Archive for the ‘AgencyIQ News’ Category
Online Training for New Agencies
AgencyIQ makes email marketing and lead management easier, and now AgencyIQ makes learning and setting up your new agency a snap! Make sure to watch these quick videos and complete your set up within the system. You’ll certainly learn new tips and tricks by watching these videos.
Set Up Menu
Online Training:
Online training for new agencies and new producers is a vital part of making the AgencyIQ system successful for your agency. To aid in the initial setup of your agency, we have added a set up menu to walk you through the initial customization process for new producers and new agencies. This section can be found in the top right hand corner of your screen directly below the “My Settings” link.
The “Quick Training I” video provides a basic walk through of the system, covering how to set up your AgencyIQ account. This includes the producer based settings (time zone, email signature, security login) and the agency based settings (address, email footer, lead statuses, and basic email marketing).
The “Quick Training II” video will walk you thru the CRM portion of AgencyIQ, and show you how to work your leads within the system.
Each section that requires set up is itemized on the set up menu, and the text is a direct link to the specific screen where you can complete each task. As each section is finished a check mark will be placed in the appropriate location. As you check off more tasks, the status lights on the menu will turn from orange to green, until you’ve completed all aspects of the setup process.
Watch for additional updates to our support and online training library over the next few weeks as we add more videos and options for you to make the most from AgencyIQ!
New Search
We’ve got some exciting news to announce! We’ve recently begun rolling out our new and improved search experience across agencies in the AgencyIQ system. If it hasn’t already hit your agency, it will in the next 3-5 days as we complete the roll-out. The switchover is automatic and requires no action on your part.
What does that mean for you? Well, primarily it means much faster searching! Simply type a contact name in the search box at the top of the screen and in under a second you should be presented with the results; orders of magnitude faster than the old search system. In addition, your results will be ranked by relevance, which will be noted on the left-side of your results… a longer blue bar indicates a “more relevant” result.
Hopefully this will get you to your customers and prospects much more quickly!
We are still tweaking the results and adding to this new feature, but if you happen to run into a snag and want to use the old search, it’s still available for a while longer at the bottom of the search results page. Just try your search with the new system, and if you can’t find what you’re looking for, try again at the bottom with the “old way.” Hopefully we won’t need that much longer, but it’s there just in case.
We plan on rolling this technology out to other areas of the system as well, including mail and searching for other things like notes and reminders. We’ll post more as these become available.
Please let us know if you notice any issues with the new search, and as always, thanks for using AgencyIQ!
CALLING IT QUITS
Mike Modano, the star forward for the Dallas Stars hockey team, has probably played his last professional hockey game. I was one of the fortunate few to be in the stands for his last Home game appearance. What a night to remember: Modano had an assist on a goal, scored the game tying goal late in the 3rd period and scored a goal in the overtime shoot out to win the game against his nemisis the Anaheim Ducks! Talk about a story book ending to a career….. And a perfect end to a career spent with one organization for his entire career, playing key roles as leading scorer, team captain and mentor and elder statesman in the locker room as his career ended. A truly humble player and man, Mike gave back to hockey and the community; generous with his time, money and talents, the city of Dallas is better for his involvement over the last 16 years. The Dallas Stars have some mighty big skates to fill with Mo’s departure.
In our careers, we’ve all know a few Mike Modano’s. People that embody the spirit of our company, contributing at the highest level, team players, always encouraging those around them and bringing out the best performance of others through their example in action. You just can’t imagine how you’d survive without that person! Unfortunately, most organizations don’t plan ahead in anticipation of key personnel eventually leaving. Do you as a business owner have key personnel that you depend on to carry the load? We all do, but do you have a plan on how to move forward if/when they leave? Succession planning is usually way down the list of strategic planning activities, but it is vital to the sustained growth of an organization that you have a plan for replacing key employees. To keep your company vibrant, forward thinking and prepared, having a potential talent pool of internal or external resources is not only smart, it will save you and your organization a lot of heart ache when the day comes for a key employee to be replaced. As a owner/manager, it’s important to recognize the Modano’s in your organization and look ahead on how to deal with the void after their last “game”.
TUMBLING DOWN
Ever hear the John Mellencamp song “Tumbling Down”? That’s what I thought of when the old Texas Stadium in Irving, TX was demolished recently. Being a native of the area and a huge Cowboys fan as long as I can remember, I could not convince myself to join all those who watched in person or on TV the destruction of a place that held so many memories. Landry, Staubach, Lilly, Aikman, Irvin, Smith, the Ring of Honor, NFC Championship games…. The list goes on and on. And yes, I do believe the hole in the roof was there so God could watch His team play! What was once a state of the art facility featured in numerous movies and mesmerized Sunday football viewers on TV, had, over the years, suffered from age, neglect and a public that demanded new heights of technology to keep their intrest. No lingering, slow demise for this former showcase, Jerry Jones, the eternal promoter, made Texas Stadium’s last hurrah another money making deal. It was even sponsored by Kraft Foods (I don’t get it… but they ponied up the cash, the single largest requirement). Faster than you can say “Kraft macaroni and cheese”, Texas Stadium disappeared in a cloud of dust, soon to be a distant memory of those who will remember her in her glory days!
Yes friends, even those monuments that seem indestructible on their christening day, have their eventual fall from favor and are replaced. So it is with the tools we use to run our business. Technology changes constantly, computers and communication systems require constant review and the software we use to manage our data is always undergoing tweaks and updates. Over the next few weeks and months, you will be receiving notices of important enhancements to the AgencyIQ operating system. Future blogs and newsletters will detail these enhancements that will make your lead management efforts more effective, efficient and increase your book of business. AgencyIQ is committed to delivering to our clients the tools you need to grow your business. Please look for these announcements and let us know what you think!!
Viva Las Vegas
Viva Las Vegas
It’s been quite a few years since my last trip to Vegas…. BOY HAS IT CHANGED! At some of the hotels and resorts, I thought I was at Disney World…. They have really marketed to a “family” experience. Bugsy Siegel and the original Vegas mobsters must be spinning in their graves! Upscale shopping, spas, amusement rides, arcades for the kiddos… where were the smoked filled, dimly lighted casinos, with booze flowing and an edge of danger in the air? The only danger I saw was from all the helpful customer service employees falling all over themselves to help you find the nearest Starbucks counter at the hotel!! The “Rat Pack” wouldn’t stand a chance in today’s Las Vegas…
I would like to share a few moments from my trip; this was to celebrate my youngest son’s 21st birthday. My other son (24yrs) and my cousin were along as well. An early flight has us in Vegas at 7:20am… a quick breakfast and out to Hoover Dam. Then, hit the casino’s!! My oldest learned quickly why there are so many “nice” casinos in Vegas, he lost 75% of his “entertainment” funds in about an hour. Round 1 to the casino. The boy’s room was not ready at check in, so after a 4 hour delay, the room was ready and they were “comped” an upgrade to “resort status”….. wait a minute… whose name was on the credit card for the room? Round 2 to the casino. Later that night, Texas Hold’em and up a few hundred bucks. Round 3 to Marcus. The next day, the best $75 I spent the whole trip: Indoor Skydiving!! All I can say is WOW… I’m doing the real thing later this year, awesome. That night, it was guys night out on the town. Ever see the movie “Old Hogs”? What is up with today’s youngsters? Both young guys were in bed by midnight, the “old guys” stayed out til 4:00am, got up at 7:00am, went to Denny’s (is there any place else?) and then got new tattoos ink in (6 hours of needle work.. ouch!) The young guys stayed in bed ‘til noon and then laid around because they were “tired”…. Seriously, this should be renamed the “Tired Generation”. At 24 and 21 years of age, I wouldn’t have slept for 3 days!! Another interesting phenomon takes place on the sidewalks of “The Strip”. Starting at 3:00pm, there are groups of 10-12 men in brightly colored hoodies standing along the sidewalk, slapping business cards in their hands, trying to get your attention and hand the card to you. Distracting and disgusting, they are the marketing force for the “private entertainment” industry, with full color photos of the personal services available. In spots it looked like there had been a ticker tape parade! The old mobsters would be proud of these guys! New tattoos aching, I try to teach my cousin how to play craps…. It’s a love/hate relationship… the dice table, not me and my cousin! While at the craps table, my youngest “figures out” roulette…. a collective few hundred dollars later, he “figures out” the law of averages is a cruel mistress! Round 4 to the casino.
What does this have to do with lead management or insurance? Nothing really… every once in a while, we all need to take a break and refresh/renew ourselves! If you chose to do it in Vegas, I have an addition to their marketing line: “What Happens in Vegas (and your $$$$), Stays in Vegas!
Healthcare Reform 2010
Healthcare Reform?
The real question I pose to each of you is this: How does this impact you as an individual, a family, an employee or as a business owner? Hmmmmmm…… Do you bury your head in the sand and “hope” it will all work out, or do you stay engaged in the debate and educate yourself in how to respond to this significant change in our lives?
As a member of the insurance industry, the Healthcare Reform Bill WILL IMPACT YOUR BUSINESS!It doesn’t matter if you are involved in health insurance specifically. People are going to be required to acquire healthcare insurance at some level and cost. This will create tremendous opportunities for you as an insurance provider. You can now create education and informational marketing, email, website and blog campaigns to assist existing and potential new clients understand how to manage their insurance resources. Families are going to be reviewing how, where and how much they are spending every month on ALL insurance coverages be it home, auto, life or health.
Now is the time to begin developing those strategies and presenting pro-active steps to your existing and potential new clients in addressing these new challenges! Let AgencyIQ assist you in this area by utilizing our state of the art lead management program that features extensive email functionality to stay in contact with new clients as you move from introduction to closing the deal!
Hey, where did my Auto-responders and Auto-assignments go?
If you’ve taken a peek at your agency configuration lately, you may be wondering where the tabs for Auto-responders and Auto-assignments went. And oh, by the way, what’s this new “Workflow Rulesets” tab? We’ve recently rolled out our next-generation automation system for AgencyIQ, which combines the concepts of Auto-assignments and Auto-responders into an even more powerful workflow process that will deliver huge flexibility and customizability.
What’s this Workflow Stuff?
Gone are the days of only being able to send and schedule e-mails when a lead first enters the system. With the introduction of Workflow Rulesets, you now have the ability to select from a large range of criteria to describe to the system how you want to manage your on-going automated communication with your prospects. Rulesets allow you to describe a series of conditions and actions that are evaluated whenever leads change inside the system.
For example, you may want to assign new leads to producers based on more granular criteria than lead provider, such as zip code or last name (i.e. “Distribute all leads A-M to Bob, and N-Z to Sally”). You may want to cancel pending scheduled e-mails and set up a new set when the lead moves from “New lead” to “Active lead”. The new Workflow system allows you to do this.
Building Blocks
The Workflow system is made up of simple building blocks that you use to assemble your particular configuration. First, you start off by creating a “Ruleset,” which is just a fancy way of saying “If this happens, do this.” In the “my agency” settings in the system, select the “Workflow Rulesets” tab:
The new Workflow Rulesets tab under "my agency"
This tab displays any Rulesets that you have defined. In the above example, I have two rulesets set up represented by the large gray tiles; one for auto-assignments, and one for auto-responders. The small icons show an overview of what the ruleset consists of (you’ll see more of this later). As I hover my mouse over the ruleset tiles I notice actions hilight on the right-hand side, “edit” and “duplicate.” I can also drag the tiles around to reorder them on the screen. This ordering is important, as the system will process these rules in the order you have them listed, from top to bottom.
If I click “edit” on the “Autoassignment – Steve” tile, I’m taken to the definition for that ruleset:
The Conditions and Actions for a Ruleset are displayed here
Reading this screen from top to bottom I see that “If ALL of the following conditions are met” (followed by a list of conditions), “Then the following actions occur” (followed by one or more actions). In this case, I have a simple rule that states “If a new lead enters the system and the lead is unassigned, then assign the lead to the agent ‘Steve DeVoll’.”
Rulesets are made up of conditions and actions. All of the conditions for a given ruleset must be met in order for the given actions to be completed. If one or more of the conditions are not met, none of the actions are performed and the system moves along to the next ruleset in your list. Using this simple construct, you can build up complex scenarios that help automate your sales process.
Notice that the small icons representing the type of condition or action are present here as well. These map back to the Rulesets screen, allowing you to get an overview of what the ruleset is dependent on and what it will do, visually. You can hover your mouse over any icon to have a tool-tip pop up and describe it, if you need clarification.
Pulling down the “-add new condition-” drop-down menu, we see that there are a number of conditions I can use to narrow down this ruleset:
- A change in status (for example, if the lead’s status changes from “New Lead” to “New Policy”)
- Comparison of a Field to a value (for example, if the lead’s ZIP Code field contains “75001″. You can use comparisons such as Less Than/Greater Than, Begins With, Ends With, Contains, etc.)
- A new lead enters the system (to differentiate between when a lead is first received versus a lead being edited)
- Lead is from one or more Lead Vendors (so you can specify one lead provider’s leads from another)
- Lead is of a particular LOB (so you can differentiate Auto from Home, etc.)
- Lead is assigned to a particular user
- Lead is unassigned
These powerful condition building blocks should let you be very specific about when certain actions should occur. Notice that in the case of conditions, order is unimportant. All must be true in order for the actions to occur. However, you can drag the condition tiles around to reorder them to your liking, if you wish.
Pulling down the “-add new action-” drop-down reveals the following actions:
- Send/Schedule an auto-responder
- Assign the lead to a user or a member of a group
- Cancel any previously scheduled (but unsent) auto-responders
- Stop processing rules
The last option, “Stop Processing Rules” is a special action that tells the system that it should not process any rulesets after this one. Use that to end workflow processing in the event a certain set of criteria has been met.
For actions, as opposed to conditions, order is important. For example, if you combined assignment and auto-responders into the same ruleset, you’d want to assign the lead before you scheduled the auto-responders. Drag and drop the actions to reorder them to fit your needs.
In the coming weeks we will be adding additional powerful actions to this list to let you do additional things such as set up ToDo’s or Reminders, send out notifications, and more.
Beyond Initial Auto-responders
These rulesets are evaluated any time the lead is changed. Using the conditions for detecting a change in the status of a lead, you will now be able to cancel any pending auto-responders and schedule new ones. Or, if you have a user in your office that does the quoting, you can have the system assign a lead to them when the status changes to “Quoting”. The possibilities are wide open.
The Workflow system is in place now. We’ve jumpstarted you by migrating your existing auto-assignments and auto-responders into the new structure. If you’d like help or would like to discuss how to extend your workflow beyond what you could do in the past, let us know!
New Functionality in Mail
We’ve added some new functionality when composing both regular e-mail messages as well as setting up your auto-responders and e-mail templates.
Spellcheck
Probably one of the more major enhancements is the inclusion of a spellchecker in the editor. Simply edit the text of your email or template, and click the spellcheck button at the end of the top row of icons:
Spellcheck Button
Clicking this button will initiate a spellcheck of your text, hilighting the words that the computer thinks are problematic. Simply click on each word to get a suggested spelling or to tell the system to ignore that word.
Preview
Another feature I think you’ll find particularly handy is the preview button:
Preview
Clicking this button will pop open a window that will preview your e-mail or autoresponder the way it will appear when your prospect receives it, including formatting, signatures, etc. In fact, when previewing the auto-responders or templates, you can dynamically switch between agents in your agency to preview their signatures in context with the text.
In addition to these two features, we’ve also improved the system’s ability to take pasted text from Microsoft Word and other sources. If you’re really geeky, you also now have the ability to edit the resulting HTML directly, fine tuning the format of your text to be exactly what you want.
Dashboard
We’ve improved the way newly assigned leads are displayed on the dashboard. They’re now in the more readable table style, with a previous and next link to allow you to page around if there are more than 10.
Lead Screen
On the Lead screen (”leads” on the main menu, or click on the lead status box under the search box at the top of any screen), we’ve separated the three sections (Unassigned Lines, Unassigned Contacts, and Unparsable leads) into three separate tabs.
New Tabs on the Lead Screen
This allows more information to be better displayed across the screen, and allows the user to better focus on the task at hand. The tabs themselves will let you know if there’s anything there by showing a count of the relevant leads in the title.
We hope you enjoy these latest enhancements! Please let us know if you have any questions.
Customizable Statuses! and other updates…
Customizable Statuses
In a recent survey, agents indicated that they would like the ability to determine their own statuses inside of AgencyIQ, so that the system would more naturally fit within their sales process. To accommodate that very popular request, we have now added the ability for either the Agency Owner or an Agency Manager to customize the labels, ordering and number of statuses each Line of Business can be assigned to throughout the sales process. We have kept as defaults the same labels we have always offered, but you can now create, name and order the statuses however you would like. Follow the instructions below to customize your statuses within AgencyIQ!
To customize the statuses for your agency, go into your agency’s settings by clicking the “my agency” link in the upper right of any screen. Click over to the “Lists” tab, and locate the new tab “LOB Statuses” on the far right of the second row. The system will present you with a list of your current statuses, which should be the system defaults at this point.
Customizable Statuses Edit Screen
There are four columns, “Status”, “Status Class”, “Lines” and “Action”. The “Status” column contains the labels of the currently defined statuses. This is what you and your users will see in the status area on leads, in reports and other areas of the application. Simply click on the label to change the wording to match terminology you are most comfortable with.
The second column, “Status Class”, defines how this status will behave in your workflow. There are three options, “Prospect”, “Client”, and “Cancelled”. Mark those statuses that relate to your lead workflow as “Prospect”. Once a lead moves into the policy phase, a status with the “Client” class would be chosen. This will make the policy section on the lead screen appear, and will make the overall status of the contact go from “Prospect” to “Client”. Classify as “Cancelled” any statuses you wish to have representing dead opportunities.
The third column will show you a summary of the number of LOBs you currently have in that status. Note that you can’t delete any status that currently has lines associated with it. Once all LOBs are moved out of a particular status (reducing the count to zero), you will be able to remove that status permanently.
The final column, “Action”, allows you to drag the individual statuses around to set your workflow order, or delete any statuses that have no LOBs assigned to them. The order of the statuses on this screen is important: it will dictate the order of all status representations in the system. In addition, the top-most status is the “default” status for all new leads manually created or otherwise entering the system. Drag the individual rows around until the order is how you want it.
In addition to changing the labels and ordering of the seven default statuses provided in the system, you can add your own by clicking the “add” link at the top of the list, just to the right of “Status” in the first column. A new blank status will appear at the bottom of your list, and you can type a new label for it and assign it to a status class. Drag it to the appropriate location in your ordering, and you’re done. If you add a status and decide you didn’t want to do that, simply click the “delete” link on the right of that status’s row, which will appear as you hover your mouse over the action area.
Once you have everything as you would like it, make sure to click the “Save Changes” button at the bottom to lock your settings in. Nothing changes until you save your settings, and the updated statuses will become available immediately throughout the rest of your agency once you do.
Improvements to the Action Drop-down
In addition to giving agencies the ability to customize their statuses, we have simplified the workflow around using those statuses. Previously, there was a rather rigorous workflow around how Lines had their status applied to them. For example, if a Auto lead was in the “Active Lead” status, you were only allowed to move it to “New Policy”, “Inactive Lead”, or “Cancelled”. Once moving to an “Inactive Lead” status, you couldn’t move directly to an “Active Policy”, without first reactivating the lead and then selling the policy. This proved somewhat cumbersome for users to understand, so we have removed those restrictions, giving you the freedom to select what status you want to assign to your lines at any time.
To accomplish this, we have updated the “Action” drop-down at the top of all lead screens:
Customized Statuses Action Drop-down
Notice how the information is grouped: “Change status to…”, “assign lead to…” and “Unassign” are the major options, and the agency-specific statuses and users are indented under these headings for easy location. All statuses defined for the agency are listed, in the order defined in the agency settings, except the status currently assigned to the lead. Simply select the status you want to change the lead to and click “Update”.
Contact Info Box Colors
Contact Info Box
In the past, the Contact Info Box, in the upper right-hand corner of all contact and lead screens, was a blue box that contained a summary of the pertinent information about that prospect or client. Information such as phone numbers, email address, and a list of any Lines of Business for that contact visible here, simply by moving your mouse over the box.
We have extended this functionality to change colors based on contact status. When the contact is still a Prospect, the box will remain blue as it has in the past. Once a policy is created for the contact, however, it will now turn green. This allows for you to know at a glance whether you are working with a potential customer, or a Client with existing business with your agency. A simple change, yes, but one I think will be very handy!
In addition to coloring the box (within the lines, of course!), we’ve streamlined the information within, including icons for LOBs, and displaying the contact’s “opt-out” status near their email address.
More coming soon
We’ve got many more enhancements and improvements coming over the next several weeks. Stay tuned, and let us know what you think!
Customizable Lines of Business Inside AgencyIQ!
AgencyIQ now allows you to customize screens to display only the lines of insurance your office sells. If your office is a life and health agency, then customize the system to only display the life and health options. If your agency only sells commercial insurance, make sure to only choose the commercial lines of business to make the system more concise to your needs. It’s easy!
- Access this customization in the “My Agency” link located at the top right of your screen
- In the middle of the left hand column look for the “Global Settings” section:
Customize the Lines of Business Displayed in AgencyIQ (click to enlarge)
- Check the lines of business that your agency sells
- Save the changes in the bottom right hand corner of the screen
Selecting the lines of business will affect which lines of business are displayed in the following locations:
- The dashboard’s “Your Line of Business Stats” chart
- The available lines of business in the contact tab
- The available LOBs in blue navigation bar inside a file
- The available LOBs in the reports
- Within the lead assignment rules and auto responder line of business assignments.
Contact us with any questions you might have and we look forward to your feedback!