Summary
To gain a better understanding of Agency Management System (AMS) and its potential impact on your agency, we will delve into its definition and advantages. We will also cover the different types of agencies that utilize these systems to optimize their operations.
Players
Definition
An AMS is a program or software that helps coordinate projects, schedules, and people in an agency setting. It is designed to help the main office employees handle daily tasks from tracking hours worked by employees to calculating sales commissions. This type of software helps the owner run their business more efficiently and effectively too.
AMS is used as a platform for tracking the activities of agencies represented by agent partners. The system deploys web-based tools to create an online presence for the agents and provide them access to various services, resources, and information that can help them improve their business operations. When utilizing an AMS, agent partners can access the system at any time and from any location. Each agent partner also has a personal profile page where they can create and store public information as well as post relevant content.
Agent partners can take advantage of the tools provided by an AMS to manage leads, generate reports on sales activities, view commissions, track leads, manage contacts and mailings, share marketing materials created by partner companies, and more.
Components
Lead and contact manager
A lead and contact manager helps maintain information about leads and contacts that your agency had before signing up with the system. This includes any notes, emails, or documents that will help the team remember how you were introduced to the company, what leads you have presented to a client, or even any personal information about an individual (such as their interests or hobbies).
Project manager
A project manager allows users of the system to manage projects by working on them in different capacities. For example, you can assign a project to a salesperson and set them as the lead for that project. You can then assign other team members to work on the project as needed.
Management reporting
A management reporting feature will allow you to view data about your agency employees’ time, projects, and commissions. Many systems can produce more than one kind of report, including reports for different users within your company (EX. managers, owners, or employees).
Employee time tracking and billing
A time-tracking system will help you and your team keep track of the time spent on projects. Some people prefer to manage their own time while others opt to have time automatically tracked by the system. It all depends on what works best for your agency. Many systems offer to produce reports that summarize the information for employees based on your specifications. Reports can include a daily summary, weekly summary, or periodic summaries based on any specific period (EX. weeks, months, or quarters of the year).
Resource scheduling and client feedback
A resource scheduling and client feedback feature allow you to keep track of when your teams are working on projects. This can help you plan for meetings and reschedule meetings as needed. It also allows you to create reports that summarize the data about all projects for each team member.
Advantages
An agency management system provides several advantages to a business that uses it. Consider, the great deal of time and money that an agency can spend managing its clients and employees. An AMS makes this process more efficient and effective. Let's look at some ways that agencies use an AMS to manage their resources and grow their businesses.
AMS can be customized with specific agency needs in mind, allowing agencies to customize the system to their specific needs. This means you can choose the modules that best fit your agency. You may want to opt out of the payment processing module if you have another payment solution in place.
Company uses
Using an AMS can revolutionize the way insurance providers operate. It provides a comprehensive view of an organization's resources and streamlines operations, making management of various processes more efficient. AMS helps gather intelligence, improve decision-making and enable personalized services by providing information on customers and business partners. Additionally, the system allows for fair and professional treatment of clients by assigning tasks based on staff skills and experience. Implementing an AMS can greatly benefit insurance providers, making them more efficient, effective, and profitable in the long term.
Ability to run reports
An AMS can quickly and efficiently provide an insurance company with insights on the sales process. Reports can be generated to track lead conversion, sales, and client issues, giving companies the ability to identify areas for improvement. Additionally, the system can streamline premium calculations without the need for transaction reconciliation.
Automating the agency
An AMS can be set up so that it automatically produces all information needed for your agency's daily management. In other words, you need to take care of only a few things, such as setting up accounts and creating reports. The system will take care of the rest. You don't have to interact with it to see your sales reports or estimate commission costs. You simply glance at the system's dashboard, which includes detailed information about your team's activities and revenue generated.
Shared services
With an AMS, you can now share your information with another agency and receive reports about their activities. This allows for more efficient and effective management of resources. After all, if one company has a better system that provides information more quickly and easily, then it becomes more efficient for both companies to use the system since there will be fewer steps involved. In this way, you can save time and money. Insurance companies that share resources need to use similar systems.
Effective policy tracking
Insurance policies are an important part of any insurance company. For this reason, an AMS can be set up to track policies on an ongoing basis. Insurance companies can create reports that summarize information about policies and make it possible to generate policy statements or other letters regarding a policy's status. For instance, an agency may track a policy's status and determine whether it has been paid, the status of any claims that have been submitted, and other information.
Easier time management
An AMS can be set up so that all employees are automatically logged into the system, which eliminates the need for employees to provide the same information repeatedly, reducing paperwork and providing for more accurate tracking of time and resources. Employees are now able to enter new or corrected information at their convenience with a simple click. Insurance companies can also set up automatic reporting, which will take care of any discrepancies that could arise.
Omnichannel communication with prospects and clients
Rather than relying on multiple methods such as phone calls and emails that may not be synchronized, the AMS allows for instant and consistent delivery of information to clients and prospects. This can result in higher levels of customer satisfaction and ultimately lead to increased business success for the agency.
Increased customer retention and wallet share
AMS helps insurance companies identify cross-selling and up-selling opportunities based on customer profiles, interests, habits, and behaviors. This enables the sales team to offer targeted products to clients and prospects, increasing retention levels, customer wallet share, and overall satisfaction.
Provide in-depth analysis and reports across different agency metrics
AMS offers insurance agencies the ability to perform comprehensive analysis and reporting on a wide range of metrics. This includes the number of customer and prospect contacts, salesperson outreach, lead generation, and more. With AMS, agencies can access valuable insights into their sales processes and customer interactions, enabling them to make data-driven decisions and optimize their performance for better results.
Team uses
The role of a team within an organization is to deliver value. This means that the team is responsible for producing results according to the specifications of its agency owners. Along with this, they must support their agency owners in any way possible, especially in terms of gathering information and resources that are needed to complete projects on schedule, as well as providing information about development progress or obstacles.
An agency management system helps teams work together more effectively through the use of centralized information. Insurance agencies can use an AMS to monitor the progress of employees in their team and make sure that each employee is fulfilling his or her duties. Because all information is centralized, assigned tasks and completion dates are easier to track. If a team member starts working on his or her project, the manager will be able to see this in real-time.
Pain points
When developing an AMS, some insurance companies have tried to tackle the project using tools they already have on hand. These tools might be very useful, but they may not be adequate to build an AMS. If your employees have never used an AMS before, it will take them some time to get used to the system and learn how to use it properly. For this reason, training is essential. In addition, you may need to make improvements to the AMS over time and invest in your team's skills and knowledge.
This means that it's a good idea to establish a long-term relationship with an AMS provider so that you can take advantage of their expertise as needed.
Integrating AMS with CRM
Using a CRM alone is not sufficient for a smooth workflow in insurance agencies. The AMS should also be used to adapt the CRM effectively while working with a client. The AMS shows which staff member is working on a client, allowing insurance companies to coordinate efforts and collect more client-related data directly. Gathering important client information on the spot is quicker, and having all necessary information at your fingertips proves valuable for agencies managing numerous clients. An integrated system enables agencies to work more efficiently and effectively.
Costs
The cost of an AMS is primarily affected by the level of customization you want in your AMS and how many clients you want to manage simultaneously. The cost for a basic system will differ from one agency to the next and depends on all of the factors mentioned earlier. The cost, however, is unlikely to be too high or too low. Price is usually per user every month, this means that the cost will be directly tied to the number of users leveraging the software. The initial setup cost and ongoing maintenance fees will also depend on the specific needs of your agency.
Conclusion
After learning about the benefits and costs of AMS, you can now make an informed decision for your insurance agency. If you choose to implement an AMS, it's important to research and select a reputable provider that can offer the necessary customization and support for success. With a reliable AMS, your agency can improve efficiency and save time and money in the long term.