I believe that there is one tool that no agency should be without. It’s not a high-tech expensive system or a complicated marketing plan.
It’s a spreadsheet. And one that you could probably make in under 10 minutes!
We called ours the New Business Log. Yes, I know that if you’re captive, there are tons of extensive reports your can download with all kinds of sales information and producer reports. And if you’re independent, you’ve got info like this on your management system. BUT I love the simplicity of the New Business Log.
Here’s what you do to implement this in your agency (trust me, you’ll love it too!) There is ONE spreadsheet that everyone in the agency updates when a policy is sold. It’s updated daily whenever a sale is made.
This is how you feel the pulse on your agency sales each day.
This is what you want to capture in your Log.
- Date of Sale
- Client Name
- Type of Policy (Auto, Home, Condo, Motorcycle, Etc)
- Premium
- Source (Walk in, Internet lead, Yellow page, Telemarketing, Etc)
- Producer
That’s it. Create a new spreadsheet each month or add a new page to the current one.
What this will give you is concrete data about where you stand during the month. You’ll know what is selling, who is selling it, and where it came from.
How will you use the info?
Let’s say that the advertising rep calls from the newspaper and wants to know if you want to renew your ad. You pull out your New Business Log from the past few months and look to see where your clients came from. How many mentioned seeing you in the ad? Now you can determine easily if it is a good financial decision!
At the end of the month, see how much premium came from your internet leads. Was it more than you spent? Should you buy more leads this month or cut back altogether?
You have some general customer service work that needs to get done. Who do you give it to? Staff Member A who is selling 70% of the policies this month or Staff Member B who is selling 30%?
See how this information helps you make great decisions? It’s not buried in a complicated report. It’s close and accessible.
I also recommend using a free service like Dropbox to hold your spreadsheet. (Click here to try it out.)
You download it to each computer in the office and give everyone access. Save your spreadsheet in the Dropbox folder on the computer and it syncs automatically to everyone each time it is updated!
You can also access any file in your dropbox from any computer with the online login/password or from the iPhone/iPad app.
You’ll love having this information at your fingertips everyday. You’ll know what marketing is working and what is just costing you money.
