By Stacey
Miranda,
Sales Manager, Keal
Technology
Originally published
in the Sasksatchwan Broker Magazine – Fall 2014
There is a wide disparity of
technology adoption in the Broker community.
Some make better use of technology than others, yet there are still very
few brokers nationally that are taking full advantage of the tools available to
them. We see brokers that are large and
prominent in their respective communities and you might assume they are high
users of technology, yet in digging deeper, you will find they waste hundreds
of hours manually processing items for which there is an automated
solution.
Why?
It is definitely not ignorance.
Insurance Brokers are some of the most connected and tuned-in groups of
any industry.
Instead, we find that these brokers
understand the position they are in, but they are either a) too busy to put
serious focus on technology b) too
overwhelmed by their options that they do not know where to start and/or c) it
is just easier to keep the status-quo.
So what’s the problem with this? The fact is what worked in the past will not
cut it today, and it certainly will not be good enough for the future. Consumers want more, your next generation of
staff will want more and really, principal brokers, you should want more…and
you can have it.
Don’t believe me? Survey your clients.
Think about what I am suggesting for a
moment and consider how easy it is for
you to do this. How easy is it for you
to get a targeted client list for this?
How would you send the survey?
How would you track the responses of the surveys? There are tools for this today in the
Canadian market and they should be used to the point where brokers are experts
in this.
You’re on board. Great!
Now what?
1.
Embrace change. So many times we hear “my staff will never go
for that.” Change is scary. Especially for those that have been following
the same rules for a long time. But
nobody ever grew by staying inside their comfort zone. Identifying a technology champion internally
can help, but as the brokerage leader, it is incumbent on you to challenge your
team to grow.
2.
Focus on your clients. “Customer Centric” is not just a buzzword-term. Think about your clients and your ultimate
wish list for them. What are the missing
pieces? How could you improve their
experience on a regular basis? Not just
at renewal!
3. Audit your current
solutions. What
do you have, how much are you using and what are you missing? We contact our clients regularly to see how
we can help. Take us up on it! This doesn’t necessarily mean buying more, it
means using more and using better. We
talk to more brokers in a week than you likely do and are happy to share advice
on creative trends we see.
The
bottom line is, build a plan and act on it.
Technology is not going away and brokers that master it will flourish in
doing so.
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