We all know the expression "cash is king" but in this day and age it could be argued that cash is the queen, less valuable ONLY to data. In the 21st century, thanks to the internet, social media and a breed of innovative marketers, data is driving the bus and we're all on it.
This isn't news to any of us, especially those of us in sales and marketing, but what IS surprising is that there are a few ways you should be compiling and using your agency's data to assist you in your sales efforts. Your sales strategies, marketing plan, client retention policies, and lead generation all benefit immensely when you know what’s going on with your data flow. Without analyzing data, you could be wasting time and money in all areas of your agency.
The following are a few reports you should be sure you're using to ensure that all of your agency efforts are going in the right direction.
A contact report is a sales report that look at the most important variable or all - your contacts. Contacts can range from people currently connected with your insurance agency or people you can consider prospects. Prospects should make up the majority of an agent's contacts, but if you're networking as you should be, you'll have A LOT of contacts!
A contact report helps you organize your ever-changing book of business, or lead spreadsheet. These reports can filter your contacts, including your active leads or lost leads, and categorize them. Your contact report could include categories to help you segment and organize your contacts. It may use segments like:
• Sales cycle stage
• Last conversation topic
• Last conversation date
• Source
• Zip code
• Product interest
• Enrollment date
As sales reports go, a contact report is valuable because it allows you to recognize when it’s time to follow up with a contact. It may take anywhere from 4-18 follow up touch points to close a deal.
Revenue reports are the sales reports that let you know if your insurance agency is on target. When revenue reports are segmented according to specific time-frame, by carrier, or product type – they equip you to correlate changes in your sales performance. This is also a great practice to have these reports handy after the enrollment period to ensure your commissions are being paid correctly, and that your clients policies have not dropped off your book.
With revenue reports, you’ll also be able to more cleanly prove your marketing effort’s return on investment (ROI) concerning sales. Sales reports that highlight source and product will make it clearer which channels are driving leads that easily convert. You can forecast revenue achievements in your insurance agency at your current rate of sales production and develop goals for your agency’s future.
When all is said and don’t, it comes down to which deals you win and lose.
These sales reports will show you which opportunities have closed over the last month or quarter and which are off the table, typically because the lead reported choosing a competing insurance agent or agency. It’s a wise idea to specify the amount of premium, contact, product, zip code, age, and the insurance agent so you can determine quickly which market segments are producing high-caliber deals. Date of first contact, breaking out the time between first contact and sale, is also useful.
For lost sales, try to get some insight into your prospect’s decision to choose your competition. It can be useful to know which of your competitors are securing clients you don’t. If products and services are broadly similar, there may be a breakdown in communicating your insurance agency’s value.
Collecting and reviewing the right sales reports is the key to keep your eye on the prize: sustainable sales performance with a clear path to even better results for your insurance agency! These reports will start you off with the knowledge you need to steer toward your agency’s next horizon.