The End of Documentation Frustration – Part 1

April 28, 2009

Documenting your decisions, processes, and workflows can be a frustrating task, but it’s critically important to your success.

Without documentation all your efforts to systemize your agency will quickly fall apart … destroyed by fallible and conflicting memories that lead straight back to chaos.

One of the reasons you may find it difficult is people tend to think one-dimensionally in this area.  They tend to think there’s only one way to document – using a procedure.

Not so.

In reality, this just doesn’t work.  Everything doesn’t fit neatly into a detailed, step-by-step procedure.  And you’ll drive yourself insane trying to make it work that way!

Plus, even when a process does need a procedure, it’s often easier to use another kind of documentation to get things started.  Detailed procedures can come later, when appropriate.  That’s gotta be a relief!

That’s why I developed and utilized 10 different types of documentation for my agency.  Each type has its purpose and makes it possible to actually document everything you want to document.

Herein lies the secret to ending your frustration with documentation!  Let’s take a quick look …

These first three do not involve themselves with specific processes or workflows.  Rather, they address your agency’s general purpose, methods of operation and structure.

Vision & Principles: Vision statements, guiding principles – these are important documents that lay the foundation for what your agency does and how its people behave.  They guide the decisions you and your staff make.

I’m not going to write pages about this.  Just understand its one type of documentation you should be using.

Employee Handbook: Every business should have an employee handbook that documents your working relationship with your staff – general conduct, time off, benefits, etc.

Functional Organization Chart (FOC): Your FOC defines the roles that must be filled in the agency by someone – regardless of how many, or who, are currently employed.  Whether you have 2 people or 20, all the same functions are being performed in your agency.  “Somebody” is doing them.

Somebody is answering the phones.  Somebody is processing paperwork.  Somebody is talking to clients.  Somebody is writing new business.  The size of your agency is irrelevant.

The FOC rightfully takes your focus off people and puts it on the functions that must be performed.  Then, you identify the people doing those things or fill the roles as needed.

The FOC is an extremely powerful planning tool – for both getting your current structure under control and for planning your growth and your personal path to business freedom.  Use it.

Now, we start getting into documenting more specific areas of your operations.  There are several ways to do that.

Policies & Decisions: This is a list (or lists) of rarely-changing policies and decisions people can refer to.  Aren’t you tired of talking about the same issues again and again?  People asking you the same questions again and again?

Well, write down those decisions.  Document them.  It doesn’t have to be fancy.  Just a simple list will do.  You’ll eliminate conflicting memories on important issues.

Plus, such decisions are often precursors to more formal procedures, but are a convenient way to document decisions until more detailed procedures are developed.

Standards & Expectations: Standards & expectations are often a good starting point when you don’t have time, yet, to detail a process or procedure.  They document how you expect your staff to behave, and/or what you expect them to achieve, when performing a process or function.

In the absence of a defined process, at least you can hold your staff accountable to your expectations of them.

The remaining 5 methods are more focused on specific processes and workflows, and holding your staff accountable for doing things the “right way”.  Next time I’ll explain how those work.

PS Keep your eyes open!  I’m planning a new teleconference study group, because the first one went extremely well.  To get your agency under control and achieve the freedom of being a true business owner, THIS is the place to start!

“I have read this book at least twice before but it was like seeing it for the first time.  Your insight, ideas and thoughts are a natural addition to anyone who is serious about getting their business under control.” - Dennis Hamsher, President, Aadvantage Insurance, York, PA

The course is a short-term, focused study of a classic work on business systemization, which I tailor to your insurance agency – the same way I did for mine.

The group is limited in size so everyone gets the attention they need, so if you have any interest send an e-mail (mailto:JoeH@FreedomThroughSystems.com) and let me know.  More details will follow.

© Copyright, 2009 by Sweet Spot Marketing, Inc. and Joseph J. Hagan, Jr. All rights reserved.

Leave a Comment » | Mindset For Success, Techniques | Permalink
Posted by Joe Hagan

The First Step from Chaos to Order

April 24, 2009

Over many years of studying principles of success I’ve come across this personally empowering teaching several times.  It came across my desk again, and I had a flash of inspiration to share it with you.

Now, I don’t intend to turn “Inside Secrets of a Systems-Run Agency” into a theoretical mind-trip course.  (Although we would all do well to improve our thinking and attitude every day, right!)

However, this has direct correlation with your efforts to realize the business-owner freedom you long for.

Take a deep breath.  Consciously let go of all your thoughts as you exhale.  Read and let this inspire you …

Chapter 1 – I walk down a street.  There’s a huge hole in the sidewalk.  I fall in.  It’s not my fault.  It takes forever to get out.

Chapter 2 – I walk down the same street.  There is a huge hole in the sidewalk.  I pretend I don’t see it.  I fall in, again.  I cannot believe I’m in this same hole!  But it’s still not my fault.  It takes a long time to get out.

Chapter 3 – I walk down the same street.  There is a huge hole in the sidewalk.  I see it.  I fall in – it’s a habit! – but my eyes are open.  I know where I am.  I admit it’s my fault.  I get out immediately.

Chapter 4 – I walk down the same street.  There is a huge hole in the sidewalk.  I walk AROUND IT.

Chapter 5 – I walk down a DIFFERENT STREET.

What does that have to do with systemizing your agency and achieving personal freedom as an agency owner?  Everything!

The most common complaint I hear from agency owners is they’re bogged down in day-to-day operations, constantly sucked into employee issues and all manner of nonsense that keeps them from achieving their growth goals – let alone actually having the freedom to choose how they work in their agency.

Well … how long are you going to keep walking down that same street and falling into that same hole?

There is a different street entirely!  A street that’s organized and systemized.  A street where your agency runs like the finest Swiss watch – thriving with or without your direct involvement.  A street where you have the freedom to make that choice.

But you must first see that the way your agency currently runs is a habit … a habit that keeps you falling into the same hole of frustration.

It takes great courage to admit that your business is the way it is for one reason – and one reason only.  If it’s chaotic, it’s because YOU continue to walk down Chaos Street.  It’s a habit.  But it’s a habit you can break!

You CAN choose a different path.  You CAN choose Order & Freedom Boulevard instead of Chaos Street. 

But it is, indeed, a choice you must consciously make.  It won’t happen by accident!  And your staff certainly won’t lead you to it.

 Just imagine how wonderful the rest of your life would be on Order & Freedom Boulevard.  (I guarantee you your staff will love it there, too!)  Make that choice today – for yourself and your family.

I know the way.  So, keep paying attention to these tips.  Visit my archives Blog page.   And feel free to contact me with any questions you have.

I’m also available for personal coaching, team coaching and direct implementation of systems solutions that transform your agency into the “muney machine” you want it to be.  You are welcome to send me an email to arrange a f.re.e, no obligation phone consultation. click here

Copyright, 2009 by Sweet Spot Marketing, Inc. and Joseph J. Hagan, Jr. All rights reserved.

Leave a Comment » | Mindset For Success | Permalink
Posted by Joe Hagan

Consistent Client Experience

April 21, 2009

McDonald’s is, and continues to be, the most successful business of its kind … in the world … for a very important reason – consistency.

Each franchise maintains consistency in many areas, but they all serve the most important consistency of all … the customer’s experience.

The fries in L.A. look and taste the same as the ones in New York and Hong Kong.  Regardless of the nutritional value, the food’s the same every time.

And that’s why McDonald’s customers keep going back again and again.  They like what they get.  They want it the same way … EVERY time.  And McDonald’s delivers that consistency.

What about your clients?  Is their experience the same every time they call or visit the office?

Whether they can verbalize it or not, when something’s different they don’t like it.  They expected experience A – which they like or have grown accustomed to, but got experience B this time.

Even if experience B isn’t bad in and of itself, it’s just different.  They’re not sure why they’re not happy, but “something’s off” at your business.

Here’s a true story to illustrate how an inconsistency, that seems quite insignificant to you or me, can be quite important to a client …

It’s a normal day in the agency, and I just happen to be near the front desk, out of sight, during lunch.  The receptionist is at lunch when a client drops in to make a payment.  (If you don’t accept payments in your office, OK.  Stick with the story here and get the point.)

One of our licensed agents comes out to help.  I pause to listen in (a little “MBS” – management by spying!)

He rarely takes payments, but does his part to pitch in during lunch time. He’s polite, conversational, and professional.  He makes it through the transaction and gives the client her receipt.  I’m pleased.  Then I hear …

Client: In a sheepish, but disgruntled, voice … “She usually staples these together.”

Agent: “Oh … um … OK.”  (He takes the papers back.)  “How about I staple this one right here?”

Client: Hesitant and unsure … “I guess that’s alright.”

The stapler clicks, a cordial good-bye, a “Thanks for your business”, and the client leaves … UN-happy!

From anyone’s perspective she got very good service.  I heard it all, and the agent did well.  But, her experience with our agency was inconsistent, and it bothered her.  That’s all that stuck in her mind.

Now … do we call an emergency board meeting for this?  Of course not.  But we CAN do something.

First, we can systemize the process so payments are handled the same every time regardless of who does it.  This is easy, and it permanently fixes the potential to deliver an unintentionally “bad” experience to our clients.

Second, we can take that lesson into other “more important” areas of the agency.  I learned a HUGE lesson about customer needs that day.  You would do well to keep it in mind, too.

Systemize your agency so your clients get what they want, the same way … EVERY time.  It does make a difference – and it’s the DETAILS that make an impact.

Is it worth the effort?  You bet!  As I learned that day … Never underestimate how important a consistent experience is for your clients.  It’s your responsibility to design an agency that delivers it.

Copyright, 2009 by Sweet Spot Marketing, Inc. and Joseph J. Hagan, Jr. All rights reserved.

Leave a Comment » | Client Experience | Permalink
Posted by Joe Hagan

Why Procedures (Only) Always Fail

April 16, 2009

It seems everybody wants procedures – thinking a pile of written words will magically transform their agency from chaos to order.

They won’t.  Not by themselves, that is.

Now I’m not knocking procedures.  Not in the least.

Procedures ARE critically important.  Documented processes and procedures are a MUST if you’re to create a business that thrives without your constant involvement and delivers you the personal freedom to choose how you live your life.

BUT … you must give your procedures a fighting chance to make a difference.  How?

Not too long ago I wrote a 5-part series on the easy and smart way to grow your agency.

It focused on how to structure your agency for maximum profitability, super-efficient operations and natural built-in staff development.  (If you missed it you can review the archives at www.FreedomThroughSystems.com/blog.)

Why all this emphasis on agency structure?  Because a well-organized, structured-for-rapid-growth, personal-freedom-delivering agency IS what gives your procedures that fighting chance!

KEY POINT: Procedures do NOT create organized structure!  Instead, organized structure allows procedures to have maximum impact for success.  Structure MUST come first.

Just ask any agency owner who’s dropped thousands of dollars on pre-written procedures … documents that are now covered with dust on a shelf or lost in a folder on their computer somewhere … with no lasting impact on their agency or their goals.

At our home, my wife and I have a small vegetable garden.  Years ago the patch of land that’s now our garden was covered with grass – like the rest of the yard.

Now everybody knows that to grow vegetables you need vegetable seeds.  But having the seeds ONLY will do you know good at all.

Had we planted those seeds in a grass covered garden, we wouldn’t have gotten a single plant to come up.  We had to first “structure” that patch of land to give the seeds a chance to survive and grow.

So, we dug up the grass.  Turned the soil.  Added compost and nutrients.  Put a rabbit fence around it.  And then … and only then … did it make any sense to plant our vegetable seeds.

Of course, those actions – while necessary – were no guarantee of success, either.  We also had to tend our garden’s structure to make sure weeds and grass did not invade again and choke out our delicious vegetables and herbs.

And so it is with your agency’s processes and procedures.

They have no chance of making a lasting impact on your business and personal life until you structure your agency to take advantage of them.  Otherwise, your time and money would be better “invested” in throwing vegetable seeds into your lawn!

So, here’s a short game plan:

  1. Define what your agency needs to achieve its goals – the functions and duties that must be performed to fulfill the agency’s vision and direction
  2. Group those functions and duties by skill level
  3. Create positions out of those groupings
  4. Design your processes and procedures to the positions, not people.
  5. Finally, assign people to the responsibilities of each position – hiring when necessary – and hold them accountable for your processes.

PLUS … make it everyone’s responsibility to improve the processes.  Everyone must tend the garden!

Copyright, 2009 by Sweet Spot Marketing, Inc. and Joseph J. Hagan, Jr. All rights reserved.

Leave a Comment » | Mindset For Success, Techniques | Permalink
Posted by Joe Hagan

What It Means To Be A Team – Part 2

April 10, 2009

Last time we started bringing some clarity to what a team really is.  I said …

Teams are diverse.  They require different positions working together toward a common goal.  Making everyone, and every position, the same is a recipe for mediocrity, at best.

Also, different positions require different skill sets.  Put the right people in the right jobs, and stop higher-skilled staff from wasting time on lower-skill activities.

Let’s take a look at three more important ideas …

Talent Has Value

We all understand supply and demand, right?  Things that are in short supply and are harder to find generally have greater value.

In football (American), the quarterback position requires an exceptional athlete and an outstanding leader.  Because of the advanced skill set required, there are fewer effective quarterbacks to be found.

Therefore, quarterbacks get paid a lot more than some other players who are more easily replaced.

Now … This does NOT make other players any less a “part of the team”.  And it certainly doesn’t make them any less as human beings.

However, economic reality is what it is.  And that same reality affects your agency.

On your agency’s team, certain responsibilities can be fulfilled by just about anyone.  Those jobs have less economic value.  That’s just reality.

However, that doesn’t make the people filling them any less valuable as people or as team members.

Teams Run Plays

Another important feature of winning teams is they run plays.  They’re not just running around doing whatever they feel like!

Plays are … conceived in advance … written down in a play book that every player must study … and tested in practice until they work as intended.

Then those plays are implemented in a real game to see how they work.  Based on the game results (feedback) a play might be adjusted to work better, or it might be thrown away entirely.

Where’s your play book – your procedure manual?  Have you determined the best way to do things in your agency and committed them to writing?

Do you evaluate your processes in real life – always looking to improve anywhere you can?  Knowing that small improvements in many places can make a huge difference in your success?

Championship teams do.

Teams Do What’s Necessary In A Crisis

In football there’s an event called a “fumble”.  This is when the player in control of the ball drops it.

Whoever regains control of the ball – from either team – gets the opportunity to score points.  So, it’s VERY important to “recover a fumble”.

If you know football, you know a fumble is madhouse of activity!  When it happens all bets are off.  Positions no longer matter.  It’s EVERYONE’S job to do whatever’s necessary to get control of that ball.

And so it is in your agency.  Your team must be ready to do whatever’s necessary in a crisis.

When the crisis is over, everybody gets back to their position and runs their plays … different responsibilities working in concert to success.

So, don’t get trapped by the idea that everyone has to be the same to feel like they’re part of the team.  And definitely don’t let your staff think that way!

Making people’s jobs all the same is a recipe for failure – stagnation at best.  The goal is to build an effective team of different responsibilities while still making everyone feel a part of it.

Each of their contributions is important, and they ARE a part of the team!

Copyright, 2009 by Sweet Spot Marketing, Inc. and Joseph J. Hagan, Jr. All rights reserved.

Leave a Comment » | Mindset For Success, Staffing Structure | Permalink
Posted by Joe Hagan

What It Means To Be A Team – Part 1

April 7, 2009

When discussing agency structure – primarily as it relates to effective staffing plans – I often find agency owners with misguided notions about what a team really is.

They seem to throw the word “team” around mostly because it’s politically correct.  But their misunderstandings of true teamwork keep them trapped where they are – unable to grow the way they want to.

So, let’s make sure YOU have a clear path to the success you want.  Follow along …

Teams Are Diverse

When agency owners talk about “building the team”, they often express ideas about everyone doing the same things, receiving the same training, receiving the same pay and being treated exactly the same.

“This is how to make everyone feel a part of the team”, the argument goes.  This is how to build a “gifted team”.

My reaction … yikes!

A team is NOT a group of people doing the same things, sharing responsibilities.  I don’t know what you call that, but it’s not a team … or it’s a team that’s destined to lose!

An effective team is a group of people with different responsibilities, all working towards a common goal.  Different responsibilities, common goal.

Sports provide the best example of effective team development.  Let’s take a quick look at (American) football.

There are many different positions on a football team – quarterback, running back, linemen, receivers, etc.  Each of these positions has a very different, clearly defined set of responsibilities than the others.

The running back, for example, takes the ball and advances it down the field.  Linemen block the opposing team’s players to increase the running back’s chance of success.

The quarterback runs the show, leads the team.  He gives the ball to running backs and throws it down field to receivers.  Receivers catch the ball and try to advance it down the field.

Whether you understand football or not is irrelevant.  The point is the team is effective, because the team members do different jobs in concert to achieve common objectives – scoring and winning games!

All of them are necessary to succeed.  However, they do very different jobs along the way.

This is also the way to build a winning team in your agency.  Put different people into different positions of responsibility, so they can work together in concert to achieve your goals and objectives.

Different Positions Require Different Skill Sets

The skill sets required for each position on a team are different, too.  Sticking with football …

If you hired athletes who could perform all the positions on the team with some level of success, and allowed them to play all the positions throughout the game … you’d never score a point!

Your opponent would crush your team into oblivion.  Why?

Because all your players would be merely OK at everything they do.  None of them would excel at any one position.  Your opponent would have no problem stopping your “OK” performers in their tracks.

It’s specialization that creates success – putting players in positions best matched to their skill sets, so they excel at what they do.  And when everyone excels in their position, your team excels.

It’s no different in your agency.  How can one person be great at everything?  And how can they excel when they are never allowed to focus their abilities on one position?  Most can’t.

Now, your agency is very different from a football team in an important way.  While a lineman has no chance of advancing into the quarterback position, your lower-level staff have the opportunity to advance to hire levels of responsibility.

And here’s a very important point to keep in mind when someone advances …

If YOUR team is going to continue to excel, advanced staff members must stop doing what they were doing before!  It’s now someone else’s turn to do the lower-skilled position.

This keeps everyone focused on where they can make their best contribution to team success.  In contrast, everyone doing the same things creates mediocrity across the board.

Tune in next time for three more critical components for successful team building.  Talk to you then!

Copyright, 2009 by Sweet Spot Marketing, Inc. and Joseph J. Hagan, Jr. All rights reserved.

Leave a Comment » | Staffing Structure | Permalink
Posted by Joe Hagan

Smart Way To Grow – Part 5

April 3, 2009

After identifying the huge benefits of pushing work to the lowest skill level possible – and the necessity to think in terms of roles, not people – last time we dove into how to actually make this all work.

It starts by identifying the work that CAN be delegated.  I described 3 groups of delegable responsibilities and functions:

  1. Pure administrative tasks
  2. Clerical work related to operations
  3. Service tasks that do not require a license

In these areas, you’ll find mounds of work that can be handled by assistants and entry-level positions – saving you money on payroll, focusing your licensed staff on high-value activity and creating an automatic personnel training ground.

The fourth level takes us even deeper into service tasks that do not require a license.  I call it “Separation of Duties”.

Warning!  This is where your mental resistance is really going to kick in.  So, be aware and keep an open mind.  The payoff – if you get it – will be significant, I promise.

First, let’s agree on a simple principle.

Your licensed staff should be focused on Client Relationships.  That’s their primary responsibility.  Right?

Therefore, anything they do that is not a Client Relationship Activity is a poor use of their time.  Agreed?

Above we identified tons of tasks that take them away from that primary responsibility, and therefore should be delegated to someone else – a lower paid, non-licensed person.

Now, taking it a little deeper…

Your licensed people are involved in the most complicated responsibilities in your business.  For example, quoting and writing an auto insurance policy.

There’s no doubt this requires a license, experience and good people skills.  No one will deny that.

But does the whole process really require a license?  Or only parts of it?

Let’s break it down and find out.

This “Separation of Duties” concept requires us to look at the “physical movements” involved in a given process.  What do I mean by “physical movements”?

I’ll explain with an example.  Let’s say you want to send a letter.

On the surface, sending a letter seems like one task.  However, when you break the process down to its “physical movements” you see a different picture.

Sending a letter involves thinking … typing into your word processor … printing … signing it … generating an envelope … stuffing the envelope … posting the envelope … and delivering the envelope somewhere.

All those things – thinking, typing, stuffing, etc. – are “physical movements” 

Any effective executive doesn’t involve herself in generating, stuffing and posting envelopes.  She employs an assistant for that. 

Heck … some only think and talk, while somebody else – at lower cost to the business – takes care of all the other physical movements that go into sending that letter.  The exec stays focused on high-value activities.

Let’s bring it back to you.  The same idea is true of virtually everything your licensed staff does!

They may be responsible for many high-value processes, but each of those processes involves many different physical movements.

And many of those physical movements are NOT direct client contact and do NOT require a license to perform them.

Let’s stick with quoting and writing an auto policy.  This is a condensed version to illustrate the point, and some of it may not apply in your environment, but just get the idea.

  1. Receive prospect call and route to the proper person
  2. Talk with prospect, gather needed quote data and provide advice and counsel
  3. Enter information into other rating programs for competitive quotes
  4. Discuss options with prospect and make the sale
  5. Generate and send quote paperwork to the prospect
  6. Generate and send application paperwork to the prospect
  7. Prepare paperwork for an appointment
  8. Meet face-to-face with prospect to complete application
  9. Organize completed paperwork for filing
  10. File the application – paper or electronic

As you can see, like sending a letter, the process of quoting and writing an auto application is not one thing.  It includes many diverse physical movements.

And here’s what you’re going to resist the most … Your CSR should be doing only THREE of those things!  But I’d bet dollars to donuts they’re doing 7 or 8 of them – maybe even all 10.

Only 3 of those 10 physical movements involve direct client contact and require a license.  Everything else can, and should, be delegated to lower cost personnel!

And what does the CSR do while the assistant is doing all that work?

Takes care of the next client!  Returns a message faster.  Improves client relationships.  Sells another policy.

That’s their job, isn’t it?  That’s why they get the big bucks, isn’t it?

BUT … can you count on your staff to figure this out?  Absolutely not!

This is YOUR job.  YOU must design an agency that keeps your high-paid licensed staff focused on Client Relationships.  This is what it means to work ON your business.

When you systemize your processes …

  1. You focus your high-paid licensed staff on high-value activity.
  2. You vastly improve the level and speed of service your clients receive.
  3. AND you permanently slash your payroll costs by putting work in the hands of lower-cost personnel.

PLUS … those low-cost assistants are learning “your way” and will be ready to step up as you grow.

If you’re like most agency owners, systems design isn’t your cup of tea.  That’s why I’m here.  It’s what I’ve done.  It’s what I do.  Contact me directly at jhaganjr@dejazzd.com for my help.

Leave a Comment » | Staffing Structure | Permalink
Posted by Joe Hagan

Smart Way to Grow – Part 4

April 1, 2009

Regardless of the size of your agency, I hope you’ve been closely following this series on smart growth strategy.

For start-ups, this is the key to profitable growth right out of the gate.  If you’re established, but still working too much in the day-to-day operations, this is your path to freedom.  And if you’re a large agency, this is the key to breaking through to the next level.

So far, we get the idea of always pushing work to the lowest skill level possible.  It keeps high-paid, high-skilled people focused on high-value activity.

It also permanently slashes payroll costs.  And it automatically creates a built-in employee development program.

We also learned that you must start thinking in terms of roles, not people, when working ON your business.

If your agency is going to achieve its goals, it has needs that must be fulfilled – tasks and responsibilities that must be done.  Grouping these responsibilities based on skill level creates roles or positions to be filled in your agency.

Once you’ve identified these roles / positions, then it’s time to put the right people – at the right skill and pay levels – into those roles.

Here’s how I generally group the responsibilities your agency must fulfill to achieve its goals …

Level 1 – True Administrative Tasks

Most everyone can see the logic in this group.  Every business – your agency included – needs administrative tasks performed.  These are tasks that have nothing to do with your operations of selling and servicing insurance but are necessary to a run a business.  Things like …

  •  Monitoring and ordering office supplies
  • Stuffing and posting mail – be it one-off letters or batch mailings for marketing or client nurturing
  • General business filing – paper or electronic
  • Basic computer maintenance, like swapping out backup tapes

I hope I don’t have to convince you that anybody can perform these tasks.  This is entry-level work to be performed by low-cost, entry-level personnel.  Plus, if you do the work of identifying these responsibilities in your agency you’ll find there are many, many more.

Larger agencies generally figured this out long ago.  But if you’re a smaller agency with only licensed people on staff, you’re still paying somebody to perform these tasks – at double their value!  Or worse, you’re doing them yourself just because they have to be done.

Level 2 – Clerical Duties Related To Insurance Operations

These tasks are very similar to level 1 tasks in that they’re administrative in nature.  However, the difference is that they’re directly involved with selling and servicing insurance.  Things like …

  •  Filing insurance records and forms – paper or electronic
  • Printing form letters to clients
  • Generating signature forms and sending them out – be it by e-mail, fax or postal mail
  • Processing paperwork received – be it by e-mail, fax or postal mail
  • And MANY more!

These are “secretarial” tasks that a-n-y-b-o-d-y can complete.  No license and no special skills required.

Now, your mental resistance may begin to kick in right about now, if just mildly.  But, by organizing and systemizing you create workflows that push these responsibilities to your low-paid, entry-level positions.

Typically, licensed people do these things for themselves.  Why?  Because it’s always been that way?  Not a good reason.

With systems you separate these duties, save a ton on payroll and provide better client service by keeping your licensed staff focused on client relationships – not clerical work.

Level 3 – Service Tasks That Do NOT REQUIRE A License

OK.  This is where your mental resistance will really kick in.  Be aware, and try to keep an open mind.  This will make a world of difference in your agency.

What is a license required for?  Key word REQUIRED.  I’m not rendering legal advice, but here’s my simple answer … a license is required to discuss or otherwise communicate on, advise on and offer insurance coverage to a client or prospect.

Now, let’s make sure we clearly see the key components.

Communicating directly with a client AND that communication is about coverage.  BOTH components must be in place to require a license.

Nothing else REQUIRES a license.  (Has your mental wall gone up?)  To illustrate …

I do NOT need a license to communicate with a client on directions to the office.  Though I’m talking to a client, it’s not a coverage discussion.

In reverse, I don’t need a license to discuss coverage with a claims adjuster.  Now, I’m not suggesting you delegate all claims adjuster communications to non-licensed people, just see my point of what REQUIRES a license.

But licensed agents do SO MANY things that do NOT require a license, because … well … I guess it feels like they should, or because nobody’s really thought about it before.  Well, let’s think about it!  Here’s a short list of service tasks that do NOT require a license:

  •  Answering client billing questions
  • Gathering information from third parties, i.e. inspection garages, car dealers, mortgagees
  • Calling clients on simple follow ups

Look – I can feel your resistance to these ideas – but wait!

Can you see that while you (or any licensed agent) are talking to a car dealer, what you’re NOT doing is what’s critically important.  You’re NOT helping your clients!

You’re NOT taking a client call on first contact and solving their problem immediately.  You’re NOT returning a client message faster.  You’re NOT making your clients happier with you.  You’re NOT closing more business.

You’re not doing those things – things that are your top priorities – because you’re doing things that ANYBODY could do … IF, I should add, you systemize your agency to keep your licensed staff focused on the high-value client relationship activities they should be involved in – all the time, without distraction.

Next time … the final – and most powerful – category of responsibilities you could be pushing to lower skill levels.  Not surprisingly, it’s the one you’ll fight me on the most.  But once you see it …

3 Comments | Staffing Structure, Techniques | Permalink
Posted by Joe Hagan