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Corners -- Articles in
The Mass Agent |
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What's In It For Me? What we are asking you to do is to become involved in the Five Star Program. The answer to your question is. . .
Recent research has shown that there is a direct link between organization culture and financial performance. You will be surprised how handsome the rewards can be for your agency if you discover and address the underlying issues that can occur such as employee and customer whining. Join the following agencies at being recognized as being the BEST!
from The Massachusetts
Agent
May 23, 2002 Are You Afraid of What Might Be Found? The first step can be humbling because it diagnoses the agency's weaknesses as well as its strengths. Owners must be prepared to accept the bad news with the good news. As stated by Karen Cora, VP of Deland Gibson
Insurance Associates, "Our fitness review showed us that we had several
weaknesses that needed to be addressed. The MAIA Five Star Review Team
presented our Fitness Review results to the entire agency with no previews
to management. Even though it was difficult for management to hear of
our weaknesses, Granted, it's great to hear what your strengths are, but it's only in those areas of improvement that you are going to make more money. Join these agencies who were willing to go through the test to find out just how successful they can be:
from The Massachusetts
Agent Added Value Agencies must make sure that their involvement adds value to the insurance purchase. This focus was central to strengthening their relationship with their customers. Strong relationships in turn help increase customer retention rates and closing rates and attracted new business. Some industry detractors have criticized insurance producers for not adding enough value to the insurance transaction, especially for auto insurance as noted in Auto Insurance Alert. Five Star Agencies clearly show that value is added by their involvement. "Adding value is key. If we don't add value we're gone," advises Maureen Armstrong. Five Star Agencies share the common belief that many customers are looking for more than just price and that these customers are the ones they want to keep. They also believe that the way customers are treated, and the way insurance is explained, can affect whether insurance is viewed as a commodity or as a personal service. Join these Five Star Agencies and make sure that what you're doing adds value to your process!
from The Massachusetts
Agent Relationship Strengthening One way to cement the agency-client relationship is by convincing clients that their independent agents will meet or exceed their expectations. Five Star Agencies credit their increased closings and revenues to the fact that producers have more time to spend on needs assessment, solution-oriented selling, and rapport building, rather than administrative checklist activities that do not appear to customers to add value. This practice is a customer-centered process that has been seen to work in many different industries as well. When United Parcel Service (UPS) redesigned its process to give drivers more time to talk to customers, instead of stressing prompt delivery at any cost, they achieved remarkable results. The extra handholding and rapport building improved customer retention and increased sales dramatically as evidenced in Business Week. Join these Five Star Agencies and establish relationships with your clients that they will not want to break.
from The Massachusetts
Agent To find out how you can begin your journey to the Five Star Agency Designationsm, please contact Heather Kramer, CIC, Vice President of Education at 800/222-2699 or by email at hkramer@massagent.com |
Discover the 5 Star way!
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| Massachusetts
Association of Insurance Agents 137 Pennsylvania Avenue, Framingham, MA 01701 800-972-9312 | (508) 628-5452 | (508) 628-5444 fax Copyright 2008 All rights reserved. privacy statement | disclaimer statement | email us at info@massagent.com |