ACT Reports On Sales/Marketing Tech

The Agents Council on Technology released the first of amultipart report to help independent agents and brokers build adisciplined sales culture that can take advantage of all technologyhas to offer.

ACT is affiliated with the Alexandria, Va.-based IndependentInsurance Agents & Brokers of America.

The ACT report is the work of its Sales & Marketing WorkGroup, which is responsible for examining how technology can beused to further the independent agents primary function: to createongoing stream of sales.

Asa Pike, chairman of the group and chief executive officer ofAgency Revenue Tools, based in Fryeburg, Maine, in a statement saidthat the groups mission is to encourage producers to look totechnology to increase their sales and sales managementeffectiveness. However, an agency must first create an effectivesales culture.

“A lot has been written about using technology to improve agencyefficiency and service,” Mr. Pike said. “ACT thought it was veryimportant to encourage independent agents to look to technology toincrease their sales and sales-management effectiveness. Phase oneof the report began to take shape when we realized that an agencyfirst needs to position itself to get the most out of this salestechnology by creating a sales-oriented culture coupled withsupporting workflows.”

The report, titled “The Transition To An Agency SalesOrganizationCulture and Process First; Then Technology,” identifiesa four-step process used by owners of sales-driven organizations toachieve growth and profitability.

The steps are:

Infuse the agency with a culture of marketing and sales.

Develop and implement workflows for marketing, selling andprocessing business.

Apply proper technology to manage these workflows.

Hire outstanding talent to leverage that technology.

The report goes on to say that in most sales opportunities, adirect-writing company cannot compete successfully against anindependent agent or broker who offers the client an array ofproducts from several different companies. However, producers doneed the sales system to “get in front of a steady stream ofpotential customers,” the report said. It points out that withtheir massive advertising, disciplined sales processes andtraining, direct writers have been more successful at marketingtheir products.

Jeffrey M. Yates, ACT executive director, said the next reportwould compile success stories showing how agencies use technologyto improve their marketing, sales and sales managementactivities.

Copies of the seven page report are accessible at www.independentagent.com,under the “Whats New” section of ACT.

Reproduced from National Underwriter Property &Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, December 5, 2003.Copyright 2003 by The National Underwriter Company in the serialpublication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as anindependent work may be held by the author.