Agencies willing to partner with an investor, bring in an operations manager, and install consistent workflows and marketing tools built around readily available technology will grow and succeed — a much better bet than selling the firm. This according to Billy R. Williams, CEO of the Williams Family Investment Group and president of Inspire a Nation Business Mentoring Services. Williams spoke in October 2019 at the Fort Worth meeting of Agents Council for Technology, a working group within the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of American, Inc. (Big "I") . ACT's mission is to bring all independent agent and broker distribution stakeholders together to advance the use of the most effective agency workflow technologies which enhance productivity, sales & marketing, service, and security. Williams' firm purchases 15% to 20% of an agency and said, with his system, he can make the agency an extra $10,000 per month. Retired from the U.S. Army, Williams has invested in more than 100 agencies. He said his military training encourages him to "track and measure everything." "If we don't track it, it doesn't exist," he said. "Until your daily process, tasks and technology use is stronger than your people, you will never have one hour of mental and physical freedom from your agency." Williams requires his partner agencies to implement six technology-related practices:
  1. Make the gathering and transfer of important data possible and safe.
  2. Make workflows and processes more consistent to implement.
  3. Help the agency build, enhance and maintain the business relationship with a customer.
  4. Allow the agency to have more effective and consistent communication with a prospect.
  5. Free up agency staff and resources from tasks that can be automated so they can concentrate on tasks and processes that produce higher revenue.
  6. Allow the agency to generate and download various business reports in Excel or CSV.
Moreover, each of these tasks has to save or generate $1 million in a 36-month period, Williams said. "We want to do everything inside our agency management system," said Williams. "If you hear an agent say my 'management system stinks', what they really are saying is 'my processes and workflows stink'. I want my CSR to go to one central place to do everything. The reality is, that's not reality. I may want an API within my management system, but it doesn't mean it's safe or secure." Williams said the operations manager role is a "real weakness in the industry. We don't have anyone dedicated to running our business. We are great insurance agents, but we didn't come in to be great leaders or with an operations background or a CPA background." Thus, he added, part of his agreement with partner firms is to appoint or bring in an operations manager. "I want to protect my investment," he said. "But I also want someone who is not stressed over going in 20 different directions." Agency processes, he said, need to be clearly defined, consistently implemented, and regularly spot-checked — just like in the Army. He noted several tools that may require attention or an upgrade. In answer to an audience question about metrics, Williams said he prefers to look at the lead-to-close ratio versus only quote-to-close because "that tells me if my marketing is working. Am I generating enough leads? My quotes after that are telling me if I'm getting back to those leads, like am I getting them on the phone?" He looks at the close ratio by producer. "I can tell if I have a good producer or a price producer. A price producer can only quote price. If all the carriers sound the same and all offer the same kinds of coverage, the only thing I have different is price." "My good agents have a different conversation. They solve problems. They bring up solutions that our clients didn't know they had, like uninsured motorist protection." Older agency principals might not understand all these technology tools, Williams said: "You don't have to embrace everything. Just embrace what you can." A dozen of Williams' go-to insurance agency technologies are outlined in the slideshow above. This article first appeared in ACT News, a Big "I" program newsletter, and is reproduced here with permission from the organization as well as the author. See also:
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