Work is work, no matter which way you spin it. But there's a very big difference between nailing your sales strategy and trudging through the processes just to get to the other side of a sale. Frustratingly for many agents, the insurance industry is still fairly dependent on the "trudging through administrative tasks to get things closed" part of the sales strategy. How so?
There's the paperwork.
The back and forth faxing.
The clients that drop off at the last minute.
It's a lengthy back and forth of paperwork that can put friction on sales and take up time that could be better used to build your business.
But online sales tools are giving agents a big advantage when it comes to their workflow. How? Digital tools help remove the "trudging" aspect of sales. More importantly, though, these tools are giving agents the opportunity to catch a breath.
A successful insurance agency requires a few key things: momentum (to get those deals moving forward), happy customers (to spread the word and connect you with other prospects) and breathing room (time so you can assess where to go next and/or how to tweak your existing business). Without these three things, there's a high chance you're facing moments when you feel like you're just schlucking through the sales process. That's exactly why tech is such an integral component in any modern insurance agencies.
To put it into a simple equation: insurance sales strategy + technology that streamlines workflow = breathing room
So what are some of the ways agents can use tech to actually get this breathing room?
1 . Cloud storage lightens the paperwork load and provides a searchable database
Files. Oh, those files. I've seen rooms packed so high with paperwork it teeters on the edge of dangerous. Using cloud technology to store those stacks in thin air (well, kind of) saves you the worry of whether they'll crush you or not. I'm kidding on that last one, but cloud storage does give you the ability to store all the info you need without having to print and file. This searchable database also allows you to access your files quickly and easily. Dropbox is a popular cloud storage option, but others like Box and Google Drive are also admirable contenders.
2. Tablets give you a "mobile desk"
Things are fairly (read: extremely) mobile nowadays. That means a client expects you to be at your desk at all times of the day. This, as you probably already know, is crazy talk. You don't want to be at your desk all day… nobody does! But when it comes to closing a deal at a moments notice? Now that's a little more appealing. So how to reconcile the issue of being there for a client without having to live at the office?
Take your desk mobile. Tablets give insurance agents the option to get their tasks done wherever they may be. Your commute home turns into an opportunity to connect with a client. iPads are well marketed options but there are plenty of other tablets on the market (a Samsung Galaxy, for instance, comes in at half the price of an iPad).
3. eSignatures solve the paperwork bottleneck problem
Of course, a tablet could end up just being another way to check email if you're not optimizing it as a tool to close deals. eSignature software that offers clients or prospects the ability to legally sign digital paperwork using an iPad turns your tablet into a walking contract. Beyond tablet signing, eSigning that's user friendly is also useful for agents wanting to make the sales process as painless as possible for their prospects.
Agents already know it's important to put in the research, keep up with the trends, and harness every advantage they might have. But the big-hitter advantage that online sales tools bring? Added bandwidth for agents as they continue strengthening and out-prospecting their competition. By integrating new technologies, you can quickly and easily streamline your sales strategy and (finally!) catch a breath.
Who knows what ideas that breathing room could inspire for your strategy.
Claire Murdough is chief content creator at HelloSign, a company dedicated to providing secure and legally binding eSignatures to insurance agencies and businesses. A San Francisco-based writer, her work has appeared on sites like Yahoo News, Motley Fool, and Business Insider. You can read more of Claire's tips for streamlining workflow on the HelloSign blog.
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