Everyone knows that the housing market is red hot right now, in fact, according to recent research from Zillow, annual home value growth will likely continue to accelerate through the spring, peaking at 22% this May.
The combination of an overheated housing market and growing inflation rates will inevitably prompt home buyers to seek out the best deals for home insurance premiums. For independent agents, it’s critical to position themselves as a trusted advisor — someone who can guide prospective and current clients to the home insurance that is right for them, right now (and at the right price).
Savvy agents know this requires a multitouch approach — email campaigns, telephone time and in-person meetings — which can be a daunting undertaking for agents solely responsible for operations. Too many independent agents, overcome by managing daily challenges, deprioritize critical sales and marketing activity. Don’t be one of them. Now, more than ever, it’s crucial that sales and marketing initiatives don’t slip through the cracks.
So, how can independent agents make time in their calendars to ensure they are tending to their growth engine? Well, solutions like customer relationship management (CRM) software can be a big help. If you don’t have one, you should. If you do have CRM, you should be making the very most of it. In short, it’s a customer and prospect database that can secure, track and engage current customers and prospective customers. Making a system like this the center of your day will integrate sales and marketing activity with daily operations.
CRM platforms automate your communications. Set up cadences and triggers to automatically remind clients of appointments or important dates, follow up on outstanding questions or alert you of clients in need of immediate outreach. What other ways can a CRM solution can help agents prioritize sales and marketing during this busy spring season?
Most agents thrive off of in-person networking because personal relationships are what cement client relationships. Guiding clients and engaging prospects — whether in a meeting room or the sidelines of their kid’s soccer games — every social interaction is another chance to foster stronger bonds. While we’ll never replace the person in personal touch, software can enable independent agents to automate but personalize, all of their recurring communications. By leveraging an online database of people, preferences and purchases, you can ensure every question gets answered, and every detail gets addressed. Over time, you’ll get more sophisticated with integrating your commercial communications with your business operations.
CRM software can remind you of upcoming obligations or provide recommendations for when to re-engage prospects or customers — like birthday wishes or anniversary messages. Independent agents who neglect to invest time researching and managing leads will, without doubt, miss out on bountiful business opportunities. Maintaining consistent deal flow, and enjoying strong sales, are the lifeblood of any business and responding quickly will be even more critical this spring, as competition and urgency increase.
Embrace the tech. Leverage tools, like CRM, to consolidate and secure client interactions, enabling you to analyze and anticipate needs. Set it and forget it with automated targeted emails that create seamless personalized interactions. Earn peace of mind knowing that you have help minding your business. Technology can be a gamechanger for independent agents who embrace the available tech and integrate it into their workflows. One plus one can equal three.
As an independent agent, you have to have your offline presence down pat. You can jump on a call with someone you’ve never met and win them over, you can listen to someone talking and divine what they’re really saying. Understanding the consumers’ needs and translating that to tailored insurance solutions is your bread and butter. But as so much of the world has moved online, a lot is getting lost in translation. Agents need to put as much effort into maintaining their online presence as they would into any other aspect of their business.
First impressions matter. Most people are now getting those impressions online, so put your best foot forward with an impressive website, up-to-date social media profiles in all the right places, positive online reviews and a CRM solution that is recommending follow-ups and capturing more leads.
Marketing is a big job. It means building and maintaining a brand that people can believe in, positioning yourself against competitors, attracting new customers, and communicating regularly with customers through emails and newsletters. Staying top of mind requires being top of inbox. Buying home insurance is not a check the box and done forever kind of activity. Agents are responsible for reminding customers about important aspects of their home-owning experience. For example, agents can consistently re-engage existing customers with education on factors like home renovations and upgrades, changes to their policies, ensuring their current policy is still the best fit for them, how to prepare their homes for inclement weather, qualifying for flood insurance and more. CRM software can manage all of these communications by automatically circulating tailored campaigns throughout the year and throughout the customer lifecycle. You can also track the effectiveness of your campaigns and easily quantify your ROI.
With so much to do in so little time, and entering a real crunch time, independent agents need all the help they can get. Solutions that can help them make more informed decisions, improve targeting and personalization, gain a better understanding of customers and have more effective communication are simply a no brainer. Everyone has been adopting technology in recent years, especially spurred on by the pandemic, and agents that do not turn to technology now to optimize their operations will fall behind.
With homes of all kinds selling like hotcakes, there is more to do than ever. Among this unparalleled opportunity is a mountain of work to be done. By leveraging CRM software, independent agents can thrive, not just survive, the upcoming spring housing market by automating their sales and marketing efforts today.
As vice president of commercial operations at Act!, Joe Greenspan leads a team focused on customer revenue growth, strategic commercial programs, and operational excellence. Before Act! Joe spent 13 years at Sage in various product and commercial leadership roles.
Opinions expressed here are the author’s own.
