How Your Agency Management System Can Help You Stand Out During Q4
An agency’s sales and retention strategy is put to the test during Q4. Brokers are running around trying to secure a big account while managing their current clients’ expectations and keeping them happy.
“Wouldn’t it be great if all of these account management tasks were handled automatically?” Of course, there is a solution: the agency management system (AMS).
If you have an AMS then you already have access to all kinds of tools that will help you manage your client’s expectations and ensure that they’re happy with their experience.
Signal Sync’s Agency Engine can enhance that experience even further—without forcing you to change your AMS.
Here are four ways to supercharge your agency management system and ensure your agency stands out during Q4.
1. Take the compliance burden off the employer’s plate
Employers are increasingly expecting more from their brokers—who must be prepared to step up or risk losing their business. One way to go above and beyond is to provide additional services by helping with compliance.
For example, sometimes it’s unclear which regulations the employer must follow and which ones the broker must follow. Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) compliance is one example that feels like it could be the broker’s responsibility but is actually the employer’s.
This is a great opportunity to go the extra mile for clients by providing a wrap doc. A wrap doc includes the necessary plan document and summary plan description information required by ERISA, plus other federal compliance details and necessary benefit explanations.
The AMS already has all of that client and plan information in the system, so, it’s easy to create a wrap doc that takes little effort on the broker’s part but does a whole lot to keep the employer in compliance.
2. Help employees better understand their benefits
With employers spending so much of their budget on employee benefits, they want to make sure that their employees understand how their plans work and what they’re getting. Some employers assume that the summary plan description is sufficient for helping employees know what’s covered, but a full benefit book can be another educational tool.
Benefit books are easy to generate when all of the information is already available in the AMS and our Agency Engine integration can literally deliver them in minutes. This simple guide can make a big difference in improving employee benefits utilization which is a huge bonus for your client without taking up a lot of your time.
3. Proactively tackle the compensation conversation
The new broker compensation disclosure requirement could lead to some uncomfortable conversations if you aren’t prepared to show why you’ve earned your commissions as your client’s broker of record.
Once again, an AMS can come to your rescue.
Because you’re already tracking commissions throughout the year, it’s easy to generate a full and accurate stewardship report for each of your accounts. Unlike ERISA compliance, commission transparency is the broker’s responsibility, and a proactive approach allows you to set the tone of the conversation.
A stewardship report like those available with an Agency Engine integration goes beyond the plan details to show the value you provide as the broker of record. When you’re tracking that information in an AMS, it’s easy to generate a thorough report of the great work you’ve done.
Delivering that stewardship report alongside your compensation disclosure can make your end-of-year conversations go much more smoothly. A stewardship report highlights all the services you’ve provided your client in the past year and how they benefited from your efforts.
4. Simplify prospect and client communication
The most you’ll ever hear from your clients is during Q4, and vice versa. It can be hard to keep track of which client asked for what and when. Managing all of these requests and conversations means greater customer satisfaction—and greater win and retention rates. It should be easy for customers to get in touch with you for any problems they’re experiencing and have them resolved quickly.
The AMS makes it easy to keep track of all of these ongoing conversations. Like any good customer relationship management (CRM) tool, it can help you manage and improve how you interact with prospects and clients.
Bonus: if your solution has a help desk feature, you can direct clients and employees to send tickets through the system instead of trying to field requests through easily-lost emails. You can track your customer service requests and keep everything tied to your client within the system.
Should you switch your account management system during Q4?
With all of the craziness of Q4, you’re probably thinking, “Why would I add a technology upgrade on top of everything else I have to do?”
Because integration is simple—and it could be the difference in helping you win and retain business before year-end.
If your current account management system isn’t providing everything you need right now, that doesn’t mean you need to switch (though you may want to reconsider when busy season is over). And if you’re still managing employer information in an Excel spreadsheet, it’s not too late!
Agency Engine integrates and connects with the tools you’re already using to help you increase efficiency and deliver more value for clients:
- Ease
- HubSpot
- Zoho
- Adobe Acrobat Document
Your clients expect a modern solution from a modern agency; having the right technology can make all the difference for your sales and retention goals.
Schedule your 15-minute analysis discussion today.
