Many economists are forecasting a recession soon. Some say it has already started. Naturally, businesses need to prepare for that economic downturn. Since growth is much more difficult during a recession, insurance agencies need to figure out ways to keep profits stable while they weather any cyclical contraction.
Insurance agencies who aren’t leveraging the plethora of tools Salesforce provides, would do well to do so before such a downturn is in full swing. That way, your business is poised for success during what could prove a difficult time.
Out With the Old
Much of the software common in the insurance industry is outdated. While that software has myriad good elements, it lacks the automation capabilities of an all-in-one platform like Salesforce. Often, we see no reason to fix what isn’t broken. Because change can be difficult, we see little reason to do it.
But, as someone in the insurance industry, you understand — better than most — the value in an investment in the future. Preparation for devastating events out of your control is essential. Your whole industry is predicated on that concept. So, having a safety net in place ahead of such events is all but mandatory.
The Upgrade
While legacy software is far from “broken”, it rarely allows you to maximize the potential of the market during a time when every dollar counts. Moreover, you don’t know what you’re missing. When sales are harder to come by, it reveals the gaps in your methods. By then, it is too late.
Switching to Salesforce allows you to not only keep what you already have but also improve upon it. Automation is key. While many legacy software has such capabilities, it lacks centralization, which in turn precludes automation, the way Salesforce does.
A unified model, one that allows you to see all the relevant information in one easy-to-navigate place, maximizes resources, saving insurance providers time. And, as we all know, time is money.
Time is Money
It is no secret that there is high turnover in the insurance industry. With an ever-rotating cast of agents, renewing licensing to simply enable your team to do business can be laborious. Salesforce automation allows you to keep license status in sync, freeing your employees to focus on other operations that are more fruitful instead of getting bogged down with something that is just needed to even function. On a similar note, differing paperwork requirements between states can also cause snags that are better off left to automation.
Employing Salesforce to auto dial with Amazon Connect is another massive boon. When you allow Salesforce to shoulder the burden of some of the daily rigamarole of operations, you can begin to drill down into the ways you can generate more revenue, giving agents the gift of time. That gift of time allows them to focus on closing instead of dialing.
Since you’re in the business of selling policies, quotes are your bread and butter. Automating quotes allows you to pull agents into the process only when they are needed. If the customer has already gotten an email with a slew of options, they can deliberate at their own pace, improving user experience. Satisfied customers are more likely to renew.
With a quote in hand, a customer is ready to pull the trigger. Then agents step in to put the finishing touches on the process, allowing them to have a better chance of closing a deal with less time investment.
Turning the Dials
Since Salesforce allows you to track data down to the granular level, you can see how each agent is performing, and so can they. This gives you better insight into better ways to provide incentives to agents to close more deals, and, since sales agents earn commissions, motivates them to troubleshoot on their own accord.
Such visibility increases agents’ autonomy, reducing micromanaging and improving employee satisfaction. This allows them to understand when to intelligently follow-up with clients, which keeps the agency at the forefront of customers’ minds. Employee satisfaction is key during a recession. Keeping those employees that are driving your business forward on the payroll when times are tough, positions you to come out of the other side of any recession with minimal damage to your bottom line.
So, switching to Salesforce ticks all the boxes, dialing in every pillar good business practice. Centralized data and increased visibility saves time. Time saved makes agents more productive. Automation improves customers’ journeys. All together, Salesforce works synergistically with what you have and turns the benefits up to eleven by simply tweaking the dials a bit.
During the inevitable economic contraction, those tweaks can make a big difference.
Written by the experts at Accelerize 360
We are a team of technology experts with more than 500 implementations to our credit. We work across clouds, advising clients on different aspects of the insurance industry. Our motto is to never stop learning, so we’re always pushing the boundaries of Salesforce. Contact us: https://www.accelerize360.com/contact
