RCM&D Transforms Sales Process, Culture, Via 'Commercial Insurance 2.0'

With a firm belief that technology functions best when everyone feels hardware and software systems are working for them–rather than the other way around–RCM&D set out to implement tech solutions that would not only streamline the labor-intensive sales process but also promote teamwork and collaboration.

It was this collaborative approach toward transforming not only its systems but its underlying culture as well that earned the firm an Honorable Mention in the “2009 NU Agency Technology Achievement Award” program, run in partnership with the ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Forum, taking place in Orlando this week.

“Because of the complex and competitive nature of the commercial insurance industry, as well as the challenges of the current economy, it's more important than ever that we retain our current customers, drive organic growth, increase sales, shrink margins, and do more with less,” the agency said in its award essay.

The need for better tech support was clear at the Baltimore, Md.-based agency, which has five offices in three states, but incorporating a new system was no slam dunk, and not just because of the firm's jumbo size. (RCM&D produced $450 million in premiums last year–$264 million from commercial lines, $80 million in personal lines, and $106 million in life and health business.)

The challenge, according to Ken Runne, chief information officer at RCM&D, was getting salespeople to commit to a new tech platform that would put critical information at their fingertips and harness their collective brainpower–but while also understanding that they did not want to simply give away their lifeblood, which is individual databases of contacts.

Mr. Runne said the agency did not want to fall into a trap where they “dump technology on people” in hopes it will gain them something. He said RCM&D wanted its work force to buy into the cultural shift the agency was looking to achieve.

Essentially, the essay noted, the goal was to find a technology “that was a selling tool, not a management reporting obligation” for the sales force.

RCM&D selected an SaaS (software as a service)-based solution powered by Austin, Texas-based tech provider ProspX. Though the process was started just six months ago, the essay noted that RCM&D has already shortened sales cycles, closed more deals, and strengthened client and carrier relationships.

The essay calls the agency transformation “Commercial Insurance 2.0.”

When searching for the right technology solution, RCM&D said it wanted a platform that would allow for contact management, opportunity management, and relationship and information sharing/collaboration.

For example, Mr. Runne said, when a salesperson is about to make a call to a potential customer, they should be able to access information on the prospect–such as whether anyone has previously reached out to the company, who the contact is, and what is known about that individual and their organization.

RCM&D considered a number of options, Mr. Runne said, including vendor-provided solutions and out-of-box products–which were rejected, he noted, because the agency wanted the ability to develop and build custom reports.

RCM&D–a member of the Assurex Global network–said the agency's president saw a presentation during an Assurex annual meeting where ProspX demoed its product. After checking out other options, the agency chose ProspX as its vendor, Mr. Runne said, because it was able to provide a customizable platform that satisfied RCM&D's “hunger for information and numbers,” while also allowing for custom reports suited for a salesperson's needs.

A salesperson, Mr. Runne explained, gets a whole history report for a contact, not just a notification that a call was made to an individual at the firm. Data includes what was tried in the past to make a sale, and suggestions on what to do in the future, such as types of coverage sought, pricing, etc.

The essay noted that when implementing the solution, RCM&D identified a “champion” within the agency to “spearhead the initiative and oversee the implementation, internal communication, etc.” The subsequent roll-out plan took approximately three weeks, the agency said.

The process of aggregating all of the relevant agency information was time-consuming, Mr. Runne acknowledged. The agency had to move around 20,000 contacts from the existing management system to the ProspX platform.

Additionally, Mr. Runne said the agency purchased a business card scanner. “People have hundreds, or even thousands of business cards,” he noted, but without a system to help create a focal point for all of that business intelligence, the information could all be lost, he added.

The results of the system implementation, according to the agency, have “successfully transformed our sales culture, unleashing the critical knowledge and relationships of our sales professionals for the collective success of the entire organization.”

Mr. Runne said both senior and junior salespeople use the system actively. He said the system has actually brought senior and junior salespeople closer together.

When a junior salesperson is able to see that a senior counterpart has already contacted a potential customer, Mr. Runne said, the junior will not only ask about the contact but also seek advice, treating the senior salespeople essentially as mentors.

The senior salespeople, Mr. Runne said, are “really beginning to take to that mentorship.” They are not just giving contacts, he explained, but are sharing experiences and lessons they've learned.

This, he observed, is a direct result of having a new tech system in place.

However, the system is one small part of a grander information technology scheme for RCM&D, according to Mr. Runne. The agency has replaced every server and piece of hardware as part of a “very aggressive IT strategy,” tied to its overall mission to keep the agency growing.

An agency must stay “close to the curve,” Mr. Runne explained, to make sure it is up-to-date on new technology, and then pick and choose which solutions work best for its specific needs.