Advanced Sales Techniques for the Small Commercial Market

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Advanced Sales Techniques for the Small
Commercial Market

• By
• Steve AndersonThe Anderson Network, Inc.

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Can You Make Money?

• Compensation
• Job Design
• Duplication of effort
• Right number of companies
• Right number of people

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Expectations

• Sell more insurance
• Provide better service
• Become more efficient
• Survive/thrive
• Unlike Aladdins Lamp, technology does not grant
  three wishes to those who massage it. Technology
  is nothing more than the messenger. The industry
  must rethink the message. Rick Morgan

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Reasons for Past Failure

• Principals and producers not involved
• Internal rather than external focus
• Technology didnt deliver
• Cost vs. benefit
• Resistance to change - failure to implement
• Automation does get some jobs done faster. But
  fundamentally the same jobs are being done, and
  that means no fundamental improvements in
  performance.
• Michael Hammer James Champy Re-engineering the
  Corporation

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Moores Law

• The number of transistors per square inch of
  processor doubles every 18 months while the cost
  remains constant or drops.
• Gordon Moore, Founder - Intel Corporation

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Metcalfs Law

• The usefulness of a network increases by the
  square of the number of connections.
• Bob Metcalf, Inventor of Ethernet

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Small Accounts Today

• Step Child
• Undesirable necessity
• Problem accounts
• Weaker staff
• No Producer involvement

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Why Unprofitable?

• Compensation
• Job design
• Duplication of effort
• Too many companies
• Too many people

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Typical Scenarios

• Separate unit
• Part of large commercial
• Combined with personal lines
• Specialty Programs
• Agencys main focus

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The Potential

• New small businesses
• Sell anywhere
• Can become large
• Provide needed expertise

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Complete Automation Key

• Website quoting
• Proposal, uploading
• Non website quoting
• Integrated, applications, proposal
• Fax or e-mail
• Download policy detail

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Complete Automation Key

• Log all activities
• Use system follow up
• Store fax e-mail
• Use standard letters

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Sales Management

• Sales plan
• Frequent follow-up
• CSR Lead generators, cross-sellers

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Finding Producers

• Agency staff families
• Other industries
• Recent college graduates
• Retail or telephone sales
• Professional civic networks

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Think like your customer

• Wear customer-colored glasses.
• Ask yourself
• What would my customer do?
• What does my customer think?
• How does my customer feel?
• What does want customer want

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Successful Web Sales

• Niche market
• Large geographic spread
• Easy rating
• Easily described
• Easy payment

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Payment Methods

• Direct Bill
• Credit Cards
• E-Check

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Check Drafts
VersaCheck 2004 Gold www.versacheck.com
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Back to the Future

• Before Automation - Customization
• Early Automation and Mass Marketing
• Todays Technology and Mass Customization
• The Internet
• Standardization vs. customization
• Trusted relationships

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One-To-One Marketing

• Focus on Individual customers
• Customized products and services
• Market knowledge from customer interaction

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Success?
Not more customersbut a larger share of each
customer
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Four Basic Strategies

• Identify customers
• Customers disconnected
• Convergence
• Differentiate customers based on their lifetime
  value
• Tiers of customer types
• Actual/Strategic value Share of customer

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Four Basic Strategies Cont.

• Interact - gather new information about their
  needs and preferences
• Learning relationships
• Customize products and services offered to them
  based on their input
• Reward customers for collaborating with you by
  tailoring products and services or providing
  information

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Steps to Success

• Technology is strategic advantage
• Use technology to support marketing and sales
• Dont let technology overshadow sales
• Create systems
• Understand customer wants and needs

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Successful Selling

• Define Selling Process
• Create a sales system
• Work the system

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Why a system?

• Persistence Works
• Producers Dont Follow Through

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What will a Marketing System do for you?

• Clone Your Best Producers
• Take the grunt work off the producers
• Create persistence
• Consistency on how clients and prospects are
  handled

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A Successful Marketing Systems must

• Have a formal marketing plan
• Have centralized control
• Be flexible
• Be comprehensive
• Accommodate individual producer styles

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What system should you use?

• Agency management system
• Standalone marketing software

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Contact Management vs. Automated Marketing

• ACT
• Goldmine (www.frontrange.com)
• Automated Processes
• MAPS (www.martechsouth.com)
• Automated campaign management

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Internet based systems

• ASP Sales Source (www.aspsalesource.com)
• salesforce.com
• FreeCRM.com
• Outlook Business Contact Manager
• bCentral (Microsoft)

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Are people buying online?

• Personal Lines
• Commercial Lines
• Other Products
• Should you sell online?

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Sell other products and services

• Private labeling
• Other insurance products
• Non insurance products and services
• Affiliate programs

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Finding Prospect Information

• Internet resources
• Thinkdirectmarketing.com
• InfoUSA.com
• Thomas Register (www.thomasregister.com)
• Hoovers.com
• Google (www.google.com)
• SEC Edgar Database (www.sec.gov)
• State local governments

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Internet Services

• MarketResearch.com
• Flood Marketing (www.nfri.com)
• MatureHealthCenter.com
• MyPublisher.com
• HowStuffWorks.com
• HalfaPayCheck.com
• SurveyWriter.com

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AddressGrabber
www.egrabber.com
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What to do now once you have them

• Adding to your marketing system
• External Mail Merge
• Importing prospect information
• Bulk email programs

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Contact options

• First Class Mail
• www.stamps.com
• Third Class Bulk Mail
• Fax
• www.zairmail.com
• USA-Direct.com

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Effective Email marketing

• Keep it brief
• Provide value
• Easy to scan
• Format well
• Include links
• Dont put ads first
• Use time sensitive material
• Create good headlines

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Email Systems

• Gammadyne
• Group Mail Pro
• Mailloop.com

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Legislation

• Federal
• Do Not Call
• CAN-SPAM Act
• State

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CAN-SPAM Act

• Correct e-mail header information
• Accurate subject line
• Working return e-mail address
• Unsubscribe process
• Postal address included in body

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Using other Web sites

• Affiliate programs
• Amazon
• InsureHelp.com
• Link share
• Banner ads

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Using your Web site

• Ask permission
• Provide information

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Finding new markets

• AgentSecure.com
• MarketScout.com
• SuperiorAccess.com
• ProgramBusiness.com
• Youzoom.com
• InsuranceNoodle.com

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Electronic Submission

• Agency Based
• PaperPort
• Web Based
• AvantAgent.com
• RiskClick.com
• CBD Document Center (www.cbdi.com)

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Electronic delivery

• PaperPort
• eFax.com
• Email attachments

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Preparing your proposal

• The document
• Pictures
• Graphs
• Color
• PowerPoint

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Additional Services

• HR (www.lawroom.com)
• Accounting
• Small business resources
• Mortgage loans

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Service after the sale

• Transaction processing
• 24/7 customer service access
• Certificates
• Email

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24/7 Customer service options

• CSR24
• CertificatesNow
• Management system
• InScope
• AMS - Service 24/7

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24/7 Usage Statistics

• Online (4/2004 22,000 total transactions)
• 80 Certs Auto IDs
• 9 General Information
• 6 policy changes
• Call Center (4/2004 11,000 total transactions)
• 97 General Inquiry
• 4 policy changes

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Web based customer service
www.csr24.com
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Web based Certificates
www.certificatesnow.com
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Welcome to CertificatesNow
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Select an Insured
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Master Certificates
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Select Certificate Form
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Select Policies
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Attachments
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Master Set Up
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Certificate Form
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Certificate FormDescription of Operations Section
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Attachment Form
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Master Summary
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Master Certificates
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Recipient List
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Delivery Selection
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Delivery Review
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Confirmation
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PocketTAM Logon Screen
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PocketTAM Synchronization Screen
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PocketTAM Add an Activity Workflow
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PocketTAM Locate Client Screen
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PocketTAM Policy List Current Items
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PocketTAM View Account Info Screen
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Worth watching

• VoIP (Voice over IP)
• Wireless networks
• Wi-Fi (802.11b, a, g, i)
• Bluetooth
• Electronic Signatures
• Speech recognition

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Opportunity

• The new consumer, the information society,
  cyber-space, and paradigm shifting technology all
  add up to a great opportunity for Independent
  Agents