agency’s value will grow with it,” he said.

Anderson stressed these basic facts. Technology is a strategic advantage. Use technology to support marketing and sales. Don’t let technology overshadow sales. Create marketing “systems” and understand customers’ wants and needs.

“Technology is a support to the sales and marketing process, it doesn’t replace the process,” Anderson said.

“The skills you have in production and sales are still vitally important so don’t let technology overshadow everything. Technology supports everything you do and that is what is different today.”

A new era

“You know, the days of sitting in the office and taking orders by phone are over. It’s a soft market again and agents must get out there and pound the pavement to increase their book of business,” Anderson said. “It’s a different era and now there are a lot of tools available to you today on the Internet that can help you in the sales prospecting process,” he said.

The point is to learn how to utilize the Internet by learning how to find the key information, he added. “When you finally go in to meet with a prospect you’re armed with information and that is the key to building a relationship with a prospect that will allow you to write insurance for that individual.”

According to Anderson there are five components to a successful agent marketing system and all of them can be utilized and enhanced via the Internet.

Prospect management — The process of finding prospects and acquiring information about those prospects.

Opportunity management — How do you know you have an opportunity with a prospect? What criteria do you need to know?

Campaign management — How are you going to stay in touch and build a relationship over time with that prospect?

Submission — Marketing to insurance carriers and managing that process.

Results management — How do you track what you’re doing in the marketing area? In many cases agencies don’t track the information within the organization very successfully.

Top sites

Prospect management is the beginning step, Anderson stressed to his audience. Know the top Internet sites that agents and producers should access such as: InfoUSA.com., Thomas Register (www.thomasregister.com); Hoovers.
com.; Google (www.google.com); SEC – Edgar Database (www.sec.gov); and, www.datalister.com.

According to Anderson, it is crucial to have a plan once entering any of the sites above. Begin by asking who is the target? How many prospects are in the marketing area for this particular line? Are there two? It may not make sense to spend a whole lot of marketing time and money on an area unless there are 200, he cautions. Once the who, what, where and why are determined — proceed on to the site, narrowing the field as the search continues.

Special Web sites

Anderson emphasized that it is also important to know which sites offer unique or specific information. In addition to the general search for prospects, Google has specialized areas that offer a bonus of information such as Google Finance which provides financial information about North American stocks, mutual funds and private companies and can be searched by company, industry, product/service. Google Local provides business listings, maps and directions. Google maps, among other information, provide a bird’s eye view of an area.

Special prospect information tools are Hoover.com., Thomas Register (www.thomas
register.com), SEC-Edgar Database (www.sec.gov), RiskMeter.com, E2value.com and Nationwide Flood Research (www.nfri.com).

NetQuote offers leads on preferred auto, standard auto, juvenile auto leads as well.

Another site, Datalister.com is a service that supplies workers’ compensation prospect information including X-dates and carrier of record details on over 3.4 million records in 30 states.

“With all of these technological resources at your fingertips, you can’t afford not to make use of what’s available. In the end all of these tools will help you be more successful and continue to grow your business … one Web site at a time,” Anderson said.

Topics Agencies Tech Google

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