Becoming a Paperless Producer

Recently I had the privilege of speaking at the annual sales meeting for a large agency in the upper Midwest. One of the topics I covered was how outside sales staff can become more effective and efficient when away from the office.

As I’ve mentioned many times, consumer expectations are rapidly changing. It is no longer good enough to say “I’ll get back to you on that.” People want answers now. Why? Because they can!

The better access to information a producer has, the better able they are to help their current clients and to demonstrate their knowledge and expertise to prospects.

Unfortunately, many insurance agents and their agencies continue to rely on outdated ways to capture information and get it to the office to complete any required tasks.

New online sales tools are allowing agents to respond faster to client requests. These tools also allow agents to capture prospect information quickly and immediately transfer it back to the office. These tools enable the producer to spend more time face-to-face with clients and prospects, deepening their relationship.

Every insurance agent can become a paperless producer. Sales technology should be a fundamental part in of every insurance organization.

Following are a few tools that you can quickly implement to start you on the path to becoming paperless.

Cloud Storage

It was not that long ago when your office was filled with paper file cabinets. Today, there are many options for storing documents online. Some of the more popular and well-known services currently available include Dropbox.com, Box.com, OneDrive from Microsoft, and Google Drive. Each of these services provides a certain amount of free online storage for various types of documents.

Cloud storage of documents allows an easy way for producers to capture pictures and other information and immediately store them online so they can be retrieved by someone back in the office. Storing on a cloud drive eases the filing burden and offers an archive through which you can search.

These cloud storage options offer you the ability to accumulate all the data required without needing to print and file. This searchable databank lets you retrieve your files in a rapid and trouble-free manner.

Tablets Become Your “Mobile Desk”

Today’s consumers assume that you are available to them most any time. No one likes to be at his or her desk round the clock; none of us does! So, how can you be “available” for your client without having to stay at the office?

You need to take your desk mobile. Tablets (and newer smartphones) allow insurance agents to perform their duties, anywhere they happen to be. Access to client information in an agency management system allow you to respond quickly to any request.

iPads are the most popular tablet option, but there are plenty of other tablets on the market like Samsung Galaxy, which comes in around 50% of the cost of an iPad.

Apps to the Rescue

Having the right hardware is the first step, but the real key to being productive away from the office is the apps you use. Here are a handful of apps I use every day to save time and “get things done.”

Expensify.com — This expense management platform has a mobile app that allows me to take a picture of the receipt, tag it with the right report, and have it automatically filed into my account. The SmartScan options use OCR technology to read the information on the receipt and automatically add the detail.

Scannable — I’ve tested many document scanning apps over the years. This is my current favorite because of its ease of use and integration with Evernote. Just point your smartphone camera at a document and it will effortlessly capture the document as a “scanned” image.

Waze — This is the only GPS app I use anymore. This app provides updated real-time information while I am driving. It is a great example of how useful crowdsourced information can be. It is owned by Google and is free.

These are just a few of the apps that I use to allow me to get things done no matter where I am physically located.

What are some of the best tools you use to be effective when you are not in the office? Let me know.