How to
Get the Most Out of Your
Agency
Management
System
Intro: Get the Most Out of Your Investment ... 1
Partner Right ... 4
Make it a Perfect Fit ... 6
Map Your Processes to Your System ... 8
Never Stop Learning ... 10
Know When It’s Right ... 13
Get the Most
Out of Your Investment
As an agency, you rely on your agency management system to take care of everything from tracking leads to invoicing clients, so you want it to work with you and for you. You shouldn’t be battling with your agency management system, or with your provider. You need a tool that fits your agency and not the other way around. Whether you have an agency management system, or just started looking for one, this eGuide will help you find out how to make it work for you.
Partner
Right
Before you invest in a specific management system, look at the provider. You’re not just getting an agency management system, you’re getting the people who created it, provide service for it, and decide how to change it. You want to be sure your agency fits with the management system and the people behind it. When looking at a potential provider, search for one who:
Has staying power: Look for a vendor who has been around for a while, and intends to stay. Be careful of start-ups as a larger, less personal vendor could acquire them in the future.
Goes with the flow: Find a provider that is aware of technological changes and the evolving needs of your agency. Look for a company that will make changes to what you have instead of making you switch over to a new system year after year.
Lends an ear: Choose a provider that listens to your concerns and responds to what you need. Look for a place with greatcustomer service, preferably one where you get your own personal representative.
Stays in touch: Look for a provider that is available when you need them. Find a provider that makes it easy for you to reach them, providing you ways to contact them by phone and e-mail, and who gets back to you ASAP.
Puts you first: Be wary of companies that are tied to investors or are just looking at the bottom line. Independent providers are less restricted by these pressures and can focus on you, their clients, first.
Builds community among users: User group are a great place to learn about new tools and find out what you can do with what you have. Good providers learn what their management systems can do, and what it should do, via these users groups.
Make it a
Perfect Fit
We all know the story of Goldilocks and the three bears: Goldilocks tries out the bears’ food, chairs and beds and settles in to the items that are “just right.” When it comes to your agency management system, you need to be Goldilocks (minus the breaking and entering, of course).
You should be wary of providers that try to talk you in to capabilities you don’t need. Ultimately you should look for a provider with personalized customer service who will be honest with you about your agency’s needs and capabilities. No matter what capabilities you choose, make sure you educate yourself on how to use them so your investment doesn’t go to waste.
As you take a look at different capabilities offered, below are a few your agency will likely want anduse:
Consistent automatic back-up Integrated accounting Mobile access Email integration Electronic signature verification for E&O compliance
In the end, it all comes down to ROI. Is your investment in additional capabilities going to yield results? You should only commit to paying for the things you’ll be using often. Verify
the capabilities you need most and test them thoroughly. A good provider will listen and work with you to make sure the solution meets your requirements and, when needed, offer options
Mapping Your Processes
to Your System
One great way to get the most out of your agency management system is to ensure your processes fit its capabilities and vice versa. Start by evaluating your processes. Check in with your employees to identify your systems and get them together to talk about how processes happen from start to finish.
Hit topics like:
n Handling quoting and renewals
n Writing policies
n Handling collections
n Integrating with your carriers via real rime connections
n Retaining business and customer communication
Once you’ve honed your agency’s systems and processes, look to your agency management system to see how you can map your workflow to your system. Any good system should integrate well with your agency’s needs, but you must first identify those opportunities for increased efficiency. Here are some great ways your agency management system can help your processes work faster and smarter:
n EMAIL INTEGRATION, such as Partnet XE’s Outlook integration, will link all your emails with clients and prospects listed in your system. This links all account history to one place, saving you steps and ensuring E&O accuracy.
n TO DO LISTS, which can be attached to client, policy, claim and/or Individual profiles, put your agency’s processes right in your management system.
n INTERNAL MESSAGING allows you to get updates to a co-worker right as they are working within your agency management system. This makes it easier for them to act as they have all the info they need right in front of them.
Never Stop
Learning
Although your agency received set-up training, you may have overlooked some of the ways your agency’s management system can work for you.
There are hosts of ways to continue your education on what your agency management system can do, and you should continue to take advantage of these opportunities. Along with continual system updates, your provider should give you different ways to stay up to date on these changes.
Some of these resources should include:
User groups and conferences that provide networking opportunities with other users. Attending these
conferences will let you see your agency management system in a new light through the experiences of other users. Many provide interactive training sessions on system updates, allowing you to test out new capabilities first hand.
Training workshops, which function like mini-conferences, and tend to focus on specific system capabilities like accounting, prospect research, or e-mail integration. These workshops offer a great opportunity to learn more about features you may not use often, and provide perspective on connections between the different capabilities of your agency management system.
Webinars to fit training in to your busy schedule, and to provide consistent education on your system’s capabilities. Since many webinars are recorded, you can sign up and watch them later if something comes up. When participating in webinars, pay attention to the Q & A sessions as you may find some questions provide insight into new ways your management system can help you. Good providers offer webinars at least quarterly, and whenever new features are added.
Online and onsite training to give your employees hands-on training. These sessions should be offered when you first launch your agency management system and as it is upgraded or your agency gains employees. Online training is convenient as it can be recorded and viewed later as needed. Many providers have client specific portals, like SIS’s PartnerNet, which provide access to a host of training and support resources.
Know When
It’s Right
It will take some testing to see how your agency
management system can work best for you, but
ultimately if you have a good system and provider
it shouldn’t take much effort. Take your time in
selecting your provider and your agency management
system, and the rest will come easy.
Although we can’t speak for other providers, we at SIS can confidently say we meet the provider checklist. With customizable systems,
personalized customer support , and a host of training and learning resources, SIS and PartnerXE are ready to help your agency run smoother. Visit us online or contact us to find out about what
About SIS
Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Strategic Insurance Software (SIS) is the team behind Partner XE—an innovative web-based insurance agency management system that helps independent agencies streamline workflow and grow their business. Built on a foundation of strong technology and exceptional service, we’re moving forward with a constant eye on innovation that will make independent agents’ lives easier.
About Partner XE
Supporting downloads from nearly 300 carriers, real time interaction,
integrated agency accounting, and much more, Partner XE is a full-featured agency management system at an affordable cost for the independent insurance agency. For more information, please visit www.sisware.com
