"Thanks to CRM platforms, data points and customer interactions are registered, shared and visible across all management levels making the sales strategy and decision making process so much easier.”
Nowadays, our customers are accustomed to searching for, and accessing information online from different devices anywhere and at any time. Given this reality it is crucial that insurance companies modernize and do two things.
First is to make brand/product information easily accessible to the consumer and second, that the marketing team have visibility over the interactions that occur during this process from a single platform. This is key since greater visibility allows us to better understand the client’s interests and communicate with them in a personalized, more effective manner.
This breakthrough in the management of information that the insurance sector is currently undergoing is what we call “omnichannel” – a shifting focus from the channel to the customer throughout their entire sales journey.
Although it seems incredibly complex, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Thanks to new technologies and mobile CRM we have a 360° view of the client through a single, solid and compact channel. This transposes across marketing, operations, pre-sales and sales meaning whoever the potential client talks to, at whatever stage of the buyer journey they’re at, they’re guaranteed a coherent and well-informed response according to their specific needs.
As a field sales rep the lack of transparency over a lead’s previous interactions with the company killed me. It was frustrating to open dialogue with a client only to discover they’d already spoke to 3 people across the organization, explained their issue or what they were looking for and then be bounced around across different departments. To say it’s difficult to build successful client relationships under these conditions is an understatement.
What’s more, using Excel made it impossible to have these agile, real time processes with effective data analysis as everything was out of date. Today, thanks to digitalization these processes are faster, run smoother and consequently score higher conversion rates.
To make this transition to digital within an insurance company successful it’s important to choose a mobile CRM that’s easy to use, easy to access and fits perfectly within the sales process of the agents and brokers that are using it. In fact, I’d even go so far as to say this is THE most important factor when weighing up different systems – are my field agents or brokers likely to use it?
The use of smartphones and tablets is commonplace in a sales rep’s life, so why not allow them to use it as a work tool, too? The simplest solution for a successful adoption of digital tools is to offer those with which they are already familiar and that adapt to their needs: mobile, simple and easy to use.
Where do we start?
You have to start by being realistic and understanding that it will take time for someone who has been working with pen, paper or excel for decades to then go off and start using a completely foreign digital system. The process should begin by carefully guiding the user and then gradually roll out a steady implementation of the system while reinforcing the tangible benefits it will have on their work: the increase of cross-selling opportunities by the agent or broker, the identification of potential new accounts and unattended customers or the intuitive and immediate access to information of the company/client they are about to visit.
Inefficiency can kill a sales team
The transition over to more dynamic, digital systems will lead to a marked increase in efficiency and sales conversion rates. The truth is it just makes every part of the sales cycle that smoother, with real time lead and client data available from either a mobile or tablet. It is in fact no longer really an option but a necessity if your insurer wants to remain competitive and relevant to the consumer.
